- Location
- Egham
A day of decorating today, and 2 rides on the Brompton after realising that I had no Bonios for the dogs lunch, and another post lunch when I realised I was running out of paint....
Your ride today....
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
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- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Got out for another ride this afternoon in more nice sunshine, although it wasn't as warm as yesterday. I had an idea about doing something different but couldn't make my mind up where to go, so ended up playing it safe and sticking to roads I know well.
Today's trip was south to Condover, Pitchford , Acton Burnell and over Folly Bank to Cardington then back via Hughley, Harnage Grange, Harnage, Cound, Pitchford and Condover again.
Not much to report this time other than it was still a bit windy (although not like yesterday) and I was riding directly against it for a few miles from Acton Burnell (which is often the case due to the way the wind flows around the hills). This was balanced by some nice fast riding on a couple of stretches which are downhill as well as having the wind behind me.
Near Cound Stank I got held up briefly by the farmer who was just finishing off clearing away a couple of big branches that had blown off an oak tree. Probably would have made a good photo if I'd got there while the work was going on.
34.7 miles at 14.1 mph average. Sorry, no pics from this one.
Today's trip was south to Condover, Pitchford , Acton Burnell and over Folly Bank to Cardington then back via Hughley, Harnage Grange, Harnage, Cound, Pitchford and Condover again.
Not much to report this time other than it was still a bit windy (although not like yesterday) and I was riding directly against it for a few miles from Acton Burnell (which is often the case due to the way the wind flows around the hills). This was balanced by some nice fast riding on a couple of stretches which are downhill as well as having the wind behind me.
Near Cound Stank I got held up briefly by the farmer who was just finishing off clearing away a couple of big branches that had blown off an oak tree. Probably would have made a good photo if I'd got there while the work was going on.
34.7 miles at 14.1 mph average. Sorry, no pics from this one.
Jenkins
Legendary Member
- Location
- Felixstowe
Finally managed to get out forr a ride this month that wasn't either a commute or a shopping run. A late morning start in hazy sunshine which turned into grey cloud cover, but still warm enough for shorts with knee warmers and a s/s top with arm warmers despite a bit of a breeze.
No great plan except head into the wind on the way out and hope to get payback on the return leg so once into Ipswich I turned South and then West down to Holbrook and the road arouind Alton Water before heading into Maningtree and up into the Dedham Vale area, crossing over the A12 and into Stratford St. Mary before heading indirectly back to the outskirts of Ipswich.
From there, a slight diversion northwards to Claydon before turning for home along my preferred route through Westerfield, Rushmere St. Andrew and Bucklesham.
68 miles in total so another monthly metric 100 completed
https://www.strava.com/activities/1234558222
No great plan except head into the wind on the way out and hope to get payback on the return leg so once into Ipswich I turned South and then West down to Holbrook and the road arouind Alton Water before heading into Maningtree and up into the Dedham Vale area, crossing over the A12 and into Stratford St. Mary before heading indirectly back to the outskirts of Ipswich.
From there, a slight diversion northwards to Claydon before turning for home along my preferred route through Westerfield, Rushmere St. Andrew and Bucklesham.
68 miles in total so another monthly metric 100 completed
https://www.strava.com/activities/1234558222
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
A like for getting out anyway.
- Location
- Egham
Training again this week, so my usual airport commute replaced with the slightly longer and more lumpy ride to the joy that is Slough trading estate. All rather damp this morning, but with it being unseasonably warm I ended up doing half the ride in short sleeves and getting wet. Nice enough pedal on the way home though, avoided the hills and shorter too.
roadrash
cycle chatterer
- Location
- sitting on the edge of wigan pier
5th ride on the cx bike today, I am surprisingly finding riding on drops more comfortable again after giving them up after my spinal op, anyway, nothing fantastic but I enjoyed it . 28.5 km in 1hr 40 mins with 225meters of climbing, not much to anyone else but getting back to fitness is going to take me a while ,at my own pace 
5th ride on the cx bike today, I am surprisingly finding riding on drops more comfortable again after giving them up after my spinal op, anyway, nothing fantastic but I enjoyed it . 28.5 km in 1hr 40 mins with 225meters of climbing, not much to anyone else but getting back to fitness is going to take me a while ,at my own pace
Made the change back two months ago , after dithering for ages.
