Your ride today.... (part 1)
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
- Status
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Dark46
Veteran
- Location
- Quedgeley, Gloucester
That would be The Bell great food.Great pub on the common at Frampton on Severn
burndust
Parts unknown...baby
Out at the crack of dawn...before the tunderstorm hits Some hard climbing and a strong headwind...but I'll take that result
http://www.strava.com/activities/150425117?fb_action_ids=763867750300717&fb_action_types=fitness.bikes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[719478561449690]&action_type_map=["fitness.bikes"]&action_ref_map=[]
http://www.strava.com/activities/150425117?fb_action_ids=763867750300717&fb_action_types=fitness.bikes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[719478561449690]&action_type_map=["fitness.bikes"]&action_ref_map=[]
Last edited:
Bobby Mhor
Wasn't born to follow
- Location
- Behind You
Yellow rain alert for our area...due in just after lunchtime....
Big dilemma
New bike to try out for the first time
(see bike photo at bottom of post)
A text just after 7am and arranged to meet a mate high above the town.
I set off and avoided pothole after pothole before arriving at designated meeting point.
A few mins later, the Landy was heard screaming(?) up the steep rise.
It was a quick dash as there was no wind and to avoid the dreaded midge it was off down Route 75 (my normal haunt)passing a still quiet track through the usual villages, we reached Linwood and the decision. left or right...Right it was and off down to Castle Semple Loch at Lochwinnoch for a cuppa tea and scran courtesy of a Jetboil pack, lovely.
'It's only 4 or 5 mile to the end of the track so off down to Glengarnock with an unsuccessful attempt at a geocache en route..
The end of the track and it was a return the same route back home and we left to go our seperate ways, the rain started to fall lightly and as I popped the bike through the back door, the heavens opened
A good 42 mile for me...
oh and my 'new' bike...
I borrowed this one ( I'm the fat guy
)
)
Big dilemma
New bike to try out for the first time
(see bike photo at bottom of post)
A text just after 7am and arranged to meet a mate high above the town.
I set off and avoided pothole after pothole before arriving at designated meeting point.
A few mins later, the Landy was heard screaming(?) up the steep rise.
It was a quick dash as there was no wind and to avoid the dreaded midge it was off down Route 75 (my normal haunt)passing a still quiet track through the usual villages, we reached Linwood and the decision. left or right...Right it was and off down to Castle Semple Loch at Lochwinnoch for a cuppa tea and scran courtesy of a Jetboil pack, lovely.
'It's only 4 or 5 mile to the end of the track so off down to Glengarnock with an unsuccessful attempt at a geocache en route..
The end of the track and it was a return the same route back home and we left to go our seperate ways, the rain started to fall lightly and as I popped the bike through the back door, the heavens opened
A good 42 mile for me...
oh and my 'new' bike...
I borrowed this one ( I'm the fat guy
))
Last edited:
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Woke up to beautiful sunshine, sat down to eat breakfast and the skies turned black and the heavens opened I saw the weather forecast and made the decision to go out later. Some folk went to the ride, chapeau 
I went out just before 2pm giving the roads time to dry. I stopped and waited at a couple of meet points but nobody wanted to join me
Really tough wind on the way out and I think I gave to much into it and it turned really hot and
and I decided to explore a wee bit Two bottles weren't and a melted flap jacket enough though
http://www.strava.com/activities/150631929
Garmin says it got to 25deg somewhere (autotype fix)
I went out just before 2pm giving the roads time to dry. I stopped and waited at a couple of meet points but nobody wanted to join me
Really tough wind on the way out and I think I gave to much into it and it turned really hot and
and I decided to explore a wee bit Two bottles weren't and a melted flap jacket enough thoughhttp://www.strava.com/activities/150631929
Garmin says it got to 25deg somewhere (autotype fix)
Last edited:
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
My 'ride today' was done yesterday!
It was supposed to be a forum ride today but an awful forecast put me off and I rode the route solo yesterday in the sunshine instead.
