- Location
- Glasgow
Your ride today....
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Thanks, but I bet you haven't had the chance to read the full thing yet!Whatever threads they are in, it is always a pleasure to read about your rides @ColinJ
Great effort Skolly the recovery must be on track which is great to readI have been slowly building up my rides in the last 3 weeks after nearly 4 months off the bike and today really tested my only semi-recovered fitness. Long before the accident that kept me off the bike for so long, me and my younger brother booked places on the 2018 Welsh Velothon 140km ride. I was determined to stick to the plan so this morning set off at 7.30 into the already rapidly rising heat.
It soon got almost unbearably hot. I never thought i could drink so much water during a ride, but with teperatures topping 30 degrees it was essential!
Anyway, the good news is i finished. One stop in Usk and a quick emergency water stop just before Caerphilly Mountain. Didn't have to get off on any of the climbs and managed a reasonable time to cover the hilly 87 mile route
I will come back and drop some pictures in once i get back to my proper computer.....
Arjimlad
Tights of Cydonia
- Location
- South Glos
Interesting, this - I've ridden this road 372 times in the other direction, and 31 times in this direction and yesterday was one of the slowest ever rides along there.
I've often met cars on the bends but they've always been on their left rather than on my left, which is where this car was when I first spotted her. The lead-up to these bends is a long straight downhill, so I've always reduced the speed from 30mph on the straights to 20mph before approaching the bend. But yes, this goes to show that a slower ride round the bends is a good idea
Currently on my hols in Cornwall . Managed a 12 mile spin on the evening of arrival to keep my run of consecutive days (126) of riding going. Had fitted my old rear wheel which has lower gears for all the hills . During this ride it starting make some strange noises . Which if any who rode the recent York ,Humber bridge ride my have heard as I used this wheel as best wheel was in for repair .Second morning out early 0630 out on some deserted lanes in glorious conditions . 11 miles in coasted round a corner went to pedal and my legs were spinning but no drive as the freehub refused to engage 
. Pulled over bit of ignorant fettling and it engaged 
another mile and it happens again
this time there was no fixing it 
. I now faced with an 8 mile walk back to holiday home . No family rescue as where we stay has no mobile signal so can't ring for help . A combination of pushing scooting and rolling down hills got me home a bit late for breakfast . While walking a rider pulls over to offer help but obviously nothing can be done he's local so he recommends an Lbs which would be open on a Sunday .After breakfast while travelling on a family trip I find myself in Clive Mitchell cycles in Summer court . They say leave it with us to see what they could do . After drooling over a £9000 S Works I drag myself away . Nice family day out and call it on the way back and it's fixed 
. So this morning I'm out again 
and the run is saved 
25 miles with 2400ft of upness including a short 25% I needed the lower gears on that one . Glorious ride done before it gets to hot 
and the roads are a bit quieter . 1 short stretch of the A30 which wasn't fun to be off it . So big up to Clive Mitchell cycles saved the day I was considering buying a new wheel just to keep the run going do they saved me money as well
. Pulled over bit of ignorant fettling and it engaged another mile and it happens again this time there was no fixing it . I now faced with an 8 mile walk back to holiday home . No family rescue as where we stay has no mobile signal so can't ring for help . A combination of pushing scooting and rolling down hills got me home a bit late for breakfast . While walking a rider pulls over to offer help but obviously nothing can be done he's local so he recommends an Lbs which would be open on a Sunday .After breakfast while travelling on a family trip I find myself in Clive Mitchell cycles in Summer court . They say leave it with us to see what they could do . After drooling over a £9000 S Works I drag myself away . Nice family day out and call it on the way back and it's fixed . So this morning I'm out again and the run is saved 25 miles with 2400ft of upness including a short 25% I needed the lower gears on that one . Glorious ride done before it gets to hot and the roads are a bit quieter . 1 short stretch of the A30 which wasn't fun to be off it . So big up to Clive Mitchell cycles saved the day I was considering buying a new wheel just to keep the run going do they saved me money as well
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Yesterday's ride, but been busy with family things.