Loving it.
Threevok
Growing old disgracefully
- Location
- South Wales
Torrential rain here at the moment. Looking forward to the journey home - the GT needed a wash anyway
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Well, that didn't go to plan!.
I'd hoped to get out yesterday when the wind was light and it was dry all day, but unfortunately had other things to do. However, today didn't look too bad with light winds in the morning and the rain expected late afternoon so I headed out on a nice easy route to rack up some miles.
The plans was to head north to Montford Bridge, Baschurch and Ellesmere then to head back via Loppington, Clive and Hadnal to familiar ground round Upton Magna and Atcham. However, as will be seen it didn't quite work out that way.
Once again, car issues (my sister's this time) delayed me getting out on the road but I was only about an hour late. I was annoyed right at the start because having cleaned the Raleigh on Tuesday I didn't even get half a mile before it was covered in even more mud thanks to tractor movements and the roadsweeper that had attempted to clean it but had actually just added water and spread it round.
It was a minor thing really though and made me glad I'd chosen the Raleigh rather than the Dawes which I'd been considering using. The next 22 miles were pretty routine and very pleasant riding, apart from making a couple more saddle adjustments having found the one the other day didn't quite do what I'd hoped.
Reaching Ellesmere I had a photo stop at the canal then proceeded to The Mere where I had my lunch. Moving on again I rode up Church Hill and down Love Lane then headed towards Whitemere. En route rain started to fall. I didn't think too much of it to start with as it has been a very grey day and the odd spot of rain isn't unusual when the cloud is low like this, however it soon became clear that this was set in for a while which was very annoying as it was a good three hours earlier than the forecast suggested. There wasn't anything I could do though other than to stop and put on my waterproofs.
I carried on past Colemere and on the lanes to Loppington. The rain got quite heavy and there was no sign of it letting up. It occurred to me that having been annoyed at the mud early in the ride was a bit moot now.
I decided to abandon the new route for today and just head for home along roads I knew well so was heading down the lanes to Wem. Diversion signs in Loppington didn't bode well and sure enough as I got near to Tilley I came across the road closed sign. A check of the map (not ideal in the pouring rain) showed me that a detour round this closure would probably add about 8 miles to the trip.
I decided to ignore the closure and ask if I could walk through the works which fortunately the guys did allow me to do.
By this point my shoes were sloshing with water and I wasn't enjoying myself the way I'd hoped when setting out, so that suspicious bouncy feeling from the back end of the bike certainly wasn't welcome.
It was a puncture and the only good thing about it was that it happened near to the railway bridge at Wem where I could at least fix it under some shelter. I found the hole in tube and tyre but no sign of what had penetrated it, so to make things simple swapped for a new tube. I'd just got it pumped up to about 60psi when the new tube split.
Start again but this time I'm having to fix it the old fashioned way which isn't easy when everything is soaking wet. 30 minutes were lost in total here before I could press on again into the pouring rain.
Fortunately the repair has held and I got on fairly well. The speed was good but the roads were getting very waterlogged. After Shawbury there were regular floods across the road which topped up my shoes with cold water. The rain came down with greater vigour and the sky went orange for a while, as did the roads with the sandy soil being washed onto them.
By Upton Magna the rain was easing again and I was onto very familiar ground. I couldn't face the two short but sharp climbs after Atcham so took the road to Cross Houses instead which is a little further but the climbing isn't as bad.
Having passed through Condover and headed on the last leg to home the rain eased and then stopped altogether. Bloody typical.
