# In praise of the pootle



## ChrisEyles (5 Jan 2018)

I've tried my hand at quite a few different kinds of cycling over the last few years. Started out with long-ish, fast-ish road rides, then discovered MTB'ing and started pushing my boundaries at that too (until a few nasty crashes made me promise to Mrs Chris to reign it in a bit!).

But over the last year my favourite rides have been the ones where I've made up a packed lunch, taken a thermos flask and an OS map (sometimes even a pair of bin's for some en-route birding) and pootled through the local back lanes and bridleways. 

There's something very nice indeed about a lower distance and pace ride where you can take your time and smell the roses. 

Here're some pics from today's pootle, a couple of hours up and down the Exe valley


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jan 2018)

How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?


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## Randomnerd (5 Jan 2018)

Well pootled, that man. I’ve been known to pootle, and I intend to do it again. Has to be low intensity riding, so one can stop and draw or jot down a few lines of verse. Wouldn’t want to drip sweat on the jotter and have the sepia ink run willy nilly. I’m hoping we have a Merseyside pootler, so we can find out what it’s like to pootle round Bootle. Don’t think I dare log off....


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## MichaelW2 (5 Jan 2018)

My fav type of riding too. I think more beginners would be well served by a pootle than a "challinge" which results in some money raised and an "I'll never get on a bike again" style of comment.


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## Tail End Charlie (5 Jan 2018)

Pootling is great. So is pushing on at times. I try to do both. 

A great way to pootle is to dream up a point to the ride e.g. how many thatched roofs can I spot, or visit that church you've passed many a time but not gone in. I also pootle by doing some shopping - I get my milk (unpasteurised) from a farm about 20 miles away and flour even further away than that.


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## Tail End Charlie (5 Jan 2018)

In fact, I'd go as far to say that, unless you pootle at times, then, within a couple of years, you'll end up not enjoying your cycling.


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## Bobby Mhor (5 Jan 2018)

Everywhere you've been there is a bike lying on the side of the road...phew!

Nothing wrong with a pootle, I do regularly..
If you want something to do whilst pootling, see this thread HERE, join us


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## LeetleGreyCells (5 Jan 2018)

Pootling on a bike should become a (inter)national pastime.

Every ride is a pootle round for me. I always plan my routes, but take my time taking in the view and enjoying the journey rather than being in a rush to get to my destination.


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## welsh dragon (5 Jan 2018)

Nice photos. Pootling should be compulsory for everyone. Pootling is all that i do. There is nothing better IMHO.


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## biggs682 (5 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?



I am quite happy to be called a pootler , as i enjoy just stopping where i want for a quick picture or snoop around , must admit most of my rides are sub 50 milers done early in the day ie 5.30 am and hitting the tarmac . It really is the best time of the day for riding as less traffic and people about to get in the way .


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## Jason (5 Jan 2018)

also a pootler on occasion. Nothing better than riding with no set route or destination (other than eventually home). The most enjoyable rides have been without the Garmin, and my constant looking at it for speed/distance covered.
finding a hidden cafe or pit stop is easier than taking a packed lunch imo


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## hoopdriver (5 Jan 2018)

I am an old hand at pootling, and have logged many thousands of miles at pootle speed with my camera and tripod in my saddle bag, stopping to admire views and set up shots, pick blackberries in season, turn down unknown leafy lanes on a whim, and generally stepping back into an older, slower gentler world where miles mean something and sixty or seventy of them might represent a full day’s travel.


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## Tizme (5 Jan 2018)

First ride of the year and definitely a pootle, 26 miles at an average speed of 11.2mph
Stopped several times to take some photos and to watch two buzzards just the other side of the hedge (they flew off as I went to get my camera out!) So many things to see, all missed from a car. I was glad I was on the Vagabond as the roads were completely waterlogged in places. I used the Cycle.travel website to come up with a circular ride of around 25 miles as I tend to end up going on the same routes, usually incorporating the climb up to Alfreds Tower at Stourhead because I always want to check that I can still do it, it only beat me the first time I did it!


