Your ride today.... (part 1)

[gbb]

Around 15 miles utility riding today, with the wife.
4 miles to the hospital for her bloods, onto town to lookee at B&Q, looking for material to construct a porch in the garden, then home.
Lovely weather, relaxing ride on the hybrid...it'd have been so easy to take the car

 

[gavgav]

My bike had been serviced and fettled by @Rickshaw Phil over the weekend and he had fitted my new Schwalbe Marathon tyres that he and his family had kindly bought me for my birthday, so it was off for a test ride tonight to check it all out!

It was a fabulous day here, loads of and only a fairly gentle warm breeze (NO STRONG WIND AT LAST!!). I set out on a regular route of mine to Upton Magna, Somerwood, Rodington, Longden on Tern, Isombridge, Withington and back via Upton Magna again.

For the 1st few hundred yards I seemed to be having major problems with the gears! I could hardly select a gear and they were jumping all over the place and so I wondered if I was going to have to turn back home already, but things settled down......mostly! I do seem to have some odd things happening between gears 5, 6 and 7 in mid range, but Phil couldn't replicate it in the service and so we need to look at it further on a ride together I think.

Anyway, it was a smooth ride to Rodington, and by smooth I also mean the brilliant new tyres, which are so smooth and quiet in comparison to the Rapid Rob Cyclocross tyres that I had on the bike before! As I passed Rodington Village Hall there was a mobile chip shop parked up, with the villagers queuing for their tea. It smelt lovely, but I didn't have to resist hard because I had no money with me !!

I continued on towards Longdon on Tern and there seemed to be more traffic than normal on the quiet back road, including 1 woman on my side of the road, on her mobile phone . As I got to Longdon I could see why, as the road I wanted to join, towards Wellington, was closed for roadworks!! I did think about doubling back on myself, but knowing that I only had a short distance to travel on the road before turning off I decided to risk it and see what the scene was. I was ok, as there had been some re-surfacing where the tar had set and just some bits where the top surface had been taken off and they were working on the bridge where I was turning right at and so I sneaked through .

On the Isombridge road I paused for a drink next to these 2 who seemed very friendly and came over to give me a nice greeting

Along this road I was very close to the River Tern and unfortunately it had attracted loads and loads of Midgies, hovering in clouds and I had to keep my mouth shut and head down for a good mile or so, to avoid a mouthful of them. After dusting myself down to remove them all from my bare legs and arms I headed through Withington and came across another sign for "Road Closed" but luckily it is from 22nd April for 5 days. I am going to have to alter my regular evening routes for a bit with all these roadworks!

It was then back to Upton Magna and home.

I must say that, other than the woman on her phone, I experienced probably the most courteous set of drivers I have ever had on a ride! I had loads of room given, cars pulling in to let me pass them when coming towards me on narrow sections, letting me across roads, etc. I am only too quick to criticise bad drivers and so credit where it is due.

20.93 miles
12.5 mph avg
524 ft climbing

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

My bike had been serviced and fettled by @Rickshaw Phil over the weekend and he had fitted my new Schwalbe Marathon tyres that he and his family had kindly bought me for my birthday, so it was off for a test ride tonight to check it all out!

It was a fabulous day here, loads of and only a fairly gentle warm breeze (NO STRONG WIND AT LAST!!). I set out on a regular route of mine to Upton Magna, Somerwood, Rodington, Longden on Tern, Isombridge, Withington and back via Upton Magna again.

For the 1st few hundred yards I seemed to be having major problems with the gears! I could hardly select a gear and they were jumping all over the place and so I wondered if I was going to have to turn back home already, but things settled down......mostly! I do seem to have some odd things happening between gears 5, 6 and 7 in mid range, but Phil couldn't replicate it in the service and so we need to look at it further on a ride together I think.

Anyway, it was a smooth ride to Rodington, and by smooth I also mean the brilliant new tyres, which are so smooth and quiet in comparison to the Rapid Rob Cyclocross tyres that I had on the bike before! As I passed Rodington Village Hall there was a mobile chip shop parked up, with the villagers queuing for their tea. It smelt lovely, but I didn't have to resist hard because I had no money with me !!