58.2 miles at 14.1 mph average. Glad I got a ride in but I wouldn't have done it if I'd known how bad the conditions were going to be.
En route to Ellesmere.
Activity on the canal at Ellesmere.
Riding into town.
Quiet down by The Mere.
On my way out of town.
A trifle damp at Colemere.
I'm wet through, my shoes are squelching and these are not the signs I want to see.
It never rains but it pours. Now a puncture to deal with.
Been a bit wet at Withington. Small floods like this were a regular feature of the last 20 miles.
I'd hoped to get out yesterday when the wind was light and it was dry all day, but unfortunately had other things to do. However, today didn't look too bad with light winds in the morning and the rain expected late afternoon so I headed out on a nice easy route to rack up some miles.
The plans was to head north to Montford Bridge, Baschurch and Ellesmere then to head back via Loppington, Clive and Hadnal to familiar ground round Upton Magna and Atcham. However, as will be seen it didn't quite work out that way.
Once again, car issues (my sister's this time) delayed me getting out on the road but I was only about an hour late. I was annoyed right at the start because having cleaned the Raleigh on Tuesday I didn't even get half a mile before it was covered in even more mud thanks to tractor movements and the roadsweeper that had attempted to clean it but had actually just added water and spread it round.
It was a minor thing really though and made me glad I'd chosen the Raleigh rather than the Dawes which I'd been considering using. The next 22 miles were pretty routine and very pleasant riding, apart from making a couple more saddle adjustments having found the one the other day didn't quite do what I'd hoped.
Reaching Ellesmere I had a photo stop at the canal then proceeded to The Mere where I had my lunch. Moving on again I rode up Church Hill and down Love Lane then headed towards Whitemere. En route rain started to fall. I didn't think too much of it to start with as it has been a very grey day and the odd spot of rain isn't unusual when the cloud is low like this, however it soon became clear that this was set in for a while which was very annoying as it was a good three hours earlier than the forecast suggested. There wasn't anything I could do though other than to stop and put on my waterproofs.
I carried on past Colemere and on the lanes to Loppington. The rain got quite heavy and there was no sign of it letting up. It occurred to me that having been annoyed at the mud early in the ride was a bit moot now.
I decided to abandon the new route for today and just head for home along roads I knew well so was heading down the lanes to Wem. Diversion signs in Loppington didn't bode well and sure enough as I got near to Tilley I came across the road closed sign. A check of the map (not ideal in the pouring rain) showed me that a detour round this closure would probably add about 8 miles to the trip.
I decided to ignore the closure and ask if I could walk through the works which fortunately the guys did allow me to do.By this point my shoes were sloshing with water and I wasn't enjoying myself the way I'd hoped when setting out, so that suspicious bouncy feeling from the back end of the bike certainly wasn't welcome.
It was a puncture and the only good thing about it was that it happened near to the railway bridge at Wem where I could at least fix it under some shelter. I found the hole in tube and tyre but no sign of what had penetrated it, so to make things simple swapped for a new tube. I'd just got it pumped up to about 60psi when the new tube split. Start again but this time I'm having to fix it the old fashioned way which isn't easy when everything is soaking wet. 30 minutes were lost in total here before I could press on again into the pouring rain.Fortunately the repair has held and I got on fairly well. The speed was good but the roads were getting very waterlogged. After Shawbury there were regular floods across the road which topped up my shoes with cold water. The rain came down with greater vigour and the sky went orange for a while, as did the roads with the sandy soil being washed onto them.
By Upton Magna the rain was easing again and I was onto very familiar ground. I couldn't face the two short but sharp climbs after Atcham so took the road to Cross Houses instead which is a little further but the climbing isn't as bad.
Having passed through Condover and headed on the last leg to home the rain eased and then stopped altogether. Bloody typical.
58.2 miles at 14.1 mph average. Glad I got a ride in but I wouldn't have done it if I'd known how bad the conditions were going to be.
En route to Ellesmere.
