Your ride today.... (part 1)

[Glow worm]

Two inches of rain yesterday and overnight left things rather on the damp side hereabouts today. Completed a 26 mile circuit through Newmarket, Burwell, Wicken then down to Lode and home.

I live just the other side of the bypass to Newmarket and my preferred route into town is what some might term rather 'cross country'. It involves a bridleway, a gap in a hedge, a ped bridge over the bypass and a stile. All good fun. Then a couple of miles along the racecourse...

I'm never quite sure if I'm allowed to ride along here. But I've been doing it for years, it's the shortest route from my village and no ones told me not to yet.

Met mrs G for lunch in town then headed off. First through Exning and west along another bridleway. I'd do almost anything to avoid people roads. Hedge on left is Suffolk, the bike is in Cambs....(I hadn't dropped a pannier en-route, mrs G took it home for me full of shopping).

Despite all the rain, the paths weren't that bad. This is as bad as it got...

Then on through Burwell and onto Wicken Fen. Not much about today as I stopped for a brew in a bird hide....

Found a plum tree full of sweet juicy yellow plums near White Fen - a real treat. Then onto White Fen...

Great to get out today before Bertha gets to do her worst tomorrow. 26 miles in about 4 hours average speed, a supersonic 8.9mph!

 

[ianrauk]

Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Mersea Edition ( Well for me anyway)

Well, rain stopping at midnight? Is that right? Is it bowlacks. I got the train up to that there Londinium to meet up at HPC with which ever hardy souls had decided that they would make the effort to do this ride despite the reported precipitation. Please, Please, Please if you decide not to do the ride then at least give Simon a courtesy call or text. It doesn't take a second and it's just good manners.

There was 10 of us hardy souls at HPC, sheltering from the drizzle, Myself, Glorious Ride Leader Simon and his Beau Belle, Agent Hilda, Mary of the Squeaking brakes, StuartG, Adrian, Charlie, Greg, Julie and renewed of cycling vim and vigour User13710 Jenny .

We could wait no longer and 'We're on our way' heading into mild temperature's and warm wind and rain. Words were discussed as to when the rian would stop, 1am, 2am...We did the usual ride out of London, as always looking wonderful even in the drizzle.
The usual suspects were dispatched without even touching the sides, Aldgate, Stratford, Ilford, Romford and the climb up to Brentwood. The constant rain keeping the roads and pavements free of the fascinating wildlife that we usually see on drier friday nights.

Once at Brentwood, rain still falling, Simon thought out loud as to divert via Billericay rather then the Stock ford option due to the rain. By now the rain had just turned into very light drizzle. The rain had been getting us all down I think, the ride chatter was rather muted but soon reverted back to non stop chatty nonsensical's as the rain finally stopped. 3AM you miserable weather reporting sites.. 3AM. AT LAST.. A DRY RIDE! and the temperatures were very mild.

So Stock.. the place with a windmill that martint235 never sees and a ford. No riding through the ford StuAff style this time... and no walking the side bridge either. No...the water had overspilled on to that and the following path and the following road. We had to walk... no sorry wade through. Greg bravely went first. OK, the water was near his knees, we were all going to have to follow his lead.

I was wearing sealskinz socks, they work for me, they don't for others. They keep the wet out.. and they fill up with water when fully submerged. I felt the cold trickle of flood water entering the socks as I waded through.. yeauch......once the flood water had been traversed I had to stop to whip the socks off and empty of water like an upturned welly boot. A good squeeze and a bit for a whirly whirl (Adrian 'stop that please Ian'), and they were good to go.

A quick stop for 2 bites of a sandwich and a wazz and were were in and out of Tesco's Maldon before you could even blink. We got this far with only one puncture, which for a rain sodden night was good going in my book.

But some people are more unlucky then others with one of our number having 2 punctures, in quick succession. Both tubes used up, Adrian saved the day with a spare tube (pre-talk'ed & mighty of course)

By now, 7 of the riders had moved on at a very quick pace to get the the first ferry (did I mention User13710's renewed cycling mojo? It was great to see and I wasn't the only person to notice).
The three of us moved at a furious pace to try catch up. The rolling roads of East Essex and Mersea Island make for such wonderful cycling.... and the sun was rising. It was going to be a beautiful morning.

We got to Mersea Island's ferry point just as we could see the ferry (with cyclists) crossing the Colne to Brightlingsea. The sun rising over the river made for such a beautiful and stunning morning.

I padlocked my bike up (I was turning back for home here) and with Charlie and Adrian traversed over dyke, down stairs and along the beach to the ferry point.

It was very easy to see were we had to meet the ferry, even with my limited bush tracking skills.

We reached the point just as the ferry was docking for it's second trip of the morning. With hearty handshakes and a fruit bar thrust into my hand I said good bye to my cycling companions for the last 12 miles of the journey. Feeling a little sad not being able to say cheerio to the advance party beforehand and not joining themfor the rest of the ride either, but I wanted to get back in time for Jnr's football practice.

