Mburton1993
Über Member
- Location
- Stalybridge
Your ride today....
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
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This weekends cycling shenanigans.
May's qualifying ride for the imperial century challenge done and dusted.
A lovely weather very warm and sunny day for it. I had to slap on the factor 50 it was so sunny. Temperatures hovered in the mid to high 20's most of the day. Even the winds on the Romney Marshes decided to play windy ball and helped make rapid progress across them.
The legs felt good and worked well, though they complained bitterly on the ascent of Birling Hill at mile 130 followed by even more complaining on White Post Hill shortly after. SHUT UP LEGS!!. They ignored me.
My plan was to limit times spend at controls to 20 minutes max and it worked quite well. Also to get back to Meopham for 6pm. I actually got back at 5.47pm. So very happy with that.
So, scores on the doors.
143.71 miles for the day.
Imperial Century #352 over all.
Imperial century month #174 in a row.
A good few Eddington numbers gathered. Need one more ride of 119 to reach that number.
Check out that blue sky
May's qualifying ride for the imperial century challenge done and dusted.
A lovely weather very warm and sunny day for it. I had to slap on the factor 50 it was so sunny. Temperatures hovered in the mid to high 20's most of the day. Even the winds on the Romney Marshes decided to play windy ball and helped make rapid progress across them.
The legs felt good and worked well, though they complained bitterly on the ascent of Birling Hill at mile 130 followed by even more complaining on White Post Hill shortly after. SHUT UP LEGS!!. They ignored me.
My plan was to limit times spend at controls to 20 minutes max and it worked quite well. Also to get back to Meopham for 6pm. I actually got back at 5.47pm. So very happy with that.
So, scores on the doors.
143.71 miles for the day.
Imperial Century #352 over all.
Imperial century month #174 in a row.
A good few Eddington numbers gathered. Need one more ride of 119 to reach that number.
Check out that blue sky
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Utility run on the fuji, in fantastic weather. Went out reasonably prepared, stopped in town for a salad for lunch / breakfast, had a nose around a few shops for the many outstanding essentials.. on to Waitrose for some reduced chicken and promo bread, then M&S to find it shut an hour earlier than whatever random website told me it did.
Moderate rings session, Co-op for more reduced bargains, second Co-op for some putrid scratchings which were promptly returned. The home leg was pretty euphoric thanks to the sun / post-exercise endorphins and glorious old school soundtrack; only spoiled by the presence of scallies on scramblers on the meadow
Ate some of the spoils once home for a pretty much carb-free day, then went out for a shortish walk in the woods.
About 24 miles bringing the weekly total to about 124 which is the highest in about six months. The montly total is 466 (the highest since Covid) while the rolling annual total is 3856; the highest I've ever managed. Small numbers for some but it feels like I'm heading in the right direction
Moderate rings session, Co-op for more reduced bargains, second Co-op for some putrid scratchings which were promptly returned. The home leg was pretty euphoric thanks to the sun / post-exercise endorphins and glorious old school soundtrack; only spoiled by the presence of scallies on scramblers on the meadow
Ate some of the spoils once home for a pretty much carb-free day, then went out for a shortish walk in the woods.
About 24 miles bringing the weekly total to about 124 which is the highest in about six months. The montly total is 466 (the highest since Covid) while the rolling annual total is 3856; the highest I've ever managed. Small numbers for some but it feels like I'm heading in the right direction
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Thorn Sherpa
Veteran
- Location
- Doncaster
Rare week off work, exploring the local woods trails around adwick washland Rotherham/Barnsley. Few offs thanks to the ruts from the offroaders 😂.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I had the opposite on a ride with a friend on 2nd May. We were heading from Haworth towards Laneshaw Bridge. At Stanbury we saw signs warning of a road closure on Scar Top Rd. We assumed that we would find a squeeze through but when we climbed to Scar Top we discovered that the road was indeed securely fenced off. Some young workmen were building a hefty retaining wall to stop the road collapsing down the hillside to our left. We stopped and I was trying to work out a diversion via Oakworth*** when one of the friendly workers shouted that he would create an opening for us! He pulled the fence over just far enough for us to get by. That's not the usual response that I would expect and was gratefully acknowledged!
