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Dave 123

Legendary Member
A loop on the moors from Princetown.

I’d debated starting elsewhere but the ride isn’t long enough for a cafe stop in the middle.

Under North Hessary tor and along the old railway track to Foggintor quarry. Looping around Kings tor with views across to Merrivale and Great Mis tor.

Through the fields near Walkhampton, cows and sheep in the sunshine.
Down to Burrator and a quick stop at Norsworthy Bridge. Then around the reservoir to Sheepstor village before the steep long climb to Eylesbarrow tin mine.
Then it was Nuns Cross and South Hessary tor and a stop at the Fox Tor cafe for a bacon butty, then a short ride back to the van, saying hello to the donkeys along the way.

Wheatears and Swallows were the star birds.
And a solitary wood sorrel flower…

https://www.strava.com/activities/11180214550

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chriswoody

Legendary Member
Location
Northern Germany
Lovely Spring day today with quite a stiff breeze so I decided to head out onto the heathland. After 6 kilometres I'm up into the forest and sheltered from the wind. The forestry workers have been here and bulldozed the track making it wider and smoother for their mahines.

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I continue on throug the forest and there has been a lot of work going on here. Last week on the gravel bike I'd passed by some of these trails and it was really heavy going, the usual gravel roads replaced by deeply rutted chewed up trails. After another 10 kilometres I stop at the edge of the first bit of heathland for a quick snack and soak up the sunshine. The rain and warm weather have conspired to make a really vibrant spring this year and everything is blooming.

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From here a head up the small hill that brings me up onto the Tiefental and one of my favourite bits of single track around here. A beautiful track that snakes around the top of the ridgeline, intertwined with the roots from the pines and sandy soil it's a fun little challenge to ride.

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I ride on for a few more kilometers before stopping for a spot of lunch, sitting down on the side of the trail watching the industrious black beatles and listening to the chirp of birds.

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My trail now winds around the top of the heathland and then plunges back into pine forest for several more kilometers. A few short descents and climbs provide a bit of variety and fun.

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I've swung around now and start heading South back towards home and as I leave the Tiefental, I'm plunged back into the forest. For the most part it's a dry and dusty trail, but every so often I hit a patch of wet trail that sees me plotting a route around the deep puddles. I suppose I could always plunge stright through, but I don't want to spend time cleaning the bike when I get home.

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One particularly good section of fine gravel roads has been complelty destroyed by the logging companies and I'm glad to be on the mountain bike as it's heavy going. I marvel at the sheer number of trees stacked up waiting to be shipped out, probably for the paper industry.

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I've not far to go now and I link together several of my favourite small trails the snake through the forest, trying to keep away from roads as long as possible. Finally after nearly 60 kilometers in gorgeous Spring sunshine I arrive back home, dusty and happy, it's been a lovely Spring here so far.
 

Jameshow

Veteran
Just a 40 miles teardrop ride from haworth to HB then tod, littlebrough, cragvale, HB Haworth.
Nice but windy on the tops, road surface from HB to Tod awful as is crag vale... Couple on tandem might be on here doing same loop backwards if so hi! Also the sportive or club run from Haworth to HB at about 4pm?

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Donger

Convoi Exceptionnel
Location
Quedgeley, Glos.
On holiday in North Wales at the moment. Now that the gale force winds and driving rain have finished, I woke to a lovely sunny (if slightly breezy) day this morning. I have never cycled on the Lllyn Peninsula before, but was well impressed by the quiet lanes and the great scenery. Felt like a cross between Cornwall and the Yorkshire Dales. Totally recommended, so long as you like it lumpy. Took the whole morning over a 50km ride from Abersoch to Nefyn and back, stopping regularly to admire the views, Had to get off and walk for about 50 yards on one steep hill, and dismounted to walk my bike down another one when it became clear that my brakes were not going to stop me. (More down to me being over 20 stone rather than any fault of the brakes!). Some photos from this great ride. (I particularly like the one of the wind-sculpted tree and the one of the wonky church):
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And here was the route, Clockwise from Abersoch to Nefyn and back, with an anti-clockwise loop out to Hell's Mouth just before the end):
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31.1 miles, (50km).
 
