Your ride today....

[Donger]

Last ride of the year for me. Needed about 24 more miles, so just went 12 miles away from home (out to the riverbank at Arlingham) and turned the bike around. Plenty of horses being ridden out there today, along with quite a lot of walkers and a handful of cyclists, including an elderly looking bunch of Gloucester City club riders. Muddy, slimy lanes everywhere, but very little wind so progress was easy. Pootled around, completing 24.2 miles in about 1hr 55 mins. My mileage for the year now stands at 2,000.6 miles. My best since covid.

 

[Oldhippy]

Chilly along the seafront for ten miles but lovely. A plague of people with multiple dogs on stupid long leads and not a care for any other shared path users however.

 

[chriswoody]

When the Christmas break started on the 20th I noticed I'd ridden 93 leisure rides this year (I don't tally my commutes or utility rides). So the mission was on to get to 100 by years end, today was ride 99.

It's been dark and misty for four days now and with the thermometer hovering around 0°c I set forth into the gloom. After 6km I plunged into the forest and made my way slowly north. In places the forest roads have been destroyed by the forestry workers and the trails are a mess.

I continue to make my way north, passing into the heathland and the first Silver Birch forests pass by.

After 20km I hit the first patch of open heathland and break for a flapjack, there's not a soul to be seen.

I carry on up onto the Tiefental, It's marginally higher here and the fog is thicker. I pause for another breather, but not for long the chill is biting.

I do like riding up here the trails are fun and flowing, at this time of year as well, there's barely anyone here.

It's not long before the fun ends though and I'm back into the forests. I can hear a herd of deer not far away, lost to sight in the gloom though. A few kilometres on and I'm faced with another stern test provided by the forestry workers. Several hundred slippery and wet metres later I reach the other side, all good wintery fun really.

The rest passes pleasantly enough, several more forestry kilometres before I'm onto the final 2 kilometres on the quiet country road that leads me back into town. I roll back into the garden with 48.6km completed and my 99th leisure ride of the year. Time for a hot coffee I feel.

 

[HLaB]

6 of out on the DCC Sunday Ride today. I think we all said it was windier than expected. My time down the Knockhill descent was nearly 13mins my best was 8mins (508ft of descent in 3.6miles)! Ive just looked at the KOM (KOD) 6:26 also in a storm







Its supposed to be wet and even windier the next few days so I think it’ll be my last outdoor ride for the year.



I might add a few more inside (plastic) miles to it on Tuesday but that won’t increase significantly over:

 

[Donger]

Forgot to mention it, but I'm pretty sure I came across an "influencer" out on the road today. Just before I arrived home, a lad on a mountain bike was riding slowly in the opposite direction with a selfie stick aiming backwards to a girl jogging along close behind him. A stunningly attractive blonde girl in full make-up (false eyelashes etc) wearing large, chunky, bright white basketball-style trainers and, rather unusually, a luminously bright, Barbie pink mini skirt. Not your usual jogging kit. I smiled inwardly at the thought of what her diamond white trainers were going to look like in a couple of minutes when she had jogged through the slimy Severn mud that was all over the road where it runs along the river bank.

 

[Ian H]

50km on the fixed this afternoon, with a few hills to test the legs. The bike reminded me I hadn't adjusted the headset, so a brief stop in a gateway to tweak that. Saw quite a few other cyclists including an annoying pair on ebikes who couldn't quite manage to overtake, so I had to put in a bit of effort to lose them.
https://www.strava.com/activities/13217319927

 

[geocycle]

Forgot to mention it, but I'm pretty sure I came across an "influencer" out on the road today. Just before I arrived home, a lad on a mountain bike was riding slowly in the opposite direction with a selfie stick aiming backwards to a girl jogging along close behind him. A stunningly attractive blonde girl in full make-up (false eyelashes etc) wearing large, chunky, bright white basketball-style trainers and, rather unusually, a luminously bright, Barbie pink mini skirt. Not your usual jogging kit. I smiled inwardly at the thought of what her diamond white trainers were going to look like in a couple of minutes when she had jogged through the slimy Severn mud that was all over the road where in runs along the river bank.

