Landsurfer
Veteran
"Hayle, Hayle the Popes in jail" ......oops wrong Hail ..... a pleasant early morning tootal around Hayle in Cornwall ......
Your ride today....
- Thread starter gbb
- Start date
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Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
My entire bike ride today was going to drop off some fabric in the village recycling bin.
Being a Sunday the village was pretty quiet so I could take pictures in the middle of the road with no trouble.
A lady asked about the Xtracycle while I was taking this picture; I often get comments with this bike.
My secret plan is to find a house like this as a fixer-upper and make a bike cafe with a small stage in the barn/courtyard. If my current employer wants to keep me after July 2022 they legally have to offer me an open ended contract, so if things work out I may well be starting to look by this time next year.
Typical farmhouse. On the rare occasions these are open reveal show big shady courtyards behind them. On summer Sundays like today they'll be closed but I can often hear voices, sometimes quite a lot of voices in fact. The streets are quiet but there's a lot of life going on behind these gates.
Riding the last bit to my apartment. People with perfect eyesight may notice the bike is still loaded. This is because I live in the only village in Germany where the fabric recycling bin is in a locked compound, so I'll have to ride this bike to work tomorrow and drop off the fabric in a bin in the next village, which is in a housing estate...
Being a Sunday the village was pretty quiet so I could take pictures in the middle of the road with no trouble.
A lady asked about the Xtracycle while I was taking this picture; I often get comments with this bike.
My secret plan is to find a house like this as a fixer-upper and make a bike cafe with a small stage in the barn/courtyard. If my current employer wants to keep me after July 2022 they legally have to offer me an open ended contract, so if things work out I may well be starting to look by this time next year.
Typical farmhouse. On the rare occasions these are open reveal show big shady courtyards behind them. On summer Sundays like today they'll be closed but I can often hear voices, sometimes quite a lot of voices in fact. The streets are quiet but there's a lot of life going on behind these gates.
Riding the last bit to my apartment. People with perfect eyesight may notice the bike is still loaded. This is because I live in the only village in Germany where the fabric recycling bin is in a locked compound, so I'll have to ride this bike to work tomorrow and drop off the fabric in a bin in the next village, which is in a housing estate...
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Dave 123
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire alps
Just before this incident I suffered at the hands of a w@!£3r. A 20% hill, he’d just overtaken me, then a car comes from the opposite direction. Plenty of room, but he decided to reverse at me.
I yelled “what are you doing “, and he was out of the car like a flash “what’s your fing problem?”
I rode round him and said “you were reversing into me you d1ck”
He overtook me again and waved abuse.
Other than all that it was a nice ride. I went to Cornwood and Harford.
So Lisa came to get me in the car…🙁
https://www.strava.com/activities/7597293940
Lots of different stuff going on, so haven't been able to ride much recently. Today I managed a good ride, 45 miles going to the edge of the Cotswolds and back. Quite cool as I set off, which surprised me, but soon warmed up.
Route out was to Toddington via Eckington and Teddington, and then back via Aston Somerville, Elmley Castle and Pershore.
Glorious sunshine, and three hot air balloons floating about.
The map
Route out was to Toddington via Eckington and Teddington, and then back via Aston Somerville, Elmley Castle and Pershore.
Glorious sunshine, and three hot air balloons floating about.
The map
First ride on my recently purchased 1996 Giant CFR3. I fitted new brake cables and new cartridge brake blocks so thought I'd take it out for a spin.
Down to Bald Hill at Stanwell Tops and a quick stop, the wind was blowing hard from the South East and made it hard work on the way down.
I decided to head back through Royal National Park to stay out of the wind and do some hill work on the way out.
Every corner reveals peaceful forest like this- you can just see a cyclist heading towards me in the photo, the young girl was on her way to Melbourne solo, around 900km away. Big effort.
My bike did well, the RSX shifters were flawless and the 3 x 7 gears have a nice spread of ratios.