After last weeks ride along Bredon Hill I came up with a sort of hare brained plan of trying to cycle to Bredon Tower, as I had seen some photos of people with bikes up there.
With that in mind I set off at about 7:15, hoping to have some cooler temperatures, but not much joy on that point, the sun was already rather strong. Started up Hatfield Bank, and managed a new PB there, without really trying. I am now doing the segment under three minutes, which is an achievement, considering I had to walk the bike from half way up just about a year ago. Then Stonehall Common, down the short Pirton hill (managed my fastest yet here, 35mph) and past Croome. The thing with this route is that Bredon Hill can be seen pretty much straight ahead all the time.
After Croome follow Rebecca Road, and then a right past Besford and on to Defford. Then is a very short segment of the Pershore-Upton road, and the right turn towards Eckington that I had commented on with contributions from @twentysix by twentyfive and @Aravis. I take the same approach as them in here, taking the lane, but I am still scared that some idiot will come tearing up the hill, and doesn't see me in the middle of the lane until it is too late, having read their experiences, and considering the road is quieter at this time of day, is quite reassuring. I may try @Aravis's suggestion of the road further up next time.
After the turn is a quick run down to the bridge, and then a short sharp climb to Eckington itself. From there the turn for the Combertons comes quickly, and the road climbs gently by the north side of the hill.
Near the highest point of the road is Deer Park Hall, and a road takes to the right towards the hill. I followed this road, but it shortly forks into two, and the bit I needed to follow for the tower is a dirt track with loose gravel and deep ruts, which made me think twice about attempting to continue. I did continue, first walking the bike for a short distance, and then pedaling when the slope eased a bit. Here I hit two problems, the lowest gear in my bike is not low enough (must really think now of getting that triple), and I am not good at difficult tracks, carried on trying for a little bit, but after nearly coming off twice in about 20m I decided to give up for my own safety, and walked the bike back down to the tarmaced road.
Back on the main road Little Comberton came very quickly. In here I had a close pass from a roady, who was coming down too fast for the road with cars parked near a blind bend, but luckily for him no cars where coming from the other side. Pershore came quickly after, and then the Holloway, which I managed in under three minutes for the first time. Then it was Besford Bridge, Wadborough, Littleworth and the swift dash past Norton Church.
24.4 miles with an average of 13.6mph, including the Bredon Hill attempt. My speed and time were much better than I expected, as I was feeling not all there most of the time. July total stands a 83 miles so far, and have now ridden more miles this year than in the whole of last year. With a bit of luck I may manage to double last years mileage.
Nice ride, shame for the aborted climb, but I don't think I will be ever able to do that sort of thing, will probably do a family walk and picnic up there though.
After last weeks ride along Bredon Hill I came up with a sort of hare brained plan of trying to cycle to Bredon Tower, as I had seen some photos of people with bikes up there.
With that in mind I set off at about 7:15, hoping to have some cooler temperatures, but not much joy on that point, the sun was already rather strong. Started up Hatfield Bank, and managed a new PB there, without really trying. I am now doing the segment under three minutes, which is an achievement, considering I had to walk the bike from half way up just about a year ago. Then Stonehall Common, down the short Pirton hill (managed my fastest yet here, 35mph) and past Croome. The thing with this route is that Bredon Hill can be seen pretty much straight ahead all the time.
After Croome follow Rebecca Road, and then a right past Besford and on to Defford. Then is a very short segment of the Pershore-Upton road, and the right turn towards Eckington that I had commented on with contributions from @twentysix by twentyfive and @Aravis. I take the same approach as them in here, taking the lane, but I am still scared that some idiot will come tearing up the hill, and doesn't see me in the middle of the lane until it is too late, having read their experiences, and considering the road is quieter at this time of day, is quite reassuring. I may try @Aravis's suggestion of the road further up next time.
After the turn is a quick run down to the bridge, and then a short sharp climb to Eckington itself. From there the turn for the Combertons comes quickly, and the road climbs gently by the north side of the hill.
