Your ride today.... (part 1)

[gavgav]

I wanted to ride somewhere new today so headed out to Montgomery and Bishop's Castle.

The start of the trip was on familiar ground out over Lyth Hill and through Exfords Green, Arscott, Lea Cross and down the lanes through Hinton and Asterley where I encountered a very skittish horse - he jumped even when I was stationary. From here I was onto new roads which were quite pleasant to start with, however once onto the B4386 to Worthen I was unimpressed with the standard of driving. Fortunately though the road seemed quieter after Brockton and it was the hills causing issues instead as it was more undulating than I'd anticipated.

By Chirbury I was ready for my lunch, however there wasn't anywhere that seemed appealing to stop so I pressed on to Montgomery where I found a bench surrounded by pretty cottages. Having eaten I pressed on again and climbed into the centre of town and got applauded by a cycle club for having made the hill.


I took a few pictures then headed for Bishop's Castle. I liked this road as it was pretty quiet for a B-road and went through some fabulous scenery. With it being so sunny, this section was accompanied by crackling noises as my tyres burst the little bubbles of tar that were welling up to the road surface.

A rider who'd passed me while I was at Montgomery came past again when I stopped for a photo. I followed at a distance matching his pace fairly easily for a while until he looked back, realised I was there and stood on the pedals to up the pace. I wasn't intending on racing him so let him head off into the distance.

The final approach to Bishop's Castle has a sting in the tail - it had been relatively flat so far on this road but makes up all the height difference in the last mile.

I had a look round and took more photos before heading on. A wrong turn leaving town took me on a pretty route but not the way I wanted but eventually I was on the road to Wentnor. I was flagging a bit around this point so there were a couple of stops for drink and cake which helped before I pressed on up the valley. The Horseshoes at The Bridges was very tempting at this point but I suspected that having a beer wouldn't help matters so I reluctantly pressed on past here without even taking a photo. Eventually I climbed to the top of Cothercott Hill where there were great views and enjoyed the fast descent (over 41mph).

The rest of the trip back made me realise how much I was flagging. I was about 5 mph slower than usual most of the way back from Pulverbatch and I gave up on the idea of putting in an extra loop to make a metric century.

57 miles at 12.6 mph average which is a bit slower than I'd have hoped for.

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I took a wrong turn in the first few miles and slipped through a time-warp It's 1974 in Asterley.......

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...... and 1934 in Worthen.

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Brockton is pretty.

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Montgomery. This is Bunners, a locally famous old-fashioned ironmongers that seems to keep everything!

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The town square in Montgomery.

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Bishop's Castle. I love all the different coloured buildings.

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Bishop's Castle.

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Britain's oldest brewery - The Three Tuns. First licenced in 1642 and there is apparently evidence to suggest there may have been a brewery here for about 50 years before that. I resisted temptation and carried on without a pint.

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After a wrong turn and a reasonable amount of climbing I made it to the top of Cothercott Hill.

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I took a different way back to usual, passing this stern old owl.

Gentle stuff between now and next Sunday please!!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Gentle stuff between now and next Sunday please!!

Dunna worry, I won't do anything silly.

 

[Archeress]

View attachment 48170 Five miles pottering around Keith and visiting Scotland's oldest distillery before setting off home on the train.

Did Keith mind you pottering round him?

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[Saluki]

Today was supposed to be a day off but guitar finished early as Leigh had to move his car as he was tipped off regarding a traffic warden. My 30 minutes lasted over 60 minutes so no complaints from me. The sun was shining so I thought that I would go out and play on my bike.

I rode from home to Wreningham, through the Hethel and past Lotus then off to East Carleton but turned off before Colin Chapman's house and headed to Ketteringham. Through Ketteringham village and then headed off towards Wymondham and home.

54 minutes dead for 13.58 miles so averaged 15.1mph. Nice bimble around the lanes. I might pop out in a min for a bottle of wine. Now I'm home after such a cracker of a ride, I feel a bit flat and down.

While out I saw a pair of Barn Owls hunting away over a hay field that had been cut since I passed it 2 days ago. I wonder if Labour are delivering the owls already.

 

[Saluki]

I'm obviously a pillock then!

Although I didn't have beer or pizza whilst watching the match, and I don't have a silly flag (that snaps off in the wind) on my car........do I still count?

You are a cyclist so immune to pillockness
We've had all sorts round here just over the last few days. Leaning out of their windows yelling "Eng-er-land" at the tops of their voices, revving their engines and generally being annoying. It's just nice to be able to go for a ride without the Eng-er-land yelling. I'm sure that it's all very macho.

 

[Kevoffthetee]

Just back from a 31 mile blast down the Tyne and back on c2c r14. I got as far as the pedestrian Tyne tunnel only to find it closed for reburbishment.