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Jameshow

Veteran
On holiday in North Wales at the moment. Now that the gale force winds and driving rain have finished, I woke to a lovely sunny (if slightly breezy) day this morning. I have never cycled on the Lllyn Peninsula before, but was well impressed by the quiet lanes and the great scenery. Felt like a cross between Cornwall and the Yorkshire Dales. Totally recommended, so long as you like it lumpy. Took the whole morning over a 50km ride from Abersoch to Nefyn and back, stopping regularly to admire the views, Had to get off and walk for about 50 yards on one steep hill, and dismounted to walk my bike down another one when it became clear that my brakes were not going to stop me. (More down to me being over 20 stone rather than any fault of the brakes!). Some photos from this great ride. (I particularly like the one of the wind-sculpted tree and the one of the wonky church):
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And here was the route, Clockwise from Abersoch to Nefyn and back, with an anti-clockwise loop out to Hell's Mouth just before the end):
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31.1 miles, (50km).

Looks a quiet part of the world!
 

Donger

Convoi Exceptionnel
Location
Quedgeley, Glos.
Looks a quiet part of the world!

Well it is Sunday, so early days yet, but yes, the roads are unbelievably quiet. Having said that, I came here having ideas of completing another section of UK coastline from Porthmadog to Criccieth to Pwllheli to Aberdaron, and I've dumped that idea straight away. The inland bits in the hills, and the North coast of the peninsula look fantastic for cycling, but the road along the South side looks busy .... with a pretty rubbishy looking lumpy tarmac cycle track running alongside the main road with very few scenic views along the way. I'm planning to do a ride along part of the North coast and down to Aberdaron and back before I leave here. Drove it this afternoon and it looks great.
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
A few rides to report on

Thursday: I'd hoped to get a ride in with my brother but by the time we'd both done the things we needed to it was getting a bit tight for the available time and he wasn't in the right frame of mind. I got the Hawk out and went off on my own.
It had been a warm and pleasant day but by the time I got out it was just a bit too cool to be out in a t-shirt and it was windier than it had been.

School traffic made it a bit fraught for the first couple of miles but after that I enjoyed quiet lanes and the headwind didn't hold me up as much as I thought it might. When I got to Longnor and picked up the tailwind I thought it might be fun to do the short version of the route instead and press on to see how quick I could go. Progress was hampered a little by a tractor & trailer that that kept having to slow to squeeze past oncoming vehicles but that turned off in Acton Burnell and I had a swift unhindered run to Pitchford. The descent from Cantlop would have been good too 'til I had to pull in to wait for a car to go by. A good run up to the main road after Condover finished things off nicely - it was one of those rides that gives a buzz which last a good while after having stopped. ^_^

A tad over 17 miles at 14.5 mph average. Fairly good for this heavy lump of a bike but I know I can make it go faster.:addict:

No photos from this one.

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Friday: I met up with Gav again for another training ride. 55 miles was his target for this one and with a dry and reasonably mild day forecast I brought out the Raleigh. We met at The Brooklands then headed away from town to Montford Bridge and Forton. The road to Grafton was unexpectedly closed - we went as far as we could in the hope we'd be allowed to walk the bikes through but it was properly closed so we had to retrace our steps and use the diversion route. This was a lane I haven't ridden before and although it was through a nice area it was rather more potholed than I'd like.

From Baschurch we followed the lane to Fenemere, rejoining Gav's planned route, and on to Myddle where we were onto more roads I don't think I've ridden before past Sleap airfield to Brandwood and Noneley. Another change of route occurred here when we found the lane Gav was planning to use quite well flooded. Fortunately a detour was really easy here.