I continued on towards Longdon on Tern and there seemed to be more traffic than normal on the quiet back road, including 1 women on my side of the road, on her mobile phone . As I got to Longdon I could see why, as the road I wanted to join, towards Wellington, was closed for roadworks!! I did think about doubling back on myself, but knowing that I only had a short distance to travel on the road before turning off I decided to risk it and see what the scene was. I was ok, as there had been some re-surfacing where the tar had set and just some bits where the top surface had been taken off and they were working on the bridge where I was turning right at and so I sneaked through .

On the Isombridge road I paused for a drink next to these 2 who seemed very friendly and came over to give me a nice greeting
View attachment 42435

Along this road I was very close to the River Tern and unfortunately it had attracted loads and loads of Midgies, hovering in clouds and I had to keep my mouth shut and head down for a good mile or so, to avoid a mouthful of them. After dusting myself down to remove them all from my bare legs and arms I headed through Withington and came across another sign for "Road Closed" but luckily it is from 22nd April for 5 days. I am going to have to alter my regular evening routes for a bit with all these roadworks!

It was then back to Upton Magna and home.

I must say that, other than the woman on her phone, I experienced probably the most courteous set of drivers I have ever had on a ride! I had loads of room given, cars pulling in to let me pass them when coming towards me on narrow sections, letting me across roads, etc. I am only too quick to criticise bad drivers and so credit where it is due.

20.93 miles
12.5 mph avg
524 ft climbing

Glad you like the new tyres. I'll have a look at those gears again as soon as I can - I'm sure it's just a simple adjustment.

 

[theloafer]

went out straight after work first ride on the cannondale 34 miles and still feel good .....life in the old legs .......... missed this bit was also threated was arrest

a few miles from home came across a accident girl thrown from her horse paramedic was there with road blocked so took pnone out and took a photo he then came over and told me to delete it or he was calling the cops

I think was to other horse ride that was not keen on me taking photo

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/480588456

 

[gavgav]

Short ride today 4.81 miles to the shops along the bridleway outside my house, I was going to go for longer, but I donated platelets today and one is not supposed to do any thing too much afterwards, plus I always feel a bit tired, so I knocked it on the head. Pity though, its such a lovely day.

My mum is currently fighting cancer Carl and has had to have lots of platelets as part of her treatment and so a huge thumbs up for this status from me

 

[EltonFrog]

My mum is currently fighting cancer Carl and has had to have lots of platelets as part of her treatment and so a huge thumbs up for this status from me

I wish your mum the very best and hope she gets well. Today was my 104 donation and I intend to keep doing it until they tell me to stop.

 

[Baggy]

Controls #1 and #3 were both at the Riverside Cafe in Langport. I was good and only had coffee the first time but indulged in a delicious slab of carrot cake on the return leg. D wasn't happy as I has the last piece!

I probably won't do the audax again next year unless there's a change to the route but it was a good day overall - and I bumped into @Baggy at the finish who looked a bit tired after doing the shorter ride on the tandem.

The carrot cake was also on my menu, *so* delicious! Did feel wiped out at the end, work, weather and the LURGY THAT WOULD NOT DIE mean my mileage this year has been woeful - slept like a baby on Sunday night.

Discovered that the back of a tandem is pretty good for taking photos from - and look at all that lovely sky:

Agree about the route, have ridden the Doddle a few times and the bit in the middle seems to go on forever. The Diddy Doddle is a nice route as it's mostly all the laney and cakey part. Our group had a whale of a time. Sorry I had to dash at the end - one friend was keen to get back and feed her sproglet, it was her first Audax since becoming a parent!

See you at Sherborne Wonder if @User76 will be 'chaperoning' again?

 

[coffeejo]

The carrot cake was also on my menu, *so* delicious! Did feel wiped out at the end, work, weather and the LURGY THAT WOULD NOT DIE mean my mileage this year has been woeful - slept like a baby on Sunday night.