Near the highest point of the road is Deer Park Hall, and a road takes to the right towards the hill. I followed this road, but it shortly forks into two, and the bit I needed to follow for the tower is a dirt track with loose gravel and deep ruts, which made me think twice about attempting to continue. I did continue, first walking the bike for a short distance, and then pedaling when the slope eased a bit. Here I hit two problems, the lowest gear in my bike is not low enough (must really think now of getting that triple), and I am not good at difficult tracks, carried on trying for a little bit, but after nearly coming off twice in about 20m I decided to give up for my own safety, and walked the bike back down to the tarmaced road.
Back on the main road Little Comberton came very quickly. In here I had a close pass from a roady, who was coming down too fast for the road with cars parked near a blind bend, but luckily for him no cars where coming from the other side. Pershore came quickly after, and then the Holloway, which I managed in under three minutes for the first time. Then it was Besford Bridge, Wadborough, Littleworth and the swift dash past Norton Church.
24.4 miles with an average of 13.6mph, including the Bredon Hill attempt. My speed and time were much better than I expected, as I was feeling not all there most of the time. July total stands a 83 miles so far, and have now ridden more miles this year than in the whole of last year. With a bit of luck I may manage to double last years mileage.
Nice ride, shame for the aborted climb, but I don't think I will be ever able to do that sort of thing, will probably do a family walk and picnic up there though.
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- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
I've got a couple of rides to report on:
Yesterday I headed down to Ludlow to meet up with @gavgav and ride the Velo Salopia sportive. Meeting up at ride HQ at Ludow Brewery everything was nicely organised and relaxed at registration then we set off with the second wave of riders (15 or 20 going at a time so as not to crowd the roads too much) and very quickly caught up with the first wave who had been held up by a set of traffic lights.
Leaving town we were straight into the biggest climb of the day (over 600 feet in around a couple of miles) up through the Mortimer Forest on the road to Wigmore. Gav had decided to risk using his carbon bike for this as he didn't want to be held back but with it having a standard double and a 39-25 granny gear it was always going to be quite an effort getting up this one. Despite that he did really well and made it up the climb without stops and we even overtook one of the other riders before reaching the summit.
The descent was fast and exciting with over 36 mph recorded. An added frission was that the road surface is quite dodgy so you have to keep your wits about you. As the road leveled out at the bottom the faster riders got on ahead and we settled down into a pace that was comfortable for us.
From Wigmore we were onto the A4110 which isn't busy as A roads go but had some fast traffic and the road surface has been kept down to Herefordshire Council's standards so needed quite a bit of care. It was however mostly downhill as far as our next turning so we got some good cruising speeds going along here. A few faster riders went past and there was a moment when a red German saloon came skimming close past us then the driver leaned on the horn because he couldn't get past the group ahead of us. Lovely chap.
After turning off this road onto the B4362 we had a couple more close passes and caught a couple of ladies (also on the sportive) who commented that they'd had the same and that they were expanding their vocabulary.
Fortunately, after those first few close passes things settled down and the ride to our next turning was fine. We had a quick drink stop near the karting circuit at Kinsham where the two riders we'd overtaken passed us again, then we tackled the deceptively steep climb to Upper Kinsham which was quite a pull, especially as the day was warming up now. This road is a bit undulating which allowed us to catch and overtake the ladies again but it eventually flattens out nicely on the approach to Leintwardine where we found some spectators on the bridge clapping and cheering on the riders which was nice and helped take our minds off the climb out of town.
The road to Clungunford is quite lumpy and the enjoyment of a 30 mph descent on the way was spoiled a bit by an overtaking motorist cutting across in front of Gav.
The feed station in the village was quite welcome with a nice mix of nibbles on offer as well as gels for the guys taking it seriously. I got asked how I managed to ride on a Brooks saddle . The ladies caught us again and took a shorter break so were on the road ahead of us again - we would swap places on the road with them a couple more times before getting back to Ludlow.
Setting off after our stop it was more of a pull than I'd expected on the way to Hopton Heath but I knew there was a more testing one. This is a nasty little climb, not entirely because of the steepness but more because you can see how high you have to climb before you even get to it. Gav managed it fine by standing on the pedals and we enjoyed the descent most of the way to Purslow.