@DiddlyDodds has just posted that he didn't get the forecast storms in Littleborough (which is less than 13 km (8 miles) from here), but we certainly did and the storm system seemed to be blowing in the direction of where the ride took place so I feel reassured that I made the right decision. You will see from the photos below that it is the kind of countryside which is great to cycle in sunny conditions, but would be nightmarish when the weather is bad,
The main loop of my ride was from Spring Wood picnic centre above Whalley. I tend to start most of my forum rides either from there (for the Ribble Valley/Forest of Bowland/Wyre & Fylde) or from Hebden Bridge. On this ride, I rode to and from Spring Wood as well to get an imperial century ride in.
I went out the scenic way via Heptonstall Road, Slack, Blackshaw Head and the Long Causeway, before dropping back to the A646 in the valley at Walk Mill, and thence to Rose Grove on the border between Burnley and Padiham. From there, I proceeded by my favoured route to Spring Wood - the Padiham Greenway, and then the quiet lane through Read.
I had a quick snack at the picnic centre and then set off on the main loop which began with familiar roads through Whalley, Great Mitton and Bashall Eaves up to Cow Ark.
It was a glorious sunny day. Nice and warm, without ever becoming uncomfortably hot. Even on the longest descents, I never got cold enough to need my gilet, and on the longest ascents I never overheated and felt the need to take off the base layer I was wearing under my long-zipped summer jersey. Just raising and lowering the zip on the jersey, and rolling down or rolling up the sleeves of the base layer was enough to stay comfortable.
I had been looking forward to the next part of my ride, and it did not disappoint - it was my first time on a quiet singletrack lane from Cow Ark down to the B6478 off Waddington Fell, a road which I crossed and eventually rejoined as it climbed back up after Slaidburn.
Cyclist toils up climb towards Cow Ark, Dales in distance
Looking down on Slaidburn from B6478
I dropped down into the village and rode straight through, resisting the temptation of the tearoom by the village green.
I was heading out to Wray, on the edge of the Lune valley. To get there I had to go over the Cross of Greet climb. It is many years since I have ridden up there, but I remembered suffering on the climb due to lack of fitness on the previous occasions. I say 'climb' - in fact there are 2 main climbs separated by a short descent to Cross of Greet Bridge.
The first time I rode out that way, I was so unfit that I mistook the little rise out of Slaidburn for the first climb, and the first climb for the second, which kind of did my head in when confronted by the actual second climb, the Cross of Greet itself. In fact, my reaction was ...
Oh s**t, WTF is that!
No such worries on this ride, however. I had double-checked the route so I had a clear picture in my mind of what was coming, and I am climbing much better than I used to. On top of which, I was riding my Basso, a bike which currently has a luxury 26/28 bottom gear for steep climbs. I find that I am using the grovelling gear less and less these days, except for when I actually need to grovel, more of which later ...
I stopped at the top of the Cross of Greet to eat some parkin (ginger cake) and enjoy the views. I could see the Cumbrian mountains and Morecambe Bay ahead left in the distance, and the 3 peaks of the Yorkshire Dales ahead to my right.
Looking back from 'The Cross' towards Pendle Hill
There is a nice descent off 'The Cross' but take it easy if you ever ride it. There are lots of sheep wandering about and it is easy when distracted by the views to get caught out by the sheep, or one of several nasty bends in the road.
I had planned a fairly direct route over to Wray, taking a left turn halfway down the descent but had not noticed on the OS map quite how minor that minor road actually is - still perfectly doable on a standard road bike though.
There is a steep drop into a little valley to cross the river Hindburn, then a correspondingly steep climb back out of it. It was at that point that I finally started using my granny gear and it took me a few minutes to realise why ... The old back problem was flaring up again! My back is my weakest link on hard rides and it was starting to scream for mercy. This was a bit worrying, given that I was not quite halfway round!
There were options to ride either to Lancaster or Settle and go home by train but it would have probably cost me £25+ and a shattered ego, so I gulped and bit the bullet. In for a penny, and all that ...
Once I had crested the hill out of the valley, something weird happened ... The road surface, which had been pretty dodgy for several miles, suddenly became perfect. I am not talking 'acceptable' or even 'very good', I am talking 'why are all roads not like this'! I now had a few miles of pristine new tarmac on which to descend towards Wray. There was not much habitation up there so this seemed to have been done for the benefit of just a few farmers. Somebody must have slipped somebody else a backhander, or some EU grant for the development of infrastructure in rural Lancashire had finally come through!