While 23mm tyres seem to have fallen out of favour the bike rode well. The Rigida rims get poor reviews but any wheel that stays round and straight with my 125kg backside on gets a thumbs up from me.
58km total at an average of 21km/h and a top speed of 63km/h on it's first outing is a great start 👍
Down to Bald Hill at Stanwell Tops and a quick stop, the wind was blowing hard from the South East and made it hard work on the way down.
I decided to head back through Royal National Park to stay out of the wind and do some hill work on the way out.
Every corner reveals peaceful forest like this- you can just see a cyclist heading towards me in the photo, the young girl was on her way to Melbourne solo, around 900km away. Big effort.
My bike did well, the RSX shifters were flawless and the 3 x 7 gears have a nice spread of ratios.
While 23mm tyres seem to have fallen out of favour the bike rode well. The Rigida rims get poor reviews but any wheel that stays round and straight with my 125kg backside on gets a thumbs up from me.
58km total at an average of 21km/h and a top speed of 63km/h on it's first outing is a great start 👍
Landsurfer
Veteran
This morning ... Marizion and St Michaels Mount ... £14 Adult, £7 Child, £35 Family ticket. ....
I cycled over the causeway before the staff turned up .... Free !!
From St. Michael’s Mount to Newlyn Harbour ... no fish market anymore , it’s all done on line, but still loads of HGV and vans collecting and distributing the daily catch.
Another nice ride.
There’s a real female swimming community thing going on along the Penzance sea front early mornings. Small groups, women of a "certain age" in the main, laughing and swimming together . Nice to see.
I cycled over the causeway before the staff turned up .... Free !!
From St. Michael’s Mount to Newlyn Harbour ... no fish market anymore , it’s all done on line, but still loads of HGV and vans collecting and distributing the daily catch.
Another nice ride.
There’s a real female swimming community thing going on along the Penzance sea front early mornings. Small groups, women of a "certain age" in the main, laughing and swimming together . Nice to see.
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Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
@Landsurfer
Everytime we've been down there, I've tried to time visits to the tides, so we can start walking over to the Mount, with the waters around our knees, arriving at the Island with (semi) dry feet
The first time I 'made' daughter do it, she freaked out (she was about 9)
Everytime we've been down there, I've tried to time visits to the tides, so we can start walking over to the Mount, with the waters around our knees, arriving at the Island with (semi) dry feet
The first time I 'made' daughter do it, she freaked out (she was about 9)
Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
Saturday 6th
Part of my route home from work
If it’s not too muddy, & light enough
Stanley Ferry, the Aire & Calder Navigation Canal, are behind me
(with the Grade 1 listed aquaduct)
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101261690-stanley-ferry-aqueduct-normanton#.YvDdDPjMLIU
If you look at 'S2' Tom Puddings at Stanley Ferry, I ride back along the track-bed, as it disappears into the distance
https://outwoodcommunityvideo.co.uk/stanley-remembered-1/index.html
Further along the old railway line, as that's what it was
A colliery line from St Johns Pit, to the basin at the Ferry
I'm roughly where the 'd' of dismantled railway is, on the OS map; https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2080626
After leaving NewLands Woods
If you reopen the geograph link, the sign is at the 'crossroads', under the 'R' of Normanton
I see the game-keeper/fishing-bailiff on quite a few of my visits, & he's told me about parts of the Hall, that are invisible in the undergrowth
Part of my route home from work
If it’s not too muddy, & light enough
Stanley Ferry, the Aire & Calder Navigation Canal, are behind me
(with the Grade 1 listed aquaduct)
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101261690-stanley-ferry-aqueduct-normanton#.YvDdDPjMLIU
If you look at 'S2' Tom Puddings at Stanley Ferry, I ride back along the track-bed, as it disappears into the distance
https://outwoodcommunityvideo.co.uk/stanley-remembered-1/index.html
Further along the old railway line, as that's what it was
A colliery line from St Johns Pit, to the basin at the Ferry
I'm roughly where the 'd' of dismantled railway is, on the OS map; https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2080626
After leaving NewLands Woods
If you reopen the geograph link, the sign is at the 'crossroads', under the 'R' of Normanton
I see the game-keeper/fishing-bailiff on quite a few of my visits, & he's told me about parts of the Hall, that are invisible in the undergrowth
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Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
Monday 8th
Part of my route to work
‘Stanley Ferry’ Aquaduct
Aire & Calder Navigation Canal
Stanley
This, obviously applies to the road-bridge, that I'm on, not the aquaduct (opened in 1839)
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101261690-stanley-ferry-aqueduct-normanton#.YvD9aRbTWEf
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6929731
Part of my route to work
‘Stanley Ferry’ Aquaduct
Aire & Calder Navigation Canal
Stanley
This, obviously applies to the road-bridge, that I'm on, not the aquaduct (opened in 1839)
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101261690-stanley-ferry-aqueduct-normanton#.YvD9aRbTWEf
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6929731
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I keep saying it wonderful photos.Today 31 miles Ilkley on the back roads of Askwith,but for some reason busy with motorists.Anyway it was superb i also came back with energy to spare.Not sure when i will go out again got some small decorating jobsto do,but i am so happy It was Postman of old.