We weren't doing badly but this is one of Gav's biggest rides of the year so far so I could see he was getting tired. The climb at Purslow wasn't particularly welcome but with that out of the way it's mostly easy going through Aston-on-Clun to Craven Arms where another quick drink stop was taken.
From Craven Arms to Pedlars Rest is a steady climb so our pace slowed again and wasn't helped by temporary traffic lights on the way (we elected to let the cars behind us pass before heading through the single lane ourselves).
Turning off this road we were onto the home stretch. The gradient would be in our favour almost the whole way back to the brewery and we had the wind behind us as well so despite tired legs we set a good pace matching that of a couple of riders ahead. One last drink stop was taken by the racecourse then we braved the short section along the A49 which wasn't too bad really despite plenty of traffic.
The finish line was a very welcome sight and more so was the free pint included with our entry (along with a souvenir glass).
49.6 miles for the day at 13.5 mph moving average (dropping to around 11.5 with stops included). At the start we'd looked round at all the expensive bikes and said we'd be happy with just not finishing last. As it turns out we did a bit better than that coming in almost in the middle of the field and over an hour ahead of some of the later finishers.
Although were were passing through some very picturesque areas very few photos were taken this time.
At the start and practically ready to go.
Gav taking a break near Kinsham.
View from the drink stop near Kinsham.
Success. Back where we started and Gav enjoys his well earned pint.
Yesterday I headed down to Ludlow to meet up with @gavgav and ride the Velo Salopia sportive. Meeting up at ride HQ at Ludow Brewery everything was nicely organised and relaxed at registration then we set off with the second wave of riders (15 or 20 going at a time so as not to crowd the roads too much) and very quickly caught up with the first wave who had been held up by a set of traffic lights.
Leaving town we were straight into the biggest climb of the day (over 600 feet in around a couple of miles) up through the Mortimer Forest on the road to Wigmore. Gav had decided to risk using his carbon bike for this as he didn't want to be held back but with it having a standard double and a 39-25 granny gear it was always going to be quite an effort getting up this one. Despite that he did really well and made it up the climb without stops and we even overtook one of the other riders before reaching the summit.
The descent was fast and exciting with over 36 mph recorded. An added frission was that the road surface is quite dodgy so you have to keep your wits about you. As the road leveled out at the bottom the faster riders got on ahead and we settled down into a pace that was comfortable for us.
From Wigmore we were onto the A4110 which isn't busy as A roads go but had some fast traffic and the road surface has been kept down to Herefordshire Council's standards so needed quite a bit of care. It was however mostly downhill as far as our next turning so we got some good cruising speeds going along here. A few faster riders went past and there was a moment when a red German saloon came skimming close past us then the driver leaned on the horn because he couldn't get past the group ahead of us. Lovely chap.
After turning off this road onto the B4362 we had a couple more close passes and caught a couple of ladies (also on the sportive) who commented that they'd had the same and that they were expanding their vocabulary.
Fortunately, after those first few close passes things settled down and the ride to our next turning was fine. We had a quick drink stop near the karting circuit at Kinsham where the two riders we'd overtaken passed us again, then we tackled the deceptively steep climb to Upper Kinsham which was quite a pull, especially as the day was warming up now. This road is a bit undulating which allowed us to catch and overtake the ladies again but it eventually flattens out nicely on the approach to Leintwardine where we found some spectators on the bridge clapping and cheering on the riders which was nice and helped take our minds off the climb out of town.
The road to Clungunford is quite lumpy and the enjoyment of a 30 mph descent on the way was spoiled a bit by an overtaking motorist cutting across in front of Gav.
The feed station in the village was quite welcome with a nice mix of nibbles on offer as well as gels for the guys taking it seriously. I got asked how I managed to ride on a Brooks saddle . The ladies caught us again and took a shorter break so were on the road ahead of us again - we would swap places on the road with them a couple more times before getting back to Ludlow.Setting off after our stop it was more of a pull than I'd expected on the way to Hopton Heath but I knew there was a more testing one. This is a nasty little climb, not entirely because of the steepness but more because you can see how high you have to climb before you even get to it. Gav managed it fine by standing on the pedals and we enjoyed the descent most of the way to Purslow.
