Your ride today.... (part 1)

[welsh dragon]

This morning off I went for a wee jaunt. Things started off well, but then went downhill. On the outward journey was sunny, however as I stopped at the village of llanwrin the skies turned dark and it turned into a race to get back in time to escape the rain. Not a huge distance, but at least I got out. Amd although I had a headache when I got home, I definitely felt better later.

 

[Hacienda71]

After doing my fathers day duties met up with @FrankW at Ashley for a tempo ride, treked across the Cheshire plain to Congleton then onto Sandbach and over to Middlewich, then onto Holmes Chapel and back via Knutsford and Tatton Park. Overcast not much of note apart from two close passes, one was a tad disconcerting when a Polish lorry cut back in far too closely near Holmes Chapel. Oh and a bee in Franks helmet on the Tatton mile. Focuses the mind! Good ride and missed the rain although there was a hint of drizzle for the last couple of miles.

http://www.strava.com/activities/153927063

 

[yello]

My rear mech jammed up on today's ride. Closer investigation revealed that dérailleur/brake cable had gotten entangled in it.... but not mine. My cables were all intact. Somehow, someone else's disposed of cable had managed to wrap itself around my rear mech.

What are the chances of that?

 

[Paul139]

A local sportive today for me, in Saffron Walden. The Walden Velo 101. 102 miles with nearly 6000ft of climbing. With 3000ft spread over the first 70ish miles and nearly another 3000ft in the last 30 miles... Sheesh!
Good day though, although the promised sun only showed its face for about 5 minutes and there seemed to be a head wind all the way, whichever direction I went.
Thanks to Walden Velo for organising the event it was really enjoyable and a good workout for the legs.
Here's the route.
https://www.strava.com/activities/153925391

 

[GrasB]

A local sportive today for me, in Saffron Walden. The Walden Velo 101. 102 miles with nearly 6000ft of climbing. With 3000ft spread over the first 70ish miles and nearly another 3000ft in the last 30 miles... Sheesh!
Good day though, although the promised sun only showed its face for about 5 minutes and there seemed to be a head wind all the way, whichever direction I went.
Thanks to Walden Velo for organising the event it was really enjoyable and a good workout for the legs.
Here's the route.
https://www.strava.com/activities/153925391

Ohh, that explains the number of riders I saw going in the opposite direction to me See a low flying cyclist in white & blue? That would have been me!

 

[Paul139]

Ohh, that explains the number of riders I saw going in the opposite direction to me See a low flying cyclist in white & blue? That would have been me!

Can't say I did.Had my head down most of the way grinding away!

 

[GrasB]

Can't say I did.Had my head down most of the way grinding away!

I was only in the opposite direction for about 4.5-5 miles

 

[TigerT]

Managed to do my first 100km ride today.

When I went out I only intended to do do 60kms - Out to the Greifensee (Local lake) - Two Laps and then home. The weather was nice so I went for a third lap.

Just as I arrived at a Cafe, a freshly baked lemon cake was just being cut up, so I enjoyed that down by the lake shore which sorted me out for the rest of the ride.

Heading back home, I was so close, I decided to go for the 100kms and turned off and took a local cycle route around town. Total 101.6kms. Bit hot and could have done with a few less headwinds, but a good day out.

 

[gavgav]

This morning off I went for a wee jaunt. Things started off well, but then went downhill. On the outward journey was sunny, however as I stopped at the village of llanwrin the skies turned dark and it turned into a race to get back in time to escape the rain. Not a huge distance, but at least I got out. Amd although I had a headache when I got home, I definitely felt better later.

View attachment 47817

Great to see you've been out!!

 

[derrick]

Did our first 100 miler of the year, 4 of us set off to clavering lakes for a spot of lunch, a nice easy ride with a bit of wind to hinder us,one of the girls picked up a puncture on the way back, but apart from that no probs, was quite a hilly ride, good bit of practice for the London 100. Ended up in a pub with a well deserved pint of Pironi.

 

[vernon]

My ride yesterday was one of three parts. It was a sixty five miler mostly on NCN1 from Thurso to the Crask Inn. The first thirty three miles to Bettyhill were purgatory - mostly uphill undulations with a strong headwind

Part two was twenty two miles along the Stratnever Trail from Bettyhill to Altnahara an extended site of the highland clearances with remnants of the clearance still visible. I took this route instead of going via Tongue because it promised flatness and this proved to be the case.

The last ten miles were mostly uphill with one or two false summits and close to the summit which came two miles later than anticipated I got off and pushed. Beaten by my head rather than gravity.

