Your ride today.... (part 1)

[cosmicbike]

Glorious weather again today, and it's a 'ride' day for me so that's nice. Best intentions to set off early were thwarted by B&Q arranging to deliver some stuff, so I had a cuppa and waited until after 9 so as to miss the school run, which round here is chaos, and the planned route took me past 2 infant/primary's so easier to let the traffic die down.
I set of merrily through Thorpe, happy that I'd missed the 4x4's (or so I thought.....). Todays target was 20 miles, and with 3 hours to play with I reasoned 2 hours in the saddle and perhaps a tea break. Still on the hybrid, and it's quite nice not to feel like I have to go faster, something I struggle with on the road bike. Am I alone in this? Up through Virginia Water, the roads nice and quiet with what few cars were out being all very nice and giving lots of space. I got caught at the lights just as I got to the Virginia Water Lake, and whilst waiting a chap o a roadie pulled alongside and we had a brief natter which was nice. He went off up the hill but I was going for the round the lake ride so into Windsor Great Park for me. Lots of runners, but I seemed to have beaten/missed the dog walkers/yummy mummy fitness lot so a nice clear ride around the VW lake, not done that for quite some time. Only downside for me on this route is going up 'Breakheart Hill'. Not really a proper hill, but I always find it hard. Most amused today when I returned home to find I'd matched my PB, which was completed on a considerably lighter road bike and in better fitness to boot! Once past the Polo Club it was off towards the village and up towards the Golden Jubilee horse. A brief rest and a bit of food, plus a piccy. Looking down towards Windsor Castle.

Shortly after this I came across those dreaded 4x4's, and bl**dy loads of them, complete with posh toffs in tweed and shotguns Dropping down towards the cricket club I came across 3 of the idiots, passing some cyclists on the way up the hill. Wrong side of the road and then some, so an excursion into the rough for me, along with some choice words for the drivers. Got stuck behind one of the buggers at the later part of the hill, clearly didn't see me so he got shouted at too! There was loads of Range Rovers at the bottom, clearly some Stratstone event judging by the banners. The only thing that outnumbered the 4x4's was toffs, tweed and shotguns, all very hoity toity
Leaving the noise behind, it was back to the Polo Club and another piccy

Those water sprays in the distance come right over the road, but I timed it perfectly, getting only a wet rear from road spray. A nice roll down past the Totem Pole before heading out of the park and into town to make sure I have the right number for the pizza place. Home to a nice cuppa.
22 miles in 2 hours, about the right pace and distance for me at the moment.

 

[Archeress]

After having picked up a cheap Mio Cyclo 105 second hand to try to encourage me to get out more, I decided to go out for a ride today. I decided to cross the city and ride the Bristol To Bath railway path. My route was mostly on quiet roads and shared paths. I took the Concorde Way to get me down to Hambrook Lane, and from there crossed the ring road and went through Mangotsfield to Rodway Common. I then descended the zig zags down to the railway path and nice easy navigation to Bath. As I was coming down the zig zags, I almost hit a squirrel sitting in the middle of the path eating.

Had a nice stop at Warmley Station cafe on the way there for a nice break, having a huge flapjack and a glass of Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock.

The toilet in the garden is quite amusing

And there is a tame jackdaw that visits every day for a scrap of bread

I got to Bath after only approximately 1.5 hours of pedalling and relaxed in one of the deckchairs outside Bath Spa Station.

I was a little worried that I wouldn't have the energy to get home from Bath so I got a couple of energy gels from the cycle shop at the station. On the way back, I stopped at an aqueduct and chatted to a fellow lady cyclist for a while. There was another stop at Warmley station on the way back, this time having ice cream and more dandelion and burdock. Instead of climbing back onto Rodway Common, I decided to use the ring road shared path back to Hambrook Lane and then back home via Concorde way.

http://www.strava.com/activities/152673067

Still not very well with my depression, didn't really sleep last night, but had a good time today.

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Tonight's ride was the first time out for the new saddle on my MTB. My old trusty SDG Bel-Air had recently decided to become a 'bum grater', removing skin at any opportunity . My road bike saddle is a comfy as a comfy thing, so after some very clever thinking, I made a gutsy decision and treated myself (and my bum) to the mountain bike version of my road bike saddle (clever eh?).... And tonight was the test ride.

So it was just a short ride through the back streets to pick up an off road cycle way which gets you quickly and easily beyond the outskirts of the city whilst everyone plays rush hour madness. Arriving back on the road at Dalston it's then a few quite lanes across the south of the city to Wreay (Pronounced 'rear'), where I had a quick photo-stop at the wonderful St Mary's....

and photographed the saddle (SDG Circuit Mountain)...
.

and the MTB in road guise

After that, it's pretty much all downhill back to town and home.

Gamin gen = 13.8miles / 550ft @ 13.8mph

 

[coffeejo]

Took N+1 for a test ride in the Quantocks. Ridgeback Panorama. Steel. Can't wait to collect it next week once more suitable bars have been fitted ... It's a 47cm frame. So they supplied it with 42cm bars.

