Your ride today.... (part 1)

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nickyboy

Norven Mankey
Did the Glossop Kinder Velo High Peak Hog sportive today, 83 miles & 9,000ft climbing

My first ever sportive so "why choose such a difficult one nickyboy?" I hear you cry. Well, it started half a mile down the road and was £20 including breakfast, food stops and a hog roast at the finish. Surely I'd be able to eat £20 of food wouldn't I?
Got there 7.30am to find dozens of whippet thin guys with unfeasibly expensive bikes loitering around. I hid the Raleigh under a bush and sucked my gut in.
I had made a big effort to get well hydrated the night before (water not beer for a change on Saturday night). The upshot was I went to the toilet 4 times in an hour before 8.30 arrived....and we were off!
Nice gentle tailwind pushed us over the Snake Pass and I managed to latch onto a fastish group all the way to Eadale. Mam Nick climb is haaaaard....21% in places. Over the top and first food stop...chance to start getting that £20 entry fee back. I found my true sportive skill here. I can eat faster than most people. So whilst they took 2 minutes out of me on the climb, I took 5 minutes out of them on the flapjack
Down (not up thankfully) Winnats Pass, hard climb out of Castleton, then another one out of Hathersage...Strines was approaching. For those in the know there are 3 climbs, each one harder than the last. Final one is 1km avg 16%....'orrible. At least there was another feed stop on the horizon. I must have looked shocking cos the helpers offered to fill my bottles and get me some food. I let them fill the bottles but I still had my £20 target to consider so I dealt with the sarnies and flapjack.
Did I mention the weather? Up to that point it was fine but windy. That was about to change. Rain, rain, rain. Arrived Holmfirth and started the Holme Moss climb. 30mph headwind, lashing rain. It would have been quicker to walk up. Finally back to Glossop, dibbed in, hog roast, beer, ride home, bath
Don't think I managed to eat £20 of food but it was a great event run by a good local club that I was happy so support
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Weekend 7 of my 100+ miler a weekend.
Let's see how many weekends I can keep this up.

Was on my lonesome today, no one else was available to play.
So decided to do a new route. A clockwise Kent-Surrey loop. Following the Pilgrims Way from Otford to Hollingbourne, south and, west fighting the headwind, all the way to the A23 via Yalding, Tonbridge, Hever Castle, Lingfield and Horley just north of Gatwick and the A23 all the way to Croydon, Croydon to home.

kentsurrey.jpg


It was a lovely day here in the South East. Blue skies and fluffy clouds for most of the day, with only the tiny hint of a chill. Of which made me cycle just that little bit faster.

Also had one of those odd moments.
Got a puncture 2 miles from my planned brunch stop in Yalding. So after checking the tyre it was out with the old and in with the new. Have patches so will repair at Yalding. 500 yards down the road.. pfffft.. second deflation. Bollocks. Oh well, pump and ride, pump and ride until I got to Yalding. So sat in the cafe garden with 2 egg and bacon sarnies and a huge mug of tea, I set to work.

So check 1st busted tube... nothing.
Off with the tyre, check tyre.. nothing.
Check rims, spokes etc...nothing
Check second busted tube...aha.. hole. Patch.
Check 1st busted tube again... nothing.
Ok, 1st busted tube back into tyre, pump up and see if it stays up whilst I stuff my mush.

It was still up half an hour later so bugger it.. off I set for the 56 miles home.
And blimey it lasted all the way.
Checked a few hours later after getting home and it's still inflated. Most odd.

So 111 miles for the day.

On to next weeks......
 

john59

Guru
Location
Wirral
Did the Glossop Kinder Velo High Peak Hog sportive today, 83 miles & 9,000ft climbing

My first ever sportive so "why choose such a difficult one nickyboy?" I hear you cry. Well, it started half a mile down the road and was £20 including breakfast, food stops and a hog roast at the finish. Surely I'd be able to eat £20 of food wouldn't I?
Got there 7.30am to find dozens of whippet thin guys with unfeasibly expensive bikes loitering around. I hid the Raleigh under a bush and sucked my gut in.
I had made a big effort to get well hydrated the night before (water not beer for a change on Saturday night). The upshot was I went to the toilet 4 times in an hour before 8.30 arrived....and we were off!
Nice gentle tailwind pushed us over the Snake Pass and I managed to latch onto a fastish group all the way to Eadale. Mam Nick climb is haaaaard....21% in places. Over the top and first food stop...chance to start getting that £20 entry fee back. I found my true sportive skill here. I can eat faster than most people. So whilst they took 2 minutes out of me on the climb, I took 5 minutes out of them on the flapjack
Down (not up thankfully) Winnats Pass, hard climb out of Castleton, then another one out of Hathersage...Strines was approaching. For those in the know there are 3 climbs, each one harder than the last. Final one is 1km avg 16%....'orrible. At least there was another feed stop on the horizon. I must have looked shocking cos the helpers offered to fill my bottles and get me some food. I let them fill the bottles but I still had my £20 target to consider so I dealt with the sarnies and flapjack.
Did I mention the weather? Up to that point it was fine but windy. That was about to change. Rain, rain, rain. Arrived Holmfirth and started the Holme Moss climb. 30mph headwind, lashing rain. It would have been quicker to walk up. Finally back to Glossop, dibbed in, hog roast, beer, ride home, bath
Don't think I managed to eat £20 of food but it was a great event run by a good local club that I was happy so support


Superb write up, it certainly made me laugh! Also well done, some major climbing in that sportive.