There was a group of riders coming the other way en route to Wolverley then more new-to-me lanes through Newtown (a grand name for a place with about three houses) and onwards to Waterloo. A mix of lanes I knew and some I didn't took us to Whixall (we needed to squeeze past a lorry that could only just fit at one point) and Coton where a second flooded road caused a detour again. Reaching Prees we had a lunch stop by the church before moving on again towards Darliston.
More road closed signs here and once again we had to reroute as the closure was properly impassable. We wanted to avoid the B5065 as it's something of a fast rat-run but our attempts to get off it were thwarted again at the next junction where a passing farmer warned us off that lane due to the poor state of it. Our next attempt was fine and we enjoyed some quiet lanes before reaching Marchamley. A click I could feel through the pedals was investigated here and the crank bolts turned out to be loose - rather worrying on a brand new chainset.:sad:

I'd remembered the steep descent after Marchamley from the one time I've been this way before but it was a much smaller hill than in my recollection, which was a little disappointing. From Stanton on Hine Heath we picked up the headwind that would be with us us most of the rest of the trip and joined roads that Gav and I cycled last time out on the way to Shawbury. Here we changed from the previous ride to go the flatter way through Roden, Rodington Heath and Withington. With the detours we'd had to do it seemed to me that we'd be somewhere near a metric century by the time Gav got back and I'd have roughly a couple of miles on top of that. Gav wasn't convinced but by Atcham it looked much more promising to me. We took the longer way through Cross Houses and Berrington then added a little more at Kingstreet and again on the new estate at Weeping Cross so by the time we parted Gav had just crossed the 100km.

A good ride on a nice day (short sleeves for me from about halfway). Great to get a metric century in the bag and another step towards that sportive for Gav - Well done.:thumbsup:

Almost exactly 65 miles for me when I got back at 11.7 mph average. 2259 feet of climbing.

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At Marchamley.

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Near Stanton on Hine Heath.

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Saturday: Doug and I got out as I'd promised him a route with a cafe lunch and a pub stop on the way back. It was more breezy than the previous day and we'd mostly be riding into it for the first half which made me go for the shorter option to Condover, Ryton, Longnor, the old Roman road to Hollyhurst and through All Stretton to Church Stretton. That wind was quite an effort to ride against so we slowed down a lot and took it easy on the way. There was a bit more traffic on the lanes than usual but it didn't cause us any problems. We reached The Hollybush in Church Stretton just before the rush and it was just warm enough to sit outside while we had lunch.

When we set off again I took Doug along some lanes I'm not sure he has ridden before through Dudgeley, where some sort of horsey event was taking place. We had the lanes practically to ourselves once past that until we reached Leebotwood where the promised pub stop was taken at The Pound. A nice selection of fairly local beers and a couple of good cider options for Doug there - I think we need to make a stop there a more regular thing.

After leaving the pub and getting back onto the lanes we picked up the expected tailwind as we retraced our steps to Longnor, Ryton, Condover and the short route back. Cruising speeds were good considering Doug hasn't been out for a while and I think he enjoyed it - he certainly seemed to be putting in an effort to go faster.:bicycle:

25.2 miles at 12 mph average. 977 feet of climbing. Checking the cranks at the end of this they seem to have stayed tight after putting some effort into the bolts the previous day.

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En route to Church Stretton with Caer Caradoc as the backdrop.

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Refreshments at The Pound, Leebotwood.

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At Ryton on the way back.
 
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a.twiddler

Veteran
13/4/24
Spirit Recumbent to Deeside

It was tempting to go on the Linear Recumbent for the first long ride of this year but it has already proven to be comfortable for long trips and I wanted to evaluate the Spirit. The longest trip it’s done since I’ve had it is 33 miles and I’ve made a few changes since then. I’d been thinking for a while about combining a ride on the Shropshjre Union canal towpath with one on the Chester Greenway and Dee path so as it had rained a little this morning then changed its mind I decided to take the plunge. The weather has been grim recently and I’ve been going stir crazy. Shopping trips have been all very well but I can’t believe that it’s now April and I haven’t got my recumbent legs built up for any tourlets that I might do later this year.

