Your ride today....

[13 rider]

Definitely wet and windy here in Shropshire but 4 of us thought that there would be a break in the rain this morning for our now regular Sunday ride, which was not quite how it turned out on the Welsh border side of the ride where it was still raining.
A route had been planned by one of the group who likes climbing hills ☹️. We met up in Ellesmere and set off up The Brow towards Whittington, it’s a long drag up not helped by the headwind but we eventually got to the top and over to turn off towards Babbinswood and over the A5 to Maesbury. Carried on through Llynclys,Porth -Y-Waen and up Blodwell Bank which is a longer drag up a hill followed by a welcome fast downhill stretch to Trefonen and into Oswestry. A quick discussion led to a change to the plan of going back up The Brow to Ellesmere, instead we took the longer way via Gobowen, St Martins and Duddleston Heath which has no big hills. Back into Ellesmere for our usual coffee at The BoatHouse. A wet and windy 45 miles including my ride to Ellesmere and home on lots of new territory which confirmed that I still don’t like hills 😂 although the wind wasn’t helping much. A good test for my new mudguards!
Lots of messages from the fair weather members of the group when we got back suggesting we may be slightly crazy!

I stayed in Whittington last June and did that route over the Welsh border ,it gets very hilly as soon as you cross the border

 

[AndreaJ]

I stayed in Whittington last June and did that route over the Welsh border ,it gets very hilly as soon as you cross the border

Definitely hilly, North Shropshire is fairly flat so I don’t really have to go up any hills. It’s a lovely area though and probably better on a sunny day !

 

[Noodle Legs]

I have decided to cut back my milage this year which gives me the opportunity to pick when to ride as no need for early starts . The weather forecast last night looked awful for today . But I awoke to no rain and clearing sky's so waited until 1030 which looked about the best weather window for a ride before the really windy weather hit this afternoon .When just going out for an hour or so I take the hilly option .I have been trying to gain as much elevation in an hour as possible without doing hills reps . I don't live in a perticularly hilly area but have plenty of fairly short climbs to go at ,100 foot per mile is hilly round here . Up to Newtown Linford and up the first climb of Sharpley hill turned left at the top avoiding the runners doing the Charnwood hills race 14 miles cross country !!!. A bit of descent before turning left on to Priory lane for the steep first ramp then a fast downhill then the second drag which just keeps getting steeper turned right up Whitcroft for more steady climbing . At the T junction I would normally go left to continue up to Copt Oak . But today it was right a quick descent to Charley road and more downhill to the crossroads . Then from a dead stop it's left up today's big climb back towards Coalville. First steep ramp done then a steady drag followed by another steep ramp as you crest that your rewarded by a bit of downhill followed by another ramp .It's probably about 1.5 miles long which is a long climb for round here .Left at the bottom back towards Copt Oak up a steady drag which with the help of a tailwind was dispatched in the big ring . Along here I past the hour mark and I had done 1483ft of upness in 13.5 miles a new record for me . From Copt Oak it was round the back of Markfield into Thornton several smaller climbs done . After the reservoir climb it was mostly downhill home but at 18 miles I still over 100ft per mile climbing .It just began to spit with rain as I neared home so excellent timing . 23.7 miles with 2034ft of upness at 14.4 mph . Now trying to think of a route with more climbing in a shorter distance or I could just ride faster up hill

Did some of these Friday although abbey road was opposite direction. Went straight on up whitcroft after polly Botts then left up t’hill to Copt oak lights… you say it’s not particularly hilly where you (we) are but there’s plenty to bust your lungs round that way! Always a good challenge and practice for the peaks!

 

[13 rider]

Did some of these Friday although abbey road was opposite direction. Went straight on up whitcroft after polly Botts then left up t’hill to Copt oak lights… you say it’s not particularly hilly where you (we) are but there’s plenty to bust your lungs round that way! Always a good challenge and practice for the peaks!

Surprisingly for me it's only the 3rd time I've done Abbey rd climb and the other 2 times I came from Shepshed so had a downhill run into it ,From a standing start into a headwind today it certainly got the heart pumping .

 

[Noodle Legs]

Surprisingly for me it's only the 3rd time I've done Abbey rd climb and the other 2 times I came from Shepshed so had a downhill run into it ,From a standing start into a headwind today it certainly got the heart pumping .

I bet. I think I’ve only done it twice, one from Shepshed and the other having done similar to you but straight on past Priory Lane and turning left instead at Beacon crossroads, then right down Charley Rd all the way to the bottom of Abbey. I recall getting four seasons in one climb with the snow hitting my face at the open section near the top before you drop back to Coalville!

