Your ride today....

[cyberknight]

As i was free today which is rare and sunday looks like a wash out i went out for a steadier ride and ended up at the new lands farm cafe in Hilton where i knew the clubs easy riders were headed ,By the time they arrived i had finished so i stayed a while for a chat before heading home .

 

[theloafer]

just a short trip today call in to see a couple of pals just made it to 30 miles ..so no ride round the block to even up

https://www.komoot.com/tour/794262063

 

[cyberknight]

Big cycling bucket list check for me today, my first ever imperial century. Weather had been crap all week and wondered if we'd get out but 19° beautiful sunny weather made it so.
Broke it down into 4 lots of 25 miles with a cafe/pub stop at each. First 25 took it steady, next 25 felt good so settled in well, next 25 it all went wrong and I felt empty at times but the last 25 were completed on pure adrenaline and joy 😊

Not something I'd want to do every week but the sense of achievement is amazing. Lots of cyclists out today enjoying the bank holiday which was amazing to see.

View attachment 647366

well done , i need to get a century ride in this year but waiting till shoulder can take the time in the saddle

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Last ride of the hols, on the tandem with the lovely Mrs T, and it's an awayday to Bala!

Unfortunately on opening the car door it became apparent it was bloomin' nithering and stayed rather grey all day long so no pics.

First up the back road up to the head of Llyn Celyn, desolate and marshy in places, lush, picturesque and bluebell bestrewn in others. An unpleasant close pass from the usual self-gratification artist in an overpowered BMW on the stretch of main road to the summit, then the swoop down to Trawsfynydd.

What a descent! Just shy of 50mph, but wide and smooth tarmac makes it feel safe and secure, or so Mrs T tells me (honest!).

It's getting chillier by the minute, so we press on, taking the tiny mountain back road to the head of Llyn Tegin. We pause for sarnies in the lee of a copse, but quickly on and the rain starts. This was *not* in the plan.

We now have a monstrous climb to 531m into a howling headwind and driving rain. The landscape is terrific; the plantation here is long gone and native trees and shrubs seem to have been allowed to recolonise. Behind, the Rhinogs gloriously dominate the landscape, and would even moreso were they not veiled in drizzle.

The descent to the lake is gated, slow, steep in places, rollercoaster up and down in others, but everywhere superb views now the rain has gone, and simply glorious open landscape throughout. We meet the "Liverpool Braveheart" cycling club ascending, having earlier seen them near Llyn Celyn.

Finally, a somewhat tired return down the lake, though overtaking the steam train with a wave to the passengers and drivers. Coffee and ice cream await in Bala.

57k, 1100m climbing or thereabouts.

 

[Dave 123]

I was working on Thursday and Friday in beautiful weather. Today was wet cold and windy!
The lanes were decidedly winter ish, so it was a mountain bike ride.
Bridleways and lanes. Not a great deal to see.
Just over 10 miles

 

[buzz22]

After finishing shift this morning I had a couple of hours spare before I have to head back in and deliver a mental health training session to a group of fellow firefighters from across New South Wales.
I thought it was a good chance to live by the advice I give and look after my own health so my 1982 Europa got it's maiden run.
A couple of stops were made to get the seat height, set back and handle bar position just right- once this was sorted it was quickly apparent that this bike is one of the nicest bikes I've ever ridden.
The Ofmega driveline is silky smooth, and the tall gearing felt instantly familiar from when my legs were much younger.
The Modolo Corsa brakes are not quite on the same level but some new blocks should help matters.
That a mate gave me the bike because he knew it would be appreciated makes it all the more special to ride.
My usual route to Waterfall and back (31km round trip) took a few more minutes than usual but once I get used to the way the bike rides I'll get quicker.
Having said that, it had me grinning like an idiot the whole way round so who cares how fast it is!

 

[Dave 123]

A short 10 miles on my mountain bike. Not that much of note, a misty murky day.

On my return my somewhat scabby bike had a birthday!