*** I just checked - it would have added 4 km and 160 m of steep ascent to our route.
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- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
A few to mention since I was last on:
Friday (9th): I don't normally bother mentioning my commutes but this was a good one as it was a gloriously sunny day with not much wind. I thought I'd go a little early and take a longer way in to work by following the inner ring road almost to Heathgates then taking the path along the river and through the Quarry. The paths weren't too busy and I got along well with a load of personal bests on Strava even though I wasn't pushing on hard.
The day at work was good but setting up in the morning was chaotic with numerous things going wrong. I particularly felt for the guys who had come to sort out the loos getting a parking ticket.
In the afternoon it was quite warm. I took the short way back, although it did involve a fairly decent climb up Porthill.
Almost exactly 11 miles for the round trip at 12.8 mph average.
----------------------------
Saturday (10th): Another great day and I thought I'd go to d a decent length ride, including going around the Wrekin. Setting out I manage to get a decent gap in the traffic on the A49 so got out onto it easily.... unlike the motorist who went the wrong way along a one way street trying to get ahead of me.
It felt like a brisk headwind as I headed towards Condover but stayed like that as I turned onto Lyons Lane too. Traffic was fairly light to Atcham and Upton Magna (always nice) and I enjoyed being able to cruise along easily. It's always good to see other cyclists out enjoying the weather as well.
Reaching Walcot, the climbing starts. Bluebell Lane wasn't quick into the wind and getting to Uppington was nothing special either. A cyclist coming the other way pulled over and started fiddling with his bike so I stopped to check if he was alright - he was and it was just a rattle from his light that was irritating him. It seemed he was doing a similar loop to me but starting from Telford instead.
I'd forgotten quite how much the road that runs alongside the Wrekin climbs. There was more traffic around here as people head to walk up the hill. Annoyingly at least a couple think that the new segregated cycle lane is there for them to park in.
The proper climb to Little Wenlock was a plod as always but I got up alright. After taking a pic or two at the top I started the descent of Spout Lane - good fun as always but I notice that there are a few nasty potholes on the downhill side of the road which need to be avoided.
A rhythmic thump under braking appeared and needed to be investigated. It seems a sliver of metal had stuck in the wear groove on the front wheel - a bit of a poke with a screwdriver has improved things.
A good descent through Eaton Constantine followed and getting the slipstream from a Land Rover and trailer on the way into Cressage got me up to 30 mph for a short while.
The wind did feel like it was helping along Shore Lane and I certainly did get along nicely - not needing to drop out of the big ring at Cound Moor as I usually would. On reaching Acton Burnell I decided not to extend the route this time and headed back the direct way through Pitchford, Cantlop and back into Condover. The wind certainly seemed to be helping now as the cruising speed back to the A49 stayed above 20mph for almost all of it, catching another cyclist along the way.
37.3 miles at 15mph average. A great ride in some fabulous weather and really nice to revisit some roads I haven't ridden along for ages.
People are out enjoying the sunshine at Atcham.
The Hare and Hounds at Withington. The new landlord has stated that they want to attract cyclists.
Walcot Mill.
View to the Wrekin from Uppington.
The view from the top of the climb.
-------------------------------------------
Sunday (11th): I did have an idea of getting out for a longer ride but with the time getting on and (some) forecasts showing the possibility of thunder later in the afternoon I thought I'd make it shorter but get the Kingpin out as I haven't ridden it yet this year.
It was fairly busy as I crossed Lyth Hill (lots of people out enjoying walks) and to my surprise I encountered a fox on the road to Little Lyth - I haven't seen one in ages. There was a bit of traffic about on the A49 then it was quieter on the lanes through Condover to Berrington, Cross Houses and Atcham where more people were enjoying the riverside than on the previous day.
This bike requires a different riding style to the others I have but it can still scoot along quite quickly when the road is suitable, which I enjoyed a lot. At Upton Magna the cafe seemed to be doing a realy good trade. I picked up a tailwind here which helped a lot to Uffington and along the old canal Path into town.
There were a few people about at the weir but surprisingly not that many along the riverside path. I used St. Mary's Water Lane and found the limit of what I can climb using a Sturmey Archer 3 speed, so needed to push for a short way. Lots of people enjoying a car-free Highh Street (I hope they make the weekend closures a permanent thing) then I dropped down to Victoria Quay and headed along into the Quarry. I did wonder if I'd see my brother at work but couldn't spot him today.
It was Shrewsbury Regatta this weekend so the Quarry was very busy. I had hoped to get photos of the racing but I managed to be there in a lull between races. I didn't want to wait around too long so headed out and over the English Bridge which was fairly quiet traffic-wise.
