Your ride today.... (part 1)

[totallyfixed]

Not a million miles from you gbb, 30 miles, lots of hills [on fixed of course], 4 buzzards, 1 kestrel and a jay [but no partridge in a pear tree

]

PS were the Red Kites in the Rockingham area?

 

[gbb]

Not a million miles from you gbb, 30 miles, lots of hills [on fixed of course], 4 buzzards, 1 kestrel and a jay [but no partridge in a pear tree

]

PS were the Red Kites in the Rockingham area?

I see you're in the 'smallest county'..which i assume is Rutland. Yup, i see Red Kite anywhere between the fringes of Peterborough, to Rockingham Raceway, Seaton, Gretton, Corby, Oundle even down as far as Alconbury...they're just the places i've seen them. They've probably spread even further afield.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Strange: 3 apologies from other people today. That never happens.

1st was a bus that overtook before darting back into a stop. I'd seen the person waiting at the bus stop so was ready to slip outside without even having to brake. The driver stuck out an apologetic hand for his pointless manoeuvre as I passed. I acknowledged the gesture. No problem.

2nd was a people carrier at a pinch point that had to steal my road by pulling alongside and half past me even though the way for it was clearly blocked. After it had stolen my bit of road, I filtered past and shouted ''think.'' 50-odd metres later on, the people carrier passed me on a bit of open dual carriageway and the passenger raised an apologetic hand.

3rd was about 10 metres from home when a pedestrian decided to cross the road in front of me without looking. I've got a bell on my bike but it never seems to have the desired effect so I gave a really loud, throat-clearing ''ahem,'' and he looked, stopped walking out into the road and said ''Sorry, boss.''

This is a personal record. Nobody got hurt. Nobody got really angry. Nobody got into that reflex ''blame the other'' reaction. Oh well, I suppose this means that I've now got a reverse-karmic backlog of confrontations to deal with tomorrow.

EDIT: only bird I noticed today was a pied wagtail in Downham, SE London.

 

[GordonB]

I'm in Jersey for a few days mentoring one of my ex students (free travel and accomodation!) so I've had a really nice ride today - at least the weather was lovely, 12 degrees Celcius, sunny skies, lightish wind. Took my Vitus 979 with me, which is all set up for rides round the Suffolk lanes, but Jersey is somewhat different. Started in Red Houses headed to St Ouens Bay, blasted down the hill, gorgeous ride along the bay with courteous drivers abounding then.............bu**er me what the hell is that? Can't be a hill, they don't get that steep, leastways not at home. For them as hasn't been here Jersey is full of nasty steep bits with curly things in the middle. I tried, boy I tried but I now reckon that my bulging thighs are calves are actually full of redundant connective tissue 'cos there wasn't much muscle responding to by brain's entreaties to push. I hardly ever get off the big chainring at home but here I was on inside ring bottom sprocket and completely unable to turn the freakin' pedals. To my everlasting shame I got off and pushed.........please don't tell anyone.

On reflection perhaps having a lowest gear consisting of a 48 tooth chainring driving a 21 tooth sprocket was not a wise choice and maybe I need more practice on what passes for hills in Suffolk, but it was a nice ride, 18 miles in just over the hour (not counting the time spent peering at my phone gps wondering where the hell I was). Also nice to see many other racing cyclists out for a spin, must have seen at least 50 or 60 in total whereas Rezillo and I regard seeing two on the Suffolk roads as an event worthy of mention.

Also managed to buy a wierd old 1980s Olmo race bike while I was here, all the main tubes are fluted with six flutes running most of their length. It'll make a nice restoration project.

Gordon

 

[Fab Foodie]

34 miles at a leisurely, conversational, 13.5 mph from Abingdon (using a lot of cycle-paths for chatting purposes) out to Waterperry gardens for a double-shot Capuccino and a fab Apricot slice. Chuffin blowy in places though and warm, I'd wish I'd worn shorts, thinner gloves and a less warm top.
Still, good company and good miles!

 

[gbb]

Just normal'ish commuting mileage for me today in very very windy conditions, but it upped the total mileage this week to just over the hundred. Nothing short of miraculous for me at this time of the year !!!
Looking forward to Tuesday...day off, hope to get at least a fifty in.

 

[dellzeqq]

Streatham Hill, Seven Kings, Maldon, Witham Station, 55 miles.

A blustery, wet day, with the wind pushing us over roads oftentimes covered in standing water. Half of Essex is submerged (you can write your own jokes here). Two feet of water at the ford between Mountnessing and Stock.