Fingers crossed, it'll be good to go for France next weekend

 

[Cyclist33]

Took Jasmine out to see Swettenham Ford and the beautiful surrounds of the River Dane SSSI today... I set off in good time and well fed - the century was on the cards and I was quite keen to get it so headed for Chester after diddling about south of Holmes Chapel for a while, but after a few hours I was a desperate shell of a man, so took the escape route through Cuddington and the A49 home for a couple of much needed beers!

76 miles in the end - I'm happy with that

Stu

 

[gavgav]

Been a very stressful 24 hours, as my mum is back in hospital again, so needed to get out to try and clear my head a bit. A fairly short ride, heading out in the very warm sunshine to Uffington, Upton Magna, Withington, Rodington, Rodington Heath and then back to Upton Magna and home.

Needed an uneventful ride, but just after Uffington I came within inches of hitting what i think was a Little Owl, which flew out of the hedge and landed on the road in front of me. I locked up both wheels and I think it was only the sound of the skid that startled it to fly off!

About 100 yards further on I encountered a car doing a 3 point turn in the road and a mountain biker swerving past the back of it, effing and blinding at the driver!

Thankfully the rest of the ride was incident free and I had a Virgin hot air balloon sat watching me for the last few miles into Shrewsbury.

19.62 miles
12.3 mph avg

 

[Deleted member 18052]

Just got back in after 30 miles, I started feeling it just after the half way mark as you can probably tell via strava!

http://www.strava.com/activities/152756529

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

With today's forecast looking like being the best of the week cycling-wise (calm, dry and lots of ) I wanted to head out for an adventurous ride. I narrowed it down to two choices and decided on a ride well into Wales to Lake Vyrnwy (first time I've ridden out this way).

I'd had a play around with Google maps last night and the suggested cycle route had thrown up a couple of sections away from main roads that I'd overlooked when browsing the OS maps, so this was a good chance to try them out.

To start with I was heading out on familiar roads to Melverley, but was turning right at Crew Green and heading for Llandrinio, Four Crosses, Llansantffraid, Llanfechain, Llanfyllin, then a route through the lanes and over the hills to Abertridwr and round a lap of Lake Vyrnwy.

I started out during the rush hour so stayed on the cycle paths to avoid the traffic, but had to put up with the other cyclists at that time of the morning (did I miss a memo? - Are we all riding on the right on cycleways now?)

As everyone was heading into town, when I did join the road it wasn't too bad really. I saw an Aston Martin DB5 headed the other way - nice car.

After a fairly uneventful trip to Melverley I had a pause for a bite to eat (second breakfast ) before heading through Crew Green (said hello to the policeman with the radar gun - I wasn't going quick enough to interest him) and on through Llandrinio etc. After Four Crosses there was a slight issue. The road is closed and the only diversion sign I saw was pointed towards the closure. I made up my own route but it did involve some climbing. Good practice for later.

Once back on track I passed through Llansantffraid (was probably a pretty place once but has had unsympathetic development and feels neglected) and headed for Llanfechain where I was able to get off the main road onto something quieter, including the first section that Google had suggested, which was a decent route and avoided a section of main road I wasn't keen to ride.

I had to take primary after Llanfyllin when I heard the guy behind accelerating to pass on a narrow bridge. Nerve wracking but it did the job. From here I was onto lanes again and the road started to climb. It was still a good route though and I only passed two vehicles over the next 4 miles or so. This section led up the the second of Google's suggestions. Hmmm - not so keen this time. I found the relevant path, which was a gravel track (no problem - I expected it would be from the OS map) but was much steeper than I'd expected from the maps and further up the surface was very loose, meaning I couldn't get traction and had to resort to pushing (oh the shame ). I was glad to get to the top and start the descent the other side which went into Forestry Commission land where they were harvesting. The first problem was an area where machinery had been moving round which was churned up and deep in mud. Despite my best efforts the bike and I got covered . Then further down the road they were actually felling so I was stuck between falling trees and a quagmire - lovely. I'd jyust made my mind up to turn back and plough through the mud a second time when the chainsaws stopped and I was waved through. Sometimes things do work out.

Finally I made it to the lake and headed round it anti-clockwise. There were loads of cyclists riding round enjoying the route too which was nice. A guy on a racer tucked in behind me and followed for a good five miles. I wasn't going quick at the time (13/14 mph) so was a little surprised that he didn't either come past or come up to say hi - just shy perhaps?

Having circumnavigated the lake and had a break for lunch I decided to head back but NOT via the Google route. I took the main road instead which involved a reasonable amount of climbing - then a bit more. I'm sure it's all downhill from the summit when I drive this way.

Once back at Llanfyllin the route back was the reverse of what I'd done earlier until Crew Green where I headed over the hill to Westbury (mistake having got over 70 miles under my belt at this stage. The saddle was giving me gyp this time so it was a slow ride home with plenty of stops. I made an adjustment which seems to have helped a bit but next ride will be the test.

I hit 90 miles crossing over Lyth Hill. It was tempting to do a few miles to get another century but by this time getting home was much more appealing than getting a round figure in.

