In praise of the short ride

[Bollo]

Long distance rides are rightly glorified on 'chat. But like many people, jobs, families and life often mean that a good many of my rides are only an hour or two long. I've become a master of the 'wife TT', where the time limit is determined absolutely by the tap of a spousal watch face.

Luckily I enjoy shorter rides and the lanes of mid-Hants are varied and numerous enough to keep things interesting. My favourite is probably known to most cycling Wintonians, which manages to fit in woodland, downs, deer, a vineyard, a horse grave, views of the IoW and the Spinaker Tower, IBM and more thatch than an '80s Ben Elton monologue. And inclines.

So, what's your favourite short ride and why? It can just be a few minutes long, but I'm going to put an arbitrary maximum limit of 1hr 2 minutes, which is the personal best for mine.

 

[Smokin Joe]

It can be nice to get out even if it is only for half an hour. Not ideal, but it keeps the legs turning and makes sure you don't lose all your fitness.

 

[raleighnut]

Prior to me breaking my Femur I used to do a couple of 8-12 mile 'Blatts' every week, finishing at one of a couple of pubs about a mile from home ( the Railway in Glenfield or the Red Cow in Leicester Forest East) for a quick 'recovery' pint before pottering home.

 

[kiriyama]

I'm well practiced at the 'wife TT' between work and family the majority of my rides are only around an hour long. Pleanty of fun to be had round here In an hour though!

 

[NorthernDave]

If I get chance, I really enjoy squeezing in a quick 10k / half hour ride after work and before tea.
I get a great stress busting, head clearing, leg spinning ride out into the countryside and back while Mrs ND gets the tea on without me under her feet.

I believe a management consultant would call that a "win-win" situation.

 

[ayceejay]

more thatch than an '80s Ben Elton monologue.
What a brilliant line Bollo

 

[goody]

I've often wondered what it is with cycling that makes you want to get out for longer and longer. I suppose three hours would be a short ride and look forward to 200, 300 and 400km Audaxes. My mates that play football, golf, running don't seem to look forward to 6hr+ sessions of their favorite past-time.The only time I'm on a bike for about an hour is to and from work so I suppose my favorite is commuting home.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I've often wondered what it is with cycling that makes you want to get out for longer and longer. I suppose three hours would be a short ride and look forward to 200, 300 and 400km Audaxes. My mates that play football, golf, running don't seem to look forward to 6hr+ sessions of their favorite past-time.The only time I'm on a bike for about an hour is to and from work so I suppose my favorite is commuting home.

Its good to push yourself occasionally, thats what the longer rides often do. A typical ride for me would be 50-60 miles, when the weather warms up I'll be looking to do some longer rides to push myself a bit. I'm a fan of the shorter ride as well, I just don't want to do to many of them.

 

[steve50]

If I'm on limited time i enjoy a ride out to visit my old mum and then taking the scenic route home usually covering ten to twelve miles but around here that can be a very lumpy ten miles or so.

 

[dan_bo]

My head falls off if i spend more than five hours on the bike.



We're lucky here. 20 mins i can be in the near-saddleworth with shortish steep climbs to 300 metres and lots of back lanes to explore.

My current fave is my commute- 9 mile overall, with an offroad 200M climb halfway through. 41 mins is my quickest to date.

 

[Globalti]

We have a 17 mile ride that I call our hooligan ride, which we do on Wednesday evenings using lights in the in-betweeny seasons. It's a circuit of Clitheroe starting and finishing in Whalley. On a summer's evening we divert past the Swan With Two Necks at Pendleton and stop for a pint, which usually means a chilly blast home for the last three miles with beer slopping in the stomach but we enjoy stopping for a relaxing yarn in the pub garden. We can usually complete the riding bit in an hour even though there's 810 feet of clmbing.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Zwift Watopia figure 8. 18miles ish of sweat and pain that beats going out in the cold or having to gamble with clothing choices hands down.

 

[Fab Foodie]

more thatch than an '80s Ben Elton monologue.
What a brilliant line Bollo

Beat me to it!

 

[numbnuts]

a horse grave

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Love the thatch line too, I shall be shamelessly nicking it whenever I am in a chocolate box village @Bollo

Like Dan, I have Saddleworth on the doorstep and some pretty grimy hard undulating roads out of Oldham to play on, less so now I've ditched the roadie, but there's still plenty of pretty/gritty nearby places and a good workout to be had taking the back roads into Tameside countryside, or up to Dovestones reservoir, for a cup of tea and back again. I've also got little bits of cobbles that make Paris-Roubaix look like easy and whole spiders web of barely used narrow lanes and a lovely sceninc country park right on my doorstep to pootle around when it suits me, lots of bits of that I ride with my dogs to give them a run at nearer their proper sighthound/lurcher pace.