From Home to Egg Bridge
I’d swapped the tools, pump and spare 20” tube over last night, and added my elderly Aldi orange rain jacket. It was spitting a bit, and wasn’t very warm, so I wore it. I left the mean streets behind and headed out into the countryside.

As soon as I left the shelter of the houses a noticeable headwind was in my face. I plodded on. I wasn’t expecting a stellar performance for my first long ride this year. Something didn’t feel quite right though, and I imagined it was just the difference between this bike and the Linear which I’d used a few days ago to nip to the shops. Still, the reach to the bars didn’t feel quite right, and my legs seemed more feeble than usual. I came to the traffic lights at Darnhall Bridge and rolled down the dip with fingers covering the brakes, and magically the lights changed, letting me pedal furiously down the dip and a fair way up the other side before I had to go down through the gears. I felt much better after that, and pushed on steadily against the wind.

Soon I came to the right turn to Hickhurst Lane, then right into King’s Lane. Despite the wind I felt that I was doing better than I usually did here, coming to the beginning of the old brick wall on the right which surrounds Oulton Park. I knew that once I’d got up this last bit of uphill it levelled off, and I could turn right into Rushton Lane for a swoop downhill alongside the wall for a space before going left into Brownhills Road. And so it was. There is a maze of lanes hereabouts but with a bit of local knowledge it is a good through route.

As I was pedalling along Brownhills Road I heard a tractor behind and as I could see the turn off from Rushton Lane in the mirror I kept an eye out, hoping that it would go past. Sure enough, a vast tractor and trailer turned into the lane behind me, filling it. I put on a burst of speed until I could turn into a shallow field gateway so he could pass. It was tight, but he went past. I followed it to the next crossroads which was awkwardly bounded by high hedge banks but got across to Oulton Mill Lane with another swoop through to Cotebrook. Here I crossed the A49 uphill then across another road to Utkinton Lane.

The uphill start was awkward and I didn’t get into gear early enough beforehand. The rear derailleur jumped on starting off, I heaved on the bars, which moved slightly, and I wobbled to a halt in Utkinton Lane. I pushed into a farm entrance to check things out and tighten any loose bolts. I was feeling warm, and expected to get a lot hotter climbing this hill, so as it was now dry I took my rain jacket off. I started off up the hill again, thinking how steep it was, and how much easier it was last time. I’d been riding a lot further and more often the last time I came this way, so I put it down to the state of my legs today. I remembered that I’d stopped a couple of times last time, was not going to stop today. Even though I was in the bottom range of the hub gear, I steadily puffed up the long steep hill. The lane is quite narrow in places, but what little traffic there was gave me plenty of room.

The summit arrived sooner than I’d anticipated, followed by a long dip and a climb again to Utkinton Hall. A short climb, then across a crossroads and welcome cooling downhill into the wind for a few miles, another crossroads then mostly level to Duddon. It seemed to take a long time to reach this point. Straight across the A51 to Duddon Hook Lane, the road to Waverton. Despite being downhill a strong wind caused me to have to pedal steadily, and even more so on the uphill bits. In fact it seemed like hard work. I was ready for a break by the time I reached Egg Bridge at Waverton. Fortunately there were some benches down by the canal which the bridge crosses.
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I looked at the map as I nibbled a Kit Kat. Brown Route NCN 45 follows the canal here. Last time I came this way I followed the canal en route to Clotton, finding that the surface became difficult a short distance in that direction. I took a gamble that it would be much better between here and Chester. If not, it wouldn’t be difficult to get on to the A41 to reach the City.

I checked the seat adjustment and found that the recline had gradually increased over a period of weeks while I’d been riding it. I tightened up the quick release then reset it to be more upright which immediately felt more comfortable.

