Your ride today....

[KingswayRider]

No ice this morning, so definitely had to get a ride in, as I wanted to try out my new handlebar - I've gone from a 42cm to a 38cm, hopefully resolving my sore shoulders post ride. Now, where to go for a solo spin? High ground is snow covered, low ground flooded & wind from the north, so easier to go out in that direction. I knew the flood levels had dropped at Maisemore & The Mythe, but that some roads were still flooded.
Set off north & even passing through Maisemore, there was snow on the roadside & the minor roads were snow & slush. I opted to stay on the main road & following a spell where it snowed, endured the headwind slog passing through Corse (it is one of those stretches that can somehow be windy even on a calm day...which today wasn't). A brief foray onto a minor road to pass through Forthampton...reasonably ok, so thought I'd take another lane to Longdon...promptly binned & u-turned.
Main road to Longdon, through Upton on Severn & another minor road through Ripple. All seemed good, so took the road to Naunton & Strensham...which turned out to be a very slow low cadence effort, to avoid sliding off the road. A car in the ditch told me all I needed to know, so picked my way through cautiously & turned back towards the A38 once I reached Strensham. A few little drama's, even keeping the speed down, but got safely back to the main road & made my way across The Mythe & into Tewkesbury. I decided to stay safe & keep to main roads, especially as the weather & Tier 4 were keeping the roads quiet. I pressed on through Ashchurch to the Teddington roundabout & turned back for home, before meandering my way across Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham & Gloucester.
71.13 miles, with 755m of up, at an average of 16.1mph

 

[geocycle]

Still too much ice here for two wheels. Would have been possible after lunch but decided on a morning walk instead. Nice views of the Lakes. Still no miles this year and a cold working week ahead. Might extend lunchtime tomorrow...

 

[gavgav]

I woke to find yesterday evenings snow had melted away and no obvious sign of ice, so after I’d done my on call shift for work, I headed out at midday to get my January Half Century Challenge ride in. I decided to keep to lower ground, as I knew there would still be snow down in the South of the county and roads that I knew, mostly, would have been gritted. It was blooming cold, but I’d layered up well.

Began by heading out through Betton Abbots, Berrington, Cross Houses, Atcham, Upton Magna, Withington and Walcot. Only real point to note was that they’ve cleared the drain blockage and so the flood has gone, just as you’re leaving Upton Magna.

Pause at Walcot

I had the Northerly wind behind me for a while now, through Charlton, onto the old A5 for a very short stint, then onto Uppington, Eaton Constantine and down to Cressage. Easily, for a change, crossed the A458 and then began the long climb up Shore Lane, where there was little bit of ice here and there, to be wary of, before traversing Cound Moor. I was passed, a little impatiently by a white van, who was making deliveries, they stopped ahead of me to make one......

I then turned onto the road to Evenwood, passed again by the van, more politely this time, before I climbed up and then descended to Acton Burnell. Had one flood to contend with, along there and a couple that had just about rescinded enough to cycle down the middle of the road and avoid them.

The road to Pitchford was into the wind and it certainly felt very cold, hard work as well on what is mostly downhill. At Cantlop I took the lane down to Condover, passed again by the same van, then encountered him again in the village, before I took the road to Ryton and he passed me again, stopped to make a delivery, so I passed him and he then passed me just before I turned off at Gonsal. Thankfully that was the last we saw of each other!!

Still some snow on the Stretton Hills and a dark sky

I crossed the A49, then went up Pump Lane, where I saw 6 people walking out of Stapleton. Very rarely see anyone up that lane. I called in at Dad’s for half an hour and then set back out into the, now bitterly cold, wind to Annscroft, Hook a Gate and Meole. After really quiet roads, that main road was very busy and a couple of really fast close passes were not appreciated.

Final section was through Meole Village and home with 35.74 miles on the clock, at 11.9 mph avg

 

[Saluki]

Nice 21 mile mixed surface ride for me today. Some road, some gravelly bits, some mud and some slightly worrying puddles. Not fast, not clean, not bothered. It was fun.

