Your ride today....

[roubaixtuesday]

40 wonderful miles incl nearly 3000ft of invigorating climbing with the lovely Mrs T in fine winter sunshine.

Oh, and an excellent pub lunch to Boot.

 

[craigwend]

10.22 Miles, Longest Ride this year...
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Another Longest Ride of the Year - 14 Miles today

 

[theloafer]

a short ride out to test a mates knee.. (after a steroid injections) and has been laid up for three months. took the lanes to our local cafe at Eppleby ,was nice in the sun and dam chilly when we hit the shade. still great to be out together again ,26 miles we await the prognosison the knee tomorrow.
https://www.strava.com/activities/8326224601

 

[sevenfourate]

70 miles ATM 30 to go need some encouragement!🤣🤣

‘It’s getting dark soon’ enough ? 🤣

 

[wafter]

‘It’s getting dark soon’ enough ? 🤣

It is dark now... need we send out a search party?

 

[Dave 123]

Well I finished work at 3 and headed out in the last of the sunshine.
I wore shorts, Twas a touch fresh.
Again I stuck to the roads as it’s still a touch damp in these parts.

Just over 10 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8326605760

 

[sevenfourate]

Well I finished work at 3 and headed out in the last of the sunshine.
I wore shorts, Twas a touch fresh.
Again I stuck to the roads as it’s still a touch damp in these parts.

Just over 10 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/8326605760
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Stunning last pic.

‘Shorts’ was a typing error I presume….

 

[geocycle]

Cracking ride Gromit! Timed a ride to the dales to fit between the ice melting and darkness descending. The forecast was excellent, but quite a frost, so delayed until 10:00 then trundled out up the coast to test the roads. All was good so plan A, a first 2023 ride to some of the finest parts of Gods own county was on. Encountered the Lonsdale Hunt in Hornby, while I don’t agree with hunting the horses and riders looked magnificent. Headed through Ingleton and then took the old road to Clapham where the thermos came out for the first time. Took the backroads to Austwick and Wharf before enjoying the view to Penyghent. The Naked Man in Settle was a shadow of his former self in this cold but provided lunch. Then it was a dash westward as the sun went down, punctuated only with a coffee stop behind Keasden church. 63 miles or 101 km with 1600m of climbing.

Pictures of Ingleborough, Penyghent and a narrow bridge in Clapham.

 

[ianrauk]

And so it starts again. The Imperial Century a Month Challenge cycling shenanigans. My 13th year. Today saw me out nice and early to bag January's qualifying ride. A Surrey Kent anti clockwise loop. The weather stayed quite nice. No precipitation and not much wind. I waas even blessed with some sunshine and blue skies. Just a Little bit chilly. The roads were very mucky though with all the rain that hit over the past couple of weeks., Yalding and Teston in Kent both flooded again. It made for mucky riding at times, mucky bike and mucky human.
So, scores on the doors. 101 miles for the day. Imperial Century month 146 in a row. century ride #321

 

[sevenfourate]

@ianrauk

Epic ongoing effort / stats right there 😳

Interesting seat shape ! Not sure I’ve seen one of those……

 

[cyberknight]

well done all
Mrs ck at work so i had the kids to keep corralled so no ride for me today alarm set for 3.50 am for the back to work slog so decided not to bother with the turbo now

 

[Dave 123]

Stunning last pic.

‘Shorts’ was a typing error I presume….

Not at all. Had shorts on all day today.

 

[All uphill]

Beautiful sunny morning so out the door for a short spin to try out the new tyres (Schwalbe G One).

I couldn't find a rhythm so just did a ten mile loop and home for cocoa.

Tyres did their job and gave a lovely smooth ride. I'm just hoping they are not the reason I couldn't get going today.

 

[footloose crow]

2 Jan Home before dark...

Why is it always cold when it's sunny? Frost on the lawn this morning and a low sun shining through winter empty trees. I need to ride 25k to meet my friends at Stithians and when I do get there, I anticipate a twenty minute discussion about where we will go as my toes freeze and the shivers begin. It's the constant changing of the topic that delays the decision....everyone has a view on something, everything except the matter of 'where'.

So it is going to be Lizard Point today and that is OK with me because the sun is shining and even though it's cold, it feels warmer when the sun is out. I know nothing bad will happen to me today. The frost shaded valleys make our breath smoke but up on the ridges the sun is warming me enough to remove a layer.

The pace starts fast but a few hills and the fact that a number of the riders today are recovering from Covid or flu or both, slows it down to an average of 20kmh. A comfortable pace - at times I even find myself at the front, disquieted by the unusual lack of a back wheel to follow. Rolling through Helston the traffic picks up as people head to the beaches. This is Cornwall; when the sun shines we go to the beach. It's a Pavlovian reaction.

Given how much traffic there is on the main road we turn off onto minor lanes, which involve big swoops downhill and long grinds uphill as we cross the grain of the land, splashing through fords in every valley bottom so that I now have wet feet instead of cold feet. The sea appears at Poldhu Cove, a westerly wind driving long Atlantic swells into green and white lines of surf, The beach is packed despite the cold. Uphill now from here (the road sign says 14%) into Mullion village and then a head down sprint to Lizard Point.

Here we can watch the wave trains passing to the south, their height only obvious when the small fishing boats vanish into the troughs and then emerge shaking water from their bows like a terrier with a rat. It is warm out of the wind and in the sun and quite an effort to move on. To Gweek next along a straight, flat (flat for Cornwall) road before dropping down to the creek side village. 'Four mile hill' awaits... and it is four miles of 5-8%.

From here it is small lanes back around to Stithians lake, slowly refilling after the summer drought (although we still have a hosepipe ban) and my friends vanish in different directions as we all find our separate ways home. I was supposed to be home an hour ago and there are still 25km left to Truro. Fearful of wifely wrath I set a new speed record of one hour home. Took an hour and a half coming out this morning.

My lonely house snugged down in its own valley arrives in the long shadows of a setting sun. I planned to do 80km today but it turns out to be 121km. Just 5 and a bit hours actually riding but I have been out all day. Too much standing around chatting and then a coffee and cake stop.

 

[Jameshow]

So aim was to ride to Lancaster which is a little further than I thought so I turned at just over 50miles 8 miles short of Lancaster.

Easy run to crossbills cold but sunny no ice.
Removed my new thermal jacket.

Took a wrong turn at the "a59" and ended up in Earby so popped into see a friend with a spinal injury.

Salterforth and Barnoldwick and back in track to gisburn..

Hilly from then on. Great views of Pendle.

Bolton by Bowland followed

Then slaidburn with the worst rutted road I've seen resulting in a pinch puncture. Half a panettone consumed whilst I fixed it. Struggled as my levers have seen better days and wouldn't lift the conti ultra sport tyres.

Dunsop bridge followed.

Then the big climb over the moor to the west.

Quite a climb not as big as Pennines or lakes but the preceding climbs had taken there toll.

Lovely shallow valley decent the other side until I decided to turn for home at 51 miles.

Lunch on way back as I saw the tea booth at dunsop bridge and brought a round sausage in a 6" Bap.

Uneventful ride home apart from the busy a59 and the the best cycling road on earth to Carleton, but the. The wheel fell of when I turned right I the village rather than after the village leasing to a massive climb above lothersdale. I had to stop half way up as the road had become icey.

I put my thermal jacket back on for the long decent to crosshills. Then a steady romp home in 7h12m and 12.5avg.

Lessons learnt
Good kit keeps the cold out, new wool sovks3 for £6 on eBay + overshoes. Thermal jacket on the first and last hour of the ride.

Mistakes often happen at the end of th ride when you tired despite being close to home!