We weren't doing badly but this is one of Gav's biggest rides of the year so far so I could see he was getting tired. The climb at Purslow wasn't particularly welcome but with that out of the way it's mostly easy going through Aston-on-Clun to Craven Arms where another quick drink stop was taken.
From Craven Arms to Pedlars Rest is a steady climb so our pace slowed again and wasn't helped by temporary traffic lights on the way (we elected to let the cars behind us pass before heading through the single lane ourselves).
Turning off this road we were onto the home stretch. The gradient would be in our favour almost the whole way back to the brewery and we had the wind behind us as well so despite tired legs we set a good pace matching that of a couple of riders ahead. One last drink stop was taken by the racecourse then we braved the short section along the A49 which wasn't too bad really despite plenty of traffic.
The finish line was a very welcome sight and more so was the free pint included with our entry (along with a souvenir glass).
49.6 miles for the day at 13.5 mph moving average (dropping to around 11.5 with stops included). At the start we'd looked round at all the expensive bikes and said we'd be happy with just not finishing last. As it turns out we did a bit better than that coming in almost in the middle of the field and over an hour ahead of some of the later finishers.
Although were were passing through some very picturesque areas very few photos were taken this time.
At the start and practically ready to go.
Gav taking a break near Kinsham.
View from the drink stop near Kinsham.
Success. Back where we started and Gav enjoys his well earned pint.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Today's ride:
With the legs feeling okay after yesterday I headed out early to get a few more miles in on the Galaxy while it was cool. I went for my anti-clockwise Melverley route (Shrewsbury, Montford Bridge, Great Ness, Melverley, Prince's Oak, Westbury, Nox, Condover, and back).
I was early enough to miss most of the kids heading for school and got on fairly well at the start. In the light northerly wind it seemed easy going and I found myself pushing along harder as my enthusiasm got the better of me, even up the climb at Prince's Oak.
The long straight from Westbury to Nox was as good as ever (about 3 miles of gentle downhill here) but at Condover I found that the gentle northerly had strengthened a bit so the last 3 miles or so were an effort.
A nice quick spin which I thoroughly enjoyed. 34.8 miles at 16.4 mph average.
Just the one pic today from my drink stop near Nox.
With the legs feeling okay after yesterday I headed out early to get a few more miles in on the Galaxy while it was cool. I went for my anti-clockwise Melverley route (Shrewsbury, Montford Bridge, Great Ness, Melverley, Prince's Oak, Westbury, Nox, Condover, and back).
I was early enough to miss most of the kids heading for school and got on fairly well at the start. In the light northerly wind it seemed easy going and I found myself pushing along harder as my enthusiasm got the better of me, even up the climb at Prince's Oak.
The long straight from Westbury to Nox was as good as ever (about 3 miles of gentle downhill here) but at Condover I found that the gentle northerly had strengthened a bit so the last 3 miles or so were an effort.
A nice quick spin which I thoroughly enjoyed. 34.8 miles at 16.4 mph average.
Just the one pic today from my drink stop near Nox.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
I spent my formative years a few miles from Bredon Hill.
Me and my childhood chums used to ride around it as a long - for us - circuit.
It never occurred to us to ride up it, probably because there is no road up there and this was long before mountain bikes.
We did walk up a couple of times.
Excitement at the summit was occasionally provided by RAF jets doing low flying exercises - you could look down onto the top of the jet.
While I'm on, an area just to the north west of Bredon Hill called Nafford is worth a visit.
The Avon forms an island, so there's a lock, a couple of footbridges and a weir, as well as several natural lakes.
It's reached by a right of way rather than a road, but it is easily ridable, or it was 40-odd years ago.
https://binged.it/2MZELv3
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Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
Out the door just before 6am to go bag some more explorer squares. First square was just north of Burton on Trent roughly 32 miles away,
I did my usual route planning trick of just clicking on the squares I needed and not looking at anything else. So in the first 15 miles or so saw me climb passed @13 rider house, not a big climb but a steep little bugger, followed by Polly Botts, this is used by some local clubs for their hill climbing comps, followed by a nasty but luckily short ride into Peggs Green. In fact the first 32 miles were either climbing or descending, vrtually no flat.