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## BSOh (5 Jan 2018)

welsh dragon said:


> Nice photos. Pootling should be compulsory for everyone. Pootling is all that i do. There is nothing better IMHO.



Agreed! Its all I do too


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jan 2018)

Jason said:


> also a pootler on occasion. Nothing better than riding with no set route or destination (other than eventually home). The most enjoyable rides have been without the Garmin, and my constant looking at it for speed/distance covered.
> finding a hidden cafe or pit stop is easier than taking a packed lunch imo





hoopdriver said:


> I am an old hand at pootling, and have logged many thousands of miles at pootle speed with my camera and tripod in my saddle bag, stopping to admire views and set up shots, pick blackberries in season, turn down unknown leafy lanes on a whim, and generally stepping back into an older, slower gentler world where miles mean something and sixty or seventy of them might represent a full day’s travel.



Agreed, there's nothing like exploring those inviting lanes and back roads, getting a bit lost, getting the OS map out, then trying to navigate back by road signs (on which country "miles" can seem a lot longer than they should be!)... much better than mentally calculating what your average speed is the whole way around!


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## freiston (5 Jan 2018)

I like to pootle too - my favourite kind of bike ride


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## Blue Hills (5 Jan 2018)

[QUOTE="Tail End Charlie, post: 5105209, member: 881"also pootle by doing some shopping - I get my milk (unpasteurised) from a farm about 20 miles away and flour even further away than that.[/QUOTE]

. Yes non cyclists never understand that, going so far for something tiddly. Am sure many think us sad. I do try to tell them that it's a bike ride but they tend to look blank. Have cycled a fair few miles to pick up tiddly ebay purchases, discovering new places, revisiting old haunts on the way.


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## simongt (5 Jan 2018)

Yes, pootling is very much a pleasure;  everything going at your chosen pace. What can be fun is to deliberately get yourself 'lost' and then work out where you are from an OS map and go from there. Provided of course, that you're reasonably adept at reading a map - !


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## raleighnut (5 Jan 2018)

I quite like 'pootling' with a tent on the carrier.


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## mjr (5 Jan 2018)

I pootle. Sometimes with a group and often as the one at the back checking that people are happily pootling rather than struggling or broken down. Group pootles often have a bit more of a planned route so that the back knows where the front has gone, even if we're sometimes planning it on the road!


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## Spinney (5 Jan 2018)

Another pootler here. Or a bimbler.
I'll let you know how they're different when I work it out...


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## Elswick Cotterpin (5 Jan 2018)

Pootle is my middle name. It's all I do.


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## mjr (5 Jan 2018)

Spinney said:


> Another pootler here. Or a bimbler.
> I'll let you know how they're different when I work it out...


We often have a mardle while we pootle. How about others?


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## cosmicbike (5 Jan 2018)

Bit of a mixed bag me. I enjoy a pootle, and I've also been known to have a bimble. But then I also commute, and do some longer rides at a pace (for me). I'm starting to enjoy exploring more, and that's on all rides.


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## derrick (5 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> I've tried my hand at quite a few different kinds of cycling over the last few years. Started out with long-ish, fast-ish road rides, then discovered MTB'ing and started pushing my boundaries at that too (until a few nasty crashes made me promise to Mrs Chris to reign it in a bit!).
> 
> But over the last year my favourite rides have been the ones where I've made up a packed lunch, taken a thermos flask and an OS map (sometimes even a pair of bin's for some en-route birding) and pootled through the local back lanes and bridleways.
> 
> ...


Not old enough to start pootling yet.


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jan 2018)

simongt said:


> Yes, pootling is very much a pleasure;  everything going at your chosen pace. What can be fun is to deliberately get yourself 'lost' and then work out where you are from an OS map and go from there. Provided of course, that you're reasonably adept at reading a map - !