Spiderweb
Not So Special One
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Morning Commute of 6.7 miles with an average of 15.9mph followed by an extended ride home via Sustrans to Riccall. A few stops for photos including one of the beautiful Selby Abbey. 45 miles with an average of 15.3mph.
Still feeling fatigued after Covid, I tried a couple of double strength caffeine gels which certainly helped a little today👍
Still feeling fatigued after Covid, I tried a couple of double strength caffeine gels which certainly helped a little today👍
Upon my return from work the shiny splendour of the Fuji was begging for servitude, so I nipped outside the village to deposit some of the large cache of empty spirit bottles that have accumulated in the hall 
The seal broken, back at home more appropriate gear was donned and I nipped out for a short dusk circuit round the villages.
Highlights included mistaking a bronze frog on a concrete toadstool outside one house for a real one, then subsequently thinking better of the large owl-shaped adornment on the gable end of another house down the road - until its head turned to follow me as I rolled past - I think that's the best view I've had of a legit owl
Obligatory muddy-over-amplified low light phone pic not of the owl:
A fairly sedate 13.5 miles and 600ft of climbing completed in an hour
The seal broken, back at home more appropriate gear was donned and I nipped out for a short dusk circuit round the villages.
Highlights included mistaking a bronze frog on a concrete toadstool outside one house for a real one, then subsequently thinking better of the large owl-shaped adornment on the gable end of another house down the road - until its head turned to follow me as I rolled past - I think that's the best view I've had of a legit owl
Obligatory muddy-over-amplified low light phone pic not of the owl:
A fairly sedate 13.5 miles and 600ft of climbing completed in an hour
a.twiddler
Veteran
6/8/22
Hard to believe that I haven’t been out on any bike, apart from test rides, since the end of May. It’s now August, and my plans for getting fit for a trip to Mid and South Wales are in disarray.
I’ve just been overwhelmed with domestic stuff, and some health issues. Still, I’ve had the trike front wheel rebuilt with a drum brake, so a delta trike with 3 wheels and 3 brakes now. The Linear has been in bits to fit a frame reinforcing plate.
Apart from some short test rides this is the first respectable ride I’ve managed since putting it back together. It felt a lot stiffer during those rides. Everything is well greased up so there should be no squeaks or creaks. Tyres all pumped up, brakes adjusted, gears OK. Bound to be something that will need looking at.
So today I set off in a short sleeved check shirt, nondescript black drainpipe trousers and a reasonable pair of shoes topped off with a sun hat and shades.