After bagging the first square I go through Burton. Was mayhem due to some roadworks, luckily I just filtered by it all and then had the road to myself for a while as I went up another hill.
Zig zag through some squares around Swadlincote and onto Orton on the Hill, yes another blinking hill, again not long but steep enough.
A bit of flat to Atherstone and then another climb the other side of it. Then more zig zagging up and down hills for more squares.
Through Coventry, onto Sutton Wharf for a coffee and butty and home
126 miles done with over 6,500 feet of climbing. 51 feet per mile, not a lot for some on here, but for around here that is more climbing than normal.
Added bonus, after uploading the ride to Strava I sit number one on a challenge - that won't last but I'll bask in the virtual glory for a few minutes
https://www.strava.com/activities/1691158372
I did my usual route planning trick of just clicking on the squares I needed and not looking at anything else. So in the first 15 miles or so saw me climb passed @13 rider house, not a big climb but a steep little bugger, followed by Polly Botts, this is used by some local clubs for their hill climbing comps, followed by a nasty but luckily short ride into Peggs Green. In fact the first 32 miles were either climbing or descending, vrtually no flat.
After bagging the first square I go through Burton. Was mayhem due to some roadworks, luckily I just filtered by it all and then had the road to myself for a while as I went up another hill.
Zig zag through some squares around Swadlincote and onto Orton on the Hill, yes another blinking hill, again not long but steep enough.
A bit of flat to Atherstone and then another climb the other side of it. Then more zig zagging up and down hills for more squares.
Through Coventry, onto Sutton Wharf for a coffee and butty and home
126 miles done with over 6,500 feet of climbing. 51 feet per mile, not a lot for some on here, but for around here that is more climbing than normal.
Added bonus, after uploading the ride to Strava I sit number one on a challenge - that won't last but I'll bask in the virtual glory for a few minutes
https://www.strava.com/activities/1691158372
PatrickPending
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
My ride yesterday - 81km down to Easenhall
Blaby- Countesthorpe - Wiloughby Waterlys - Ashby Magna - Dunton Bassett - Leire- Ashby Parva - Claybrooke Magna - Withybrook - Ansty - Brinklow - Easenhall - Pailton - Monks Kirby - Ullesthorpe - Gilmorton - Countesthorpe
Actually its my first ride down to Easenhall - not been past Brinklow before (well apart from on my commute to Walsgrave hospital from Blaby). Was nice too...first time I've seen Brinklow castle - and I must have cycled within 100m of it many times on my commute. Must explore round there a bit more, would have yesterday but it was a bit warm and my water bottle was close to empty by this point too.
Blaby- Countesthorpe - Wiloughby Waterlys - Ashby Magna - Dunton Bassett - Leire- Ashby Parva - Claybrooke Magna - Withybrook - Ansty - Brinklow - Easenhall - Pailton - Monks Kirby - Ullesthorpe - Gilmorton - Countesthorpe
Actually its my first ride down to Easenhall - not been past Brinklow before (well apart from on my commute to Walsgrave hospital from Blaby). Was nice too...first time I've seen Brinklow castle - and I must have cycled within 100m of it many times on my commute. Must explore round there a bit more, would have yesterday but it was a bit warm and my water bottle was close to empty by this point too.
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
I went through Brinklow today.
Did you stop to water my plants ? As you went by . 50ft a mile pah I'm averaging around 90 so far in 3 rides so far it's hilly here
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
90 ft/mile pah (
) - the typical ride that I do in Yorkshire/Lancashire is about 20 m/km (106 ft/mile)! Some hilly rides are as much as 25 m/km (132 ft/mile). Some shorter hilly rides with maximum lumpiness have been about 28 m/km (close to 150 ft/mile). It's not so bad now that I am a more sensible size and use a triple chainset but when I used to do those rides weighing more than 17 stone using a standard double chainset it was horribly hard!
Now we will get someone from the Andes/Pyrenees/Alps/Dolomites/[Insert other mountainous region here] posting that their typical ride has 40 m/km (212 ft/mile) of climbing!