I got to Wray and checked out the cafe that I planned my forum ride stop to use. It looked nice, but it was busy and my aching back told me that it was probably not a great idea to stop for any length of time or I would seize up altogether. Therefore - onwards ...
And then my legs started to ache. And my feet. And my damn neck. Oh, and just in case I had run out of things to bother me, the pitifully unhelpful tailwind which I had failed to benefit from on the ride out got its blustery act together in time for the return leg. Deep joy!
After an initial climb up from Wray, the road eastwards to Keasden had looked flat on the map, but you know what it is like when you are struggling - any little difficulty gets magnified, That stretch of road felt like a malevolent rollercoaster; one which never gave enough momentum on the downs to get me far enough up the ups. All the while, me knowing that the annoying crosswind would become a nagging headwind as soon as I turned south to begin the tough climb to Bowland Knotts ...
And so it came to pass ... I was having to stop every 5 minutes to stretch.
Despite the problems so far, I had a feeling that something was missing from the old misery stores - oh yes, saddle sores - how could I forget them! I couldn't put enough power through the pedals to take much weight on my legs and my stiff neck was making me sit more upright than usual, which meant - you guessed it - most of my weight was now being taken by my bum and it didn't take long for that to start complaining too.
Stand up, save the bum. Sit down save the feet. Stop pedalling, save the legs. Stop pedalling, stop moving. Dismount and stretch. Rinse and repeat!
I had a song going through my addled brain, the words of which seemed entirely inappropriate - "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike ..." In fact, I was contemplating taking a hacksaw to the bloody thing when I got home, in case I was ever mad enough to consider venturing out on it again!
But somehow I eventually got to the summit at Bowland Knotts ...
Yes, it is lovely up there - now, legs - get me outta here!
Oh well, it wasn't as if I had 45 miles of this torture still to go ...
The good news? Well, the descent to Gisburn Forest and Stocks Reservoir was fun!
I remembered noticing on the map that the climb up from the reservoir on the way over to Holden was relatively benign compared to some that I had already done. It turned out to be true, and that was a turning point for me. I knew that the worst of the climbing was over with and I just had to be sensible to get back in one piece in daylight.
The 8 km (5 mile) descent to Sawley was a fine bonus. I had forgotten how long it was, and it seemed to go on for ever, just when I needed a boost!
I continued to Grindleton where I hesitated before continuing to Chatburn, then on through Clitheroe. I had already decided to go straight to Whalley from there, rather than doing my scenic detour through Pendleton, which involved more climbing, effort which I really did not want to make in my fatigued and pained state. The roads were getting busier and I did not enjoy riding them, so I have decided that it would be better in future to return from Grindleton by my usual route through Waddington. (That's what I will do on the delayed forum ride.)
The little climb up from Whalley to Spring Wood seemed like a mountain so I was definitely not going to ride back by the scenic route on the Old Roman Road. Instead, I reluctantly took the busy A671 to Padiham. (It was 6pm - where does all that Friday evening traffic come from? I thought many people finished work early on Fridays!)
At least I had the Greenway to get me away from the traffic for a while, but my relief was shortlived - my bike started making funny noises! I was too knackered to stop and think what it was. (I reckon it was either the bottom bracket or a dirty, dry chain.) I just picked the quietest gear that would do the job and used that!
Back onto the A646 at Rose Grove, I then limped up the hill out of Burnley, descended to Walk Mill, and struggled in the headwind up the 3.5 km, 2.5% false flat to where the road crosses the railway line, and the long descent to Todmorden begins.
A quickish descent, followed by a slowish ride along the valley to Hebden Bridge and finally I was home.
There you go - a very hilly, painful 171 km (107 mile) ride. It took me 11 hours, so that is an average speed of only 15.5 kph (9.7 mph). Ok, that isn't any kind of a record, but (1) it was quicker than I was doing even much easier rides before I got ill and (2) though it wasn't an audax ride, I had set myself the target of riding quickly enough to have been accepted under audax rules, had it been one, and I managed that by 0.5 kph. Higher speeds can come later!
I am not sure that I will be up for the extended version when the forum ride takes place. I think the main loop is enough of a challenge for now.
It was supposed to be a forum ride today but an awful forecast put me off and I rode the route solo yesterday in the sunshine instead.