That sounds like a great idea if you can afford to make a day of it. For an extra challenge, could try it on Dartmoor/Exmoor on the MTB. What could go wrong?


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## Randomnerd (5 Jan 2018)

You both beat me to it with the bimble vs pootle cunundrum. I’d crafted a thought or two but now realise I’m not the only fish in this thought-pond. 
But in the spirit of the bimbleur (all the best cycling is Frenchified, n’est pas?) - akin to the Slow Food movement - I’m happy to just be along for the ride, at whosoever’s pace is slowest, till we reach some conclusions. Or go off down a cul de sac if we choose.
I was imagining a sportive des bimbleurs, and working out a slogan for the posters. “Anyone found finishing will be asked to not come back.” Think it could catch on? 
Might rush off and secure a few domain names....


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## Brandane (5 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?


Another pootler here (had to be careful with the auto spellcheck there ). 
Tomorrow I have a plan to do a 100km pootle. Due to freezing temperatures it will be on an old MTB with Schwalbe ice spike tyres on it. This could be hard work!


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## Ron-da-Valli (5 Jan 2018)

I like a pootle as well as the longer distance stuff. A lot of cycling clubs prattle on about challenging yourself to go further & faster than before. What a load of cobblers! Get on your bike, ride where you like and as fast or slow as you like. As long as you enjoy it that's the main thing.


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## Mrs M (5 Jan 2018)

I love to pootle.
(Very) occassionally take the road bike out for a “faster” ride though.
Some of my best pootle pics


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## JPBoothy (5 Jan 2018)

Hooray, so it's not called getting old and lazy after all then. Over the past five years I have gradually slowed from Sportives rides, to Audax rides, to Charity rides, to "bye dear, I'm off out for a Coffee" rides. 

My last ride was on New Years day when I just happened to find myself a new cafe in Parkgate (Wirral). It is definitely about the fresh air, no PB's and as many car free routes as I can find these days. I have a couple of cross bikes so the muddy/leafy bridalways and woodland tracks are my favourite pootling terrain. 

Keep on pootling folks


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## Andy in Germany (5 Jan 2018)

I've just discovered my cycling style has a name. This is basically what I do, whether commuting, getting the shopping (You can't to anything but pootle on a Bakfiets, trust me) or just going for a ride. 

When I was going to college once a week I used to Pootle there and back. My colleagues thought I was wierd, but they would come in late and cold, complaining of problems on the road, traffic lights, etc, and I'd had a gentle trundleover the hills and only had to brake for a fox that wasn't expecting me. I used to spend the whole day looking forward to the return trip...



woodenspoons said:


> You both beat me to it with the bimble vs pootle cunundrum. I’d crafted a thought or two but now realise I’m not the only fish in this thought-pond.
> But in the spirit of the bimbleur (all the best cycling is Frenchified, n’est pas?) - akin to the Slow Food movement - I’m happy to just be along for the ride, at whosoever’s pace is slowest, till we reach some conclusions. Or go off down a cul de sac if we choose.
> I was imagining a sportive des bimbleurs, and working out a slogan for the posters. “Anyone found finishing will be asked to not come back.” Think it could catch on?
> Might rush off and secure a few domain names....



I think the German for this would be "Bummeln" which roughly translates as 'stroll' or 'ramble'. Especially as a local branchline is known as a 'bummelbahn'


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## Andy in Germany (5 Jan 2018)

Mrs M said:


> View attachment 390174
> View attachment 390173
> View attachment 390172
> View attachment 390171
> ...



That blue bike with the orange mudguards is lovely. Scenery is nice too...


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## Andy in Germany (5 Jan 2018)

I also managed a Bimmel on new years eve, just a short one around the fields between storms.



HH_16 by Andy in Germany, on Flickr



HH_07 by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

Where a Zeppelin made an emergency landing. If the pictures on the stone are historically accurate, nobody was wearing any clothes at the time.



