Your ride today....

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Katherine

Guru
Moderator
Location
Manchester
On the morning of your 46th birthday it's always a good idea to go and ride 46 miles with your son!
We set out into breezy sunshine, our outward point was to be Ashwell, about 20 or so miles to the south west, so hopefully we'd come home on a tail wind. Up over Chapel hill to Barrington for a change and then out to villages such as Meldreth and Littlington passing fields of golden wheat. We stopped at the 3 Tuns pub in Ashwell for a drink, a red kite flew over...
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Very early yesterday morning we had a good old humdinger of a storm, 30mm of rain in an hour, this meant that there were interesting patches of gravel and other sh1te in random places....
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The spire you can see is Ashwell church, looks like it was built by NASA.
So we'd gone from Cambs, briefly into Herts and then before long we found ourselves out of the pesky headwind and into central Bedfordshire with its undulations
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Those legs can be powerful.... Sometimes!
We came back into Cambs via Gamlingay where there was a wedding in progress, the car was well worth a picture
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On toward the Gransdens via a very draggy hill and those big strong 19 year old legs are beginning to falter...
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You can just make him out in the distance.
I had to coax Thomas back the last 15 miles, he didn't get in until 2 this morning and I dare not list the drink he had consumed, so really he did well!
Coming back to Hardwick I did fly off on him to aim for a bit of strava silliness on the roundabout s between Caldecote and Hardwick. I managed a PB. I had to do 4 sedate laps of the roundabout before he caught up.
Once home I found what Mrs Dave had been up to... Cake baking!

https://www.strava.com/activities/348611073/segments/8288202873
Happy Birthday @Dave 123
:cheers::birthday:
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
Many happy returns, @Dave 123
 

Goonerobes

Its okay to be white
Location
Wiltshire
Happy Birthday @Dave 123 :cheers:, have a good one.

With no danger of ice today I thought it was about time to re-visit the scene of my "off" on the black-ice back in February as I haven't been back there since for some reason!

Leaving the forest at its northern tip it was a quick dash across the busy A36 before heading through Whiteparish & up the little climb just before the 12% downhill where the accident happened, & I must admit the brakes were well & truly applied as I reached the 90 degree turn at the bottom. With that safely negotiated it was along country lanes & the patchwork fields through West Dean, Winterslow & Middle Wallop before turning back for home through Broughton, Dunbridge, Mottisfont, Whiteparish again & a different route through the forest.

62.8 very enjoyable miles today in almost perfect temperatures & only a slightly annoying south-westerly breeze.

https://www.strava.com/activities/348612552

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MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Weekend off work.... It's extremely windy, but it's been dry at least.

Set off on the old Raleigh to pop to the bank and drop something off with my sister. It's not far so I'm just in jeans and a T shirt.

Jeez, this thing is heavy into the wind!
Oh, it's drizzling now...
The bank was closed (too late.. duh!)
Sister was out.
Now it's raining..
Damp jeans are hell to cycle in.
Saddle needs to go up a bit I reckon.
Back home.

Rain has stopped now :rolleyes:

4.7 miles
https://app.strava.com/activities/348695904
 
My ride today started with me being attacked. :eek: It was a very serious attack as well.

What I had failed to notice when I took the bike lock off my trike and slammed it down on the wall/ground was that there was a fledgling blackbird right where I had put my bike lock! The fledgling would not survive long if it stayed there (luckily I missed hitting it with a Sold Secure Gold bike lock :whistle: ) - it had fallen/slid down the bank and ended up head deep in dead holly leaves (from this year's leaf fall), so despite its parents' protests it was moved back to the top of the bank where it had much more shelter and cover from the sparrow hawks, kestrels and buzzards that routinely pay this area a visit. The parents shut up after that and were soon back with the juvenile. This is a common occurrence with all small juvenile animals & birds and the area we keep the bikes in is an enclosed space that nothing other than mice and squirrels can actually get out of (unless you can actually fly!). Rescuing them is all I can do.

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Said juvenile Blackbird. TBH I am not even sure if it should be out of the nest yet!

So today was also a big day in a few other areas as well. It was to be the first time my OH had been to Jodrell Bank (he still hasn't been around it, but has now been to the café). It was to be my longest ride to date. And it was to take my total distance for both this year and for the recumbent trike to over 1,000 miles. Not bad for someone who has to take crutches everywhere and can't walk far!

The journey there was to be the longer of the 2 distances today - Jodrell Bank is in a 'blind spot' when it comes to getting there from where we live. Imagine it being at 4 o'clock on a circle and you are coming in at 8-9 o'clock. You can't cut across the middle, you have to go around the outside, but the shortest route is also very boring, very busy and not that nice/pleasant/etc... So it was the long way round on the way there, and the short way on the way home (by virtue of a strong headwind and a touch of common sense). It was also a touch eventful because I nearly took out an entire peloton of club riders this morning! I was happily minding my own business on a single lane road, climbing up hill slooooooowly on the inside of a tight bend when all of a sudden there was a scream of BIIIKKKKKEEEE as one toooooo many of them were cutting the fast downhill bend.... Afterwards my OH commented "perhaps I should have warned them".:dry: All I could really say was 'perhaps'.

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So this is our goal. Ever since an ex CC member took me here over 2 years ago my OH has been complaining that I haven't taken him... Can't win really.

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Lunch and the wonderful chips they serve here!

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We chose to stay away from the café area and used the benches that serve the "Potting Shed Café" which has not yet opened for the season. It was easier to get the trike to the benches than in the café.

We left, like so many of the cyclists we saw, as the café was starting to get busy for lunch and headed off home. As mentioned by many others, the wind is a little interesting today and going home was, err, hard actually.
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One thing we did spot was a new use for a telephone box. It is the first time I have seen one marked as having a defibrillator in it!

