Your ride today.... (part 1)

[Rob3rt]

You two are proper riders!

I don't know how you come to that conclusion, or even what it really means? But I will take it as a complement

The Brickworks Climb - long, way too long!

I love the Brickworks, it is a good length and a good gradient, nice scenery and you have lots of options of where to go next when you get to the top I need to pay the climb a visit some time soon to set a good time up it, since I seem to have found my climbing legs of late.

 

[Matthew_T]

Lovely ride this morning. Sun coming out, got second on a segment. Very cold though which affected my performance.

Very good driving from people when I first went out. However, as it grew close to 9am the driving started to get worse. Had a guy close pass me and had a woman cause another vehicle to emergency stop when she overtook me on a bend on a bridge.

 

[postman]

It was only 27 miles,and the weather changed a few times.But all in all it was SUPERB.It was great to be out it has been a very long time.

 

[Saluki]

Managed to get out for a ride today. 8.7 miles and averaged just over 10mph. I have not been out on my bike for a while and 2 weeks ago I fell over and bashed both knees quite badly and had a lump on my head like an egg, so I was chuffed to get out today. I had planned to go out over the weekend but stayed in bed snuffling, sneezing and coughing my guts up, so cycling was not going to happen there.

I just did a nice local loop, along the B1108 then turned towards Wymondham, turned again up a road called Youngmans Road and picked my way around the pot holes and muddy bits, up along Melton Road towards Gt Melton and then back down towards Barford. At Barford my right knee decided to ache - I reckon that it was the anticipation of that bloomin' hill up to Barnham Broom that did it. I got up the hill in reasonable style and didn't feel sick like I did the other week, and then home.

Hopefully I'll get out again tomorrow after work. Tuesdays and Thursdays are great for me as hubby is at dialysis (not so nice for him obviously) but I can get out on my bike without worrying if he wants to come along or whether I should cook tea first etc.

 

[thegravestoneman]

decided to try some speed work , as I want to try time trialling in the future. Spent a lot of time down on the drops over the last couple of days this has led me to dropping my bars back down to the position they were in when I got the bike out of my Dads loft. It turns out I ain't as fast as I used to be (go figure) by a long chalk and the recovery takes longer too. So if you see an old git going fast in slow motion round Fairburn Ings that's me. I have mapped out a ten mile there and back run with a roundabout as the turn around point. Today my legs felt like lead when I tried it so took the afternoon away from the bike and had a twenty mile pootle back from Harewood as my beloved was horseying there again, feel much better at 15 rather than trying to better 20mph. Still distance work tomorrow and another speed day Thursday.

 

[coffeejo]

50 miles up on the Blackdown Hills, via Wellington, Culmstock, Dunkeswell, Smeatharpe and Staple Fitzpaine. Met a particularly ferocious headwind up on top of the Hills ... tried telling myself it was like cycling uphill and that I needed the practice, but it wasn't a very convincing argument. Hills keep you warm. This wind was distinctly chilly.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Chilly wind here too. Took a loop through Wild Daffodil territory today. Wondrous swathes of yellow in the woods and hedges. Blue Skies and a strange yellow shiny thing in the sky made things feel warmer than it was. Snow still on the Hills and the Black Mountains in Wales weren't black - quite the opposite indeed. Lovely outing tho'

 

[Saluki]

Chilly wind here too. Took a loop through Wild Daffodil territory today. Wondrous swathes of yellow in the woods and hedges. Blue Skies and a strange yellow shiny thing in the sky made things feel warmer than it was. Snow still on the Hills and the Black Mountains in Wales weren't black - quite the opposite indeed. Lovely outing tho'

What was that strange yellow thing that was there yesterday?I see that its not there today and the temp has dropped again. My knee hurts just sitting in the kitchen.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

What was that strange yellow thing that was there yesterday?I see that its not there today and the temp has dropped again. My knee hurts just sitting in the kitchen.

said strange yellow thing is here today (thank you), but tis also cold here as well.... was it meant to come with an increase in temperature?