 

[13 rider]

After finishing shift this morning I had a couple of hours spare before I have to head back in and deliver a mental health training session to a group of fellow firefighters from across New South Wales.
I thought it was a good chance to live by the advice I give and look after my own health so my 1982 Europa got it's maiden run.
A couple of stops were made to get the seat height, set back and handle bar position just right- once this was sorted it was quickly apparent that this bike is one of the nicest bikes I've ever ridden.
The Ofmega driveline is silky smooth, and the tall gearing felt instantly familiar from when my legs were much younger.
The Modolo Corsa brakes are not quite on the same level but some new blocks should help matters.
That a mate gave me the bike because he knew it would be appreciated makes it all the more special to ride.
My usual route to Waterfall and back (31km round trip) took a few more minutes than usual but once I get used to the way the bike rides I'll get quicker.
Having said that, it had me grinning like an idiot the whole way round so who cares how fast it is!
View attachment 647703

View attachment 647704

Hope it's fairly flat where you are . What's that gearing 53/39 to a 12/23 ?

 

[Andy in Germany]

A short 10 miles on my mountain bike.

Is a "short ten miles" like 10km?

I like that; I think I'll start claiming it is, so I can say I ride a short ten miles to work.

 

[Dave 123]

Is a "short ten miles" like 10km?

I like that; I think I'll start claiming it is, so I can say I ride a short ten miles to work.

It is miles, but it was short.

 

[buzz22]

Hope it's fairly flat where you are . What's that gearing 53/39 to a 12/23 ?

I won't be hitting too many hills, it's 42/53 to 13/21. The regular route I ride is fairly flat so if I stick to that I'm ok.

 

[gavgav]

I’m up in Wales for a few days and @Rickshaw Phil has joined me for some cycling.

The weather hasn’t been kind to us so far and we awoke to rain on Sunday morning. Things had dried up a bit, by lunchtime, so we set off for a ride, knowing we’d likely get wet at some stage. I’d got a hilly route in mind, that Phil hadn’t done before.

We set off and despite already being wrapped up against the cold, soon had to both stop to put a 3rd upper layer on 🥶 Was it really June, or more like the November it felt like?!

We straightaway began the climbing up to Pen yr Allt Fawr, which is a long and at times steep one. There are normally very good views out over the coastline, but that was tempered today by the low cloud and then the rain that decided to start falling in the climb. By the time we reached the summit and viewpoint it was chucking it down and we donned waterproof jackets.

Phil at the summit

There are quite a few gates to contend with, but the descent down the valley from the summit is good fun, passing Rhaeder Nantcol Waterfalls as we did so, arriving down at Llanbedr.

We then began the climb back up to Cwm Bychan, a more gentle climb, interspersed with some steeper short pulls. The road follows the Coed Artro and is beautiful amongst the trees. We stopped for photos on occasion.

We eventually arrived up at Cwm Bychan, which is a stunning place, away from the beaten track enough that it never seems to get too busy either. Today, with the rain that was falling and cold wind blowing off the Cwm, we were alone up there, but after getting to the far end of the lake and then doubling back, we didn’t hang around for long. We did pause at a more sheltered point by a waterfall.

Whilst there, 2 cyclists came up and said hello, but strangely turned back at the gate, rather than going on the extra half mile to the Cwm. Maybe they’d had enough of the rain.

Thankfully the rain stopped as we descended back down to Llanbedr, giving chance for things to dry off a bit. We had the choice of the main road back, or another steep climb, from there but decided on the climb as the main road would likely still be busy with weekenders heading back home after the Jubilee celebrations.

The climb up through Coed Artro forest is a real pull, but I think we would have made it up in one go, which I’ve not done before, had a car not come up behind us and necessitated us pulling over. There is then some rolling lanes through farmland, before we descended back down the steep climb we’d started on and arrival back at base.

Despite the rain and cold, we made the most of it and enjoyed 21.39 miles with a decent 1962 feet of climbing.

Hoping for better weather over the next couple of days.

 

[Brandane]

My ride at the weekend. The 5 ferries ride, which I have been meaning to do for a while. So called because, well, the ride incorporates 5 ferries!

Ferry number 1.... Ardrossan, Ayrshire, to Brodick, Isle of Arran.

There follows a 15 mile cycle including a long climb from Sannox over to Lochranza, where you catch ferry number 2, a 20 minute crossing to Claonaig on the Mull of Kintyre.

A 10 mile cycle takes you to Tarbert, where I had booked a night "glamping" at the very pleasant Tarbert Holiday Park. As a side trip I went exploring the forestry tracks above Tarbert and discovered some magnificent views.