I thought I'd have a tailwind for at least some of the remaining trip home but the wind seemed to have shifted more towards the south so didn't help.
I still haven't replaced the speedometer battery for this bike so the stats from Strava are: 22.5 miles at 12.2 mph average and 857 feet of climbing. Great to get out on the Kingpin - I tend to forget how enjoyable it is riding this one.
Crossing Lyth Hill at the start. Lovely weather! The forecast storms didn't arrive on the Sunday after all.
Heading along Lyons Lane.
At Upton Magna.
At the statue of Hercules in the Quarry. It used to be an exact copy of the Farnese Hercules until being vandalised in 2003 and having a part broken off.
The regatta is under way at Pengwern Boat Club.
Friday (9th): I don't normally bother mentioning my commutes but this was a good one as it was a gloriously sunny day with not much wind. I thought I'd go a little early and take a longer way in to work by following the inner ring road almost to Heathgates then taking the path along the river and through the Quarry. The paths weren't too busy and I got along well with a load of personal bests on Strava even though I wasn't pushing on hard.
The day at work was good but setting up in the morning was chaotic with numerous things going wrong. I particularly felt for the guys who had come to sort out the loos getting a parking ticket.
In the afternoon it was quite warm. I took the short way back, although it did involve a fairly decent climb up Porthill.
Almost exactly 11 miles for the round trip at 12.8 mph average.
----------------------------
Saturday (10th): Another great day and I thought I'd go to d a decent length ride, including going around the Wrekin. Setting out I manage to get a decent gap in the traffic on the A49 so got out onto it easily.... unlike the motorist who went the wrong way along a one way street trying to get ahead of me.
It felt like a brisk headwind as I headed towards Condover but stayed like that as I turned onto Lyons Lane too. Traffic was fairly light to Atcham and Upton Magna (always nice) and I enjoyed being able to cruise along easily. It's always good to see other cyclists out enjoying the weather as well.
Reaching Walcot, the climbing starts. Bluebell Lane wasn't quick into the wind and getting to Uppington was nothing special either. A cyclist coming the other way pulled over and started fiddling with his bike so I stopped to check if he was alright - he was and it was just a rattle from his light that was irritating him. It seemed he was doing a similar loop to me but starting from Telford instead.
I'd forgotten quite how much the road that runs alongside the Wrekin climbs. There was more traffic around here as people head to walk up the hill. Annoyingly at least a couple think that the new segregated cycle lane is there for them to park in.
The proper climb to Little Wenlock was a plod as always but I got up alright. After taking a pic or two at the top I started the descent of Spout Lane - good fun as always but I notice that there are a few nasty potholes on the downhill side of the road which need to be avoided.
A rhythmic thump under braking appeared and needed to be investigated. It seems a sliver of metal had stuck in the wear groove on the front wheel - a bit of a poke with a screwdriver has improved things.
A good descent through Eaton Constantine followed and getting the slipstream from a Land Rover and trailer on the way into Cressage got me up to 30 mph for a short while.
The wind did feel like it was helping along Shore Lane and I certainly did get along nicely - not needing to drop out of the big ring at Cound Moor as I usually would. On reaching Acton Burnell I decided not to extend the route this time and headed back the direct way through Pitchford, Cantlop and back into Condover. The wind certainly seemed to be helping now as the cruising speed back to the A49 stayed above 20mph for almost all of it, catching another cyclist along the way.
37.3 miles at 15mph average. A great ride in some fabulous weather and really nice to revisit some roads I haven't ridden along for ages.
People are out enjoying the sunshine at Atcham.
The Hare and Hounds at Withington. The new landlord has stated that they want to attract cyclists.
Walcot Mill.
View to the Wrekin from Uppington.
The view from the top of the climb.
-------------------------------------------
Sunday (11th): I did have an idea of getting out for a longer ride but with the time getting on and (some) forecasts showing the possibility of thunder later in the afternoon I thought I'd make it shorter but get the Kingpin out as I haven't ridden it yet this year.
It was fairly busy as I crossed Lyth Hill (lots of people out enjoying walks) and to my surprise I encountered a fox on the road to Little Lyth - I haven't seen one in ages. There was a bit of traffic about on the A49 then it was quieter on the lanes through Condover to Berrington, Cross Houses and Atcham where more people were enjoying the riverside than on the previous day.