Waverton to Tower Wharf
I repacked my stuff then set off under the bridge towards Christleton. Not too many people about, and the surface was tarmac. It varied in smoothness and width but was perfectly rideable. From Christleton into Chester the surface is particularly good, and I’m told that this continues to the end of the canal at Ellesmere Port.
Bridge near Christleton
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At Christleton is the first in a series of locks which lower the canal to the level of the city centre. There are: Christleton, Greenfield, Tarvin, Chemistry, and Hoole Lane locks, between 8ft 3in and 9ft each. Northgate locks give a giddying drop or rise of 32ft. These are staircase type locks, each one leading into the other with no pound in between. Northgate bottom lock is the last one before the basin locks at Ellesmere Port, maybe eight miles by boat. There were originally five locks here, leading directly to the River Dee. The layout changed when the direct link to Ellesmere Port and the Mersey was established.

After the effort of the ride to Egg Bridge the leisurely, level ride with the occasional downhill at the locks was like an unexpected gift.

After passing under the A55 and A41 the buildings of Chester closed in. Crowds of walkers were about, pubs and bistro bars abounded, with pavement tables facing the canal. I was hoping to find a chip shop away from the centre, for better prices, so I trundled on, under low bridges, past increasing crowds of people.
Where the canal meets the city wall, with King Charles' tower prominent in the upper right. It is said that he watched the defeat of his army from there during the English Civil War.
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Eventually I left the crowds behind as the canal continued through a man made canyon, shops and cafes high above across the water, the city walls vertically above the towpath. This was originally a moat, part of the city’s defences, entrepreneurially appropriated by the canal company to solve the problem of bringing the canal close to the Dee. It became narrow, with bare rock to the left, water to the right.
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I heard a whirring behind me so I went forward to find a place for them to pass. I came out at the top of Northgate Locks, and a Deliveroo rider hurried past.
At Northgate locks a road, a railway, and the canal pass each other at different levels in a confined space.
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After bumping downhill to the bottom of the locks I followed the towpath sharp right to Tower Wharf and continued beyond to a bridge where I got on to a road. Although the road access had steps, there was a trough to one side where you could place your bike wheels and climb them while wheeling your bike.

Eventually I failed to find a chippie so made do with a sandwich and some bits and pieces from an Asda Express.

Chester Greenway

I took the supplies and followed a pavement cycle path back to where I’d earlier passed under the Chester Greenway. There was an access ramp which I climbed and headed towards Connah’s Quay. The Greenway was busy with walkers and cyclists, and being quite high up on open ground quite exposed to the wind. I found a sheltered spot and a bench somewhere near Blacon and ate my sandwich. Many cyclists went by while I sat there, many of them women. Most of the traffic was heading west.
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Re energised, I continued my battle with the wind, passing the site of Blacon station, then crossing the A550 via a high bridge at the site of the former RAF Sealand. There are several traffic lanes on this road at this point, hence the modern bridge. Many of the distinctive 1930s -expansion era MOD-Georgian buildings of the former RAF base still exist, perhaps having listed building status.

It was very windy on that bridge, and I was glad to get down to ground level again on the other side.

Rolling into the wind, passing walkers, being passed by other cyclists, the Greenway gradually turned left towards the Dee. I kept passing a family group, cycling along with kids who stopped from time to time then passed me before stopping further along.

The Greenway came to Hawarden Bridge Station where the original junction must have been. Trains came and went as I approached. Before reaching Hawarden Bridge the trail branched off to follow the Deeside Way. I noticed that my average speed after all the towpath riding and headwind pushing had dropped to 6.4 mph, and from experience I knew that it would take a long time to push it up to anything respectable again.