Out of the back gate, adjust mirror and head off to the uphill traffic lights. A stale green but green long enough for me to get through. Rolling easily to the A54 roundabout, little traffic, a green light so straight across to Delamere st. and Chester road. Feeling pretty good even into a persistent headwind. Turned right into an estate road, a long downhill but many speed humps so turned left into a short steep lane and wriggled through an “A” frame barrier to sports fields. Through a car park, on to Grange Lane, down a gentle downhill to a section with a broken surface. The newly stiffened frame transmitted the bumps quite sharply and I contemplated dropping the rear tyre pressure but unlike my floor pump in the garage my get you home pump doesn’t have a gauge so I toughed it out. I came to the Whitegate Way and turned left up the steep gravelly ramp.
Curiously, though others have mentioned experiencing a spongy feel with hub gears I’ve never come across it. However, today in Low gear on the hub I felt that there was an unusual amount of pedal movement before the drive took up on each pedal stroke. It was as if the rear wheel was spinning or as if the tyre had low pressure. The adjustment seemed right, the tyre was fully inflated and it was fine as the slope eased. Too much tyre pressure? Nothing has changed. Perhaps the wheel nuts need some more tightening. Curious. The wheel was straight. Changing up with no problems, I continued along the rail trail. In due course I came to the old station, and the cafe was open. I stopped for an ice cream. Defibrillator not working. If you're going to have a heart attack, don't have it here.
I pressed on along the trail. There were a few cyclists and walkers about but not as many as I would have expected. I overtook a family group on bikes and soon was overtaken by a small boy on a well proportioned mountain bike. After overtaking he slowed down a short distance ahead and kept up the same pace as me. Eventually he slowed down and I passed him. A few minutes later there was a ting ting and the same small boy and what I assumed was his brother came past. A man on a mountain bike then overtook me and joined them, leading them up the ramp to Kennel Lane bridge where I had planned to turn off. They stopped by the bridge, perhaps waiting for the mother in the group, while I attacked the ramp. Still the strange spongy feeling. I had to stop and reverse a little as the turn at the top of the ramp was a bit tight. I went up the last steep pitch before the bridge and one of the boys said, “that looks hard”. I was wondering if I’d put a bit too much air in the front tyre as the low speed stability wasn’t the way it was the last time I rode this bike. I pressed on down Kennel Lane with the alternate dark and light spots from sunlight and shadow making getting a clear view of the sandy and gravelly surface a little sketchy with my shades on. As usual, the bike picked its own line and eventually I came on to the tarmac surface as I came into Sandiway and met the A556.
After waiting for a gap in the traffic I turned right, just arriving at the traffic lights as they turned green and pushing straight through. From here there was a dual carriageway but after a slight dip and rise there was a good downhill so I could get a bit of speed up after all the slow stuff, before my turn off to Chester Road en route to Hartford. An initial short sharp climb then the road trended downhill, with the opportunity for some lazy speed. I stopped in Hartford to photograph a couple of plaques.
Then out to the junction with the A556, across the road to an alleged cycle path that was so overgrown with shrubbery that I had to ride on the grass. It improved further on and I followed it to just before Hartford Bridge. There were road works on the A556 though that didn’t bother me as I planned to turn away from all that on the lane that leads to Vale Royal Golf Course which is on the site of the original Vale Royal Abbey. There is an “A” frame barrier and a kissing gate along here but I would deal with those when I came to them.
Terrible surface for the first 50 yards but very pleasant to be enclosed by trees on both sides and the surface quickly improved.
Nobody about though I could hear people amongst the trees. Some footpaths went off to the right into the trees so I imagined there were walkers lurking in the shrubbery. Some more downhill followed so I took it easy until I came to the viaduct where the West Coast Main Line crosses the Weaver. I had to pedal for a bit then some more downhill. I came to a gate across the road with an “A” frame barrier alongside it. On the other side some enterprising individual had made a gap, so it was easier to ride through that. After the gate the trees and shrubbery closed in with an uphill stretch to the next gate (padlocked) and a kissing gate. This was an entrance to Vale Royal Golf Course.
