Your ride today.... (part 1)

[Black Country Ste]

A bit of utility cycling today. 18 miles altogether, seemingly all into a headwind. One muppet driver on the Hagley Road and a closeish pass by someone who turned right about a second after squeezing by.

I'm shattered. Signed up for Birmingham to Oxford on Friday night but there's a lot of miles to put in the legs before then.

 

[Winnershsaint]

First time out on road since accident on August 31st. Long story. Some details already posted elsewhere. Eighteen miles from home to White Waltham and Shurlock Row and back. A whole 5mins slower than same ride six months ago. Expected a bit more tbh considering time spent on turbo during recovery. There was this kind of moving air that slowed me down and these lumps in the road which you don't get in the garage.

 

[Pale Rider]

A sparkling day here in the flatlands with only a light breeze- perfect cycling weather. Despite a touch of 'wine flu' (after last nights Valentines disco down the Legion in Bottisham - livin' the dream folks, livin' the dream!) I couldn't stay in on such a great day, so decided to head up into the 'hills' for a change, to the east of Newmarket where Suffolk and Cambridgeshire tend to blur somewhat and you can even get as high as 350 feet above sea level! Ended up doing about a 40 mile or so circuit.

This is near Dullingham - looking down toward Cambridge
View attachment 19230

A little further past a village called Ashley, the middle of the road here forms the Cambs/ Suffolk boundary. Here is the bike straddling both counties (rear wheel in Suffolk). In the background, some stunning views well into Norfolk.
View attachment 19231
At Moulton there is this lovely old flint bridge
View attachment 19232

Cambridgeshire is Britain's most over lit county. Even the tiniest of hamlets is infested with streetlighting. The council are obsessed with lighting everywhere up like Las Vegas. I sometimes wonder why they don't go the whole hog and light up the hedgerows while they're at it. It's nothing a decent airgun won't sort out, but really one shouldn't have to make the effort. Suffolk has a far more civilised approach and most small villages are thankfully unlit. Moulton has a few lights but nowhere near what Cambs has - above you can see on of the few lamps.



Some curious Newmarket locals
View attachment 19235

This is Suffolk's westernmost point near Burwell
View attachment 19236

Back on my usual turf and down to sea level again - this is the Lodes Way near Wicken Fen - plenty out on bikes today. The works are preparations for a much needed new ped/ cyclist bridge over one of the waterways. As yet there is no funding available for the bridge- just the preparations. Meanwhile the A11 is being dualled at several million quid per mile and they're about to spend a billion or so on the A14. Good to see we have our priorities right in the UK.
View attachment 19239

This is cycling bliss for me. Miles from the nearest infernal combustion engine with just the sound of the wheels, the wind and the birds and pausing occasionally for a mardle with passers by. No doubt some of the ''there are perfectly adequate cycle paths in Britain already - they're called roads'' nitwits from the Campaigning and Policy section on here would rather we were all on the A14 instead and say that this route is an unnecessary expense.
In the background is Wicken village windmill.
View attachment 19241

Then a nice easly pootle home via Lode and Bottisham. It had been feeling rather warm up until now and I was in shorts (sorry to anyone who had to see that sight!) but it was now begging to feel quite cool so I upped my pace a bit and guzzled about gallon of tea on my return home.

Glow worm,

A road safety tip if you are using one pannier - hang it on the offside of the bike, it gives you a bit more width and road presence in the eyes of following drivers.

 

[gavroche]

45 miles today in beautiful weather. Not many cyclists about I'm afraid. Only one small incident to report when my chain came off while changing to a lower gear at the bottom of a hill. It took me 3hours and 53 mn with average speed of 11.5 mph. Not the fastest but not so young either.
Now in front of the fire and tv.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Wheeled the bikes out of the garage and put them against the fence. Spent 5 hours sorting through a load of boxes and chucking out crap. Wheeled the bikes back into the garage. Not a ride really but the wheels rolled!

