Your ride today....

[tyred]

A mostly off-road route to Glenveagh National park. The driver of the high speed Mitsubishi Colt which I met clearly didn't see the "No Motor Vehicles" on the entrance to the gravel road through the mountains Some snow in evidence, some very heavy snow showers but it didn't lie.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Great stuff yesterday @Heltor Chasca. I hadn't realised you were that close to the RRtY milestone.

Thank you. I am super chuffed and grateful for your part in that.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

A mostly off-road route to Glenveagh National park. The driver of the high speed Mitsubishi Colt which I met clearly didn't see the "No Motor Vehicles" on the entrance to the gravel road through the mountains Some snow in evidence, some very heavy snow showers but it didn't lie.

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Great photos and nice Carradice.

 

[cosmicbike]

Still rubbish, but did take the commute bike round the block tonight for the ride a day challenge thing.

Consecutive days... I blame @cosmicbike for all this silliness.

I may have started the thread, but....

I started before @cosmicbike thread . But he may having heard someone mention cycling for 100 days and that was probably me and then started the thread so I only have myself to blame .My 100 days set of @Supersuperleeds and now we're in a stand off to be the first to stop it could be a long game

It is, like some other challenge things, all @13 rider fault. His 100 day thing got me thinking...

Geared up for the commute tomorrow, so hoping the legs play ball, feeling a bit better today.

 

[Old jon]

Had a drive along the road behind Decathlon yesterday. Both ends are good tarmac. The bit in the middle makes Mastiles Lane ( it is in Yorkshire, had you not known ) look like a racetrack. Not the sort of road I want to ride on. So a return to the mainland was in prospect this morning.

From Friday onwards the weekend was decorated with rain, and there were a couple of light showers this morning, leaving puddles in plenty. The bike here is the only one I own without mudguards, I figured the rain would always be warm, see. I had forgotten just how wet you can be. Ah well. Away down the hill and around the almost hairpin to reach the bike track. The bend has a bit of grass to go around, in the middle of the green is an old stone crusher, the sort of thing once used in quarries. I have come across a few of these in England, all I have seen were made in Leeds. Better have a close look at this one some time.

Ride along to the new bridge, and ride along that to the other side of the bay. Then start a proper look around for the road heading north. And I found it! Sort of obscured by the builder’s yard that services the restoration work on the old bridge, Pont Hercilio Luz is the Sunday name. Restoration looks more like rebuilding, there is a lot of new steel in there. Leave all that behind and there is a beach, with a bike track to ride along.



All things end, the beach does not end yet but the residential area is reached and a lot of the houses have back gardens that reach the beach. Or, as in the photograph, the whole lot is on the beach.

Matters little, I am exploring so ride on in roughly the same direction on a quiet road. This ends at a T junction, I turn right to head for the beach but there is no road along it so about turn and ride one junction past the T. A busy road, which goes past the Naval Apprentices School. Something hardly expected by me, never a thought of it. Ride further along, more big city, more looking at online maps to do. A couple of detours sideways to see if there was more of interest and then another turnaround to retrace my wheeltracks.

The first bit was into a bit of a wind but as the bridges came closer the wind died away. Over the underslung bike track to ride back to the island, and a tail wind. Beira Mar was as it ever is but maybe fewer cyclists around. About half way along the tarmac is wet for a few hundred yards, then dry again. The main road is similarly wet. I guess a very localised shower might have done this, has anyone a better idea? No matter, I can see the apartment from here, up there on the hillside. The hillside I have yet to ride a bike up. And there is a thought. Looked at the garthing details and it tells me I climbed 358 metres, over eleven hundred feet. In eighteen miles. Seems a lot to me, but it gave me an extra grin.

The map. Must try harder . . .

 

[Denis99]

Another nice day, ride down to Mumbles Pier.

Just as I got home, the heavens opened. Good timing today.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Couldn't find my mojo to get out riding in the wind and rain over the weeekend (apart from a very short trip to sort out a puncture for a friend on Saturday), so dragged myself out this morning on what looks like being the best day of the week to get some scenic miles in.

The route today was out to Exfords Green then Plealey, Pontesbury, Minsterley and Plox Green where I took a route I've never ridden before up the hills to Hopesgate, Bentlawnt and Hemford. From here I was back onto roads I know to Shelve and The Bog before climbing over the edge of the Stipertones and dropping down to The Bridges ready to climb up onto the Long Mynd. I rode to the summit at Pole Bank then dropped down the Burway and a bridleway into Carding Mill Valley before finally heading home via All Stretton, Longnor, Condover and Lyth Hill.