After a reasonable night's sleep, I set off for ferry number 3, Tarbert to Portavadie (Cowal).

There was a yachting regatta taking place in Tarbert, so this piper was playing at the harbour entrance.

No, he wasn't playing Mull of Kintyre!

The longest and hardest part of the ride then follows, 19 miles from Portavadie to Colintraive. The climb out of Tighnabruiach is long, but you are rewarded with this view from the top, looking down the Kyles of Bute. Stunning, and the pics cannot do it justice.

Ferry number 4 at Colintraive. You could just about throw a stone across this narrow part of the Kyles of Bute. A few minutes later you are on the Isle of Bute:

There is then a 9 mile ride on the Isle of Bute, which can be extended by taking various routes available on the island, but I took the direct route and visited 2 of my brothers on the island, which happens to be where I was born all those 60 years ago!
So to ferry number 5, and the half hour crossing to Wemyss Bay. The ferry was mobbed, thanks to the weather and holiday weekend:

From Wemyss Bay, it's a 6 mile ride home. Avoiding the crazy traffic on the narrow A78 involves a couple of extra climbs, but worth it. The views are better too! A good couple of days on the bike/ferries. Most people will do this ride in a day, but IMHO it's far too nice to rush, and be chasing the clock all day to try and catch the various ferries.

 

[C R]

After having two rides scuppered over the bank holiday, one because the alarm didn't wake me up, the other by the weather, I took advantage of my birthday holiday for a spin before going out to lunch with the delicious Mrs C R.

I faffed about too much setting off, so was limited to about an hour and a half of riding time. Local loop via Pershore was the solution. A bit over 27 miles for the first ride of my fifth decade, quite enjoyable, though a couple of drivers got a bit too close.

The map

 

[gavgav]

Day 2 of cycling in Wales and despite there still being thick cloud, it was dry and a little milder than yesterday, so we started out in t-shirts, but still not shorts weather.

More hills were the order of the day, on another new route for @Rickshaw Phil, one I’ve only done once before. We set off down the main road to Llanbedr, which was quiet and then climbed up through Pentre Gwynfryn, to join some of yesterdays route, for a short while, before we turned off in the direction of Harlech and began the more serious climbing. We’d not long been climbing, when we met the dustbin lorry, which filled the narrow road and so we had to drop back to a gateway to let them through. There are a couple of gradient arrows up that road, but great views over the coast.

We reached the crossroads and then continued up over the mountain pass, with stunning views either side, of mountains, including Rhinog Fawr, Rhinog Fach and Snowdon in the distance, plus the Llyn Peninsula coast. Lunch was taken at the summit and we both gazed at the view whilst munching away.

Next is the exhilarating descent down to Eisengrugg, with multiple single and double gradient arrows. Phil was a bit more daring with the speed than me, so got away a bit, before I caught him up at the gate and then a 1 in 4 drop down to the main road was highlighted by the burning smell coming from my brakes 😬 We’d dropped just over 900ft in about 2 miles.

The main road from there, up towards Harlech, was nice to cruise along on the flat for a while, with very little traffic, before we wound our way up the climb, into the Town Centre. It’s a pull up there, but that’s the least hilly route there is to get there! We had a plan to stop for homemade ice cream, at the best shop there is in the area, for me, just up from the castle. I enjoyed a very nice Salted Caramel waffle cone 😍

We then looped around to the facilities, for a comfort stop and then get another gradient arrow climb up out of Harlech, along Ffordd Uchaf, then the descent down to Llanfair. There is a short section along the cycle way that runs parallel to the very busy A470, as far as Pensarn, where we were following the NCN route 8 on lanes again through Pant Goleu, back to Llanbedr.

I chose to take the main road back from there, as the other routes were back along gradient arrow roads and my legs were complaining by now, of 2 days of hills. That wasn’t a pleasant few miles, as we had at least 3 morons providing us a with very close passes, plus 2 of them straight into the path of oncoming traffic. That road really does attract idiots.

Back in Dyffryn I turned us off 1 junction sooner than intended, but no harm done as it ended up on the road we wanted, via a couple of residential streets.

The sun had started to come out during the last few miles, which warmed things up again and we’d had a good ride of 20.74 miles and 1858 ft of climbing.