This bike requires a different riding style to the others I have but it can still scoot along quite quickly when the road is suitable, which I enjoyed a lot. At Upton Magna the cafe seemed to be doing a realy good trade. I picked up a tailwind here which helped a lot to Uffington and along the old canal Path into town.
There were a few people about at the weir but surprisingly not that many along the riverside path. I used St. Mary's Water Lane and found the limit of what I can climb using a Sturmey Archer 3 speed, so needed to push for a short way. Lots of people enjoying a car-free Highh Street (I hope they make the weekend closures a permanent thing) then I dropped down to Victoria Quay and headed along into the Quarry. I did wonder if I'd see my brother at work but couldn't spot him today.
It was Shrewsbury Regatta this weekend so the Quarry was very busy. I had hoped to get photos of the racing but I managed to be there in a lull between races. I didn't want to wait around too long so headed out and over the English Bridge which was fairly quiet traffic-wise.
I thought I'd have a tailwind for at least some of the remaining trip home but the wind seemed to have shifted more towards the south so didn't help.
I still haven't replaced the speedometer battery for this bike so the stats from Strava are: 22.5 miles at 12.2 mph average and 857 feet of climbing. Great to get out on the Kingpin - I tend to forget how enjoyable it is riding this one.
Crossing Lyth Hill at the start. Lovely weather! The forecast storms didn't arrive on the Sunday after all.
Heading along Lyons Lane.
At Upton Magna.
At the statue of Hercules in the Quarry. It used to be an exact copy of the Farnese Hercules until being vandalised in 2003 and having a part broken off.
Jameshow
Veteran
I really want to do 400km again. Did it in 2022 heatwave.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Yesterday (13th): A few days off work have coincided with some nice warm and sunny weather so I could prepare properly for my challenge ride this month. Tuesday was the day I'd eyed up as I'd have a rest day afterwards but the wind speed and direction weren't ideal so the route needed some thought. Going round the north of the county yet again would work best but I needed some variation so I plotted a route to include some new ground, for me.
I was out on the road on the Raleigh just after 7.10 heading on familiar roads to start with, over Lyth Hill to Condover, Acton Burnell and Cardington. It was warm enough for shorts but a fleece was wanted to keep it comfortable for the first few miles. I took my first snack stop near to Hughley and it had warmed up enough to put the fleece away by this point. I took the usual route towards Harley before doubling back to Harnage Grange as it adds a bit of distance, rather than dropping in to Cressage the direct way (it's also easier crossing the A458 from this direction in my opinion).
I wanted to save enough energy for the whole ride so didn't push at the climb through Eaton Constantine to Rushton, however, I was surprised when looking at the stats later to find I've set a new personal best on Strava. With some of this route being new to me I decided to add miles again by going through Uppington and Charlton before turning towards Wrockwardine and joining new (to me) roads into Wellington.
My plan was to navigate through Telford by following NCN route 81 then joining NCN 55. This started off well as the signage was decent through Wellington. The first of the off road paths I joined wasn't brilliant, being more like a footpath - narrow between a couple of hedges and no drop kerb to join it from the road. I needed to negotiate my way past several walkers but they were fine about it. After that I was onto better shared paths, although having to weave through barriers every few minutes became a little annoying.
So far, so good..... until the signs got confusing. I'd already worked out that there would be a gap in the route where the route 81 signs would stop and before the route 55 signs started. I'd printed off a map of that section and I'd expected that if I followed the signs to Donnington I'd stay on track. My first unplanned detour came when I came to a "route ends" sign - there were two alternative paths I could join that weren't signed as far as I could see and naturally I chose the wrong one to start with.
A decent surface and far fewer barriers had me feeling good again for a bit until I reached the first of two junctions that the map had showed to be a little convoluted. The signage here was very unhelpful, particularly when I reached the one that had the places I wanted shown on it but pointed along a grass verge by a very busy main road. Of course I should have known to cross the road twice and join the path hidden in the trees which was only signed to somewhere I'd never heard of.
When that path had run its course I was brought out onto fairly quiet roads for a bit. My next navigational confusion was when I started looking for the cycle path I was hoping to join one junction too early, causing a bit of head scratching as I tried to work out where I actually was and ended up having to rejoin the road and hope I was still going the right way. As it turned out I was but the next junction was fairly confusing as well but I was finally going the right way and, having left Telford behind, I paused in a gateway to have my elevenses stop and regain my calm.