I sat down on a sand dune and watched them cross the river. Taking in the lovely views, the stunning morning sunshine and the sounds of the estuary birds chatter

Once the boat was out of view I returned to my bike and headed west into a naughty headwind. Retracing the ride back to Maldon where I popped into Macdonald's for a coffee and a bacon roll. Dozing off, my head dropping and lifting like a car's backshelf nodding dog. One too many chin/chest interfaces forced me to get moving and back on the road. That naughty little climb out of Maldon helped get the blood pumping and a nice dash along A roads to Tolleshunt mean I was making good time. By now the beatiful day was complete, with blue sky and a warming sun. With the headwind I didn't push it too hard just pootling along taking in all the country views. Soon getting jolted back to reality once hitting the concrete mess of Okenden and beyond, knowing that Dartford Crossing was not far away. I didn't have to wait long for the crossing and was soon back in Orpington managing to catch the last half hour of jnr's football practice.

I'm filthy and my bike is filthy. I am tired and my leg's ache, i managed 131 miles for the ride. But by golly, it was a great ride, rain and all. Thank you as always dellzeqq and thank you all those that did the ride. Even though I didn't do the whole ride, this one is one of the best.

 

[Elybazza61]

Good club ride today which included a stop for tiffin and a double espresso in St Ives so some pb's on the way home;

http://www.strava.com/activities/177808615

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Mercea Edition ( Well for me anyway)

Well, rain stopping at midnight? Is that right? Is it bowlacks. I got the train up to that there Londinium to meet up at HPC with which ever hardy souls had decided that they would make the effort to do this ride despite the reported precipitation. Please, Please, Please if you decide not to do the ride then at least give Simon a courtesy call or text. It doesn't take a second and it's just good manners.

There was 10 of us hardy souls at HPC, sheltering from the drizzle, Myself, Glorious Ride Leader Simon and his Beau Belle, Agent Hilda, Mary of the Squeaking brakes, StuartG, Adrian, Charlie, Greg, Julie and renewed of cycling vim and vigour User13710 Jenny .

We could wait no longer and 'We're on our way' heading into mild temperature's and warm wind and rain. Words were discussed as to when the rian would stop, 1am, 2am...We did the usual ride out of London, as always looking wonderful even in the drizzle.
The usual suspects were dispatched without even touching the sides, Aldgate, Stratford, Ilford, Romford and the climb up to Brentwood. The constant rain keeping the roads and pavements free of the fascinating wildlife that we usually see on drier friday nights.

Once at Brentwood, rain still falling, Simon thought out loud as to divert via Billericay rather then the Stock ford option due to the rain. By now the rain had just turned into very light drizzle. The rain had been getting us all down I think, the ride chatter was rather muted but soon reverted back to non stop chatty nonsensical's as the rain finally stopped. 3AM you miserable weather reporting sites.. 3AM. AT LAST.. A DRY RIDE! and the temperatures were very mild.

So Stock.. the place with a windmill that martint235 never sees and a ford. No riding through the ford StuAff style this time... and no walking the side bridge either. No...the water had overspilled on to that and the following path and the following road. We had to walk... no sorry wade through. Greg bravely went first. OK, the water was near his knees, we were all going to have to follow his lead.

I was wearing sealskinz socks, they work for me, they don't for others. They keep the wet out.. and they fill up with water when fully submerged. I felt the cold trickle of flood water entering the socks as I waded through.. yeauch......once the flood water had been traversed I had to stop to whip the socks off and empty of water like an upturned welly boot. A good squeeze and a bit for a whirly whirl (Adrian 'stop that please Ian'), and they were good to go.

A quick stop for 2 bites of a sandwich and a wazz and were were in and out of Tesco's Maldon before you could even blink. We got this far with only one puncture, which for a rain sodden night was good going in my book.

But some people are more unlucky then others with one of our number having 2 punctures, in quick succession. Both tubes used up, Adrian saved the day with a spare tube (pre-talk'ed & mighty of course)

By now, 7 of the riders had moved on at a very quick pace to get the the first ferry (did I mention User13710's renewed cycling mojo? It was great to see and I wasn't the only person to notice).
The three of us moved at a furious pace to try catch up. The rolling roads of EAst Essex and Mercea Island make for such wonderful cycling.... and the sun was rising. It was going to be a beautiful morning.

We got to Mercea Island's ferry point just as we could see the ferry (with cyclists) crossing the Colne to Brightlingsea. The sun rising over the river made for such a beautiful and stunning sunrise.

View attachment 52865

I padlocked my bike up (I was turning back for home here) and with Charlie and Adrian traversed over dyke, down stairs and along the beach to the ferry point.

View attachment 52866

It was very easy to see were we had to meet the ferry, even with my limited bush tracking skills.

View attachment 52867

We reached the point just as the ferry was docking for it's second trip of the morning. With hearty handshakes and a fruit bar thrust into my hand I said good bye to my cycling companions for the last 12 miles of the journey. Feeling a little sad not being able to say cheerio to the advance party beforehand and not joining themfor the rest of the ride either, but I wanted to get back in time for Jnr's football practice.