HH_06 by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

I tried out a Bike trailer too.


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## screenman (5 Jan 2018)

Tail End Charlie said:


> In fact, I'd go as far to say that, unless you pootle at times, then, within a couple of years, you'll end up not enjoying your cycling.



50 years of cycling and never pootled, I still enjoy riding my bikes. Each to their own and all that.


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## Andy in Germany (5 Jan 2018)

screenman said:


> 50 years of cycling and never pootled, I still enjoy riding my bikes. Each to their own and all that.



Fair enough too. As I say to the younger and faster riders: Don't forget to wave as you go past...


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## FishFright (5 Jan 2018)

screenman said:


> 50 years of cycling and never pootled, I still enjoy riding my bikes. Each to their own and all that.



Give it a go , you don't know what you're missing. It's a lovely way to spend a few hours finding things you sped past many times before.


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## JPBoothy (5 Jan 2018)

I'm such a care free cycling rebel that I even have a bell and regularly stop to talk to Walkers too. 

Shhh, I think the 'real' cyclists would tar and feather me for such a sinful act but, I'm wild and I just don't care


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## screenman (5 Jan 2018)

Andy in Germany said:


> Fair enough too. As I say to the younger and faster riders: Don't forget to wave as you go past...



I always have it nod.


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## screenman (5 Jan 2018)

FishFright said:


> Give it a go , you don't know what you're missing. It's a lovely way to spend a few hours finding things you sped past many times before.



Maybe one day when I grow up.


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## subaqua (5 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?



Pootling is what it’s about . Not giving it beanz and missing stuff . Rather do a 25 mile pootle and see stuff . A pootle of 10 miles to a trig point does more for my wellbeing than a100 mile riding like a loon for a willy wave time to post on the tinterwebs. 

Not that racing is a bad thing . Just enjoy pootles more


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## Andy in Germany (5 Jan 2018)

screenman said:


> Maybe one day when I grow up.



Gosh. When do you plan to do that? I decided growing up was very much overrated and left it well alone.


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## screenman (5 Jan 2018)

Andy in Germany said:


> Gosh. When do you plan to do that? I decided growing up was very much overrated and left it well alone.



Hopefully the day before I pop my clogs.


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## JPBoothy (5 Jan 2018)

Does anybody (sorry, any pootler) know of a good book that shows the best bridalways and ex-railway routes that could possibly be linked for a decent length ride? My local one is the Wirral Way and, I have recently discovered the Whitegate Way which can apparently be linked to Delamere Forrest without too much trouble.


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## Alan O (5 Jan 2018)

Very much a pootler here too, yes.


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## LeetleGreyCells (5 Jan 2018)

JPBoothy said:


> Does anybody (sorry, any pootler) know of a good book that shows the best bridalways and ex-railway routes that could possibly be linked for a decent length ride? My local one is the Wirral Way and, I have recently discovered the Whitegate Way which can apparently be linked to Delamere Forrest without too much trouble.



I bought a book yesterday which you _may_ find useful, Traffic-Free Cycle Trails by Nick Cotton (ISBN 978-1900623216) which lists the three rides you mentioned. You probably already know about these, but here’s what I’ve found looking in the contents for your neck of the woods, there’s North Wirral Coastal Park north of Wirral Way; south-east of WW is Shropshire Canal (Chester to Ellesmere Port); south of that is Chester to Hawarden Bridge. Further afield, east of Liverpool is Otterspool Promenade alongside the Mersey; and Liverpool Loop Line north of that. 

Hope that helps . The book has over 400 rides all over the country. I find it useful.


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## Fab Foodie (5 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?


Me.


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## derrick (5 Jan 2018)

This needs a poll


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## tyred (5 Jan 2018)

I love a good pootle





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## welsh dragon (5 Jan 2018)

I also agree that bimbling is equally as good as pootling. I never get beyond either of those 2. It's great fun.