Your bike in front of an influencer could be a new thread!

 

[sevenfourate]

Your bike in front of an influencer could be a new thread!

‘Ontop of’ might work better ?

 

[geocycle]

‘Ontop of’ might work better ?

I was thinking of the wonderful confusion that could entail when you ask ‘an influencer’, used to getting the attention, to hold your bike while you take its picture.

 

[teeonethousand]

26 breezy but bright and beautiful miles today. Picture is taken from the top of Upsall Bank just on the western edge of the North Yorks Moors.

 

[sevenfourate]

I had a modest target of completing the 200k in December on Strava. And knew I had 18.4 miles to go to achieve that. So despite still not feeling 100%: I layered up….finishing off with my big boy pants on the outside. Lke Superman 🤣 And set off…….

To Kessingland - straight into the wind:

Where I also found this: ***Sing along with me :

“We’re all going to the Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow. We’re all going to the Zoo……” 🤣

Took a selfie beside the Norfolk Broads. **In Suffolk 😁

Before heading back via the Beach. Where there were MANY people taking a stroll along the prom.

And having completed more than the required mileage…..🙄

…….i uploaded my ride to Strava. And to my surprise December 200k didn’t come up as completed ? It struck me perhaps I cant count. And I’ve only managed 199 point something……

So back out I went:

For a cool down ride of less than 1km 🙄 😉😁

With tomorrows and Wednesdays Weather forecast: I think that’s me now done for 2024.

See you on the other side folks 🚴👍

 

[bluenotebob]

A very short (less than 13km) ride around SBdM this afternoon with my neighbour's 10 year-old.

A pit-stop ...

 

[Jameshow]

What a ride... Windy on way out lungs busting as have got remnants of a cold. Then a coffee and shortbread in Hebden bridge, nice ride up the hill back with tail wind. But then the rear mech decided to break and loose tension on the chain. So only realistic gear was big big! Nursed it home, with a sore backside as couldn't put any tension though the chain as it jumped, if I stopped pedaling it came off the front chainring!

 

[lazybloke]

Did some cycling around the Surrey/Sussex/Hampshire borders today, primarily trying to bag some map files on Veloviewer, as I had a big gap down there. Was on a time limit so drove down to Dunsfold to save 2 hours.
Stuck the Garmin on the handlebars, switched on, and ... WHERE'S MY ROUTE?
Oh well, I'll start recording and just use Garmin maps and navigation. WHERE'S MY UK MAP?!!!
Couldn't even route using Google Maps because it was offline (poor phone reception), but it did have offline map data. Better still was the Organic Maps apps which has offline Rights of Way data, but I prefer planning routes on a big monitor so I can see all the choice of local roads; navigating on the fly meant I made some poor choices.
But considering I was in southeast England, just 30 miles from central London, some of the farmland I cycled past felt incredibly remote. Never more than a 2 or 3 miles from a hamlet, but glimpses of Sussex from days gone by. My kind of cycling.
Anyway, explored south of Dunsfold as far as Wisborough Green, then West to Balls Cross and Northchapel. Went north on the A283 but soon turned west and took back lanes up to Chiddingfold, and by then was running out of time so headed fairly directly back to Dunsfold.

The numbers: 72.46km / 45 miles, with 748 m of ascents, and a slow moving speed of 19.6 km/h (just over 12 mph).
The veloviewer stats: 33 new squares, which increased my cluster by 41, thanks to filling in some gaps. Max square unexpectently went up from 18x18 to 19x19, but I've put down the foundations for a significant increase in 2025.


Found a VERY derelict section of the Wey & Arun canal.

The flood at Shillinglee

To the Manor born...

An unusual "no through road" sign:

<insert own joke here>

Funky treestump:

And my wiggly route

 

[Andy in Germany]

Last of the new year shopping...