93.8 miles at 12 mph average. The bike needs a good clean but it'll have to wait 'til later.

I'm leaving town as everyone else is trying to get in.

Wonderful conditions this morning. The Breiddens from near Nesscliffe

Works aside, Llanfyllin seems a nice place.

Heading for the hills. The off road section of the route. I didn't get much further than this before having to push as the surface became very loose gravel.

The view at the top of the climb was good though.

The first view of the dam at Lake Vyrnwy.

It's pretty picturesque for a man-made feature.

Round the north western end of the lake.

From my diversion route on the way back to Four Crosses. From this side the Breidden has a huge chunk taken out of it by years of quarrying.

The view from Lyth Hill. Nearly home now.

EDIT: I've created an album with a few more photos from the trip here.

 

[PeteXXX]

A pleasant little ride today, over to see a fellow L2B'er to sort our route out for the ride down to London on Saturday and to drink some coffee for an hour, then over to another mate's house to pick a few bits and pieces up that he'd left out for me.

The ride was past an old stranded boat in a nearby lake. It's getting fuller and fuller with water, reeds and rubbish as the years go by!

Then through Brackmills Industry

This place used to burst into flames quite a bit, but seems better now. If the wind is in the right/wrong direction, it's hard not to ride past it without sneezing your socks off from the wafting pepper dust!

Onwards and up the hill into Hardingstone and Wootton to drink coffee, then a few miles via decent bike paths to Hunsbury Hill for my second visit of the day.

I rode home via the Washlands and the Northampton Boat Club and popped up this old road that goes nowhere (as I found out today) since it was abandoned when the flood defences and the main A45 were built.

Final few miles were through Lings Woods which were beautiful in the dappled sunshine today

The rhododendrons are in full bloom now. know they're a weed, but a darn pretty looking weed they are!

A leisurely 20 miles, just to keep the legs fit and ready for the marathon rides this weekend.

http://www.strava.com/activities/152689755

 

[Saluki]

Just back from meeting Hubster from Dialysis. I rode my new fave route to the hospital, via Little Melton but first I did a quick loop of Wymondham to avoid the roadworks that have sprung up since getting home this evening. I just didn't fancy sitting in the traffic jam so added about 3/4 mile to my trip. I didn't mean to hurry but average 15.5mph which is not too shoddy for me. I think that the PX is really quick. Once at the hospital I then circled around the carpark a couple of times and rode a couple of loops of the cyclepath complex there, to cool down. 3 miles averaging 11.9mph possibly wasn't a cool down but it was getting darned chilly and I didn't want to sit and shiver like a whippet while waiting for Hubster to come out.

13.91 in total today. Today is a fast day so I wasn't going to ride but did anyway and I feel fine.

 

[Old Plodder]

Well done Archeress, glad you got yourself back out & enjoyed it.
(Have a hug from me.)

 

[Saluki]

After having picked up a cheap Mio Cyclo 105 second hand to try to encourage me to get out more, I decided to go out for a ride today. I decided to cross the city and ride the Bristol To Bath railway path. My route was mostly on quiet roads and shared paths. I took the Concorde Way to get me down to Hambrook Lane, and from there crossed the ring road and went through Mangotsfield to Rodway Common. I then descended the zig zags down to the railway path and nice easy navigation to Bath. As I was coming down the zig zags, I almost hit a squirrel sitting in the middle of the path eating.

Had a nice stop at Warmley Station cafe on the way there for a nice break, having a huge flapjack and a glass of Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock.

View attachment 47550

The toilet in the garden is quite amusing

View attachment 47552

And there is a tame jackdaw that visits every day for a scrap of bread

View attachment 47553

I got to Bath after only approximately 1.5 hours of pedalling and relaxed in one of the deckchairs outside Bath Spa Station.

View attachment 47554

I was a little worried that I wouldn't have the energy to get home from Bath so I got a couple of energy gels from the cycle shop at the station. On the way back, I stopped at an aqueduct and chatted to a fellow lady cyclist for a while. There was another stop at Warmley station on the way back, this time having ice cream and more dandelion and burdock. Instead of climbing back onto Rodway Common, I decided to use the ring road shared path back to Hambrook Lane and then back home via Concorde way.

http://www.strava.com/activities/152673067

Still not very well with my depression, didn't really sleep last night, but had a good time today.

Hugs
Archeress x

Well done Archeress. Keep up the good work. That looks a nice ride. I love D&B, haven't had any this year so I might make that my 'Sunday Mission'.

 

[burndust]

cracking photos phil....looks a great place to ride

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

cracking photos phil....looks a great place to ride

Thanks. I shall have to look at alternative routes but do want to ride up there again as it was a great place to be in yesterdays weather conditions.

As well as going through beautiful scenery, the road round the lake is about 13 miles of practically dead-flat riding, so great for any beginners who might be reading this and considering taking their bikes over.

 

[coffeejo]

Been a very stressful 24 hours, as my mum is back in hospital again

Hope she's home soon