View attachment 52870

I sat down on a sand dune and watched them cross the river. Taking in the lovely views, the stunning morning sunshine and the sounds of the estuary birds chatter
View attachment 52869

Once the boat was out of view I returned to my bike and headed west into a naughty headwind. Retracing the ride back to Maldon where I popped into Macdonald's for a coffee and a bacon roll. Dozing off, my head dropping and lifting like a car's backshelf nodding dog. One too many chin/chest interfaces forced me to get moving and back on the road. That naughty little climb out of Maldon helped get the blood pumping and a nice dash along A roads to Tolleshunt mean I was making good time. By now the beatiful day was complete, with blue sky and a warming sun. With the headwind I didn't push it too hard just pootling along taking in all the country views. Soon getting jolted back to reality once hitting the concrete mess of Okenden and beyond, knowing that Dartford Crossing was not far away. I didn't have to wait long for the crossing and was soon back in Orpington managing to catch the last half hour of jnr's football practice.

I'm filthy and my bike is filthy. I am tired and my leg's ache, i managed 131 miles for the ride. But by golly, it was a great ride, rain and all. Thank you as always dellzeqq and thank you all those that did the ride. Even though I didn't do the whole ride, this one is one of the best.

View attachment 52864

Some write ups deserve more than just a like.

 

[tiswas-steve]

You're slower than you first thought......?
Different satellites?

Jackass lane sounds great!

I thought that theory about the different satellite's too, Dave.
Jackass Lane makes me smile every time I see the sign for it

 

[jonnysnorocket]

That might be the Canadian one that's over here on tour.

4000 mile flight!!!

 

[G3CWI]

My first proper ride with the Macclesfield Wheelers. Across to Delamare and back. I nearly didn't go as the front mech on my bike had failed so I had to remove it leaving me with just the middle ring. Initially I struggled until someone spotted that instead of using the middle ring I had the granny ring selected; doh! It made remarkably little difference being limited to the middle ring. I did occasionally miss the bigger gears but not often. It was good cadence training too. Pigged out at Delamare on rhubarb and ginger crumble with ice cream - giant portion.

After Knutsford some people went their own way back. I intended staying with the main group but accidentally followed a splinter group. I could see that we were nearing 100km and I thought a PB might be possible so I sprinted home via a slightly longer than necessary route to nail my 100km time.

PB 100km and PB 50 miles so quite pleased.

Rest day tomorrow I think.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Very good.
We need to start a "who can do the best ride line on a map" thread.
Double bonus points for phallic symbols. But a kangaroo is up there!

that thread already exists... strava art
(I apologise in advance. probably under the NSFW category )

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Having taken one look at tomorrow's forecast, we have baled on tomorrow's monring's ride, cancelled tomorrow's alarm clock and settled for the "well you only need 51km to complete the strava challenge" approach to life this afternoon instead (commitments meant we could only have a late afternoon ride). Wind was an issue from the word go, so we headed out directly into it, to help with the homebound journey.... Point to note, Nantwich Marina café closes at 4pm... they will still serve you cold drinks and cake after this time is they are around... we know because we arrived at 4:20pm! oops.
A homeward bound journey was interesting. We have no idea where we went to, and found some really great newly surfaced single track country lanes to do and with a tale wind... Great fun, but sadly I will have to repeat the exact same route to find them again! Tis a hard life.

We did come across this house, somewhere - again we have no idea where, but it looked really nice and given that the countryside was nothing special to photo, great to look at, but nowt there to photo, I have had to settle for the house...

Back home in time for evening meal to be put on a plate at 6pm... What more can I ask for? (Well that annoying tick to go away would be really useful - we both think it is the crank/BB but I don't have a hollowtech BB removal tool, so it may be a return to bike shop it came from because the bike is less than 4 months old!)

Still 58.5km in and wind and a slower than of late average of 21.4kph but I was struggling with my asthma early on for some strange reason - it is usually OK in the afternoons, but not today.
http://www.strava.com/activities/177826362 and the 600km in 16 days Shimano Strava Challenge is now complete and my OH has had is weekend ride!

 

[JohnClimber]

200km (just over) mainly off road to and from Llandegla with nearly 5500ft of ups and downs.

At least I didn't have to pay for car parking before I did a loop, 60 miles to the trail centre was into a strong head wind and up hill, at least it was fun heading home again.

 

[Gravity Aided]

@Gravity Aided

The graveyard and grain tower look like a quintessential English country estate....are you sure you were cycling where you say you were?

Yes, although the landscape and origin of the people get a little more Teutonic just west of here. Some places in this city look quite European. Homesickness, I suppose.

 

[cyberknight]

Anyone got a pedalo?
Its the only way i will get out atm !

 

[Lisat]

Trip out to Swanage, via the Sandbanks chain ferry. Not too hot and nice cuppa in Swanage. Glad I went yesterday as it is howling down here in Bournemouth today.

 

[Dave 123]

Yes, although the landscape and origin of the people get a little more Teutonic just west of here. Some places in this city look quite European. Homesickness, I suppose.

Towels on sun beds then...?

 

[Ollie W]

Was meant to go on another local Skyride but it was cancelled just as I was being soaked while putting my brakes back together never mind...