Proved that cycle helmets have their uses too, walked into the back porch carrying some studio glass I'd found in a box in the garage, one rather rare old piece of glass lept out of my hand and headed for the stone floor but just happened to land in my lad's upturned cycle helmet and no damage was sustained - what are the chances of that happening!?

 

[HLaB]

Thought I'd do do something different today so headed to arguably the home of British Motor Racing (Brands Hatch)

For a bike ride of course, the Kentish Killer.

I went to bed last night with a bruised knee and thigh, no idea how I did it
When I woke this morning they were still sore so I thought about giving it a miss.
I'm glad I didn't it was a great day and cycling actually seemed to ease them off
I think I left my start too late and there wasn't any good groups to tag onto. Instead I had a bloke jump on to my wheel for the first 11 miles when I was doing 18mph average but when I braked for a dodgy corner he snuck by disappeared into the sunset; but hey ho, I was just interested in having a good time and not testing out my knee in a chase.
My gears the started to rub, no problem I can fix that at the feed stop.
I pulled into the first feed stop and came out heavier than I went in, cookies and flap jacks etc. in ample supply help myself to some more on the way out
Doh, I'd forgotten something (Gears); managed to semi fix them on the move, so at least it was a quieter rub.
I wondered how my pockets would cope with more at the next feed stop plus what I carried fro the start; needn't have worried, at the next feed station everyone was told just one
After the event the organisers had laid on Pasta.
The route was well signed, lots of motorbike outriders giving mechanical support and very well marshalled too.
Just opened the goodie bag and there another flap jack, a pair of socks and some muscle rub.
Not bad value for £22.
Met up with Beebo too post ride.

Oh and reverse of the original pic

And of course the trusty steed

 

[Beebo]

Good to see you today. Your time would have put you in the top 50!!! Well done sir.

That was hard, RowDow hill at 64 miles is evil. Just managed to get up. My target was to get a silver time, which was under 5.15, I managed 5.10, so pleased with that.

I had rear derailed issues probably caused by the crap on the roads.

All in all very well organised event, and cheap too, although I forgot my goodie bag.

 

[Martyn H]

Just a quick trip of 10 miles today, along the Rule Water to Bedrule and back. A rather pleasant circuit, which was made all the more so with the bike running silently and smoothly for the first time in ages. All the fettling and cleaning off of the winter crud paid off. It was event sunny and relativly warm for a change. Snowdrops and aconites were seen along the way and a woodpecker was heard in the trees - It could have been a Spring day

 

[totallyfixed]

Cracking ride today, we drove up to the Rapha Condor HQ just outside Clitheroe to do a ride organised by the Onix Bikes crew. We had to do this as I come from this area and dr_pink bought an Onyx bike from there a couple of months ago. There were a few ex pros riding including Rob Hayles and a few celebs, there was also 2 neutral service vehicles and a photographer. With dr_pink trying out her ultra light bike and some serious hard men there I knew I was in for a hard time, which turned out to be an accurate assessment! Getting on for 100 riders started in waves of 20, we were in the third wave starting at 10.15. The course essentially was a loop of the Forest of Bowland, the climbing was long and hard with the biggest ones into a headwind .
Gathering at the start

dr_pink enjoying the new wonder bike

Descending through the Trough of Bowland, the only time I could get ahead to get a picture

We were back just before 1pm and averaged 18.75mph which I was pleased with considering the terrain and headwind on the climbs, dr_pink simply flew and picked off everyone on the climbs while I grovelled along behind trying to hold her wheel, mostly unsuccessfully. Wonderful people and the ride was free. If you are looking for a quality bike, Onix are simply amazing.
Just to make the day, back at Holmes Chapel at the outlaws we watched flocks of starlings perform their aerial ballet along with a Peregrine Falcon unable to exploit the situation because of the sheer numbers.
A poor picture but all I could manage with the mobile

What a great day, we will be back for more soon.