I think this ride has helped further decide I want a new MTB rather than a roady. I'm not giving up on roads, just leaving it for the new club rides which I can use the Pug for.

Eventually I'll have 2 shiney new bikes but I'll have to find a way to sneak them past Mrs KOTT

 

[GrasB]

I rode from day into the night... then found out that a Ixon IQ is absolute useless as a see-by light on my low racer

 

[gavgav]

You are a cyclist so immune to pillockness
We've had all sorts round here just over the last few days. Leaning out of their windows yelling "Eng-er-land" at the tops of their voices, revving their engines and generally being annoying. It's just nice to be able to go for a ride without the Eng-er-land yelling. I'm sure that it's all very macho.

Nah just sounds like Pillocks to me!

 

[Gravity Aided]

You are a cyclist so immune to pillockness
We've had all sorts round here just over the last few days. Leaning out of their windows yelling "Eng-er-land" at the tops of their voices, revving their engines and generally being annoying. It's just nice to be able to go for a ride without the Eng-er-land yelling. I'm sure that it's all very macho.

We have had no such problems over here. If we can beat Portugal, we may advance to the second round, and someone may notice. Besides me.

 

[vernon]

Wednesday's ride was a hot and sweaty forty miles between Inverness and Findhorn. There were some long unpleasant climbs made worse by a scorching sun. The forest/plantation that I climbed through offered some respite from the sun. The descents definitely didn't reward the misery of the climbs. A couple of unusual sights made the day worthwhile.

Viaduct on the Inverness to Aberdeen line

Chainsaw sculpture near Culloden

Prelude to a cullen skink and mixed grill meal in Nairn.

Thursday's ride was thirty six miles from Findhorn to Keith where I hoped to see some trains on the preserved railway there. It was not to be - Keith wasn't the site of the locomotive depot. I cycled past the Baxter's factory into Fochabers and then took the long drag to Keith on the A96. English motorists have a lot to learn from their Scottish counterparts. The Scottish motorists' attitude towards cyclists is exemplary. Without exception they gave me a wide berth or held back until they could overtake safely. Arrival at Keith and asking the locals about the location of the campsite revealed that it had closed a year ago. Wild camping it was to be. Now for those advocates of wild camping who suggest waiting until it's nearly dark before pitching the tent would have a long wait a month or two with the current day length in northern Scotland - it just never got dark. I made do with a quiet corner at Keith's preserved railway station site and had a great night's undisturbed sleep.

A Nimrod at RAF Kinloss

I so want to have this as my address if only for the enjoyment of saying it when asked where I live.

The last night's wild camping at Keith. Picture taken in the morning.

Well Scotland, you delivered some misery but lots of joy, surprises and happiness. The highlight of the rides has to be the Crask Inn referred to several ride reports back. Anyone cycling through the area between Bettyhill and Inverness should contrive to make the place a mandatory overnight stop. Excellent beer, food and hosts whose gentle conviviality and mildly unorthodox way of life enriches the life of all who pass through their doors.

 

[BSRU]

An enjoyable 62km early morning ride with 690m of going up.
Lovely sunrise today, wish I'd taken a camera.
First month this year with 10,000 metres of going up with lots more to come.

No cake or crumpets this morning, just some chicken fajitas but going to s summer fete later with the promise of several cake stalls.

 

[GrasB]

A lovely early morning training ride, not too many miles & not that fast overall but lots of time just to be quiet & enjoy the wildlife being totally wacko.

 

[alans]

I think I'm having deja vu.

There's an echo in here but I see no Bunnymen

 

[User33236]

Nice ride out in the sun on a loop near home that I haven't done in over two years so Strava lit up like a Christmas tree which I'd expect being two year fitter with a much better bike

Couple of scary moments though. Worst was when I was heading along a straight, 30mph limit, road and a woman coming in the opposite direction turned right across my path causing me to slam on the anchors and shout out to her which she, luckily, heard and came to a stop, as did I...... with my right knee resting on the front of her bonnet!

 

[Dave 123]

I woke up a bit lethargic this morning, so I closed my eyes again..... 9.30!
So I got on my bike eventually and headed out around Graveley and around to Croxton. Then it was off to the Gransdens and on to Kingston. At this point I could have turned for home but it was just too nice, so on I went through Eversden and on to Haslingfield, up over Chapel Hill, which is a real hill, and down through Orwell.
I rode up Old Wimpole hill, normally this hill is fine, but today I was struggling. The last 10 miles home were a struggle.

I guess that circuit training on a Friday night kind of takes the edge off things!

I may not be able to do much this afternoon, I feel tired and mellow