The road I was on wasn't the one I'd originally planned to use but seemed a good option as it was fairly quiet. It brought me out onto the main road to Newport, which had a decently surfaced shared use path alongside, apart from a couple of small stretches using abandoned sections of the old main road. The road into Newport itself wasn't very busy so it was a pleasant trip into the town centre, which was quite busy but slow moving so I wasn't the one holding anyone up.
Having got through the town alright I headed towards Chetwynd Park where there is a decent cycle crossing to get over the A41. I was planning to follow the marked cycle route through Cheswardine to Market Drayton, however I managed to miss the junction I needed and enjoyed about three miles of riding in the wrong direction before I reached Adbaston where a sign for Cheswardine caught my eye and I realised my error. I met a cyclist and a van on the way to Doley - the cyclist shouted out that "There's no such thing as a quiet lane any more". It seemed quiet enough to me as I only met one walker on the mile or so to the next junction and only about 4 cars on the next lane I joined.
Unfortunately, my navigational cock-up meant that I ended up bypassing Cheswardine, so couldn't get the photos I'd intended to here. At this point I didn't feel inclined to go out of my way so carried on towards Market Drayton. The scenery in this part of the world is quite nice but the saddle was uppermost on my mind at this point as it's been a long time since I've done this length of ride on this bike and I was noticing it! On the plus side the blustery wind was helping and made for quite a quick run through Market Drayton. I headed through Longford (avoiding having to cross the A53) then to Longslow where I had my lunch stop in my usual gateway just outside the village.
Getting going again, I was passing "road closed ahead" signage. By the third one I came across I thought that it would be a long way to come back if it turned out that there was no access for cyclists, so decided to cut through Cheadle Orchard and Moretonwood to get round to Calverhall instead. I was fairly confident about my distance by now so took the direct route from there towards Prees, which is (mostly) better surfaced.
From Prees the tailwind was really making itself felt and I had an exhilarating run to Coton, Whixall, Northwood and Lyneal. If only riding was always like that! My next stop was at Colemere where I was glad to see the picnic bench was unoccupied and I could have a break and let the posterior recover a bit. A small dog was very hopeful that I'd share my snacks and apart from a few dropped crumbs I had to disappoint him.
Moving on again I was a bit slower to get going. I wasn't looking forward to battling through the traffic from the shift changeover at the ABP plant but didn't fancy having to work out a detour this late in the ride so went for it anyway and they weren't too bad apart from one that was going much too fast for a country lane. Glad I didn't meet them on a blind corner.
Once past the factory, as usual the traffic eases and it was a decent ride to Baschurch. The wind was helping less, and because of the way the road turns I was riding against it for a short while, so progress wasn't fast like it had been not long ago. There were quite a few cars leaving Adcote School so that stretch of road was a bit busy. A handful of jelly babies was consumed at Forton which gave the energy to get over the climb at Bicton. It was nice seeing the speedometer click over to 100 miles just as I reached the summit.
With the century in the bag I could please myself about which way I headed home from here. In the end I chose to take the longer way back through the new estate at Bowbrook, mainly because it's flatter but also in the hope it would work better with the wind direction. I seemed to get a second wind at Meole Brace and ended up catching and passing another cyclist over the railway bridge in the village.
107.03 miles for the day at 13.5 mph moving average from my speedometer. Strava says 4702 feet of climbing. 9 hours and 46 minutes including all the stops.
A slightly misty start after thunderstorms the previous day is burning off into lovely sunshine.
Cardington.
Looking towards Wenlock Edge from near Harley.
After not seeing the best of Telford I didn't take any photos again until my stop between Donnington and Lilleshall.
The centre of Newport.
Crossing under the Shropshire Union Canal near Market Drayton.
In the centre of Market Drayton.
Fabulous weather at my Longslow lunch stop.
Passing through Prees.
Another pause at Colemere.
I was out on the road on the Raleigh just after 7.10 heading on familiar roads to start with, over Lyth Hill to Condover, Acton Burnell and Cardington. It was warm enough for shorts but a fleece was wanted to keep it comfortable for the first few miles. I took my first snack stop near to Hughley and it had warmed up enough to put the fleece away by this point. I took the usual route towards Harley before doubling back to Harnage Grange as it adds a bit of distance, rather than dropping in to Cressage the direct way (it's also easier crossing the A458 from this direction in my opinion).