 

[Andy in Germany]

On the way to work today, with actual blue sky and lack of rain. Even the headwind I was expecting didn't turn up.

 

[13 rider]

So in this thread yesterday I stated I'm cutting back my mileage so on my day off today I decided to ride 100km for the monthly challenge . Yesterday's ride was all about elevation today's was all about distance so a flatter route chosen .Waited for the frost clear so out the door at 0930. Anstey ,Cossington up the Wreake valley to Asfordby and up the first of today's big climb of Saxelbye hill . Just over the top I past the hour mark and had done 15.5 miles and 619 ft of climbing yesterday hour was 13.5 miles and 1483 ft climbing said today's was a flatter route .Willoughby ,Wysall ,East Leake and Gotham ( still no sign of batman ) Kingston on soar ,Kegworth ,Sutton Bonnington through Normanton on soar and onto today second big climb back to Stanford . I'm now 11 miles from home and need 21 miles for the metric ton so an extended route mentally plotted in my head . Barrow ,Quorn where I finally past yesterday's 1 hour climbing total of 1483ft at the distance of 47 miles said it was flat . Home via Swithland with just enough distance of 62.3 miles and a elevation gain of 1955 ft compared to yesterday's 2034ft in just 23.7 miles. I am lucky were I live I get the options of hilly or not .

 

[Old jon]

Let’s take the fixed out for a proper pedal! Roughly the thought this morning, so I did just that. Although maybe a bit of a shorter ride than my early thinking.

It feels odd, riding away in February with the temperature above ten degrees. But that did not stop me heading for the Armouries, with the usual diversion through the tab end of Holbeck, passing the point where the beck empties into the River Aire, albeit I was on the road. At the Armouries, ride the path downriver. Warm morning or not, this was very quiet, one dog walker and maybe eight or ten other folk all the way down to Thwaites’ Mill. River and canal have been crossed, so both are on my left, until Skelton Grange bridge is reached, a less than easy way to take a bike across the canal. So, canal on right, river on left, ride past the weir.



And further downriver too. One cyclist riding upstream and five pedestrians, either direction, hardly make the next couple of miles busy, very likely the quietest I have seen it. Fishponds Lock is the next bit of interest, and also a much easier means of crossing the canal than the bridge back there. Maybe the bridge could be replaced with a lock gate? Anyway, I stopped at Fishponds to take a picture.

Then pedalled onwards. Woodlesford Lock and the decision to stay on the waterside as far as Lemonroyd Marina. The towpath surface becomes a bit less surface, more marsh, and fixed wheel with slick tyres made for interesting riding. Which became more interesting after leaving the towpath in the direction of Methley. Slithery slidery mud for what felt like a long way. Back on tarmac, turn left and ride through Methley, just before riding under the railway bridge turn right, heading for Methley Lanes.

There are lanes, oddly enough. Choosing the right ones can take you to Bottom Boat, a place I missed by a hundred yards or so. Had enough of the mud by then. A right turn and it is not far to Oulton Roundabout, the last bit of uphill in an almost flat ride. Down past Stourton, then a different way through Hunslet and to home. Nineteen miles and 646 feet going up, and I did feel tired, likely the muddy stretches did that. But it was a good, and different, ride.

the tracks of my tyres . . .

 

[Dave 123]

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I finished work early today so I had a sneaky little ride around the Warren.
Always good. The off road bits were almost dry.
I cycled Voss there and back. Beers too!

https://www.strava.com/activities/6651438615

 

[Ridgeback Roller]

Today's ride was a car assisted one to add a bit of variety, driving 20 miles inland, and starting from Graffham in the South Downs National Park. It was very noticeable that the mild weather seemed to have spurred the birds into song, it was much more noticeable than previous weeks. My route was all rolling terrain, nothing too lumpy but very little flat as I passed through the very pleasant hamlets/villages of Lurgershall, Ebernoe ( where the road bisects the cricket pitch), Kirdford, looping back to Northchapel, Lickford, Fernhurst, Milland (coffee and chocolate twist at the community cafe), Rogate, Nyewood and for a bit of fun, Quebec and Goose Green. Where else can you cycle through two extremes of the Americas in a mile? Then it was a flatter return along the base of the South Downs, clocking up 56 miles (2749ft ascent) for the 50km/50 mile monthly challenge. A nice day out, a bit breezy at times but great to see a few daffodils in the more sheltered spots, maybe spring is on it's way down south.

Coffee and chocolate twist at Milland Community cafe. Very friendly and normally lots of cyclists but I was the only one today.