@DiddlyDodds has just posted that he didn't get the forecast storms in Littleborough (which is less than 13 km (8 miles) from here), but we certainly did and the storm system seemed to be blowing in the direction of where the ride took place so I feel reassured that I made the right decision. You will see from the photos below that it is the kind of countryside which is great to cycle in sunny conditions, but would be nightmarish when the weather is bad,
The main loop of my ride was from Spring Wood picnic centre above Whalley. I tend to start most of my forum rides either from there (for the Ribble Valley/Forest of Bowland/Wyre & Fylde) or from Hebden Bridge. On this ride, I rode to and from Spring Wood as well to get an imperial century ride in.
I went out the scenic way via Heptonstall Road, Slack, Blackshaw Head and the Long Causeway, before dropping back to the A646 in the valley at Walk Mill, and thence to Rose Grove on the border between Burnley and Padiham. From there, I proceeded by my favoured route to Spring Wood - the Padiham Greenway, and then the quiet lane through Read.
I had a quick snack at the picnic centre and then set off on the main loop which began with familiar roads through Whalley, Great Mitton and Bashall Eaves up to Cow Ark.
It was a glorious sunny day. Nice and warm, without ever becoming uncomfortably hot. Even on the longest descents, I never got cold enough to need my gilet, and on the longest ascents I never overheated and felt the need to take off the base layer I was wearing under my long-zipped summer jersey. Just raising and lowering the zip on the jersey, and rolling down or rolling up the sleeves of the base layer was enough to stay comfortable.
I had been looking forward to the next part of my ride, and it did not disappoint - it was my first time on a quiet singletrack lane from Cow Ark down to the B6478 off Waddington Fell, a road which I crossed and eventually rejoined as it climbed back up after Slaidburn.
Cyclist toils up climb towards Cow Ark, Dales in distance
Looking down on Slaidburn from B6478
I dropped down into the village and rode straight through, resisting the temptation of the tearoom by the village green.
I was heading out to Wray, on the edge of the Lune valley. To get there I had to go over the Cross of Greet climb. It is many years since I have ridden up there, but I remembered suffering on the climb due to lack of fitness on the previous occasions. I say 'climb' - in fact there are 2 main climbs separated by a short descent to Cross of Greet Bridge.
The first time I rode out that way, I was so unfit that I mistook the little rise out of Slaidburn for the first climb, and the first climb for the second, which kind of did my head in when confronted by the actual second climb, the Cross of Greet itself. In fact, my reaction was ...
Oh s**t, WTF is that!
No such worries on this ride, however. I had double-checked the route so I had a clear picture in my mind of what was coming, and I am climbing much better than I used to. On top of which, I was riding my Basso, a bike which currently has a luxury 26/28 bottom gear for steep climbs. I find that I am using the grovelling gear less and less these days, except for when I actually need to grovel, more of which later ...
I stopped at the top of the Cross of Greet to eat some parkin (ginger cake) and enjoy the views. I could see the Cumbrian mountains and Morecambe Bay ahead left in the distance, and the 3 peaks of the Yorkshire Dales ahead to my right.
Looking back from 'The Cross' towards Pendle Hill
There is a nice descent off 'The Cross' but take it easy if you ever ride it. There are lots of sheep wandering about and it is easy when distracted by the views to get caught out by the sheep, or one of several nasty bends in the road.
I had planned a fairly direct route over to Wray, taking a left turn halfway down the descent but had not noticed on the OS map quite how minor that minor road actually is - still perfectly doable on a standard road bike though.
There is a steep drop into a little valley to cross the river Hindburn, then a correspondingly steep climb back out of it. It was at that point that I finally started using my granny gear and it took me a few minutes to realise why ... The old back problem was flaring up again! My back is my weakest link on hard rides and it was starting to scream for mercy. This was a bit worrying, given that I was not quite halfway round!
There were options to ride either to Lancaster or Settle and go home by train but it would have probably cost me £25+ and a shattered ego, so I gulped and bit the bullet. In for a penny, and all that ...
