Julia9054
Guru
- Location
- Knaresborough
Yeah - I'd like to see you sling your bike over a hedge!
Sorry you are unwell @ColinJ - I would be interested in this one in May
Saturday, 11th May. Conder Green from Todmorden (100 miles) or Whalley (100 km)
- Thread starter ColinJ
- Start date
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Sorry you are unwell @ColinJ - I would be interested in this one in May
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Oh, and nickyboy's Llandudno ride is on the 18th so it looks like Sat 11th May or Sat 25th.
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
The weather has turned out really nice so it is a pity that I didn't feel up to it today. I woke at the time I would have been getting up for the ride but I was 'pleased' to find that I did feel pretty rough - not rough enough to feel really miserable, but rough enough to confirm that I couldn't have ridden to Conder Green and back without half (or fully!) killing myself.
Let's hope for another nice sunny day in May when the postponed ride takes place.
Let's hope for another nice sunny day in May when the postponed ride takes place.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
Weather's really nice at this end of the ride too... glad you're feeling a bit better 
Starchivore
I don't know much about Cinco de Mayo
- Location
- Halifax, West Yorkshire
Hello people- I've been off these forums for ages, not sure why other than going out of the habit, a few life changes and a period of not very much cycling.... nice to be back and my beady eye spotted this. A Colin ride provided me with my first (and still only) 100 miler. I will keep tabs on this....
When @ColinJ postponed his Conder Green Forum Ride due to illness I made an alternative plan for Saturday which involved my son coming over for the afternoon to chat and listen to the football on the radio. It was a nice lazy afternoon and our team won. It wasn’t until early evening on Saturday that I realised Mrs Littgull had arranged to visit a friend on Sunday (today) so I made a snap decision to ride Colin’s revised Conder Green route today.
My plan was to complete the 100 miles by the time I reached Rose Grove train station (near Burnley) thereby avoiding the grinding climb up from Rose Grove (after a long ride) and the fast traffic on the road back to Todmorden. More of that later!
So to achieve my plan I started out at 7.10 am and put in 11 additional miles by riding to the Bury side of Rochdale and back to Littleborough.
The forecast was good so I wore shorts and wondered if that was wise as I set off. It was a bit fresh but it turned out a good move as it warmed up a lot after 10 am. I made steady progress and had the benefit of an easterly tail/ tail cross wind for virtually all of the outward leg. The very long descent en route to Abbeystead Fell after climbing the Trough of Bowland was absolutely exhilarating. A great revision to the original route, Colin. Made all the better by the tailwind.
I have ridden up the much steeper side to Jubilee Tower twice previously coming from Quernmore but whilst the Abbeystead Fell climb is nowhere near as steep it is very long. I reached the Café D’ Lune, Conder Green at 1.10 pm. The approaching narrow lanes were the only time in the whole ride I encountered anything like busy traffic and that was just for 10 minutes or so. The rest of the day it was very light traffic as is the norm for a Colin Forum Ride. @Pale Rider will not be surprised to hear that I chose beans on toast at the cafe. Though it has to be said, the café does not offer many non-meat options – let alone plant based snacks! However, the service was friendly, quick and efficient. It’s a nice spot beside the creek and it’s very popular.
The return leg seemed to pass very quickly even though I had a head/ cross head wind for most of it. The traffic was much lighter than when I rode that same way a week or so ago (on a Thursday) on my return from Cleveleys. When I reached Longridge I stopped briefly for a jam butty I took with me and then rode up the main street. My Garmin with Colin’s gpx route file on it correctly routed me left at the crossroads. But, here is the ‘sting in the tail’ – I turned down the long descent towards Ribchester without noticing my Garmin was signalling ‘Off Course’. I had forgotten Colin had revised this bit with a climb up Longridge Fell, so I rode back up the hill and realised that whether I chose to follow Colin’s revised loop to Whalley or rode back down towards Ribchester and carried on to Spring Wood and then a further 7 miles to Rose Grove it totalled 14 miles to reach my century. So I decided to ride the revised loop. It was both scenic and very quiet. I reached Whalley at 5.30 pm and as I had exactly completed 100 miles by then I opted to get the train back from Whalley to Littleborough (with a change at . Blackburn). I got lucky with the train timings and only had to wait a short time for both.
Some pictures attached. Pleased I have notched my 3rd century of the calendar year and another great route. Thanks Colin.
I will look forward to riding it again with others when Colin reschedules it.
My plan was to complete the 100 miles by the time I reached Rose Grove train station (near Burnley) thereby avoiding the grinding climb up from Rose Grove (after a long ride) and the fast traffic on the road back to Todmorden. More of that later!
So to achieve my plan I started out at 7.10 am and put in 11 additional miles by riding to the Bury side of Rochdale and back to Littleborough.
The forecast was good so I wore shorts and wondered if that was wise as I set off. It was a bit fresh but it turned out a good move as it warmed up a lot after 10 am. I made steady progress and had the benefit of an easterly tail/ tail cross wind for virtually all of the outward leg. The very long descent en route to Abbeystead Fell after climbing the Trough of Bowland was absolutely exhilarating. A great revision to the original route, Colin. Made all the better by the tailwind.
