Your ride today....

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Cold and damp but 4 of us turned out. Steve E, Pete M, John G and me. Pershore seemed like a good idea so it was out over the River by Strensham and Defford to cross the Avon at Eckington. Then around by the Combertons to recross the Avon at Pershore. Attempts were made to put the world to rights over hot coffee and cake.

We took the run out by Besford Bridge to loop north of Wadborough. At the turn to go south John peeled off for Worcester. We climbed Kinnersley bank before aiming to cross the River at Upton again. Then a standard run back with Steve peeling off for the Three Counties while Pete and I took the usual run back. Despite a wet weather forecast we had very little rain, just a bit of drizzle which made little difference to anything except occasionally my spectacles. 44 smiles.

 

[bluenotebob]

It was a dreary morning here - misty, drizzly and cold. It started to brighten up late morning though and, as soon as I'd got the bread started, I headed out of the village to have a good look at the weather. Lots of large water-laden clouds but nothing dropping yet.....so I headed out E, onto the D2, into Mauron and on to the start of the V3 Voie Verte. Lots of joggers, dog walkers and a few kids on bikes (always good to see). I cycled S into the wind but made good time down to Trégadoret. Off on the link road to Loyat, then up the D157 towards Kerbois. Gained some height and I could see that a couple of showers had started to fall - but nothing close. I pulled off the D157 after Kerbois and cut down through Kersamson and le Berthois to la Suadraie. Up the D13 through Guilliers, turned R onto the D184 and went up past Bourg Neuf, then turned R towards Esquiniac and onto the last section of my ‘TT’ course. Put the Shaper into 3:8, went round the blind bend in la Suais at 38kph and roared down the hill to la Costuais. Got home still dry. That was 38.66km in 1 hour 54 minutes. And just in time to knock the bread down for the second proving.

That's over 200km on the bike this month - more than I'd expected - and 11 days of potential biking still to go

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Mega @I like Skol, that was an epic ride! Also a mega nail you got in your tyre

[QUOTE 5504759, member: 9609"]are the gutters on the bridge esp for pushing bikes over on ?
(nice planning if they are)[/QUOTE]
Yes, they are: we have some on the cycle paths here, I've seen same in Edinburgh and in Falkirk, near the path to the Kelpies too.

My ride, erm, yesterday because I forgot to post it.
A very cold day, but dry and sunny.
Ice only on easily spotted frozen over puddles, probably black ice on shaded parts, but with my studded tyres I wouldn't know
I joined Freewhel North at the Green for their Friday ride, 15 of us set out for a short 20 miler.
@flyingfifi joined us too, for a change!
A mellow social ride, the leaders worked extra hard because they were worried one of us would take a tumble over hidden ice.
We took the cycle path to Clydebank, which was fine, but plans to return via the canal were abandoned (I was glad, hate that canal bit), we took the road instead.
On rejoining the path, a couple of back wheels slipped, no offs though.
It is cold only when you stop, the secret is to keep pedaling!
A picture for you, metal art on the west end cycle path from the same artist that made the Kelpies, the big metal horses near Falkirk.

That there is my Boris the ice bike

 

[JhnBssll]

I managed to turn out for the Saturday cafe club ride for the second week in a row this morning Since I broke the Roubaix last week and haven't fixed it yet the Oltre got a run out It's the first time I've ridden it for several months and had forgotten how beautifully it rides. So stiff when you stomp on the pedals and yet it glides over rough surfaces and goes exactly where you point it Bliss, although now muddy bliss that needs a good wash

The roads were mostly dry but crikey it was cold, it never really got above a couple of degrees and my toes could certainly tell It didn't help that one of our group had a recurring puncture and pump problems causing a few longish roadside stops Fortunately the sun shone and the Suffolk countryside looked splendid.