Once I had crested the hill out of the valley, something weird happened ... The road surface, which had been pretty dodgy for several miles, suddenly became perfect. I am not talking 'acceptable' or even 'very good', I am talking 'why are all roads not like this'! I now had a few miles of pristine new tarmac on which to descend towards Wray. There was not much habitation up there so this seemed to have been done for the benefit of just a few farmers. Somebody must have slipped somebody else a backhander, or some EU grant for the development of infrastructure in rural Lancashire had finally come through!
I got to Wray and checked out the cafe that I planned my forum ride stop to use. It looked nice, but it was busy and my aching back told me that it was probably not a great idea to stop for any length of time or I would seize up altogether. Therefore - onwards ...
And then my legs started to ache. And my feet. And my damn neck. Oh, and just in case I had run out of things to bother me, the pitifully unhelpful tailwind which I had failed to benefit from on the ride out got its blustery act together in time for the return leg. Deep joy!
After an initial climb up from Wray, the road eastwards to Keasden had looked flat on the map, but you know what it is like when you are struggling - any little difficulty gets magnified, That stretch of road felt like a malevolent rollercoaster; one which never gave enough momentum on the downs to get me far enough up the ups. All the while, me knowing that the annoying crosswind would become a nagging headwind as soon as I turned south to begin the tough climb to Bowland Knotts ...
And so it came to pass ... I was having to stop every 5 minutes to stretch.
Despite the problems so far, I had a feeling that something was missing from the old misery stores - oh yes, saddle sores - how could I forget them! I couldn't put enough power through the pedals to take much weight on my legs and my stiff neck was making me sit more upright than usual, which meant - you guessed it - most of my weight was now being taken by my bum and it didn't take long for that to start complaining too.
Stand up, save the bum. Sit down save the feet. Stop pedalling, save the legs. Stop pedalling, stop moving. Dismount and stretch. Rinse and repeat!
I had a song going through my addled brain, the words of which seemed entirely inappropriate - "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike ..." In fact, I was contemplating taking a hacksaw to the bloody thing when I got home, in case I was ever mad enough to consider venturing out on it again!
But somehow I eventually got to the summit at Bowland Knotts ...
Yes, it is lovely up there - now, legs - get me outta here!
Oh well, it wasn't as if I had 45 miles of this torture still to go ...
The good news? Well, the descent to Gisburn Forest and Stocks Reservoir was fun!
I remembered noticing on the map that the climb up from the reservoir on the way over to Holden was relatively benign compared to some that I had already done. It turned out to be true, and that was a turning point for me. I knew that the worst of the climbing was over with and I just had to be sensible to get back in one piece in daylight.
The 8 km (5 mile) descent to Sawley was a fine bonus. I had forgotten how long it was, and it seemed to go on for ever, just when I needed a boost!
I continued to Grindleton where I hesitated before continuing to Chatburn, then on through Clitheroe. I had already decided to go straight to Whalley from there, rather than doing my scenic detour through Pendleton, which involved more climbing, effort which I really did not want to make in my fatigued and pained state. The roads were getting busier and I did not enjoy riding them, so I have decided that it would be better in future to return from Grindleton by my usual route through Waddington. (That's what I will do on the delayed forum ride.)
The little climb up from Whalley to Spring Wood seemed like a mountain so I was definitely not going to ride back by the scenic route on the Old Roman Road. Instead, I reluctantly took the busy A671 to Padiham. (It was 6pm - where does all that Friday evening traffic come from? I thought many people finished work early on Fridays!)
At least I had the Greenway to get me away from the traffic for a while, but my relief was shortlived - my bike started making funny noises! I was too knackered to stop and think what it was. (I reckon it was either the bottom bracket or a dirty, dry chain.) I just picked the quietest gear that would do the job and used that!
Back onto the A646 at Rose Grove, I then limped up the hill out of Burnley, descended to Walk Mill, and struggled in the headwind up the 3.5 km, 2.5% false flat to where the road crosses the railway line, and the long descent to Todmorden begins.
A quickish descent, followed by a slowish ride along the valley to Hebden Bridge and finally I was home.
There you go - a very hilly, painful 171 km (107 mile) ride. It took me 11 hours, so that is an average speed of only 15.5 kph (9.7 mph). Ok, that isn't any kind of a record, but (1) it was quicker than I was doing even much easier rides before I got ill and (2) though it wasn't an audax ride, I had set myself the target of riding quickly enough to have been accepted under audax rules, had it been one, and I managed that by 0.5 kph. Higher speeds can come later!