 

[ColinJ]

Cracking ride today, we drove up to the Rapha Condor HQ just outside Clitheroe to do a ride organised by the Onix Bikes crew. We had to do this as I come from this area and dr_pink bought an Onyx bike from there a couple of months ago. There were a few ex pros riding including Rob Hayles and a few celebs, there was also 2 neutral service vehicles and a photographer. With dr_pink trying out her ultra light bike and some serious hard men there I knew I was in for a hard time, which turned out to be an accurate assessment! Getting on for 100 riders started in waves of 20, we were in the third wave starting at 10.15. The course essentially was a loop of the Forest of Bowland, the climbing was long and hard with the biggest ones into a headwind .

...

What a great day, we will be back for more soon.

Damn - I said I wasn't going to visit this thread on sunny days!

The Forest of Bowland is one of my favourite cycling areas, for reasons which your photos make clear for those who are not familiar with it.

I was thinking about the FoB a couple of days ago, and it flitted across my mind that I might never be well enough to tackle those hills again. Quite upset me, did that thought ... B*llocks to that - if I can't heal naturally, then perhaps I'll have to have surgery to fix any damage but I'll ride there again one day, or die trying!

 

[totallyfixed]

Damn - I said I wasn't going to visit this thread on sunny days!

The Forest of Bowland is one of my favourite cycling areas, for reasons which your photos make clear for those who are not familiar with it.

I was thinking about the FoB a couple of days ago, and it flitted across my mind that I might never be well enough to tackle those hills again. Quite upset me, did that thought ... B*llocks to that - if I can't heal naturally, then perhaps I'll have to have surgery to fix any damage but I'll ride there again one day, or die trying!

T'is a fine place to die though! .
BTW we covered a fair bit of the century ride on the first bit and although some road patches have been done there were some truly awful sections, some of which I remember from that ride. Oh, and of course you will be well enough to ride those roads again, positive thinking Colin.

 

[totallyfixed]

Edit, big apology, I rechecked the distance data and riding time from yesterdays ride and our actual average speed was actually 16.7 mph. I couldn't see how we had managed to average nearly 19mph when for long periods we were doing <10mph, sorry .

 

[Christopher]

Sat'day: easy solo ride around Lancaster & Morecambe coast. Very pretty although had to race the tide near Sunderland Point...

Sunday: Club ride from Preston to Bentham over Cross of Greet. I think we saw tf and dp descending from the Cross - we deffo saw some Clitheroe riders (and others) descending when we were grovelling up the climb - we were in gaudy Red Rose Olympic tops and heading north, the others were heading south. tbh this is why i joined a club: took one group text to organise rather than 50 posts on a forum... and no need for a gpx file of the route and a debate on the date... anyway we had a caff stop at Wray - not cheap but excellent coffe - then back via Scorton and Inglewhite. I had about 80 miles on the clock at the end. Apart from the climb, the best bit was doing silly racing on the way back: attacking, counter-attacking, blowing up and racing for town signs. Great fun. Lovely sunny day too!

 

[ColinJ]

Edit, big apology, I rechecked the distance data and riding time from yesterdays ride and our actual average speed was actually 16.7 mph. I couldn't see how we had managed to average nearly 19mph when for long periods we were doing <10mph, sorry .

Ah, I was wondering if you'd got your sums right. Dave Lloyd and Stephen Henson went past me like a train on a climb on the 'Pendle Pedal' in that area in 2007. They were fastest finishers on the mega-hilly 100 mile event in 5 hrs 43 mins, an average of 'only' 17.5 mph - it's tough riding out there!

 

[totallyfixed]

Ah, I was wondering if you'd got your sums right. Dave Lloyd and Stephen Henson went past me like a train on a climb on the 'Pendle Pedal' in that area in 2007. They were fastest finishers on the mega-hilly 100 mile event in 5 hrs 43 mins, an average of 'only' 17.5 mph - it's tough riding out there!

Yes well, to be fair dr_pink could have gone quicker but was held back a bit because of my injuries [I have to have some kind of excuse] but she is considering racing the Circuit of Pendle in March so it will be interesting to see her average speed then.