I wanted to save enough energy for the whole ride so didn't push at the climb through Eaton Constantine to Rushton, however, I was surprised when looking at the stats later to find I've set a new personal best on Strava. With some of this route being new to me I decided to add miles again by going through Uppington and Charlton before turning towards Wrockwardine and joining new (to me) roads into Wellington.
My plan was to navigate through Telford by following NCN route 81 then joining NCN 55. This started off well as the signage was decent through Wellington. The first of the off road paths I joined wasn't brilliant, being more like a footpath - narrow between a couple of hedges and no drop kerb to join it from the road. I needed to negotiate my way past several walkers but they were fine about it. After that I was onto better shared paths, although having to weave through barriers every few minutes became a little annoying.
So far, so good..... until the signs got confusing. I'd already worked out that there would be a gap in the route where the route 81 signs would stop and before the route 55 signs started. I'd printed off a map of that section and I'd expected that if I followed the signs to Donnington I'd stay on track. My first unplanned detour came when I came to a "route ends" sign - there were two alternative paths I could join that weren't signed as far as I could see and naturally I chose the wrong one to start with.
A decent surface and far fewer barriers had me feeling good again for a bit until I reached the first of two junctions that the map had showed to be a little convoluted. The signage here was very unhelpful, particularly when I reached the one that had the places I wanted shown on it but pointed along a grass verge by a very busy main road. Of course I should have known to cross the road twice and join the path hidden in the trees which was only signed to somewhere I'd never heard of.
When that path had run its course I was brought out onto fairly quiet roads for a bit. My next navigational confusion was when I started looking for the cycle path I was hoping to join one junction too early, causing a bit of head scratching as I tried to work out where I actually was and ended up having to rejoin the road and hope I was still going the right way. As it turned out I was but the next junction was fairly confusing as well but I was finally going the right way and, having left Telford behind, I paused in a gateway to have my elevenses stop and regain my calm.
The road I was on wasn't the one I'd originally planned to use but seemed a good option as it was fairly quiet. It brought me out onto the main road to Newport, which had a decently surfaced shared use path alongside, apart from a couple of small stretches using abandoned sections of the old main road. The road into Newport itself wasn't very busy so it was a pleasant trip into the town centre, which was quite busy but slow moving so I wasn't the one holding anyone up.
Having got through the town alright I headed towards Chetwynd Park where there is a decent cycle crossing to get over the A41. I was planning to follow the marked cycle route through Cheswardine to Market Drayton, however I managed to miss the junction I needed and enjoyed about three miles of riding in the wrong direction before I reached Adbaston where a sign for Cheswardine caught my eye and I realised my error. I met a cyclist and a van on the way to Doley - the cyclist shouted out that "There's no such thing as a quiet lane any more". It seemed quiet enough to me as I only met one walker on the mile or so to the next junction and only about 4 cars on the next lane I joined.
Unfortunately, my navigational cock-up meant that I ended up bypassing Cheswardine, so couldn't get the photos I'd intended to here. At this point I didn't feel inclined to go out of my way so carried on towards Market Drayton. The scenery in this part of the world is quite nice but the saddle was uppermost on my mind at this point as it's been a long time since I've done this length of ride on this bike and I was noticing it! On the plus side the blustery wind was helping and made for quite a quick run through Market Drayton. I headed through Longford (avoiding having to cross the A53) then to Longslow where I had my lunch stop in my usual gateway just outside the village.
Getting going again, I was passing "road closed ahead" signage. By the third one I came across I thought that it would be a long way to come back if it turned out that there was no access for cyclists, so decided to cut through Cheadle Orchard and Moretonwood to get round to Calverhall instead. I was fairly confident about my distance by now so took the direct route from there towards Prees, which is (mostly) better surfaced.
From Prees the tailwind was really making itself felt and I had an exhilarating run to Coton, Whixall, Northwood and Lyneal. If only riding was always like that! My next stop was at Colemere where I was glad to see the picnic bench was unoccupied and I could have a break and let the posterior recover a bit. A small dog was very hopeful that I'd share my snacks and apart from a few dropped crumbs I had to disappoint him.
Moving on again I was a bit slower to get going. I wasn't looking forward to battling through the traffic from the shift changeover at the ABP plant but didn't fancy having to work out a detour this late in the ride so went for it anyway and they weren't too bad apart from one that was going much too fast for a country lane. Glad I didn't meet them on a blind corner.