John
 

coffeejo

Ælfrēd
Location
West Somerset
Did the Glossop Kinder Velo High Peak Hog sportive today, 83 miles & 9,000ft climbing

My first ever sportive so "why choose such a difficult one nickyboy?" I hear you cry. Well, it started half a mile down the road and was £20 including breakfast, food stops and a hog roast at the finish. Surely I'd be able to eat £20 of food wouldn't I?
Got there 7.30am to find dozens of whippet thin guys with unfeasibly expensive bikes loitering around. I hid the Raleigh under a bush and sucked my gut in.
I had made a big effort to get well hydrated the night before (water not beer for a change on Saturday night). The upshot was I went to the toilet 4 times in an hour before 8.30 arrived....and we were off!
Nice gentle tailwind pushed us over the Snake Pass and I managed to latch onto a fastish group all the way to Eadale. Mam Nick climb is haaaaard....21% in places. Over the top and first food stop...chance to start getting that £20 entry fee back. I found my true sportive skill here. I can eat faster than most people. So whilst they took 2 minutes out of me on the climb, I took 5 minutes out of them on the flapjack
Down (not up thankfully) Winnats Pass, hard climb out of Castleton, then another one out of Hathersage...Strines was approaching. For those in the know there are 3 climbs, each one harder than the last. Final one is 1km avg 16%....'orrible. At least there was another feed stop on the horizon. I must have looked shocking cos the helpers offered to fill my bottles and get me some food. I let them fill the bottles but I still had my £20 target to consider so I dealt with the sarnies and flapjack.
Did I mention the weather? Up to that point it was fine but windy. That was about to change. Rain, rain, rain. Arrived Holmfirth and started the Holme Moss climb. 30mph headwind, lashing rain. It would have been quicker to walk up. Finally back to Glossop, dibbed in, hog roast, beer, ride home, bath
Don't think I managed to eat £20 of food but it was a great event run by a good local club that I was happy so support
:laugh:
 

Old Plodder

Living at the top of a steep 2 mile climb
So decided to do a new route. A clockwise Kent-Surrey loop. Following the Pilgrims Way from Otford to Hollingbourne, south and, west fighting the headwind, all the way to the A23 via Yalding, Tonbridge, Hever Castle, Lingfield and Horley just north of Gatwick and the A23 all the way to Croydon, Croydon to home.
If it's not your area, next time try coming up through South Nutfield, Bletchingly, Woldingham much nicer than the A23.
(I used to ride with the WKDA CTC, that's my old playground, lived in Hayes.)
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
If it's not your area, next time try coming up through South Nutfield, Bletchingly, Woldingham much nicer than the A23.
(I used to ride with the WKDA CTC, that's my old playground, lived in Hayes.)


Chose the A23 for a couple of reasons. 1: To get me home nice and quick. 2: It made a nice change from 80 miles of country lanes. I like the main road buzz now and again. It wasn't that busy yesterday.
 

Old Plodder

Living at the top of a steep 2 mile climb
My ride today had to be shorter than intended owing to my body not feeling up to it. :laugh:
Had intended to do around 50 but cut off for home after 12, which only gave me 21 (in 2hrs).
(Of course I still had to do the hills as I live at the top of a big one.)
Winds were about 25mph instead of the 16mph forecast, but at least it stayed dry.
 

derrick

The Glue that binds us together.
21 miles tonight a bit on the windy side but very enjoyable, I put an old pair of Endura bibs on as the Castellies were in the wash, and now my bum feels a bit bruised, won't be wearing them again, am loving these lighter evenings.
 

Glow worm

Legendary Member
Location
Near Newmarket
Working at home today so no commute- decided on a quick late afternoon circuit out on the fen to make up for it, and to get some air. Ended up being a curtailed 9 miler, due to dodging the showers. Sheltered from a storm in a bird hide near Reach and a couple of friends unexpectedly turned up as well- nice to have the company.

Got completely soaked on the way home, but while the sun shone there were some nice colours to be seen...
path.jpg


This shower passed by only to be replaced soon enough by it's bigger, angrier brother!

download.jpg
 

The Brewer

Shed Dweller
Location
Wrexham
Well this is kind of two weekends in one report.
Sunday 5/5/13 we cycled to Liverpool via Chester then ferry to Seacomb (sp) and home via a round route about the Wirral, 104miles and last Sunday we did this

sunday_zps59a86938.jpg

Sorry the pictures are head-cam stills and I'll try not to include too many of Pete riding infront of me :smile:

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Riding back through Chester

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Beautiful spring days and great cycle path from Deeside to Chester

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Marsh near Burton point

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Spitfire and Timothy Taylor on draft :smile:

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Another good stop in Hoylake

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Promenade ride from Hoylake to New Brighton

vlcsnap-2013-05-09-10h52m44s71_zps73ed7752.png


Sadly the decent cycle path ends near Birkenhead and it gets very bitty down to Ellesmere

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Quick pic of Liverpool across the Mersey.....all together NOW

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Chester to Ellesmere along the canal

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It is Spring I tell you look

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Sorry, a lazy report, but a couple of good rides. I will get a decent camera or a better phone as I love some of the pics people put up.
 
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