The wind might have died down a bit but it's still pretty breezy out there and much of the first 10 miles was with it against me. The view of the Long Mynd was good today as there was a bit of snow up there. This made me think that my original plan of tackling Asterton Bank might not be the best so I'll save that for another day.

While struggling against the wind en route to Plealey a guy on Genesis (with matching kit) sailed past me and disappeared into the distance as though I was stood still. The wind was a little easier on the way to Minsterley and I was able to overtake another couple of cyclists on the way.

At Plox Green I took my right turn instead of the usual left and was straight onto smooth, fresh tarmac which was very nice. Please Shropshire Council, can we have some more? From here the road went mostly upwards to Bentlawnt and gave some nice views which haven't all come out well on camera. On the way I kept passing and repassing the local postie as he delivered his way up the hill. During this section a house called "Dunmilking" caught my eye.

With the extra altitude it was quite chilly so I'd hoped the visitor centre at The Bog might be open for hot drinks. No signs of life there today though so I didn't hesitate and carried on to the main car park for the Stiperstones where I had the snack I'd packed to keep me going.

The wind was behind me by this point and I got some good speed up on the flowing descent with 36.1 mph recorded as a maximum. I could go quicker if the surface was a bit better.

The Horseshoe at The Bridges was open but I resisted a stop here (too tempting to have a beer) and headed for the long drag up onto the Long Mynd. There were more cars coming down than I'd have expected and I got overtaken by a 50cc scooter which isn't something you'd usually expect to see up here - it wasn't going quick, but quicker than me. The snow had mostly melted by the time I got up onto the hill. It was too chilly to stop for long at the top though so I pressed on down the Burway, getting a few surprised looks from those coming up in their cars.

As often happens, the airflow round the hills meant the westerly wind becomes a localised south-south westerly so I had a good tailwind again for a few miles and made fairly good time on the way back.

40.6 miles this time at 10.8 mph average.

From Hunger Hill near the start, looking to the snow capped Long Mynd.

Signs of spring and fresh tarmac. Both pleasing sights.

Looking back over Bentlawnt and the Shropshire Plain.

Old mine workings near Shelve.

On the way to The Bog with a bit of snow around.

Down at The Bridges and resisting temptation.

On my way up the Long Mynd........

...... and on the way down the other side. The Burway, looking towards Church Stretton.

The Pavilion in Carding Mill Valley.

 

[colly]

No2 of 100


Out tonight after dinner. Mrs Colly is off 'Yoga-ing so picking up an idea garnered from these very pages, this very thread in fact (100 rides in 100 days) I thought I would see just how many I can string together.
100 in 100 seems a tall order given the amount of things that can crop up to put a spanner in the works, but unless you actually make a start you will never get achieve anything.

So out the door about 7.30. A chilly, windy evening but dry. I didn't have a plan when I set off so made it up as I went along. I didn't want to do too much, just enough to break sweat and get me breathing heavy ( but back to the ride) .
I turned left at Oakwood lights towards the city and 600m later on impulse swung a right up Gledhow Wood Road. I'm not sure why because its a steep hill and with less than a mile of mostly down hill in my legs it was maybe too much, too soon. It's about .7 miles long and climbs something over 160ft with the maximum gradient of 10.9% according to Garmin. Almost, almost, came to a standstill but managed to just about keep moving.
So it was up to the top, down and up through Gledhow Valley and then a series of local roads and lanes until I got back in almost an hour later.


13 miles with about 800ft of up. Fixed wheel.

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/32368921

 

[gavgav]

Spent the day working from home, looking at the nice sunshine outside, wishing I was out on the bike, but finally managed to get out, this evening, for my first ride in nigh on 2 weeks (back when we were up in The Lakes) as it’s rained and blown incessantly since returning.

There was still a fairly strong breeze blowing, but at least a brief interlude in the gales we’ve been having and are again set to have from about 10pm this evening until Sunday!

It had clouded over, and indeed there were a few spots of rain falling, as I set off, but thankfully they’d stopped by the time I’d passed through Meole and out onto the busy road to Hook-a-Gate and Annscroft. I was heading into the wind, which made it tough going until I reached Dad’s house, where I stopped for a half hour chat.

Back out onto the roads to Ryton and Condover, and with the wind now behind me, I was setting a better pace. A chap on a Brompton came through Condover, as I reached the Cross, and I followed him along Lyons Lane, with him slowly pulling away from me, fair play to him!

I turned onto the road to Betton Abbots and then on home.