I am not sure that I will be up for the extended version when the forum ride takes place. I think the main loop is enough of a challenge for now.
Last edited:
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
Just back in from my usual ride down to the hospital to meet hubster. Nice wee ride of 10.15 miles in 39 mins flat. Nothing exciting happened and I was in two minds weather to ride or not as I have a mahoosive blister on my heel and I was worried that my cycling shoes would make it hurt more. After all my slippers make it hurt more. They didn't hurt though.
I did get a little ride in yesterday as I had a quick ride around the 5.1 mile block in around 20. I didn't have much time yesterday as S-I-L was here and I needed to get ready for guitar lesson too.
I did get a little ride in yesterday as I had a quick ride around the 5.1 mile block in around 20. I didn't have much time yesterday as S-I-L was here and I needed to get ready for guitar lesson too.
Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
I set out to get some training for next weeks' metric century, and decided I'd try about 25 miles. Winds were negligible as I started. I was giving the new tires on my Cannondale a little shakedown cruise, as well as seeing if I could do all or part of the century ride. Weather seemed to be coming in, and I had Hay the grass in the backyard to cut, so I figured I'd better get going early. I was able to use the freshly graveled roads to my north, as we had a couple of deluges of rain, washing the excess gravel from the roads. I crossed a few lonely junctions,
and proceeded to near Lake Bloomington, and past Indian Creek, where they have a few deer cross the road, from time to time.
After a good deal of riding, I started to make my way home as the wind rose from the east, and became quite strong, prefatory to the rains coming, which they did, as soon as I had my lunch and got done with myhaying lawn mowing. On my way back, I stopped by a pond north of me, and saw some ducks with young. I also saw a Great Blue Heron, but he is quite camera shy.
25 miles, and a good bit of wind thrown in.
and proceeded to near Lake Bloomington, and past Indian Creek, where they have a few deer cross the road, from time to time.
After a good deal of riding, I started to make my way home as the wind rose from the east, and became quite strong, prefatory to the rains coming, which they did, as soon as I had my lunch and got done with my
25 miles, and a good bit of wind thrown in.
Up at 4am
and out by 4.25
for an excellent 65km ride with 733m of going up.
Probably only saw two cars for the 2 hours out in the countryside.
To test my ankle, I rode up two cat 4's, a long almost cat 3 climb and a short one with a 16% section, results were very pleasing.
The short cat 4 was done in my fastest time, without actually giving it maximum effort.
According to the new Garmin segments feature only 30 seconds slower than the fastest Garmin Connect user
.
Only problem was no cake
, have to make do with crumpets and black cherry jam
and out by 4.25 for an excellent 65km ride with 733m of going up.Probably only saw two cars for the 2 hours out in the countryside.
To test my ankle, I rode up two cat 4's, a long almost cat 3 climb and a short one with a 16% section, results were very pleasing.
The short cat 4 was done in my fastest time, without actually giving it maximum effort.
According to the new Garmin segments feature only 30 seconds slower than the fastest Garmin Connect user
.Only problem was no cake
, have to make do with crumpets and black cherry jam
Jon George
Mamil and couldn't care less
- Location
- Suffolk an' Good
Out on the road by 04.15 - this just north of Ipswich.
First ride for a long time today with Stokes Cycling club as I have been very unwell with bad depression. The club ran two routes today, with the medium route splittting off after a coffee and cake break at Warmley Station. Met a nice chap down there who is going to open a cycle hire business that will do picnc hampers and repairs for those wanting to cycle along the Brisol to Bath railway path. I decided not to stretch myself too far and came back from Warmley with the small novice group. We still did a respectable 19 miles or so (the connection with the Giant computer was lost for a time on the route).
Feel good having done it, but will probably now fall asleep for a few hours. There's a possible appointmment with a CPN for stronger anti depressants and I have some courses to attend on stress and mood management. Have probably lost my job though as have been off work for 2 months now and I'm still in my probationary period.
Hugs
Archeress x
Feel good having done it, but will probably now fall asleep for a few hours. There's a possible appointmment with a CPN for stronger anti depressants and I have some courses to attend on stress and mood management. Have probably lost my job though as have been off work for 2 months now and I'm still in my probationary period.