 

[DCBassman]

First ride of 2021, a test ride on the finished-some-time-ago Madison Revell mixte. Just 10.61 miles, but got to start somewhere...
Barring some initial tweaks as detailed in the resto thread, it was a good ride. It's light, comfortable, and the gearing is good. Actuall, the gearing is as it was, with the addition of some higher gears. The gear controls worked perfectly, a real bonus on the FD, using a n STI indexed Rapidfire on a plain ol' Suntour shifter. Absolutely no problem.
Climbing was hard, due to me being unfit and heavy and not really feeling 100%, but would have been fine if I was.
Big Humpert handgrips were comfy, and although using a pure road saddle, backside did not complain, although it was hardly a long ride.
Weather: very cold. Toes just now coming back to life, even the ski gloves didn't stop the nip completely. Wind OK, but towards the end it was starting to gust a bit.
So, a good start on what seems to be a nice bike. And mudguards! I'd forgotten how nice it is not to get filthy on a ride. Bonus!
Stats:

 

[ianbarton]

Yesterday was my first ride since Boxing Day. When I took the dog out in the morning the ground was partly frozen, so I delayed starting until the afternoon. My usual 25 mile loop through Market Drayton and Ightfield. The ice on the road had turned to water, the only obstacle was half a mile of hedge cuttings. Luckily the tyres escaped without picking up any thorns.

Moreton Say. Home of Clive of India.

Audlem Church.

Market Drayton looking a bit damp.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Still cold. Some ice on puddles and small lumps of snow but the lanes are safe. So just a standard White Rabbit loop with the usual deviations when floods at Upton are about. Fortunately Longdon Marsh road was clear of water although lots of flooding on the marsh. 36 smiles opens the batting for 2021

 

[Littgull]

A delayed first ride of 2021 due to snow and ice arriving on Saturday. It's still hanging about on the moors, fields, minor roads and tracks so I stuck entirely to gritted major roads and had a very enjoyable 50 miler.
My route was Littleborough, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Bradshaw, Hawkshaw, Ramsbottom, Greenmount, Bury, Whitefield, Prestwich, Rhodes, Bowlee, Heywood, Rochdale, High Crompton, Newhey, Littleborough.

Here are a few pics...

The main road between Bradshaw and Ramsbottom

Icy minor road, (as can be seen from the car tyre tracks). I avoided this!

Frozen lake at Heaton Park, Manchester

 

[AndreaJ]

Just enough time for a short ride today, the ice has mostly gone but there was a freezing cold wind. I set off to Whixall soon finding another hedge cutter who was covering the lane in big chunks of hedge so easily avoided as I carried on as far as Hollinswood where I turned over the canal and onto Fenns Wood, Fenns Bank, across to Alkington, Tilstock back to Whixall, Coton, Paddolgreen, Foxholes finding the guinea fowl had escaped the bird lockdown and were in the middle of the lane, they scattered in all directions as I passed and carried on back to Northwood then home. Lots of people out walking again and lots of horse riders. 22 miles and didn’t have to splash through any floods.

 

[colly]

Lockdown. Pah !
Before the world collapses (again) I thought a jaunt out would be in order. Out just after 11am into a cold, bright breezy day. Cold, but not freezing, and so the roads for the most part were free of the dreaded frozen water.
I thoroughly cleaned my usual ride the other day and rather than get it all messy again I hopped on the fixed wheel instead. It was a good choice seeing as I was headed east into the flat badlands beyond Garforth.
I made my way via Garforth out to Micklefield and thence to Sherburn-in-Elmete. The roads out this way tend to be long and rather straight and the flat landscape offers no shelter from wind in any direction. Head down I pressed on to Cawood thankful for sunglasses, a woolly hat and a neck warmer. Left In Cawood just before the swing bridge and after passing the well used cake stop of Mrs B's Lakeside Kitchen I found Ullskelf and eventually made it to Towton. I was into the wind on the way out and, so it seemed to me, I was on the way back. Towton led onto Lotherton which in turn took me to Garforth again. Crossgates and home.

38.6 miles and a not so flat 1550ft of up.

View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/61089799

 

[Mike_P]

Strange this ice, frozen solid still on road verges that face southerly orientations. Suddenly realised at lunchtime that I had better shift out a bit more on a trip into the office to pick up some papers. Further on managed, thanks to a wheelie bin being shifted, to get past two vehicles that had sought to alter each others bodywork. A miniscule 3.6 sunny miles.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Another cold day. Within a few hundred yards of starting snow began to fall. It wasn't settling thankfully and soon stopped. Another run around the White Rabbit loop with flood avoidance at Upton. Hopefully things will warm up soon and I can vary my route a bit more. 36 smiles

 

[ianbarton]

My second ride of the year. Slight breeze and very cold. I should have put an extra layer on! I went via my roundabout route through Willaston and Ightfield to Whitchurch, where I picked up some flea and wormer treatment for the dog. Sainsbury's was very quiet, so I popped in to buy a sandwich and some lemon flavoured sweet bar thingy. I took the shorter route towards Wrenbury and stopped at the bench by the church to eat my sandwich and cereal bar.