All in all a thoroughly pleasant 35.3 miles with a couple of thousand feet of climbing taking my monthly total up to 289 miles and 18hrs in the saddle, 107 miles ahead of pace and only 3 weeks in

 

[Jenkins]

Lie in today after a week of early starts, followed by a morning of mooching around the house listening to Danny Baker & Fighing Talk on the radio. Two rides this afternoon - both of them test rides on my new bike (an On One Pickenflick frame & forks built up as a flat bar with mostly SRAM components)

There was bright sunshine but a very stiff & cold breeze when I finally went out the first time with it in commuter/road spec for a quick run down to Old Felixstowe and Felixstowe Ferry where the road ends at the River Deben with Bawdsey on the other side

Then back into Felixstowe and along the seafront to the other end of town where the road ends at the River Orwell and the Port's viewing site

Back home from there for a change to the spare set of more robust wheels & tyres I prurchased with the Spa Elan, but have hardly used, just to see how it handles some light off road use (it is sold as a CX frame after all!)

With the exception of adjusting the saddle angle a couple of degrees, there were no changes needed to the set up at all. Kudos to Pedal Power Cycles in Ipswich who did the build from the boxes of parts I'd supplied and got it spot on. Fast & comfortable. 16 miles for first run & 10 for the 2nd.

 

[Slow But Determined]

Not my ride but my run, ran 10 miles and as it is lighter and smaller than current phone took my old Sony Xperia. Gets back, uploads, fails, apparently since a Strava update recently older versions of Strava will not upload and my old Sony will not accept the latest incarnation of Strava.

Takes me back to the old days when I would set the tripometer in the car to measure the distance and then go on a run with my stop watch, use some crazy formula to work out mph etc. Latterly I could enter it into an excel spreadsheet!!!

Anyway if I go for a ride tomorrow faithful Moto G4 will be accompanying me.

 

[Mr Celine]

Dull, cold and miserable.
But that's enough about me.
At least there was no wind. It has also been very dry. I stopped only once for a photo at Sinton Mill on the delightfully named Ale Water. There is barely a trickle in the mill lade and the river is at summer level.

Untreated lanes like this one are nice and dry but the gritted roads are a slippery greasy mess.
I saw a magpie, the first one I've seen in the borders. They were apparently eradicated locally by gamekeepers.
33.4 miles @ 12.8 mph 2422 feet up 2 degrees C.

 

[JhnBssll]

Lie in today after a week of early starts, followed by a morning of mooching around the house listening to Danny Baker & Fighing Talk on the radio. Two rides this afternoon - both of them test rides on my new bike (an On One Pickenflick frame & forks built up as a flat bar with mostly SRAM components)

There was bright sunshine but a very stiff & cold breeze when I finally went out the first time with it in commuter/road spec for a quick run down to Old Felixstowe and Felixstowe Ferry where the road ends at the River Deben with Bawdsey on the other side
View attachment 447953 Then back into Felixstowe and along the seafront to the other end of town where the road ends at the River Orwell and the Port's viewing site
View attachment 447955 Back home from there for a change to the spare set of more robust wheels & tyres I prurchased with the Spa Elan, but have hardly used, just to see how it handles some light off road use (it is sold as a CX frame after all!)
View attachment 447956 With the exception of adjusting the saddle angle a couple of degrees, there were no changes needed to the set up at all. Kudos to Pedal Power Cycles in Ipswich who did the build from the boxes of parts I'd supplied and got it spot on. Fast & comfortable. 16 miles for first run & 10 for the 2nd.
View attachment 447958 View attachment 447959

I've done a few rides down to Bawdsey to catch the ferry across to Felixstowe, a lovely area to ride Bike looks great too, I've heard good things about Pedal Power Cycles - and actually did my work experience there many moons ago when it was under previous ownership and based at the square in Martlesham Heath

 

[Dave 123]

A tandem ride today. It was more or less a reverse of yesterday’s solo ride. No records broken due to cold and frosty conditions.
Yesterday in Harlton I noticed a sign in a field for the Cambridge Car Club. I looked on their website last night and it was a hill climb type event.
So we stopped by there today. With the frost the normal cars stood no chance, and further up the hill the specialist cars were done by a tight up hill left hand bend. All good fun...

