Your ride today....

[wafter]

After a pretty objectively horrible week I was glad of a 10ish mile egg run on the Ragley; which while failing to address any of the key issues I should have been dealing with instead has made me feel significantly better in myself.

An absolutely beautiful autumn day to be out and one I make no apologies for capitalising on given the marked benefit to my mental health.

Hopefully a bit better fortified now to wade through some of the insurmountable accumulation of crap I've been putting off for far too long..

 

[sevenfourate]

After a pretty objectively horrible week I was glad of a 10ish mile egg run on the Ragley; which while failing to address any of the key issues I should have been dealing with instead has made me feel significantly better in myself.

An absolutely beautiful autumn day to be out and one I make no apologies for capitalising on given the marked benefit to my mental health.

Hopefully a bit better fortified now to wade through some of the insurmountable accumulation of crap I've been putting off for far too long..

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Looks fun ! Sometimes; you just have to put you and the immediate; at the front of the queue hey…….

 

[wafter]

Looks fun ! Sometimes; you just have to put you and the immediate; at the front of the queue hey…….

Thanks and yes - I've learned to prioritise rides when I can as getting out is usually so beneficial.

That bit's probably less fun than it looks since it's looking back from where I'd come and the grad tops out at about 14%..

Was glad to find some eggs outside the village; avoiding the farmer's market and correspondingly high density of smugly self-superior, self-important dickheads who slowly seem to be consuming this village like a cancer..

 

[DCLane]

This morning's club ride co-incided with a Macmillan coffee morning, which has been an organised 'ride and eat cake' event for the past 8-10 years. So a large group rode, turned up, and ate lots of cake

Some got a photo at Emley mast:

 

[ianrauk]

A very nice but short 40 mile bimble on the Hoo Peninsular this morning.
I was rewarded with mild temperatures warming up nicely, a stunning sunrise and quiet, deserted roads.

 

[Elybazza61]

Got out for a bumble today mostly to make sure the fettling I did earlier this week was all ok.

Set out a bit late as we woke up later this morning but still quiet Sunday back roads mostly, got out along Hundred Foot bank towards Welney and decided the bars were a bit low so stopped at the pumping station to do an adjustment.

Set off again and felt comfier so all good and went through Welney, and Tipps End until,,,,,


,,,,Approaching the junction to head towards Manea I noticed that the Garmin wasn't registering speed or distance to realise I must have accidentally stopped it when making the adjustments.

So after some swearing carried on through Manea to Chatteris and have a snack stop and some photos to give the ride it's title.

A quick mis-direction then out on London road to Somersham before turning off on Horseley Fen Middle Drove to Sutton Gault and the village of Sutton In The Isle itself, this was were the increasing winds made their presence felt so slow progress before a quick photo stop at the Gault.

Plus some horses by the river.

Then home via the cycle path along side the A142.

So only 52k recorded instead of around 65.

The ride and the reason for the Chatteris stop and pics.

 

[chriswoody]

A glorious autumn day with temperatures in the high twenties, I was able to make the most of the weather and head over to Wolfsburg on a lovely gravel route. The trail winds its way through nature reserves and forests, keeping away from civilisation which gives it a real wild and remote feeling. At times the gravel is perfect smooth fire roads, then the bike is like a jack hammer as I pass over rough stony ways and then it bucks and slides over sandy loam with tires dancing on the edge of traction.

A cry overhead draws my attention to a Buzzard circling and then later a small herd of Red Deer are grazing, the Stag watching attentively. Some trees have already started turning and at one point a strange vine with the deepest red leaves is entwined around it's host trees, the colours vivid and otherworldly in the sunlight. After a final battle with a strong headwind the ride ends in Wolfsburg with 72 km on the computer, this will probably be the last hot ride of the year, but what a ride to enjoy the last of the heat.

 

[Andy in Germany]

A glorious autumn day with temperatures in the high twenties, I was able to make the most of the weather and head over to Wolfsburg on a lovely gravel route. The trail winds its way through nature reserves and forests, keeping away from civilisation which gives it a real wild and remote feeling. At times the gravel is perfect smooth fire roads, then the bike is like a jack hammer as I pass over rough stony ways and then it bucks and slides over sandy loam with tires dancing on the edge of traction.

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A cry overhead draws my attention to a Buzzard circling and then later a small herd of Red Deer are grazing, the Stag watching attentively. Some trees have already started turning and at one point a strange vine with the deepest red leaves is entwined around it's host trees, the colours vivid and otherworldly in the sunlight. After a final battle with a strong headwind the ride ends in Wolfsburg with 72 km on the computer, this will probably be the last hot ride of the year, but what a ride to enjoy the last of the heat.

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Lovely. The landscape in the north of the country is very different to here... Which canal/river was that?

 

[chriswoody]

Lovely. The landscape in the north of the country is very different to here... Which canal/river was that?

It's the Elbe Seitenkanal, to quote from Wikipedia

"The Elbe Lateral Canal, is a 115-kilometre long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn to the Elbe in Artlenburg. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern Germany, and it provides a bypass of a section of the Elbe with limited navigability."

The landscape here is quite unique, it doesn't have the wow factor of an Alpine region, but it has its own unique character that I've really grown to like. It especially lends itself to exploration by gravel bike.