Back Along the Dee to Chester
Apart from the occasional bridge this was dead straight for several miles towards Chester. With a strong following wind progress was good, and the few cyclists I met were also bowling along. Nevertheless, the mostly featureless scenery gave the illusion of making no progress. The horizon remained at a point where the trail became a speck. The only changes of scenery were in passing through barriers to cross over a couple of roads to rejoin the trail on the other side.
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The Dee was smooth at first but getting closer to Chester waves were visible, some of them breaking white. I saw something light coloured bobbing about in the waves. It turned out to be a mostly submerged seabird, as after a while, first wings, then a body emerged from the crest of a wave and launched itself into the wind. It flew slowly backwards until it had gained height then flew diagonally away. Perhaps it’s a part of a successful fishing strategy.

The trail curved gradually to the left and the buildings of Chester became visible. More features appeared and more walkers.
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The trail came to a small park then joined a road. I followed the road until it crossed a stretch of canal. This looked like the Dee arm of the Shropshire Union so I crossed the road to follow it inland. After some climbing and after crossing a bridge I came to Tower Wharf.
Telford's Warehouse, now a pub.
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I sat on a bench out of the wind and chilled for a bit. I was feeling rather windswept after my Deeside excursion. There were pigeons everywhere, the males amusingly and irridescently puffing themselves up and strutting about proclaiming, “look at me, I’m so gorgeous” (which they were) and the females studiously pretending to ignore them.

Back to Egg Bridge
My route home was straightforward from here, a mirror of my trip out, mostly downwind, I hoped. Despite a few spots of rain earlier on it had been a dry journey. OK then, next stop Egg Bridge, Waverton.

There were many more people about on the way back, involving a lot more stopping and starting but that suited me as I could conserve my energy for the road part of my ride after Waverton. All the locks were uphill in this direction. Slow but steady progress. Even outside the city, groups of dog walkers abounded, causing me to stop from time to time.

Eventually I reached Egg Bridge and stopped on a bench for a snack.

Waverton to Home
On the road again I made good progress. The downhills were fast, the uphills were pretty good too. I recalled from last time that the climbs were easier from this direction. A stripped down cyclist, no mudguards, passed me saying “Hello again” (must have met him in passing earlier in the day).

I could see clouds darkening in my mirror and I hoped that I could keep ahead of the worst of it. I caught glimpses of a slow flashing high intensity light far behind, slowly getting closer. Who did this guy think he was, a low flying helicopter pilot? The rain caught me before he did, like a bucket of cold water in the back of the neck, then my trousers rapidly becoming a darker shade of grey. I was sizing up a copse of trees on the other side of the road to shelter under and get my rain jacket on when the other rider steamed by. He didn’t look happy. Maybe he’d hoped to beat the rain home. He had a blue puffer gilet on which didn’t look very rainproof. “Hi! How’re you doing?” he said as he went by. “Getting a bit moist” I replied. He went on, muttering to himself, while I dived into a perfectly sized space under some dense trees. The rain came down like a car wash outside while I struggled into my top. It wasn’t too bad under there, so I waited for a while for the worst of it to pass.

I had covered more ground than I'd thought, and was only a mile or so from Duddon. Before long I crossed the A51 into Willington Road. It was slightly downhill then level for a while before the uphill began. I was already getting warm in my rain jacket but as it was still raining I didn’t want to take it off yet. The boil in a bag effect was increasing. I passed one crossroads and knew that it would get steeper before the next one when it would ease off. A stripped down sporty cyclist sped cheekily past, and I stopped to let the breeze cool me a bit. I carried on another mile or so but as the rain had eased I decided to stop and take my jacket off. As I was wrestling to get the damp sleeves over my mitts another cyclist stolidly rode by, saying, “all right?” before disappearing uphill. I felt much better with the jacket off and before I knew it I’d reached the next crossroads.

The slope was much easier after this and soon I was heading downhill to pass Utkinton Hall. Another minor climb then I was at the summit, determined not to touch the brakes until I reached the A49 at Cotebrook.