Once past the factory, as usual the traffic eases and it was a decent ride to Baschurch. The wind was helping less, and because of the way the road turns I was riding against it for a short while, so progress wasn't fast like it had been not long ago. There were quite a few cars leaving Adcote School so that stretch of road was a bit busy. A handful of jelly babies was consumed at Forton which gave the energy to get over the climb at Bicton. It was nice seeing the speedometer click over to 100 miles just as I reached the summit.
With the century in the bag I could please myself about which way I headed home from here. In the end I chose to take the longer way back through the new estate at Bowbrook, mainly because it's flatter but also in the hope it would work better with the wind direction. I seemed to get a second wind at Meole Brace and ended up catching and passing another cyclist over the railway bridge in the village.
107.03 miles for the day at 13.5 mph moving average from my speedometer. Strava says 4702 feet of climbing. 9 hours and 46 minutes including all the stops.
A slightly misty start after thunderstorms the previous day is burning off into lovely sunshine.
Cardington.
Looking towards Wenlock Edge from near Harley.
After not seeing the best of Telford I didn't take any photos again until my stop between Donnington and Lilleshall.
The centre of Newport.
Crossing under the Shropshire Union Canal near Market Drayton.
In the centre of Market Drayton.
Fabulous weather at my Longslow lunch stop.
Passing through Prees.
Another pause at Colemere.
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Donger
Convoi Exceptionnel
- Location
- Quedgeley, Glos.
On a brief spur-of-the-moment mini break to West Sussex at the moment. Got up early this morning and got in a metric half century ride, starting near West Wittering and riding out to Selsey Bill and back, calling in at pretty much all points in between (Itchenor, Earnley, Bracklesham, East Wittering etc and every beach I could find). There are some lovely quiet lanes and some alarming rat runs around this part of West Sussex to the SW of Chichester. The worst part was the busy B2145 in to Selsey, but the map suggested I couldn't avoid it due to the lack of roads across the marshes and the various nature reserves and river inlets. After a chance meeting with a very helpful dog walker who knew the lanes, I was able to avoid the main road on the way back towards Bracklesham and the Witterings by short cutting through a static caravan park, a short section of shingle beach, several sections of NCN68 (I think) and sections of the England Coastal Path along with various very gravelly bridleways. Just when I was starting to wonder whether I was lost, a saw a couple of rooves among the trees and knew I must be approaching a minor road. At various viewpoints on the ride, I had clear unobstructed views from the sea front to Butlins in Bognor Regis in one direction and the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth in the other, always with views across to the Isle of Wight. I'd say this was 20% horrible rat runs, 20% rough gravel and 60% nice quiet little lanes. All in all a nice little ride totalling 33.4 miles in glorious sunshine. Back well before lunch for a car trip out with the missus. Anyway, in no particular order, a few piccies:
I even had the glorious sight of a Spitfire looping the loop up above for added interest. A great little ride on (purely by luck) the right bike for the job. I was going to bring my road bike, but a brake cable came disconnected at the very last minute so I switched bikes. Just as well, given the amount of gravel path on this ride.
I even had the glorious sight of a Spitfire looping the loop up above for added interest. A great little ride on (purely by luck) the right bike for the job. I was going to bring my road bike, but a brake cable came disconnected at the very last minute so I switched bikes. Just as well, given the amount of gravel path on this ride.
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Hacienda71
Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
- Location
- Wilmslow, Cheshire
Soria in Gran Canaria for me today. Second time I have done this climb. Cat 1 climb, 12.2 miles with over 2100 ft of climbing most of which comes in the last 4 miles where the gradient ramps up with lots of switch backs hugging the side of the mountain. Nice restaurant at the top by the reservoir where I grabbed a full fat coke and slice of lemon cake. Had a chat with a couple from Cleethorpes I had passed on the climb. Descended back down which is very technical with all the bends. Probably one of the hardest climbs I have done, but also one of the most stunning. About 33 mile round trip and improved my time up the climb by over 5 minutes.
I planned my ride and rode my plan, almost. Was feeling a bit weary when I set off so I avoided (aka bottled) a particularly nasty climb but still got a few in. An glorious morning for it. As I was going along one back lane I felt something land on me. Assumed was a bug of some sort but turned out I'd been splattered by a passing bird. So I suppose it was a bug just a digested one. 35miles 2500ft.
lazybloke
Ginger biscuits and cheddar
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
At first glance i thought they were Crocs