Our first country ride of the year - although, as is the way of these things, we didn't see much country until we were at the M25. We've done this little trip three times in the last twelve months (and I've done it three times more on the way to Mersea Island and beyond) and the attraction doesn't pall. There's McDonalds at Seven Kings - cheap coffee, clean toilets, nice decor and pleasant staff. There's Fairholme Road in Romford and Church Road in Mountnessing, both just a little too ordinary to be on the way to somewhere, and charming because of that. There are fine churches at Stock and East Hanningfield, a wonderful seventeenth century pub in Mountnessing painted duck egg blue. There's the silky smooth road from Stock to West Hanningfield, a road that winds gently downward for so long that Adrian (I think) wondered if we were below sea level. And Maldon is pretty - prettier than Southwold or Bungay, those Suffolk towns that draw amateur painters in droves, but, despite Constable, in the wrong county to be much of a tourist attraction.

All of this is lovely, but made more lovely by the company. She's off to a flying start this year. I doubt we did a fifty mile ride before March in 2010.

 

[craigwend]

My longer (18.7) night ride loop - unusually mild and very breezey contributing to a 'sprint' finish.

 

[craigwend]

and today I did it again in (fading) daylight/dusk/dark... it goes dark quick

but enough of me, mrs craigwend also did the same ride (18.7) on her own (she has started riding a 10 mile loop with a friend) which may not sound much, though I think it's her longest ride on her own - the ride started of sunny as well... before chucking it down.

 

[edwardd67]

Was out yesterday with some friends ----turned out to be a nightmare , 20 miles out puncture fixed it ,or so i thought Second puncture maybe in my haste to catch up with the bunch i was out with I might have nicked the tube putting it back on
So phoned the guys and told them i was heading home.
Took my time and fixed the second flat and headed home , 2 miles gone car too close couldn't dodge a pothole
and bang burst tube don't think any damage to the rim?
Couldn't even be bothered to look so annoyed!
On the plus side a cyclist going in the opposite direction stopped and offered me another tube but by that time i'd phoned for a lift home.
So now i'll carry 3 or 4 spare tubes

 

[perplexed]

22.5 miles today. But I do live in Sheffield, and miles count double because of the hills, so lets call it 45!

 

[headcoat]

Ride to work today was terrible, firstly train wasn't going all the way so had an extra 5 miles to ride, when I started riding it too transpired that the area was covered in black ice, which I found to my cost while lying in the middle of a narrow country road, quicly getting up before a car came. Was warned later going through a village to be careful a rider had gone the now an ice hill had taken out a rider earlier and he'd broken his leg....I walked it....Got to work eventually but was scary at times especially as the car drivers are oblivious to the ice.

 

[Toeclip]

Out this morning for the first time in two weeks and did it feel good! Lovely and sunny but one Lane was under water so wet feet. Just a 10 mile spin but very enjoyable it was too.

 

[gbb]

Exactly 60 miles...
Slightly frosty this morning and it was deceptively nice...dangerously so.
13 miles in, i normally stop to have some breakfast....nooo, the cafe's shut. Bugger, the next one is some 10/15 miles away, so off i set. About a mile on, slight frosting on the verges, country roads look ok...BANG...striaght off on a patch of ice. Slightly scaped my NEW Altura Windchill jacket, holed my NEW roubaix longs and gouged my glove. Bike got away with it, only slight damage to the handlebar tape and saddle. Wish i could say the same for me...handsize rash on my hip, gouged some flesh out of my elbow, but all in all not too bad so continued the ride.

Saw a couple of oncoming cyclists so warned them about the ice.
Up to harringworth Viaduct...what you see here is about 1/3 of the whole thing...

These photos taken on my new Nokia E72 BTW, lovely camera on it, Nokia cameras are usually crud.

On to Gretton, had a chat with a verger, who ever it is that looks after churches, over a baked potato and tuna and a cup of tea in the cafe, nice fellow, nice chat.
On to Rockingham, back via Oundle then beck road villages to Fotheringhay where Mary Queen of Scots was exectuted...here's the local church which is particually nice and imposing...

Just to get the 60, i meandered round Peterborough, had a cuppa with my dad, then passing work, they were out for teabreak so another coffee there and a chat....then home.

60 miles...doesn't feel like it. Very bright, sunny mild day. Shame about the off....

 

[craigwend]

It was cold, very cold on the night ride, colder than monday or tuesday & I kept wondering why there was a car following me on the lonely east yorkshire single track roads, damn full moon with it's trickery...