 

[Stringy Bob]

What a way to start the day! 31 miles round the local environs. Cold, yes, but lovley sunshine. Had a great couple of hours. Snow still banked to top of the hedges on some hills and some roads still quite icy, just to keep you on your toes. Also, noticed 40 or so widgeon on a pond in a field. They should have started their spring migration weeks ago. Must not fancy making the trip north just yet. Really fab ride.

 

[G3CWI]

Rode across the Peak to Bakewell. Using minor roads turned the trip into a bit of a nightmare. 39mph headwind made pedaling downhill essential. Poor choice of route meant carrying/pushing bike over a kilometre due to snow. One road had completely disappeared - just snow drifts between walls.. Fortunately I was meeting my wife and some friends there so as soon as a lift back was offered, I accepted. On a better day it would have been a magnificent trip!

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Today's plan was to have an easy(ish) MTB ride nr Ulswater, but due to a last minute no-show (the chap with the van) a plan B had to be created in a hurry. So we set off for a short ride to Dalston and back along the cycleway - I distance of about 4 miles each way. However..

...when we got to Dalston, we kept pedalling, and pedalling and pedalling....

... 46 miles later I arrived home one happy chappy. All on very knobbly tyres too

And this is entirely to blame for our prolonged excursion...

 

[Glow worm]

A 30 miler today here, via my LBS in Newmarket after a spectacular cock up earlier on my part in a pitiful attempt to replace the front mech gear cable. It's one of the easier things you can do in bike maintenance, but it is still beyond me. So after much swearing, I set off.

The LBS guy very charitably told me it was a tough one to do, so with my ego, faintly restored, and gears completely restored, I left Newmarket heading for Exning, Suffolk's westernmost village. I couldn't face the busy B1103 to Burwell, so took an adjacent route, using a lane and bridlepath, which luckily has dried out enough now to cycle along. At the path's start, is my favourite roadsign of all...

This is border country and the hedge on the right is the Cambs/ Suffolk boundary with Cambs on the left.

Once through the top of Burwell, I headed out towards Wicken Fen (again) on the Lodes Way. The cafe there was quiet so no queue for a welcome cuppa. Not many birds around today either, although there were a few redpolls on the feeders there. With the howling, freezing wind blowing me along now, I headed south- below is White Fen, a carrot field until 5 years or so ago. Now owned by the National Trust, there are ponds there and lots of trees planted. There is also a couple of picnic tables for weary cyclists, but today was far too cold to linger.

The pylons above, take leccy to Cambridge. They had to build that second row on the right a few years back because Cambridge is growing fast, and ever hungrier for power. Cambridgeshire's obsession with streetlights every few yards probably doesn't help. There do seem to be an awful lot of pylons hereabouts, but you sort of get used to them and they make handy perches for kestrels of course.

Almost home, and my never ending quest to find the quietest routes possible, as far away as I can get from cars, does take me along some interesting byways. This is one of my favourites, cutting a big corner and avoiding a horrible road. Legally, it's a footpath and I am not really supposed to ride along here, but given the choice between this and a busy road, I know where I'd rather be.

Home after almost 4 hours, including the LBS fixing my gears, so quite a fast 30 miles - certainly for me. I guess the cold meant I felt less inclined to hang around!

 

[Paulus]

I refer to my post of last week. A trip to the shops and back, 6 1/2 miles in total.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

said strange yellow thing is here today (thank you), but tis also cold here as well.... was it meant to come with an increase in temperature?

Ah - yes it was here again today too. That cold wind was much stronger tho' so it felt pretty chilly.


Accompanied a 73 yr old chap on a ride today. It was pretty slow at times with that wind preventing any sort of pace. I was a wind break for my oldie but even so we were down below 10 mph sometimes. Much better on the way back with wind assistance. We clocked 67 miles. Not bad for an old fogey and plenty for me too