I have ridden up the much steeper side to Jubilee Tower twice previously coming from Quernmore but whilst the Abbeystead Fell climb is nowhere near as steep it is very long. I reached the Café D’ Lune, Conder Green at 1.10 pm. The approaching narrow lanes were the only time in the whole ride I encountered anything like busy traffic and that was just for 10 minutes or so. The rest of the day it was very light traffic as is the norm for a Colin Forum Ride. @Pale Rider will not be surprised to hear that I chose beans on toast at the cafe. Though it has to be said, the café does not offer many non-meat options – let alone plant based snacks! However, the service was friendly, quick and efficient. It’s a nice spot beside the creek and it’s very popular.
The return leg seemed to pass very quickly even though I had a head/ cross head wind for most of it. The traffic was much lighter than when I rode that same way a week or so ago (on a Thursday) on my return from Cleveleys. When I reached Longridge I stopped briefly for a jam butty I took with me and then rode up the main street. My Garmin with Colin’s gpx route file on it correctly routed me left at the crossroads. But, here is the ‘sting in the tail’ – I turned down the long descent towards Ribchester without noticing my Garmin was signalling ‘Off Course’. I had forgotten Colin had revised this bit with a climb up Longridge Fell, so I rode back up the hill and realised that whether I chose to follow Colin’s revised loop to Whalley or rode back down towards Ribchester and carried on to Spring Wood and then a further 7 miles to Rose Grove it totalled 14 miles to reach my century. So I decided to ride the revised loop. It was both scenic and very quiet. I reached Whalley at 5.30 pm and as I had exactly completed 100 miles by then I opted to get the train back from Whalley to Littleborough (with a change at . Blackburn). I got lucky with the train timings and only had to wait a short time for both.
Some pictures attached. Pleased I have notched my 3rd century of the calendar year and another great route. Thanks Colin.
I will look forward to riding it again with others when Colin reschedules it.
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OP
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Excellent - well done, Brian!
I was toying with the idea of doing that myself once I am over the cold, but I think I will try to tempt you into doing my ride to Crosby instead.
I was toying with the idea of doing that myself once I am over the cold, but I think I will try to tempt you into doing my ride to Crosby instead.
- Location
- London
Yes, definitely the Crosby ride soon, Colin.
Thanks @Blue Hills. Yes that would be a very tough climb with an 'under-geared' bike. A short while back I rode a route advertised in one of the cycling magazines. I adapted it slightly to start at Lancaster train station and finish at Clitheroe. It took in 4 of the iconic Lancashire climbs - Jubilee Tower, Trough of Bowland, Cross O' Greet and Bowland Knotts. It was one of those velvet blue sky bright sunny days. A terrific ride with truly world class scenery!
My bike in the photos is a Thorn Mercury with Rohloff hub gears. A couple of years ago my car was written off by a speeding motorist whilst parked outside my house. The insurance payout was derisory as the car was 11 years old. Shortly after that I took early retirement and I decided to do without a car permanently and purchase a top quality bike. I've always been a slow cyclist but with good endurance so the Thorn suited my needs perfectly. Because it's made of steel it is very heavy (at nearly 13 kg) compared to a non steel bike. But that doesn't bother me as I have it very low geared and it gets me up the many 20-25% hills up here in the Pennines. @ColinJ will attest to my lack of bike maintenance skills. I can fix punctures, clean and lubricate my bikes and could probably just about mend a broken chain. But that's about it! Sadly, I don't have the motivation or interest in viewing the many helpful youtube videos to teach myself. So that's where the other advantages of my rohloff geared Thorn come in - very low maintenance and reliability. Also I have an arthritic right knee and left hip so comfort is a big priority and the Thorn delivers superbly on those fronts too. It's my bike for long days out in the saddle. In fact I was so impressed with it when I spotted a second hand Thorn for sale (a rare event) just over a year ago I bought that too. It's a Thorn Raven Catalyst (pictured) with Rohloff hub gears. It has mountain bike geometry and is 2 kg heavier than my Mercury but I have it very low geared so it gets me up any hill and is very comfortable. It's my 'go to' bike for local tracks and trails as well as a heavy load carrier for shopping etc.
The weight of the Thorns does mean that I am a pretty slow rider especially when in a group of riders with similar fitness but much lighter bikes but that doesn't bother me as the advantages outweigh (pardon the pun) that disadvantage. Before I decided on getting a Thorn I did consider the Van Nicholas range of titanium rohloff geared bikes. That would provide lightweight and hub gear benefits. But I was a bit put off by learning that (despite common belief to the contrary) if a titanium bike frame is badly damaged in a collision it will probably be unrepairable - unlike a quality steel frame. Mind you, if the crash was that severe the rider might be 'unrepairable' too!
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- Location
- London
Thanks for the reply @Littgull not sure if we have met (wonky memory) on a colin ride. If not, look forward to seeing you and one of those bikes soon. They sound great, a bit of weight not a problem in my opinion compared to confidence that the bike will just keep rolling. That ride you created sounds great. If by chance you have a gpx, could you pm me?
I don't think we have yet met @Blue Hills but I'm looking forward to riding with you on one of @ColinJ rides in the near future.
I've had a look for the gpx file of that scenic ride but I can only find the original (from the cycling magazine). It started and finished near Caton and included 3 of the climbs but not the Bowland Knotts. Still a really good ride and the gpx is attached.
Come to think of it I modified it quite a bit to include Bowland Knotts plus starting at Caton and finishing at Clitheroe. But unfortunately didn't keep the gpx file of it. It was on my old Garmin that is now defunct.
Hope this helps.
OP
OP
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
- Location
- London
It was a triple colin, but without big enough cogs on the back. A nice bike, my old dale, but i very rarely got it into top gear.
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