This is the first proper ride on the Cube, since @Rickshaw Phil replaced the rear Brake Pads and Caliper, along with tweaking the gears. The bike is so much smoother to ride, brakes work well, gears are much slicker and I’m sure the piston dragging on the previous pads had slowed me down a bit, as I averaged 12.9 mph, instead of the 11.5mph I did last time I did this route!! Either that or all those hills in The Lakes have strengthened the leg muscles.....

14.8 miles.

 

[Reynard]

Back on the bike after a bit of a hiatus (knee / life / weather).

A three mile utility ride today - needs must, sometimes. Put the bike in the back of the car, drove to the garage to drop the car off so the boot latch can be fixed, from there ride off to do some volunteering for CP, and then ride back home.

I ended up having to pour the water out of my shoes.

 

[colly]

3 of 100


Out into a cold, windy and sunny afternoon.
Not too much traffic about which is always good of course, and it was local lanes out to Thorner and back via the not too busy A58. The run back home was into a hurricane like wind, no, really it was, and now I am counting the cost. I was on fixed wheel so couldn't even bung it in the granny gears. Legs are all a-throb.

14miles and 900ft of up. Fixed wheel.

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/32386185

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A bit of a bonus ride today as I hadn't expected to get out due to the weather. The rain stopped about lunchtime and the wind hadn't picked up yet so I took the chance to rack up some miles mid afternoon. The route was Condover, Cross Houses, Atcham (and through Attingham Park), Upton Magna, Uffington, Shrewsbury and back via Meole Brace.

I wasn't impressed at the start when an artic overtook me rather close while leaving the village, blatantly speeding and in the face of oncoming traffic who had to squeeze over to avoid him. I was quite pleased to get away from the main roads onto something quieter after Condover where I also picked up a tailwind. It was a fairly good run to Cross Houses where I got held up by roadworks (lots about at the moment).

By Atcham the wind was picking up and I had a very clear demonstration of this in Attingham Park where I was able to do an easy 19mph up the drive towards the house but only 11mph at best on the way out. Fortunately I had a bit more of a tailwind to Upton Magna which was cluttered with cars due to it being school kicking out time. I had to turn back into the wind again here and, after the earlier preview, knew what to expect so just dropped down a gear or two and took my time.

The old canal path after Uffington was horrendously muddy but the alternative way is more exposed to the wind so I put up with it. I'd originally planned to go into the centre of Shrewsbury but I could see some dark shower clouds rolling in from the west so instead headed over the Castlefields footbridge and took the most direct route back, arriving back with just enough time to put the bike away and get inside before the rain arrived.

19.6 miles this time at 13mph average.

Sorry, I didn't stop for photos today.

 

[8mph]

Around 60 miles today but maybe the toughest days ride ever, crossing the Western Ghats. Starting with 5 hours of pothole dodging and very rough roads, then 30 odd miles of highway, followed by a ride into Pune city, which seemed to take forever. Finally lots of riding around to find a hotel.
The traffic has been atrocious, just awful inconsiderate driving and I had three near misses with cars and motorbikes. The day has been hot, even the wind is hot. A very trying day indeed. I've spent a good part of the day thinking about riding on Wiltshire roads, Devon lanes and Scotland, realising how good we have it in the UK.

 

[13 rider]

A day off work today had planned a metric half century on the new shiny TCR but the weather wasn't playing ball . Spent all morning pottering about doing odd jobs and checking the BBC weather App . Finally rolled out at 1400 on the old Defy into drizzle . Decided on an hour's so headed for local hills . Newtown Linford to Sharpley hill then down Warren hill around Swithland woods into Woodhouse Eaves . Turned left on to the climb up Maplewell rd . A long climb with lots of changes of gradient and a few false summits if you don't know it . Then straight into the steep ramp of Priory lane quick descent then the second climb a longer one which kicks up at the end . Right at the crossroads for more steady climbing up Whitcroft lane Upto Copt Oak and back onto Priory lane coming the other way another steep ramp then the descent down Pollybotts lane back to Newtown and home . 14.8 miles with 1700ft of upness and I hardly got wet sun came out as I got home . The climbing legs are slowly coming back I might need them when I take on The Bwlch ,Rhigos and the Devil's Elbow in June in a away day to Wales

 

[Reynard]

Well, I can add another trip to the village onto my tally, as I bit the bullet and rode to the garage to pick the car up. With the choice of wet derriere (today) vs being blown over (tomorrow), it was a no brainer, especially after the sun came out. Wind has definitely picked up from earlier, and I had a headwind all the way. And it's uphill.

I really need to work on my bike fitness.

But at least I got out on the bike. Made me realise how much I miss it when I don't get the chance to ride.