sevenfourate
Devotee of OCD
- Location
- Lowestoft, Suffolk
Argh right. Sorry... Didn’t mean to pry. And hope it’s going well 😁
Your ride today....
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
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Argh right. Sorry... Didn’t mean to pry. And hope it’s going well 😁
Following yesterdays exertions, a recovery ride in all senses.
Charity shop first via the tow path; no furniture but scored a nice 50p moss green dish to house my newly-acquired parsley plant.
Onward through town to the supermarket for a few uncharacteristic Sunday bargains, then to Dunelm to quantify and fondle some potential kitchen storage bins..
Took the long way round to Wolvercote - getting a smile from a hottie in a soft top on the ring road - then back in along the tow path with a bit of snipping and snaffling, stopping at the park for a minimal session on the rings and about 1.7 successful runs on the monkey bars.
Finally a pint was had on Broad Street before heading home for dinner; feeling very much better for the 20-ish miles in the saddle - even if my legs do feel like they probably should have after yesterday's relatively large one..
Charity shop first via the tow path; no furniture but scored a nice 50p moss green dish to house my newly-acquired parsley plant.
Onward through town to the supermarket for a few uncharacteristic Sunday bargains, then to Dunelm to quantify and fondle some potential kitchen storage bins..
Took the long way round to Wolvercote - getting a smile from a hottie in a soft top on the ring road - then back in along the tow path with a bit of snipping and snaffling, stopping at the park for a minimal session on the rings and about 1.7 successful runs on the monkey bars.
Finally a pint was had on Broad Street before heading home for dinner; feeling very much better for the 20-ish miles in the saddle - even if my legs do feel like they probably should have after yesterday's relatively large one..
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I was really dithering about today's ride... Yesterday I had decided that it would be an undulating 100 km ride with about 1,400 m of ascent. Then I started thinking that I would be up for a very hilly 100 km route that I haven't done for a few years with 2,000+ metres of ascent...
Then I checked the weather forecast - it might rain later... How about that 80 km loop that I haven't done yet - 1,600 m of ascent? Yeah, that would do.
But then I didn't go to sleep until 04:10 and woke up a couple of times in the next 4 hours...
I was knackered before I even got up!
In the end, I decided on a compromise - a 50 km route with about 1,000 metres of of ascent.
I did a little warm up loop first - Todmorden, Walsden, Lumbutts, and then back down to the valley road through Hebden Bridge to Mytholmroyd.
I quickly changed my mind again! Instead of doing the long (by UK standards - 8 km) Cragg Vale climb to Blackstone Edge, I would do a more circuitous route up to Sowerby village, then over to Mill Bank. That village sits at the top of a very steep lane and there is an equally steep lane going back up once you have descended into the dip between them.
My bike at the top:
(You can't really see from there how the lane plunges down ahead, but I didn't want to stop on the descent!)
My bike at the bottom, just as I was about to ride back up:
(You can't see from there how the lane really ramps up ahead round that bend, but I didn't want to stop on the ascent either!)
I continued and soon hit a big area of lanes that have recently been chip-and-sealed. Fortunately, it must have been long enough ago that vehicles have cleared 2 strips of gravel away. There are strips of loose chippings in the middle of the road and on both sides, but 2 safe clear zones to ride down. (The problem with road-wide gravel when descending these steep lanes is obvious!)
I felt a few spots of rain and really didn't fancy making a big effort to climb back up and then potentially get soaked. I was also starting to feel a bit tired... Blow it - yet another change of plan!
I did a rapid descent to Mytholmroyd and returned to Todmorden along the bottom of the valley.
I was a couple of km short of my '50' when I got back so I did a bit extra to sort that out. Despite wimping out, I still did just over 800 metres of climbing.
It was nice not getting frazzled, but I did miss the beautiful blue skies!
Then I checked the weather forecast - it might rain later... How about that 80 km loop that I haven't done yet - 1,600 m of ascent? Yeah, that would do.
But then I didn't go to sleep until 04:10 and woke up a couple of times in the next 4 hours...
I was knackered before I even got up!
In the end, I decided on a compromise - a 50 km route with about 1,000 metres of of ascent.
I did a little warm up loop first - Todmorden, Walsden, Lumbutts, and then back down to the valley road through Hebden Bridge to Mytholmroyd.
I quickly changed my mind again! Instead of doing the long (by UK standards - 8 km) Cragg Vale climb to Blackstone Edge, I would do a more circuitous route up to Sowerby village, then over to Mill Bank. That village sits at the top of a very steep lane and there is an equally steep lane going back up once you have descended into the dip between them.
My bike at the top:
(You can't really see from there how the lane plunges down ahead, but I didn't want to stop on the descent!)
My bike at the bottom, just as I was about to ride back up:
(You can't see from there how the lane really ramps up ahead round that bend, but I didn't want to stop on the ascent either!)
I continued and soon hit a big area of lanes that have recently been chip-and-sealed. Fortunately, it must have been long enough ago that vehicles have cleared 2 strips of gravel away. There are strips of loose chippings in the middle of the road and on both sides, but 2 safe clear zones to ride down. (The problem with road-wide gravel when descending these steep lanes is obvious!)
I felt a few spots of rain and really didn't fancy making a big effort to climb back up and then potentially get soaked. I was also starting to feel a bit tired... Blow it - yet another change of plan!
I did a rapid descent to Mytholmroyd and returned to Todmorden along the bottom of the valley.
I was a couple of km short of my '50' when I got back so I did a bit extra to sort that out. Despite wimping out, I still did just over 800 metres of climbing.
It was nice not getting frazzled, but I did miss the beautiful blue skies!
Last edited:
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I just relived the Mill Bank descent/ascent on Google Maps. The Streetview camera did a good job - CLICK HERE!
Elybazza61
Legendary Member
Little 30k pootle out solo as the BH wasn't up for it and has a sore knee.
Headed out along the river and down to Barway on NCN 11;surface out of Ely slowly crumbling away still and another part now really single track with the vegetation coming in from the verges now, also had to roll over a water pipe going to the fields.
From Barway it was through Padney and on to Wicken.
Always lots of farm machinery about new and old;
Then took the currently multi-surface path to Soham that still isn't finished past lots of solar farms;
Had a little mooch around Soham seeing my Grandparents old bungalow and Soham Town Rangers football ground that I used to frequent;
Then via the back road out of Soham that routes back to Barway and then back the same way home.
On the NCN looking to Ely;
Back through the park past the "ship";
Nice to get out but also nice to get back as it was warming up quite a bit despite the breeze.
Headed out along the river and down to Barway on NCN 11;surface out of Ely slowly crumbling away still and another part now really single track with the vegetation coming in from the verges now, also had to roll over a water pipe going to the fields.
From Barway it was through Padney and on to Wicken.
Always lots of farm machinery about new and old;
Then took the currently multi-surface path to Soham that still isn't finished past lots of solar farms;
Had a little mooch around Soham seeing my Grandparents old bungalow and Soham Town Rangers football ground that I used to frequent;
Then via the back road out of Soham that routes back to Barway and then back the same way home.
On the NCN looking to Ely;
Back through the park past the "ship";
Nice to get out but also nice to get back as it was warming up quite a bit despite the breeze.
All uphill
Still rolling along
- Location
- Somerset
A nice gentle 30km with a bit of up and down for a coffee at the White Post today.