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## JPBoothy (5 Jan 2018)

Mmm, my pootling diet may need some work though!


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## Alan O (5 Jan 2018)

JPBoothy said:


> Does anybody (sorry, any pootler) know of a good book that shows the best bridalways and ex-railway routes that could possibly be linked for a decent length ride? My local one is the Wirral Way and, I have recently discovered the Whitegate Way which can apparently be linked to Delamere Forrest without too much trouble.


These maps are worth getting if you don't already have them (they're free)...
https://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/travelling-around/cyclingandwalking/Pages/Merseyside-Cycle-Maps.aspx

Here's a couple I did in 2017...

1) On to the Liverpool Loop line at around the halfway point (very near where I live), and follow National Route 62 north along the Loop Line, onto Leeds-Liverpool canal towpath for a bit, and then cross-country to just south of Southport. Then back along the coast on route 810 - I headed in on Queens Drive as that gets me home, but the dock road would get you the city centre. About 40 miles.

2) Start on the Loop Line again and head north to the canal towpath, then follow the canal all the way round to the Liverpool dock road and then on to the Pier Head. From there I headed along the river front and then inland to Speke at the south end of the city and back on to the Loop Line again and home. Also about 40 miles.

A couple of longer routes I'm thinking of start across the river and the Wirral coastal route/Wirral Way, then find someway to get to Runcorn (maybe via the Whitegate Way, which I hadn't hear of before, and Delamere?), cross the bridge and along the river route and inland through Hale to Speke, head in for the Loop Line, then (if I don't feel tired enough to just want to head home) pick up either my first route above to Southport and back or my second canal route and round to the city centre. I haven't worked out the distances for these two longer options, but I'm guessing around 100 miles and 80 miles. 

With 1 and 2, the Wirral Way route, and the Liverpool waterfront route, I'm intending to put together pootling routes of various distances this year.


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## DaveReading (5 Jan 2018)

tyred said:


> I love a good pootle


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## mjr (5 Jan 2018)

JPBoothy said:


> Does anybody (sorry, any pootler) know of a good book that shows the best bridalways and ex-railway routes that could possibly be linked for a decent length ride? My local one is the Wirral Way and, I have recently discovered the Whitegate Way which can apparently be linked to Delamere Forrest without too much trouble.


Not a book but http://cycle.travel has some good guides. The route planner mostly is wary of gravel but so am I so that's OK.


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## Maenchi (5 Jan 2018)

good to know there are plenty of pootling cyclists on here, ...........I just can't cycle any other way......


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## ChrisEyles (5 Jan 2018)

@tyred I love that bike - perfect for pootling!


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## Welsh wheels (6 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> I've tried my hand at quite a few different kinds of cycling over the last few years. Started out with long-ish, fast-ish road rides, then discovered MTB'ing and started pushing my boundaries at that too (until a few nasty crashes made me promise to Mrs Chris to reign it in a bit!).
> 
> But over the last year my favourite rides have been the ones where I've made up a packed lunch, taken a thermos flask and an OS map (sometimes even a pair of bin's for some en-route birding) and pootled through the local back lanes and bridleways.
> 
> ...


I wish I could enjoy a pootle, but sadly I'm a philistine and I can never just sit and enjoy nature very well.


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## ChrisEyles (6 Jan 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> I wish I could enjoy a pootle, but sadly I'm a philistine and I can never just sit and enjoy nature very well.



There must be some prime pootling territory around South Wales! Give it a go - don't forget the thermos


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## Saluki (6 Jan 2018)

I do like a nice pootle. I am off for one in a while.


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## Fab Foodie (6 Jan 2018)

JPBoothy said:


> View attachment 390186
> 
> 
> Mmm, my pootling diet may need some work though!


Looks about perfect.... apart from the choice of table-mat....


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## JPBoothy (6 Jan 2018)

Fab Foodie said:


> Looks about perfect.... apart from the choice of table-mat....