Once across the A49 I struggled a bit with the slight uphill on Oulton Mill Lane but once across on to Brownhills Road the trend was downhill and downwind. Rushton Lane, King’s Lane, Hickhurst Lane. I could feel myself fading but it was too easy to keep pedalling in high gear, eager to see 50 miles appear on the Garmin for the first time this year, and for the first time on this bike. Press on-itis exemplified. Eventually I stopped in a farm entrance, later than I should have, suffering the dreaded bonk, fishing for a choc bar in my bag, with a sudden onset of aches and pains and weariness. I leaned on the bike with its stand down for a few minutes while the choc bar worked its magic. Only a few miles left to do, feeling a lot better. I carried on steadily to the downhill before Darnhall bridge lights, hoping for the green, to carry some momentum up the other side. I came to a stop in high gear. I wondered if I had enough steam to get up the other side, feeling like a wet lettuce. The lights turned green, so I gave it a go. A rush of speed downhill, then fading away uphill. Down, down through the gears as the slope steepened. I came to a halt. This is always the sting in the tail of any journey, returning in this direction.

The imp of the perverse whispered in my ear, go on, get off and push, nobody’s about to see. I sat for a minute or two. Nobody came by. Then I deployed the ultimate weapon. The ability to change to bottom with a hub gear, at a standstill. It’s nominally got a 16” bottom gear. I tentatively pushed off and got rolling easily. I just carried on, changing up as the slope eased and once I reached the level road the following wind did the rest.

Getting home from there was undramatic. Through the back gate, unload bike, cold drink, shower. An actual half century on this “urban recumbent”. The next one will be easier. This bike is quite well suited to the surfaces encountered today.

Miles 53.38. Max 22.2 mph. Average (including a lot of towpathery) 6.8 mph. According to Garmin. Curiously, the Garmin showed an altitude of minus 80 feet while in Chester. I hope that the other readings are more dependable than that. Ascent 1217 ft. According to Bikehike.
 
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ianbarton

Veteran
On holiday in North Wales at the moment. Now that the gale force winds and driving rain have finished, I woke to a lovely sunny (if slightly breezy) day this morning. I have never cycled on the Lllyn Peninsula before, but was well impressed by the quiet lanes and the great scenery. Felt like a cross between Cornwall and the Yorkshire Dales. Totally recommended, so long as you like it lumpy. Took the whole morning over a 50km ride from Abersoch to Nefyn and back, stopping regularly to admire the views, Had to get off and walk for about 50 yards on one steep hill, and dismounted to walk my bike down another one when it became clear that my brakes were not going to stop me. (More down to me being over 20 stone rather than any fault of the brakes!). Some photos from this great ride. (I particularly like the one of the wind-sculpted tree and the one of the wonky church):


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The stonemason had probably spent too much time in the local Inn and didn't notice the tilt in the spire:smile:
 

All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
Bike/train/tube/train/bike today.

Cycle to Taunton Station.
Train to Paddington.
Elizabeth Line to Liverpool St Station.
Board train towards Norwich.

By this time the forecast for Norwich had worsened, from windy with showers to hurricane with firehose.
On impulse I jumped out at Diss and started pedalling before the rain started.

Amazingly I covered 25 miles before getting wet, leaving me just another couple to the airbnb.

Weirdly the front derailleur cable slipped on the way, quickly adjusted and tightened in a bus shelter.
 

Bristolian

Senior Member
Location
Bristol, UK
Went our for my first ride since Saturday's TdB today. I should have gone yesterday but the weather was nice and the wife was in need of some fresh air (she is disabled and relies on me for transport) so yesterday belonged to her.

Today's little jaunt was a mere 13 miles on dry local roads, including part of the TdB route (which I use regularly). The weather was reasonably good with equal amounts of sun and cloud but luckily no rain so what started out as a gentle recovery ride gradually turned into a more adventurous push. Along the length of the ride I climbed 540ft and averaged 15mph for the first time.
 
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