The Crask Inn at the end of the ride - this hostelry merits a posting in its own right. I've a belly full of fine food, ale and malt whisky and as I retire to bed, there are still members of an angling party catching trout in the burn at 01:00 because it's still light enough to see.

A grand day and some of the next morning out!

Pics will have to wait as the bandwidth here is poor.

 

[Cubist]

Rode a local nemesis hill on Saturday, Wessenden from Meltham, Cat 2 on Strava, as part of the build up to the sponsored ride in July. Had planned a longer route but my mate was running a Rugby camp and we couldn't start before 4 pm. It was hot. This road lark is starting to get a bit of a hold on me, but the climb was hard work, and involved a bottom gear grind for the majority of the hill itself. Still, I managed to haul my carcass all the way in one go, despite never having done so before. I was surprised how quickly I recovered once I got to the top, and we dropped down the Greenfield Rd to the Ford in a headwind that took a lot of the fun out of it. Cross country via Digley to Holmbridge, then Holmfirth, where my companion chose the short cut back to Huddersfield. He is a relative newcomer, and I think he was feeling a bit sore and stiff. I've discovered I may be very slow uphill, but I can keep going for considerable distances. Next week I'm going to find a less lumpy but much longer route to get some time in the saddle.

 

[Saluki]

I couldn't sleep so at about 4:10 this morning, I crept into the bedroom and grabbed my bib shorts, shoes and bike jacket and then back to the living room and got changed. I found a bidon on the drainer so filled it and went off downstairs to the hallway grabbing my iPod and Garmin on the way. My original plan was to ride my nice little 11 mile route but got half way round and decided to head for East Carleton and then turned left at East Carleton and headed for Kenninghall. Forgot to turn right to Cringleford and ended up at the A11 duel carriageway so turned back and retraced my wheel tracks for half a mile.
Once back at the crossroads, that I had missed earlier, I turned right towards Wymondham rather than to Cringleford as I was getting a bit of a nagging pain in my left hip for some reason. I followed the road all the way to Wymondham and then turned off down Lower Spinks Lane or whatever its called so I could put an extra mile on the ride.

16.38 in 1:11:20. I wasn't hurrying. I could hear my wheels on the road, the birds singing and watched all the rabbits running about being busy in the new day. Home now, cup of tea in hand and deciding whether to go to bed for an hour or to go and have a nice bath.
This not sleeping malarkey is a right pain but at least I got a nice ride in.

 

[HLaB]

The photos still aren't up, so I'll post anyway. Did the Cairgorm Sportive again on Saturday. Bit of a contrast from earlier years though, p1shed overnight, the summit was still misty and it showered a bit on route so there was no repeat of the 46mph down the mountain, this year I didn't even hit 35mph (34.9mph) did reach 40mph on one of the foothills further down when the roads had dried out. I also wasn't in the best condition physically, still recovering from a heavy cold and I think I'd strained stomething on the back of my calf, it'd been waking me up at 3am everynight the week prior (a trip to a physio is in order I believe). Made a wrong clothing choice at the start, wore my montane featherlite, which was ideal going down the mountain in the mist but was a bit too hot when it started to dry out and I didn't want to stress my calf so I dropped of the pack quickly. To my suprise they came by shortly later, they'd took a wrong turning and told me they had dropped my brother who'd had a mechanical, so I waited for him and the two of us went round with a few folk trying to draft us. The mountain, contrary to what I was expecting after a couple of years in the flatlands and with a dodgy calf, wasn't that bad and I actually sailed up it my fastest time. That was helped by somebody joinining us and actually taking a turn, although I ended up dropping him halfway up. I think my HR tells the story a bit too high at the start when i was overheating and never even got above that on the Cairngorm climb. Did a lap of the carpark whilst waiting for my brother, thought I'd have time for a few more but chapeau to him he wasn't far behind, so I had to do a lap of Aviemore Hight Street to get my Ton.
Only the two of us stayed this year but I think we drank everyone else's quota of beer anyway, and watched football.

 

[MarkF]

A lovely ride from Calverley to Skipton, where I found the TdF Grand Depart trophy on display in the town hall along with cycle related exhibition. Had a look in Dave Ferguson Cycles (shop guy talked way too much) then in a new "boutique" cycle shop on the High St, what a contrast! So boring I've forgotten it's name. Hit the £ bakery for the first time, not bad and noticed people started milling around and crowding the pavements, I was hoping for a cycle race but it was the Skipton Gala. I watched this from The Castle pub and got into a not moving/drinking groove which necessitated a 20 mile return via the towpath, very bumpy Skipton to Silsden.............. on 23mm's.