Yes I agree, but it was the only one left. However, I did spill some egg on it so it served its purpose well.


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## Gravity Aided (6 Jan 2018)

In favor of both pootle and bimble, as I understand them. Distances may be greater, but speed is slower, probably. Spending the winter getting well so I can have interesting stateside adventures in the spring. Working on a 26" tourer mainly for such efforts, winter may ease off early, although it is -13F here right now.


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## ozboz (6 Jan 2018)

I'll be pootling when I do my tour from Newcastle to Edinburgh, 120 miles or so , 5-6 days , 
Or is that to fast ?


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## Gravity Aided (6 Jan 2018)

No, but you're skirting the knife edge there.


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## Maenchi (6 Jan 2018)

ozboz said:


> I'll be pootling when I do my tour from Newcastle to Edinburgh, 120 miles or so , 5-6 days ,
> Or is that to fast ?


20miles a day?.....2hours?.......pootle !


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## Gravity Aided (6 Jan 2018)

Although you may spend more time setting up camp than riding.


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## ozboz (6 Jan 2018)

I am of the mind it will take me 5 or so hours to do the 20 , bob pub stops etc !


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## ChrisEyles (6 Jan 2018)

Sounds like a good tour to me!


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## ozboz (6 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> Sounds like a good tour to me!


Ok , will pootling on my tour count ?


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## ChrisEyles (6 Jan 2018)

Absolutely! Take it easy, cake along the way... I'm quite envious now


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## deptfordmarmoset (6 Jan 2018)

Fab Foodie said:


> Looks about perfect.... apart from the choice of table-mat....


That Mirror was always going to reflect badly....


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## deptfordmarmoset (6 Jan 2018)

I go through a pootle set off to a it's-exercise-so put-something-into-it to a typical I'm-knackered-and-the-wind's-in-my-face process. I love pootling but I can't quite leave it there....


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## delb0y (7 Jan 2018)

Another pootler, here. It's pretty much all I do. I pack the camera and the lunch and get ready for multiple stops. Even when I've done the occasional Audax I'm usually at the back pootling. Sustrans do a good traffic free routes book, and for those in South Wales or the Borders there's a fine book called Lost Lanes by Jack Thurston. Lots of advice on things to look at after you've stopped ;-)


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## i hate hills (7 Jan 2018)

Nothing better than a good pootle . And your packed lunch ! Did i notice a packet of salt and vinegar square crisps and a hard boiled egg ? If so you have chosen the lunch of champions imo. Happy pootling and some real nice photos there .


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## JPBoothy (7 Jan 2018)

I'm on the way back home after a stunning morning pootle in the frost & sun. I have to admit to occasionally raising the speed above the legal pootle/bimble level to keep certain bits from freezing. If I hadn't kept stopping to take photos that probably wouldn't have been necessary.


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## dave r (7 Jan 2018)

My pootle this morning has included a fair bit of walking, I don't mind hoar frost but I try not to ride over sheet ice.This has kept my ride down to pootling speeds.


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## tallliman (7 Jan 2018)

This thread is making me concerned about using pootle or bimble to describe my 14-15mph average rides. The trouble is that compared to going flat out, that speed is a bimble to me!


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## Vantage (7 Jan 2018)

YES! I thought I was alone in my pootling! Thank You!

My average speed before the stroke had plummeted to around 10mph and most rides included the thermos and a couple chicken or corned beef sarnies.
My favourite ride was to a bridge in Bretherton where I'd park up, sit on the step and watch the horses by the riverbank. Occasionally ed the horse would attempt a knaw on my saddle or handlebar and I'd have to move the bike.
It was relaxing. Utter piece and quiet.
Can't wait to get back on the bike. I miss my pootles.


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## FishFright (7 Jan 2018)

DaveReading said:


> View attachment 390193



Damm you ! I know have a new ear worm


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## Tin Pot (7 Jan 2018)

ChrisEyles said:


> How many fellow pootlers have we got on CC then?