Hugs
Archeress x
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
With a dry morning but a showery afternoon forecast I decided to head out earlyish (not compared to some people though ) and test out the new bar ends and a couple of tweaks done to the Raleigh. I went for the Melverley route: Shrewsbury, Montford Bridge, Great Ness, Pentre, Melverley, Halfway House, Westbury, Nox, Exfords Green and a slight detour to Condover rather than climbing Lyth Hill for a change.
The first half of the trip was fairly uneventful (apart from a rather pointless close pass on a wide road) and I made good progress thanks to a fairly strong south wind which helped as far as Little Ness, but then didn't hinder when I turned towards Melverley. This stretch was a good test for the new bar ends. I prefer the shape of them to the old ones (they curve upwards at the end rather than inwards which feels more secure when cruising)
Around Melverley I encountered a club run coming the other way (lots of cheerful greetings were exchanged
) then proceeded to Crew Green, Coedway and Princes Oak where I turned south and into the wind that had been driving me along earlier. This is also where the hilly bit of the ride starts so I wasn't setting any records as far as Westbury. From here the route I was using goes east for a bit, so the wind became a cross wind again and with this section to Nox being straight and slightly downhill for most of the next 3.5 miles I was able to cruise at a reasonable speed (18-20mph). I got overtaken by a rider on a racing bike who just strolled away into the distance - put things into perspective for me.
At Nox I was going against the wind again, which lasted until around Exfords Green when the route curves round to the east. I decided to add a couple of miles by heading to Condover and had the wind behind me for the last section towards home.
34.3 miles today at 14.4 mph average.
Between Little Ness and Great Ness - looking south across the plain to the Long Mynd and Stiperstones.
By the river at The Royal Hill.
The Severn crossing between Melverley and Crew Green.
The view from the bridge looking west into Wales.
A meadow full of buttercups at the foot of Lyth Hill.
Some threatening looking cloud is bubbling up over Caer Caradoc. Not far to home now though.
) and test out the new bar ends and a couple of tweaks done to the Raleigh. I went for the Melverley route: Shrewsbury, Montford Bridge, Great Ness, Pentre, Melverley, Halfway House, Westbury, Nox, Exfords Green and a slight detour to Condover rather than climbing Lyth Hill for a change.The first half of the trip was fairly uneventful (apart from a rather pointless close pass on a wide road
) and I made good progress thanks to a fairly strong south wind which helped as far as Little Ness, but then didn't hinder when I turned towards Melverley. This stretch was a good test for the new bar ends. I prefer the shape of them to the old ones (they curve upwards at the end rather than inwards which feels more secure when cruising)Around Melverley I encountered a club run coming the other way (lots of cheerful greetings were exchanged
) then proceeded to Crew Green, Coedway and Princes Oak where I turned south and into the wind that had been driving me along earlier. This is also where the hilly bit of the ride starts so I wasn't setting any records as far as Westbury. From here the route I was using goes east for a bit, so the wind became a cross wind again and with this section to Nox being straight and slightly downhill for most of the next 3.5 miles I was able to cruise at a reasonable speed (18-20mph). I got overtaken by a rider on a racing bike who just strolled away into the distance - put things into perspective for me.At Nox I was going against the wind again, which lasted until around Exfords Green when the route curves round to the east. I decided to add a couple of miles by heading to Condover and had the wind behind me for the last section towards home.
34.3 miles today at 14.4 mph average.
Between Little Ness and Great Ness - looking south across the plain to the Long Mynd and Stiperstones.
By the river at The Royal Hill.
The Severn crossing between Melverley and Crew Green.
The view from the bridge looking west into Wales.
A meadow full of buttercups at the foot of Lyth Hill.
Some threatening looking cloud is bubbling up over Caer Caradoc. Not far to home now though.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
A like for getting the ride in but
for the job. I hope things will work out.
coffeejo
Ælfrēd
- Location
- West Somerset
+1A like for getting the ride in but
Old Plodder
Living at the top of a steep 2 mile climb
- Location
- Surrey/Hants border
Glad to see/hear you managed to get yourself out, Archeress, cycling is good for easing stress & the like.
- Status