I checked the space available and wheeled the Linear backwards into it. I stood it on its back wheel. The swinging gate naturally swung to the uphill side, so I swung it across to the other side, rotated the bike slightly, then let it down on to both wheels and pushed it out while holding the gate back with my foot. Once out, I let it shut. There was a steep gravelly climb from this point to the tarmac and a car park but it was straightforward enough. I rolled sedately past the elegant buildings that comprise the clubhouse and set off to the wooded uphill path that leads into Whitegate village. Through a select estate, right into Mill Lane then downhill and left into Grange lane.
Grange Lane starts from this end as an ordinary looking country lane with some secluded cottages and houses but soon becomes a bridleway, with a row of bollards stopping motor traffic. At this time of year the bridleway looks more like a centre parting, with a footpath like strip hemmed in by luxuriant plant growth. Over twenty years ago this was a lane, which I drove up many times, but it was often potholed and tough on your suspension. It was resurfaced several times while I lived in this area but it was eventually downgraded. The stretch between Whitegate and a nearby farm doesn’t look like a lane at all, just a path through the woods. The rest of it up the hill into the outskirts of Winsford is rutted and potholed and mainly a farm access. I’ve never come across a horse on it. The Whitegate end makes you wonder how rapidly the natural environment would reclaim man made roads “after humans”.
I plunged into the green lit tunnel of vegetation. Immediately the outside world became a memory as I plodded between various scratching and stinging plants, occasionally lifting one arm or the other to avoid contact. Much as I like underseat steering, in some places it has its drawbacks. I stopped at a spot where the path widened. On the right, the Pettypool Brook was barely audible as it trickled its sandybottomed way to join the river Weaver. Tall trees whispered in the wind and somewhere up there a wood pigeon sounded constantly surprised. I leaned on a large tree and ate a snack.
I lingered longer than I should have, lulled by the peaceful ambience. Nobody passed by and it was as if no one else existed. Getting under way again, the path narrowed even further than before, with plants snatching at me as I passed by. It became quite nadgery with the front wheel wanting to explore the greenery rather than stay on what there was of the path. Definitely need to lose some front tyre pressure. Eventually I came to the spot where it widened, full of dried mud ruts. The mud was dry and powdery and the bike cut through them like a ship through waves until they evened out onto the lane with wheel ruts either side and a slight ridge in the middle. It was then a case of finding the least worst route between the potholes while climbing the steep slope to the top of the lane. Quite pleased to be climbing with no problems after a couple of months off the bike.
There was a closed gate at the end of the unsurfaced section with a small gap at the side made narrower by more prickly plants. After getting through unscathed it was then plain sailing as I freewheeled down a gentle slope with a good surface. Past the bridge abutments of the Whitegate Way then down a badly surfaced dip and easily up the other side. Through a scattering of houses to the sports complex car park which was surprisingly full making me have to go round the parked cars rather than diagonally across as usual. I was soon on the path which led to the “A” frame barrier which I wriggled through and trundled easily up the slope on the other side.
Through an estate, left on to Delamere St and with a following wind made good progress, across the A54 roundabout then downhill through the traffic lights and home. Some detective work and adjustments to be made before the next outing.
17.25 miles, Max 28.4, Average 6.4 mph.
76 feet per mile ascent.
Hard to believe that I haven’t been out on any bike, apart from test rides, since the end of May. It’s now August, and my plans for getting fit for a trip to Mid and South Wales are in disarray.
I’ve just been overwhelmed with domestic stuff, and some health issues. Still, I’ve had the trike front wheel rebuilt with a drum brake, so a delta trike with 3 wheels and 3 brakes now. The Linear has been in bits to fit a frame reinforcing plate.
Apart from some short test rides this is the first respectable ride I’ve managed since putting it back together. It felt a lot stiffer during those rides. Everything is well greased up so there should be no squeaks or creaks. Tyres all pumped up, brakes adjusted, gears OK. Bound to be something that will need looking at.
So today I set off in a short sleeved check shirt, nondescript black drainpipe trousers and a reasonable pair of shoes topped off with a sun hat and shades.