Pootled with a buddy of mine until his bike got nicked.

It’s a good alternative to catching up at the pub.


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## gbb (7 Jan 2018)

Tail End Charlie said:


> In fact, I'd go as far to say that, unless you pootle at times, then, within a couple of years, you'll end up not enjoying your cycling.


When I was fit and capable, i really really pushed myself and upped my averages considerably over the course of a year, and to a point enjoyed it immensely. But, i suddenly started to bawlk at the idea off going out and hammering myself. I suddenly lost the enjoyment it had been giving me, so what you say can certainly be true.

Pootler by necessity for me nowadays. Lung problems have almost finished my desire to get out there. I'm in a constant flux of remembering how I used to be yet several times I've almost talked myself into selling the bloomin stuff and stopping it altogether. Pooling is what's keeping me on the road at the moment...and to a degree, sane.


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## Randomnerd (7 Jan 2018)

tallliman said:


> This thread is making me concerned about using pootle or bimble to describe my 14-15mph average rides. The trouble is that compared to going flat out, that speed is a bimble to me!


You’ve now barred yourself from any further involvement in this thread for admitting to this outrageous behaviour. Take yourself off somewhere with a Thermos, several sarnies, a boiled egg, crisps, some fruit, a spare jacket, too many tools, a map, something to read, a nice pair of gloves, binoculars, a Leatherman, some Jelly Babies, to have a think about your cycling. (If you can do fifteen mph with Le Full Kit des Bimbleurs, then you belong with Les Roadies. Sorry.)


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## Randomnerd (7 Jan 2018)

Dogtrousers said:


> A bimble? Now that's entirely different to a pootle. You may have opened a can of worms there. For goodness sake, no one mention tootles


Tootles are faster, more purposeful rides I think. I would “tootle to the shops” but never “pootle” there. Although I might “pootle” on the way back if I went the long way.


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## ChrisEyles (7 Jan 2018)

i hate hills said:


> Nothing better than a good pootle . And your packed lunch ! Did i notice a packet of salt and vinegar square crisps and a hard boiled egg ? If so you have chosen the lunch of champions imo. Happy pootling and some real nice photos there .





woodenspoons said:


> You’ve now barred yourself from any further involvement in this thread for admitting to this outrageous behaviour. Take yourself off somewhere with a Thermos, several sarnies, a boiled egg, crisps, some fruit, a spare jacket, too many tools, a map, something to read, a nice pair of gloves, binoculars, a Leatherman, some Jelly Babies, to have a think about your cycling. (If you can do fifteen mph with Le Full Kit des Bimbleurs, then you belong with Les Roadies. Sorry.)



@woodenspoons has got it nailed


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## Levo-Lon (7 Jan 2018)

Pootle a fair bit myself due to not having the energy to do big miles.
20 30 miles is a nice way to see off 2-3 hrs


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## Curlybars1972 (7 Jan 2018)

Nothing wrong with a good pootle! Slow down and enjoy the scenery, it works for me!


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## delb0y (7 Jan 2018)

In the spirit of this thread I pootled up a new lane that I'd never pootled before. When the ground is a bit drier I shall pootle beyond the end of the lane onto the bridle path that is there. Was a bit too muddy this morning though, so I pootled back to the main lane, and continued my original pootle.


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## JPBoothy (7 Jan 2018)

dave r said:


> My pootle this morning has included a fair bit of walking, I don't mind hoar frost but I try not to ride over sheet ice.This has kept my ride down to pootling speeds.


I agree with you there abiut the ice.
Fortunately this morning it was just 'crunchy' frost rather than actual ice so care was required but it was pretty safe really.


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## samsbike (7 Jan 2018)

Love this thread. I am enjoying road riding less and less, and am slowly coming to the conclusion it’s fun just to pootle/ bimble.

I do need to find some decent routes around NW London but my commute has evolved to mainly canal path and cycle track.