Activity on the canal at Ellesmere.
Riding into town.
Quiet down by The Mere.
On my way out of town.
A trifle damp at Colemere.
I'm wet through, my shoes are squelching and these are not the signs I want to see.
It never rains but it pours. Now a puncture to deal with.
Been a bit wet at Withington. Small floods like this were a regular feature of the last 20 miles.
gavgav
Legendary Member
Deserves an extra like for perseverance!!Well, that didn't go to plan!.
I'd hoped to get out yesterday when the wind was light and it was dry all day, but unfortunately had other things to do. However, today didn't look too bad with light winds in the morning and the rain expected late afternoon so I headed out on a nice easy route to rack up some miles.
The plans was to head north to Montford Bridge, Baschurch and Ellesmere then to head back via Loppington, Clive and Hadnal to familiar ground round Upton Magna and Atcham. However, as will be seen it didn't quite work out that way.
Once again, car issues (my sister's this time) delayed me getting out on the road but I was only about an hour late. I was annoyed right at the start because having cleaned the Raleigh on Tuesday I didn't even get half a mile before it was covered in even more mud thanks to tractor movements and the roadsweeper that had attempted to clean it but had actually just added water and spread it round.
It was a minor thing really though and made me glad I'd chosen the Raleigh rather than the Dawes which I'd been considering using. The next 22 miles were pretty routine and very pleasant riding, apart from making a couple more saddle adjustments having found the one the other day didn't quite do what I'd hoped.
Reaching Ellesmere I had a photo stop at the canal then proceeded to The Mere where I had my lunch. Moving on again I rode up Church Hill and down Love Lane then headed towards Whitemere. En route rain started to fall. I didn't think too much of it to start with as it has been a very grey day and the odd spot of rain isn't unusual when the cloud is low like this, however it soon became clear that this was set in for a while which was very annoying as it was a good three hours earlier than the forecast suggested. There wasn't anything I could do though other than to stop and put on my waterproofs.
I carried on past Colemere and on the lanes to Loppington. The rain got quite heavy and there was no sign of it letting up. It occurred to me that having been annoyed at the mud early in the ride was a bit moot now.
I decided to abandon the new route for today and just head for home along roads I knew well so was heading down the lanes to Wem. Diversion signs in Loppington didn't bode well and sure enough as I got near to Tilley I came across the road closed sign. A check of the map (not ideal in the pouring rain) showed me that a detour round this closure would probably add about 8 miles to the trip.
By this point my shoes were sloshing with water and I wasn't enjoying myself the way I'd hoped when setting out, so that suspicious bouncy feeling from the back end of the bike certainly wasn't welcome.
Fortunately the repair has held and I got on fairly well. The speed was good but the roads were getting very waterlogged. After Shawbury there were regular floods across the road which topped up my shoes with cold water. The rain came down with greater vigour and the sky went orange for a while, as did the roads with the sandy soil being washed onto them.
By Upton Magna the rain was easing again and I was onto very familiar ground. I couldn't face the two short but sharp climbs after Atcham so took the road to Cross Houses instead which is a little further but the climbing isn't as bad.
Having passed through Condover and headed on the last leg to home the rain eased and then stopped altogether. Bloody typical.
58.2 miles at 14.1 mph average. Glad I got a ride in but I wouldn't have done it if I'd known how bad the conditions were going to be.
View attachment 379429
En route to Ellesmere.
View attachment 379430
View attachment 379431
Activity on the canal at Ellesmere.
View attachment 379432
Riding into town.
View attachment 379433
Quiet down by The Mere.
View attachment 379434
On my way out of town.
View attachment 379435
A trifle damp at Colemere.
View attachment 379436
I'm wet through, my shoes are squelching and these are not the signs I want to see.
View attachment 379437
It never rains but it pours. Now a puncture to deal with.
View attachment 379438
Been a bit wet at Withington. Small floods like this were a regular feature of the last 20 miles.