Discovered that the back of a tandem is pretty good for taking photos from - and look at all that lovely sky:

Agree about the route, have ridden the Doddle a few times and the bit in the middle seems to go on forever. The Diddy Doddle is a nice route as it's mostly all the laney and cakey part. Our group had a whale of a time. Sorry I had to dash at the end - one friend was keen to get back and feed her sproglet, it was her first Audax since becoming a parent!

See you at Sherborne Wonder if @User76 will be 'chaperoning' again?

Love the photo.
You decided if you're going for a tonsure or wimple?

 

[Baggy]

Love the photo.
You decided if you're going for a tonsure or wimple?

Thanks!
Not decided as yet. Head, bum, fitness and extra hour in bed say tonsure...
Audax, it's a bad habit

 

[coffeejo]

*groan*

 

[Saluki]

Just back from my evening ride. I rode from home to the N&N hospital to meet Ken from dialysis.
I came across a strange man at the lights past the station while I was waiting at a red light.
Man: I followed you up the hill
Me: What hill? (teeny little rise hardly worth mentioning)
Man: That hill behind us
Me: Oh
Man: Them mountain bikes are good aren't they?
Me: I suppose so, yes.
Him: How long have you had that mountain bike for?
Me: This is a road bike
Man: Nah, road bikes don't go up hills, that's a mountain bike that it.
Me: You might want to tell Nairo Quintana that then.

Happily the lights changed and I pedalled off on my Giant Defy 2 Road Bike in a different direction to the strange man.
I met another numpty 1/4 mile later when I had my hand out to the right and had started to turn when some idiot in one of those Scooby Doo WRX things with an exhaust that you could go spulunking in decided to overtake. Bloke must have had the smallest dick on the planet, either that or he was the biggest dick on the planet, I can't quite decide.
After that it was an uneventful trip to the hospital layby where Hubster was waiting for me.

Nice ride. 8.33 miles in 37:01. Miffed about the 01 bit though. A beautiful night with clear skies and a massive moon, shining brightly.

 

[ColinJ]

It was a lovely sunny day here today and a friend who is in training for the White Rose Classic rode over to do a 30 mile hilly loop with me and then ride home again. She has been doing endurance sports for over 40 years, so she is extremely fit! (Er, she started young ... )

We set off along the A646, but turned left off that to bypass Todmorden by taking the hilly but quiet and scenic road through Mankinholes and Lumbutts. It brought us out onto a road parallel to the main road to Littleborough which let us keep away from the traffic a while longer before dumping us back onto the A6033 at Walsden.

We had to do 2.7 km on that before turning right up the road to Calderbrook at the old Toll House. I have mentioned this road before - the one that is slowly slipping off the hillside. The council seem to have abandoned attempts to stop it, which means there are no longer cars on that end of it. Fine for bikes though, apart from the dodgy bit halfway up which I never ride up or down. I know it is possible because I did it by accident when I first encountered it, but flying 2 feet above broken tarmac on a road bike, and landing on gravel and more broken tarmac is not my idea of fun, and the scope for falling off trying to climb it puts me off in that direction!

We stopped for snacks and drinks where the Mary Towneley Loop/Pennine Bridleway crosses the road. I spotted 2 large hares sunbathing and tried to sneak round to take a picture of them, but those large ears did the job and they ran off while I was getting my phone out to use its camera.

I thought I would have a quick pee behind one of the ventilation shafts above Summit railway tunnel, which passes through the hillside below. I noticed that an ominous crack is developing in the brick work. I am going to email the picture to whoever is in charge of such matters these days, and suggest that somebody comes and checks it out before loose masonry starts falling down on trains passing below! (The shafts will probably be fine for years yet, but 'a stitch in time ...' and all that.)

We got back on our bikes and descended to Littleborough to begin the climb to Blackstone Edge. I was feeling pretty good so I suggested that we took the steeper, but quieter Blackstone Edge Old Road rather than doing the whole climb on the A58.

When we got back onto the main road, superwoman went into hillclimb mode and steadily pulled away from me. I could see a cyclist toiling up the hill about 500 metres in front of me and she overtook him before I had closed the gap to 250 metres. By the time I caught up with him, my pal was out of sight so I rode up the last bit talking to the stranger. He was on a tour of the local hills and was struggling a bit, but he told me that he weighs 17.5 stone so that isn't surprising! Still, fair play to him - he is working hard to do something about it

I had noticed that his saddle was a bit low as I rode up behind him. His knees were coming out mid-pedal stroke. I'm sure that he would find climbing more comfortable if he raised the saddle by an inch or so but I gave up handing out that kind of advice to strangers long ago after one rider told me to mind my own effing business!