Ted the eight month old kitten failing to get onto the window because he can't jump quite high enough yet. Luckily he didn't land in the water trough!

Parked on the bench at Wrenbury Church.

Wrenbury Church.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I got out this morning to brave the sunny but frosty weather on a variation of one of my regular loops (Longnor, Acton Burnell, Harnage, Cound, Berrington and back through Condover).

Getting the bike ready should have been easy since the ice tyres are already on it but a frozen padlock slowed things up slightly. I headed over Lyth Hill and despite the studs took it quite carefully on the steep and icy descent to Little Lyth. The road to Condover was better with the mud on the road having been freeze-dried, which I hoped would mean a fairly clean bike at the end.

The road to Ryton put paid to that idea as it was wet and was also into the sun so a bit of glare off the road had to be put up with. The lane to Longnor started off dry but where water had been standing or had run off the fields it was pretty icy. From Longnor to Acton Burnell gets salted so this was fine. I caught and overtook another cyclist at the foot of the climb to Frodesley which is good going with the winter tyres on. There was more ice through Cound Moor and Harnage

Dropping into Cound a passing walker warned me there was ice ahead (no, really?) and I couldn't tell what the flag in the village was this time as it had wrapped round and frozen to the flag pole. All I know is that it was primarily red.

After Cound the roads were drier up to the A458 and the lane to Berrington, mixed on the way back to Condover and thawing in the sun as I retraced my steps over Lyth Hill. An extra little detour to Lower Pulley rounded the mileage up a bit.

Just three other cyclists seen today (for some reason ). Plenty of folk out walking though.

26.5 miles at 11.9 mph average. Not terribly quick thanks to the Marathon Winters but they do a good job of keeping the bike upright.

The view to the Wrekin from Lyth Hill with some remnants of the overnight fog lingering.

From the same spot, looking towards the Stretton Hills.

At the turning for Ryton.

Pausing at this spot between Acton Burnell and Cound Moor the road didn't seem particularly icy until I stepped on it.

A view to the Wrekin again from Harnage.

Berrington.

 

[gavgav]

I got out this morning to brave the sunny but frosty weather on a variation of one of my regular loops (Longnor, Acton Burnell, Harnage, Cound, Berrington and back through Condover).

Getting the bike ready should have been easy since the ice tyres are already on it but a frozen padlock slowed things up slightly. I headed over Lyth Hill and despite the studs took it quite carefully on the steep and icy descent to Little Lyth. The road to Condover was better with the mud on the road having been freeze-dried, which I hoped would mean a fairly clean bike at the end.

The road to Ryton put paid to that idea as it was wet and was also into the sun so a bit of glare off the road had to be put up with. The lane to Longnor started off dry but where water had been standing or had run off the fields it was pretty icy. From Longnor to Acton Burnell gets salted so this was fine. I caught and overtook another cyclist at the foot of the climb to Frodesley which is good going with the winter tyres on. There was more ice through Cound Moor and Harnage

Dropping into Cound a passing walker warned me there was ice ahead (no, really?) and I couldn't tell what the flag in the village was this time as it had wrapped round and frozen to the flag pole. All I know is that it was primarily red.

After Cound the roads were drier up to the A458 and the lane to Berrington, mixed on the way back to Condover and thawing in the sun as I retraced my steps over Lyth Hill. An extra little detour to Lower Pulley rounded the mileage up a bit.

Just three other cyclists seen today (for some reason ). Plenty of folk out walking though.

26.5 miles at 11.9 mph average. Not terribly quick thanks to the Marathon Winters but they do a good job of keeping the bike upright.

View attachment 567756
The view to the Wrekin from Lyth Hill with some remnants of the overnight fog lingering.

View attachment 567757
From the same spot, looking towards the Stretton Hills.

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At the turning for Ryton.

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Pausing at this spot between Acton Burnell and Cound Moor the road didn't seem particularly icy until I stepped on it.

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A view to the Wrekin again from Harnage.

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Berrington.

Brave!! Awesome photos though.