Out of the back gate, adjust mirror and head off to the uphill traffic lights. A stale green but green long enough for me to get through. Rolling easily to the A54 roundabout, little traffic, a green light so straight across to Delamere st. and Chester road. Feeling pretty good even into a persistent headwind. Turned right into an estate road, a long downhill but many speed humps so turned left into a short steep lane and wriggled through an “A” frame barrier to sports fields. Through a car park, on to Grange Lane, down a gentle downhill to a section with a broken surface. The newly stiffened frame transmitted the bumps quite sharply and I contemplated dropping the rear tyre pressure but unlike my floor pump in the garage my get you home pump doesn’t have a gauge so I toughed it out. I came to the Whitegate Way and turned left up the steep gravelly ramp.
Curiously, though others have mentioned experiencing a spongy feel with hub gears I’ve never come across it. However, today in Low gear on the hub I felt that there was an unusual amount of pedal movement before the drive took up on each pedal stroke. It was as if the rear wheel was spinning or as if the tyre had low pressure. The adjustment seemed right, the tyre was fully inflated and it was fine as the slope eased. Too much tyre pressure? Nothing has changed. Perhaps the wheel nuts need some more tightening. Curious. The wheel was straight. Changing up with no problems, I continued along the rail trail. In due course I came to the old station, and the cafe was open. I stopped for an ice cream. Defibrillator not working. If you're going to have a heart attack, don't have it here.
I pressed on along the trail. There were a few cyclists and walkers about but not as many as I would have expected. I overtook a family group on bikes and soon was overtaken by a small boy on a well proportioned mountain bike. After overtaking he slowed down a short distance ahead and kept up the same pace as me. Eventually he slowed down and I passed him. A few minutes later there was a ting ting and the same small boy and what I assumed was his brother came past. A man on a mountain bike then overtook me and joined them, leading them up the ramp to Kennel Lane bridge where I had planned to turn off. They stopped by the bridge, perhaps waiting for the mother in the group, while I attacked the ramp. Still the strange spongy feeling. I had to stop and reverse a little as the turn at the top of the ramp was a bit tight. I went up the last steep pitch before the bridge and one of the boys said, “that looks hard”. I was wondering if I’d put a bit too much air in the front tyre as the low speed stability wasn’t the way it was the last time I rode this bike. I pressed on down Kennel Lane with the alternate dark and light spots from sunlight and shadow making getting a clear view of the sandy and gravelly surface a little sketchy with my shades on. As usual, the bike picked its own line and eventually I came on to the tarmac surface as I came into Sandiway and met the A556.
After waiting for a gap in the traffic I turned right, just arriving at the traffic lights as they turned green and pushing straight through. From here there was a dual carriageway but after a slight dip and rise there was a good downhill so I could get a bit of speed up after all the slow stuff, before my turn off to Chester Road en route to Hartford. An initial short sharp climb then the road trended downhill, with the opportunity for some lazy speed. I stopped in Hartford to photograph a couple of plaques.
Then out to the junction with the A556, across the road to an alleged cycle path that was so overgrown with shrubbery that I had to ride on the grass. It improved further on and I followed it to just before Hartford Bridge. There were road works on the A556 though that didn’t bother me as I planned to turn away from all that on the lane that leads to Vale Royal Golf Course which is on the site of the original Vale Royal Abbey. There is an “A” frame barrier and a kissing gate along here but I would deal with those when I came to them.
Terrible surface for the first 50 yards but very pleasant to be enclosed by trees on both sides and the surface quickly improved.
Nobody about though I could hear people amongst the trees. Some footpaths went off to the right into the trees so I imagined there were walkers lurking in the shrubbery. Some more downhill followed so I took it easy until I came to the viaduct where the West Coast Main Line crosses the Weaver. I had to pedal for a bit then some more downhill. I came to a gate across the road with an “A” frame barrier alongside it. On the other side some enterprising individual had made a gap, so it was easier to ride through that. After the gate the trees and shrubbery closed in with an uphill stretch to the next gate (padlocked) and a kissing gate. This was an entrance to Vale Royal Golf Course.