I finally found my pal waiting up by Blackstone Edge reservoir.

We headed down the A58 towards Ripponden, the direction in which the Tour riders will be going on stage 2 in July. Somebody has been going round filling in the potholes. I don't know if that is all they are going to do, or if they will go ahead and resurface the whole road now.

We didn't go all the way to Ripponden, but turned left down Blue Ball Rd which leads onto a network of quiet lanes which is one of my favourite local cycling destinations.

After meandering round there for 20 minutes or so, we stopped so I could take a photo of a goat and some spring lambs. The goat kept turning his/her head every time I took a snap, and the lambs kept hiding behind their mothers. In the end, I took one of sheep, blue skies, cottages, dry stone walls, hills and my pal - it kind of worked!

We eventually dropped down to the A646 and crossed over at Luddenden Foot. Once again I got dropped as I watched my pal disappear up Solomon Hill. I shouted to her to wait for me at the left right turn for Booth and when I caught up with her, we rode together past the Oats Royd mill conversion. The mill had been a mess when I first saw it about 20 years ago, after a fire in the late 1980s. They have done a really good job of bringing it back into use, and it is in a beautiful location.

We turned up Jerusalem Lane, which climbs steadily before a hairpin bend turns up to the left, eventually emerging in the hilltop village of Midgley.

I wanted to get my distance for the day up to 48 km/30 miles so we continued up Height Road as far as the Hare and Hounds, and then turned left for a rapid descent to Hebden Bridge which was promptly interrupted by a photo-opportunity ...! (Sorry about the poles and signs. I couldn't find a spot without something in the way!)

And some dopey git muscled his way into this one ...

After that, we continued our rapid descent into town. I took @potsy down there once and he was almost shaking with fright by the time we got to the bottom of the hill! (Perhaps he was worried that I was going to make him ride back up again?)

We sat in the pedestrianised square and munched cake, drank drinks, and spent another 20 minutes trying to confirm/deny my suspicions that the busker playing the guitar so well through his little amp was in fact miming to MP3s! (I am fairly sure that he was, but every time I looked he looked back and stared me down! )

It was a lovely little life-affirming ride in the sunshine, the kind of thing that only 15 months ago I thought I might never be able to experience again.



PS I have now reported the cracked ventilation shaft to Network Rail and have asked for feedback so I know whether it was worth reporting!

 

[PeteXXX]

Yet again, only time for a shortish ride before work..

I was going to get a few road miles done, but the p*ncture fairy got past the padlocks and alarm on the shed and attacked my rear tyre. Grrrrr.
Never mind, no time to repair it today so popped out on the Marin for a bit after I'd lubed it up and put a few puffs of air into the Foxshock.
I used a byway that is usually deserted but there was actually someone walking along it! (if you look closely in the distance... lol)

Still, I suppose they're allowed.
After a mile on a road, I turned left into Overstone Park past the lakes and through the rhododendrons.

One of the corners in a bit tight between the fence and the stream..
Thence into the shady part of the wood.

And just to prove that there is light at the end of the tunnel,

Here it is

I would have loved to carry on for miles more, but I have to earn a crust so I headed back home via my old ruined house track.

As usual, l cut it a bit close for work and this time I didn't even have time to post this

I'm not sure of the distance as Strava didn't kick in. Probably 14 or 15 ish.
Still, the sun was shining, shorts & T shirt were worn

Then...... work Booooooo

 

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[Rickshaw Phil]

I met another numpty 1/4 mile later when I had my hand out to the right and had started to turn when some idiot in one of those Scooby Doo WRX things with an exhaust that you could go spulunking in decided to overtake. Bloke must have had the smallest dick on the planet, either that or he was the biggest dick on the planet, I can't quite decide.

Must be the sunshine that brings these nutters out. Scary isn't it?