Perhaps we should have a strava for the lowest ride!


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## Tail End Charlie (7 Jan 2018)

samsbike said:


> Love this thread. I am enjoying road riding less and less, and am slowly coming to the conclusion it’s fun just to pootle/ bimble.
> 
> I do need to find some decent routes around NW London but my commute has evolved to mainly canal path and cycle track.
> 
> Perhaps we should have a strava for the lowest ride!


There is a strava bit descending The Cat and Fiddle into Macclesfield. On the route is Peak View cafe (excellent btw). I'm sure @Andrew Br once told me he had the slowest descent recorded as he'd spent ages in the cafe without turning his Garmin off.


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## ChrisEyles (7 Jan 2018)

delb0y said:


> In the spirit of this thread I pootled up a new lane that I'd never pootled before. When the ground is a bit drier I shall pootle beyond the end of the lane onto the bridle path that is there. Was a bit too muddy this morning though, so I pootled back to the main lane, and continued my original pootle.



I had to make that call on one of the bridleways on my last pootle (though it would have been fun on a MTB!). Summer pootling is even better than in the winter


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## dave r (7 Jan 2018)

JPBoothy said:


> I agree with you there abiut the ice.
> Fortunately this morning it was just 'crunchy' frost rather than actual ice so care was required but it was pretty safe really.



At times this morning I was dealing with sheet ice, even with the main roads that were supposed to be treated and clear it was slippery, a couple of times I got out of the saddle to climb a rise and just spun up the back wheel, had to back off a bit quick and sit down to avoid throwing it down the road.


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## JPBoothy (7 Jan 2018)

dave r said:


> At times this morning I was dealing with sheet ice, even with the main roads that were supposed to be treated and clear it was slippery, a couple of times I got out of the saddle to climb a rise and just spun up the back wheel, had to back off a bit quick and sit down to avoid throwing it down the road.


Yes, I found that as soon as my speed picked-up in the areas dried out by the sun, I would turn a corner into the shade and a find myself back in the frost/ice. It's not just the traffic cyclists have to watch out for is it!


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## dave r (7 Jan 2018)

JPBoothy said:


> Yes, I found that as soon as my speed picked-up in the areas dried out by the sun, I would turn a corner into the shade and a find myself back in the frost/ice. It's not just the traffic cyclists have to watch out for is it!



Our rides can get a bit technical on mornings like this morning.


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## Andrew Br (8 Jan 2018)

Tail End Charlie said:


> There is a strava bit descending The Cat and Fiddle into Macclesfield. On the route is Peak View cafe (excellent btw). I'm sure @Andrew Br once told me he had the slowest descent recorded as he'd spent ages in the cafe without turning his Garmin off.


 Alas no longer, someone's "beaten" me:- https://www.strava.com/segments/6977079

Perhaps I'll have a second (or third) coffee next time I'm there.


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## roadrash (8 Jan 2018)

another vote for pootler and proud


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## Kajjal (8 Jan 2018)

After years of charging round like a mad man trying to beat times I just enjoy the scenery now, you have to ask what I was wasting my time on before 

After turning into Stravaman I just thought this is daft and stopped it.


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## JPBoothy (8 Jan 2018)

[QUOTE 5109322, member: 43827"]I hope to pootle around Majorca this year.

My cousin has an apartment in Puerto Pollensa which I can have for a week in late summer. I have no intention of joining the people on "training camps" but intend to do four or five days of no more than 40 miles each day on his old hardtail mtb. Plenty of sights to see and stop for an hour or two.

I will get in a lot of dedicated pootling as training throughout the summer in the UK, possibly using Strava to make sure I don't improve my performance.[/QUOTE]
Pootling in the sun with lovely cafes/bars to ensure that you don't dehydrate or let your sugars get low (always thinking healthy ) is my idea of fun. Enjoy yourself and don't be tempted to chase the lycra racing snakes.


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