I checked the space available and wheeled the Linear backwards into it. I stood it on its back wheel. The swinging gate naturally swung to the uphill side, so I swung it across to the other side, rotated the bike slightly, then let it down on to both wheels and pushed it out while holding the gate back with my foot. Once out, I let it shut. There was a steep gravelly climb from this point to the tarmac and a car park but it was straightforward enough. I rolled sedately past the elegant buildings that comprise the clubhouse and set off to the wooded uphill path that leads into Whitegate village. Through a select estate, right into Mill Lane then downhill and left into Grange lane.
Grange Lane starts from this end as an ordinary looking country lane with some secluded cottages and houses but soon becomes a bridleway, with a row of bollards stopping motor traffic. At this time of year the bridleway looks more like a centre parting, with a footpath like strip hemmed in by luxuriant plant growth. Over twenty years ago this was a lane, which I drove up many times, but it was often potholed and tough on your suspension. It was resurfaced several times while I lived in this area but it was eventually downgraded. The stretch between Whitegate and a nearby farm doesn’t look like a lane at all, just a path through the woods. The rest of it up the hill into the outskirts of Winsford is rutted and potholed and mainly a farm access. I’ve never come across a horse on it. The Whitegate end makes you wonder how rapidly the natural environment would reclaim man made roads “after humans”.
I plunged into the green lit tunnel of vegetation. Immediately the outside world became a memory as I plodded between various scratching and stinging plants, occasionally lifting one arm or the other to avoid contact. Much as I like underseat steering, in some places it has its drawbacks. I stopped at a spot where the path widened. On the right, the Pettypool Brook was barely audible as it trickled its sandybottomed way to join the river Weaver. Tall trees whispered in the wind and somewhere up there a wood pigeon sounded constantly surprised. I leaned on a large tree and ate a snack.
I lingered longer than I should have, lulled by the peaceful ambience. Nobody passed by and it was as if no one else existed. Getting under way again, the path narrowed even further than before, with plants snatching at me as I passed by. It became quite nadgery with the front wheel wanting to explore the greenery rather than stay on what there was of the path. Definitely need to lose some front tyre pressure. Eventually I came to the spot where it widened, full of dried mud ruts. The mud was dry and powdery and the bike cut through them like a ship through waves until they evened out onto the lane with wheel ruts either side and a slight ridge in the middle. It was then a case of finding the least worst route between the potholes while climbing the steep slope to the top of the lane. Quite pleased to be climbing with no problems after a couple of months off the bike.
There was a closed gate at the end of the unsurfaced section with a small gap at the side made narrower by more prickly plants. After getting through unscathed it was then plain sailing as I freewheeled down a gentle slope with a good surface. Past the bridge abutments of the Whitegate Way then down a badly surfaced dip and easily up the other side. Through a scattering of houses to the sports complex car park which was surprisingly full making me have to go round the parked cars rather than diagonally across as usual. I was soon on the path which led to the “A” frame barrier which I wriggled through and trundled easily up the slope on the other side.
Through an estate, left on to Delamere St and with a following wind made good progress, across the A54 roundabout then downhill through the traffic lights and home. Some detective work and adjustments to be made before the next outing.
17.25 miles, Max 28.4, Average 6.4 mph.
Total Ascent: | 621 | ft | |
| Total Descent: | 621 | ft | |
| Start Elevation: | 191 | ft | |
| End Elevation: | 191 | ft | |
| Min Elevation: | 75 | ft | |
| Max Elevation: | 277 | ft |
Attachments
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Landsurfer
Veteran
Pics of St Michaels mount and Newlyn ... My camera was dead yesterday so a re visit and pics this morning.
The cobbles of the causeway are large and wet .... not cycling on them .....
0730hrs this morning ..so no tourists .. apart from me of course .....
Big Wet Cobbles !!
Newlyn Harbour.
The cobbles of the causeway are large and wet .... not cycling on them .....
0730hrs this morning ..so no tourists .. apart from me of course .....
Big Wet Cobbles !!
Newlyn Harbour.
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