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Then it was reasonably boring on the way home, not to mention, oh I already have. Well it is worth mentioning it again...
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I did try pointing out to my OH that you can't slipstream a recumbent trike but he repeatedly tried :angry: and even ran into me on one occasion. double :angry::angry:.

Anyhow - tired legs meant my average speed dropped from 14.5kph to 13.4kph on the last 8km stretch, but I made it.

https://www.strava.com/activities/348661703 57km or 36 miles and my longest ride, 1,000miles covered this year/on the recumbent trike and I'm knackered. Oh and I'm also sunburnt on my shins! And it was sunny & dry all day.
 
D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
I am having the opposite experience with my Shimano-equipped CX bike. I am used to Campagnolo shifters which use an inner lever to shift down and a thumb button to shift up. Shimano, of course, use an inner lever to shift UP so I keep finding myself in a higher gear rather than a lower one!

Sounds like Campag is similar to Shimano Sora, the SRAM is done solely with the lever behind the brake lever it doesn't use the brake lever at all unlike the Tiagra on the new bike. I was out for a short ride, 25 miles, yesterday afternoon and managed not to cock up any shifting.
 

Mattonsea

Über Member
Location
New Forest
After a week of harvesting , and trapped at work , the need to get out was much needed. A nice 50 mile loop from home to the top of the New Forest via Brockenhurst , Bolderwood , and Sandy Balls :laugh:. The back down to Ibsley and Burley and home. Coming out of 10 bends doing about 30mph the cycle club over took me ,scaring the bejesus out of me.
Everything is burnt to a crisp down here , and the air was very dry with a evil head wind,
which slowed my tired legs down so 52 miles , 1300ft elevation . Not bad considering 95hrs work and been up since 4 this morning.:tired:
 

Simontm

Veteran
Last longish ride before Ride London - 80 miles.
As I was late, I headed out west rather than towards the Surrey Hills.
Now I don't normally need to do a Numpty count on my weekend rides but on the Wraysbury road just outside Staines, some idiot in a glazing van threw a lucozade bottle at the cyclist in front of me, just missing him :angry:
Anyway Staines to Eton...
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Then Windsor to Maidenhead to Henley
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View from just outside Henley
At Henley there was a classic boats and car show which unfortunately cost to get in but I did see the Royal Barge manned. - I usually see it moored up near me ^_^

North of the Thames, back down to Marlow
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Then back over the Thames, turn left then up quarry wood road which is like a slightly steeper Box Hill.

Down through Cookham and back through Dorney
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Just make out Windsor Castle...

Then Datchet, Wraysbury, Staines, Laleham, Shepperton.

Through Lower Sunbury, taking it fairly easy as I should be beginning my warm down, when some bloke on a hybrid came huffing past - well this is my home turf damnit, so clicked down, went past him and maintained a steady 22mph to the lights. :whistle:^_^

Jumped onto the shared path at Hampton to get round the roadworks and had a virtually traffic free run to the Palace.
Over the bridge then home 5 hours 20 minutes. ^_^
 

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
A rare Saturday off for me, so me and Mrs Wife set off to nowhere in particular, we headed towards Witney into the feckin wind after 12 miles had a cuppa and cake then set off towards the White Horse chalky thing in Uffington, the route was flat until we got there and we were supposed to be having an easy day but up we went anyway. Fantastic views for miles up there.

Onwards after brief rest and up down hills to have lunch at Lambourne in a nice pub, then on to Hungerford for ice cream and then back home along quiet country lanes via Boxford, East Isley,

Lovely day our but bloody windy again and there didn't seem to be any respite form it either. 65.99 miles and 2455 feet of climbing, which I think is more climbing than the 100 miles of the Ride London-Surrey route.

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Just left of centre you can see the White Horse on the hill.

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An 'orse 'n cart Blanche

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In the centre just above the horizon those three tiny black dots are fighter jets taking off from RAF Brize Norton.

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The Ridgeway.

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Nice Ice Cream here, the cafe is a bit naff though,
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Happy Birthday @Dave 123
 
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Katherine

Guru
Moderator
Location
Manchester
16 miles in lovely windy sunshine.

Today, I had my first proper ride with Miss K. After a year of cycling to uni and around the canal paths of Birmingham, she is fitter than me, can go faster on the hills and it's only the rubbish BSO that she uses that lets me beat her on the straights.
I took her to the pub on the canal that I spotted while doing @BigAl68's pub challenge.
Good lunch, enjoyed while watching the boats. By the time we left, there were 3 more sets of cyclists and some people who arrived by boat.


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I hope we get the chance to go back or at least another ride together.
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
Fed up with having my rides curtailed by the weather, today I decided to take full advantage of the strong SW winds and lack of rain.
I took a route from home to Glasgow, which involved a fair amount of climbing (by my standards :blush:), using mainly quiet minor roads through North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and then to Eaglesham before heading into Glasgow for the train home. Strava here.

Having finally figured out how to get photos from my phone onto my computer, I can share with you the wonderful cycle route between Eaglesham and East Kilbride:

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I did think about it .... but after lobbing a few stones in at the deep end (furthest away), I have to admit that I bottled it :stop:. The water across the road was quite fast flowing too, so I headed back to Eaglesham (uphill and into the wind, naturally) and rather than continue to East Kilbride I just headed to Clarkston and into Glasgow city centre.
 

derrick

The Glue that binds us together.
We did a bit of hill traing for a change, rather than the normal club ride we did repeats of three hills in Epping Forest. 5x Mott st Wellington hill and Lippets hill. Then down to the Wake arms roundabout for a sprint to Rangers rd. Everybody enjoyed the ride, There was plenty of beer and coffee when we got back to base. 40 miles in total and 3150ft of climbing.:okay:
 
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