At Goose Green, an evocative name for those of us old enough to remember the Falklands War.

Just a mile later, I'm in Quebec!

Not a great photo but noticed quite a few trees with these circular balls of growth. Not sure what they are? This one was by Cocking church.

 

[Dave 123]

@Ridgeback Roller that’ll be mistletoe

 

[Andy in Germany]

Commuting past kilometre post 16 on the Elz river yesterday evening.

 

[Donger]

21.4 miles today after tyre levering myself into my cold/wet weather kit. My longest post-covid ride so far. Pretty windy out there today, so hard to tell what progress I'm making, but a couple of hours after getting home from my spin down to Frampton on Severn and back and I'm feeling OK. Wish I'd had my camera with me, as I saw two great sights. First up was a lovely big brown hare that started to cross the lane in front of me in Elmore before turning tale and lolloping off into the hedgerow barely 5 metres away from me. Then on my way back home through Saul I caught sight of a lovely scene where a pet goat was standing upright on its rear legs with its front legs on the fence so that it could stand cheek to cheek with a donkey in the next paddock. Would have made for a great picture. Throughout the entire ride it looked as if I was riding towards horrendous weather, with low black clouds ahead of me. By the 14 mile mark I had ridden my luck as far as I was going to get away with and I rode through Scotch mist for the last 7 miles. Making progress. That's a 9.8, a 12.3 a 20.0 and a 21.4 miler so far.

 

[AndreaJ]

A bright and breezy morning and almost warm in the sun. Set off to Ellesmere and into the town and past the marina to Tetchill. Took the turning to Hordley, Bagley and Weston Lullingfields. The flying school from RAF Shawbury were out in their helicopters practicing low level flying, it’s not too often you get a close pass off a helicopter! I carried on to Baschurch with a bit of a wait at some temporary traffic lights before heading over the railway crossing to Marton, Burlton and Loppington. I decided to take the longer way home via Horton and Whixall which took the distance to 49km, which meant a trip to the end of the lane and back to make it just over 50km or 31.6 miles with no big hills. Didn’t see many other people out which is quite unusual.

 

[KnittyNorah]

BRILLIANT ride out today - the last decent day for a couple of weeks, according to the met. office, so I thought I'd better make the most of it. 3.2 miles early in the morning to the railway station, then good ol' Northern Rail took me, no fuss, for a 15 minute ride that would take over an hour on the bus. Out at Rufford then after a coffee at the Marina I was struggling against the wind over the mosses. Pedalling as hard as I could (which granted isn't very hard) on roads that were as flat as a pancake, in my lowest gear and I was only just going fast enough to stay upright ... The winds were icy but with the blue skies above, and pedalling as hard as I was, the only bit of me that was cold was my face. After just over 9 miles - with the last 3 miles very easy and peaceful bowling along with the wind behind me on a canal towpath - the only sour point of the day were the bike styles/barriers/whatever they call them, on the Leeds & Liverpool canal; there was no way I could get my bike through, under, past or round them when I got to Burscough and needed to leave the canal to go to the station.

I've never seen ones quite like them before - there's an angle-iron frame with a sort of v shaped gap with a 'runner' for the wheel and a bar across the top all set at one end of a not-very-wide kissing-gate mechanism. Well, even though my bike is tiny with the handlebars and saddle set appropriate for 4ft 11" me, the bar across the top is so low that it won't let my handlebars under so I can't put my wheel in far enough to open the kissing gate thingamajig and wriggle it in and out. Perhaps I was meant to push my bike in backwards? And wheel it out forwards? Will try that next time.

Fortunately a bloke came by and helped me get it under another section of gate/fencing, there was lots of tipping and swearing and I had to remove the basket and carry it over my arm like an old lady (wait a minute, I AM an old lady!). Unfortunately my camera battery was flat so couldn't take a photo.

Anyway, again to the station and again Northern Rail did me proud. Twenty minutes later I was in Preston then wriggle round the back streets, back onto the Lancaster Canal towpath just as the sky got dark and threatening, and home another 3 and a bit miles through the sleet.

CycleTravel map informs me I've done 15 miles in total today, which given that I've not done more than 5 or 7 mile rides all winter, I'm feeling pretty pleased about! How pleased I'll feel tomorrow I don't know, but I've just taken 2 ibuprofen to improve my chances ... LOL!

Edited to add - and I feel just fine. A bit stiff all over, but legs especially, when I got up and went downstairs, but another ibuprofen with my breakfast, and remembering to put my feet up instead of simply keeping my legs bent when sitting, and I've not even had a niggle in my knees.