17 frosty miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2091299628

 

[Supersuperleeds]

21 mile pootle with our lass to McDonalds and back for a coffee. Why do they stop serving sausage mcmuffins at 10:30? Bloody ridiculous. Anyway their coffee is nice.

Not as cold as I was expecting and no sign of any frost or ice.

 

[Donger]

A bit chilly in Gloucestershire this morning, but not as cold as I made it look through my choice of attire. A pleasant 41.5 miles on the weekly club ride. The 8 of us went South today and took in two proper hills (Taits Hill near Cam and Middleyard/Selsley) before trying out a new café stop. Thumbs up to the canalside coffee and wine bar in Ebley (the name of which I have already forgotten). A lovely winter ride, extended slightly to avoid a local marathon.
Cheers, Donger.

 

[Spiderweb]

I was out on the Tricross just after 11am with Friends from our village David and Suzanne. Lovely ride to York for a coffee stop by Micklegate Bar. Very nippy out, too cold to stop for photos!
33.6 miles with an average of 15.1 mph. Great ride!

 

[Mike_P]

Finally out to test the newly converted ebike Hybrid using a TSDZ2 below bottom bracket fixed motor – would have been last week but whilst testing the changing of the rear derailleur a spring broke in the gear lever (a Shimano 7 speed gear/brake compo). So new gear/brake lever combination and cables fitted and out on a local hilly 12 mile circuit; even the sun came out to play. Sailed up Chatsworth Grove hill which oddly has no Strava segment then headed to NCN67, by which time it seemed like most of the local population had decided to go out for a walk so it was s l o w going most of the way to Ripley, across the viaduct over the Nidd Gorge

The gear cables are now routed above the bottom bracket using some cable guides from Chain Reaction and an old type above bottom bracket Shimano guide sourced from a bike shop selling on ebay and seemingly designed for bikes with far thinner tubes so cut into two separate parts. The tubes were drilled for rivnuts and the guides bolted in place. The front derailleur is currently out of use as the TSDZ2 comes with one chainring but another apparently can be fitted.

Ebike lights fitted, a set found in a sale with 66% off them so only ££ rather than £££ and which conveniently fit bolted go pro mounts so reasonably secure to the bike. The battery was a cheap find on ebay, seemingly designed for a bike with enough space between the seat tube and rear wheel so instead fixed to the top of the pannier rack; did it rattle so high quality packing from two folded pieces of cardboard pushed under it!

West of Ripley the hilly sections do have Strava ride segments but not ebike ride ones which may explain the increasing ebike records appearing in the wrong activity unless they are reset as ebike. Compared to my PRs the ebike was 48 seconds faster on the first which was the off road section of NCN; 28 seconds on Hollybank Lane and 2 mins 25 on Rawdon Lane. In total 833ft not particularly climbed.

 

[gavgav]

The things I do for Cyclechat Challenges!

Despite the useless Met Office saying it’s been dry all weekend in Shropshire, it’s actually drizzled for 36 hours non stop! I awoke to mist and said drizzle, so had to use all my stubbornness to get motivated and out for my 50k entry. It might be my last chance in the Month and I don’t like failure.

Donned plenty of layers and waterproof jacket, packing the waterproof trousers just in case and headed out into the murk about 11:30. It wasn’t actually as cold as I was expecting, but the drizzle was the sort of stuff that gets you wet.

I’d not done hills for a while and so chose a climbing ride, following a route which I’ve not done for about 2 years (where on earth does time go?!)

Started by following the road to Cantlop, Pitchford and Acton Burnell, which was heaving with traffic for some reason and had the joy of an old bat dangerously squeezing past me and a car coming the other way, at Pitchford. A couple of minutes later, she came back towards me and so I gave her some gestures and a volley. She could hardly see over the steering wheel and had nose to the windscreen. I’m sure I’ve heard some chat about old drivers that shouldn’t be allowed on the road, this week

Continued on to Longnor and then began the hard climb up “The Corkscrew” which was a slow slog but made it up without stopping. The drizzle even stopped for the climb, but I was soon back into it on the fast descent to Cardington.

Pressed on to Gretton and then stopped for some lunch in a gateway. It rained a little heavier for a few minutes, whilst I was stopped, typical, so got cold quite quickly and decided to get back moving again after just a sandwich.

There is a short downhill section to follow, but then a long slog of a climb up to Church Preen and Kenley, continuing up to the church and farm, where I came across a major road blockage.......sheep being herded down the lane . They are skittish animals, at the best of times and were a bit wary of me, until the dogs sorted them out. I got a nice thank you from the farmer who was in his truck, for waiting and I then continued to Harnage Grange. On the descent it started to absolutely poor down. Goodness knows where the shower came from, but water was running down the road and I had to stop and don those waterproof trousers I had thankfully packed.

It continued pouring until I pretty much got to Cound, which did nothing for the morale, along with tired legs. More hills meant a real slow slog to Eaton Mascott and Berrington, with the lanes an absolute mud and water bath, before finally some downhill to Betton Abbots and home.

Everything was thoroughly soaked and I was very glad to get home and dry out.

Did I enjoy the ride? In a word, No!

However my challenge ride is in, at 33.1 miles, with 2000ft of climbing.

 

[C R]

The things I do for Cyclechat Challenges!

Despite the useless Met Office saying it’s been dry all weekend in Shropshire, it’s actually drizzled for 36 hours non stop! I awoke to mist and said drizzle, so had to use all my stubbornness to get motivated and out for my 50k entry. It might be my last chance in the Month and I don’t like failure.

Donned plenty of layers and waterproof jacket, packing the waterproof trousers just in case and headed out into the murk about 11:30. It wasn’t actually as cold as I was expecting, but the drizzle was the sort of stuff that gets you wet.

I’d not done hills for a while and so chose a climbing ride, following a route which I’ve not done for about 2 years (where on earth does time go?!)

Started by following the road to Cantlop, Pitchford and Acton Burnell, which was heaving with traffic for some reason and had the joy of an old bat dangerously squeezing past me and a car coming the other way, at Pitchford. A couple of minutes later, she came back towards me and so I gave her some gestures and a volley. She could hardly see over the steering wheel and had nose to the windscreen. I’m sure I’ve heard some chat about old drivers that shouldn’t be allowed on the road, this week

Continued on to Longnor and then began the hard climb up “The Corkscrew” which was a slow slog but made it up without stopping. The drizzle even stopped for the climb, but I was soon back into it on the fast descent to Cardington.

Pressed on to Gretton and then stopped for some lunch in a gateway. It rained a little heavier for a few minutes, whilst I was stopped, typical, so got cold quite quickly and decided to get back moving again after just a sandwich.

There is a short downhill section to follow, but then a long slog of a climb up to Church Preen and Kenley, continuing up to the church and farm, where I came across a major road blockage.......sheep being herded down the lane . They are skittish animals, at the best of times and were a bit wary of me, until the dogs sorted them out. I got a nice thank you from the farmer who was in his truck, for waiting and I then continued to Harnage Grange. On the descent it started to absolutely poor down. Goodness knows where the shower came from, but water was running down the road and I had to stop and don those waterproof trousers I had thankfully packed.

It continued pouring until I pretty much got to Cound, which did nothing for the morale, along with tired legs. More hills meant a real slow slog to Eaton Mascott and Berrington, with the lanes an absolute mud and water bath, before finally some downhill to Betton Abbots and home.

Everything was thoroughly soaked and I was very glad to get home and dry out.

Did I enjoy the ride? In a word, No!

However my challenge ride is in, at 33.1 miles, with 2000ft of climbing.

At least you got out. I set the alarm, woke up, had a look at the temperature and got back to bed. I've already done two 50k rides this month, so no reason to go out for a ride I wouldn't enjoy.