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SpokeyDokey

68, & my GP says I will officially be old at 70!
Moderator
Warning; no pretty pictures of rolling hills, winding roads and other assorted vistas.

So... rewind to July last year I had a gardening slip that buggered up my left knee. Getting better but it still hurts today. At age 68 injuries take a long time to heal.

Early Jan this year I slipped in a dark alley with an unseen step. Took the full force of the fall on my left shoulder. Very painful still, but tolerable as long as I don't try to flap like a bird - this produces an involuntary howl of pain.

Add those two injuries together, mix in some awful Lake District weather and some, possibly genetic, apathetic low motivation to 'get out' and I was off the bike for just over 7 months with today being the day that I finally rallied forth on my lovely Trek.

A cold NE wind was running but I was layered up and comfortable. Winter gloves on - toasty but crap for slick gear changes.

17.84 miles, 1086' ascent, half an hour in zone 5 and an abysmally low average speed of 9.8 mph. Can't remember having such a low average speed for decades. Fair to say I was shocked. Especially as I have kept pretty fit with walking, turbo trainer, treadmill and multi-gym workouts (carefully avoiding certain shoulder exercises) whilst off my bike.

Last couple of miles were unusually tiring especially as the final stretch to my house is up a 13% hill and my body argued with my brain about wanting to stopp. Brain won and up I went at a whopping 3.5mph.

Cest la vie. I sure I will improve. Onwards & upwards!
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
... as well as unusually clear views of the Isle of Man
Nice route!

I will wait another month or two before venturing up there this year.

I had never noticed that the Isle of Man is visible from there! I will have to to take a look next time if it is a clear day (and it probably would be, otherwise I would be staying local). Presumably at that distance it would only be the higher ground on Man?
 

geocycle

Legendary Member
Nice route!

I will wait another month or two before venturing up there this year.

I had never noticed that the Isle of Man is visible from there! I will have to to take a look next time if it is a clear day (and it probably would be, otherwise I would be staying local). Presumably at that distance it would only be the higher ground on Man?

Yes, it is unusual to see the Isle of Man from Bowland. The south Lakes were very clear, Black Combe and then the Barrow shipyards, so I was shocked to scan further to the south and see more land. It was just the outline of the hills. I’ll try and get a trip over there at some point.
 

SpokeyDokey

68, & my GP says I will officially be old at 70!
Moderator
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Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
How do you do that, please?

Purely accidentally, to be honest!
I'm sure that in the past, when trying to do this, I brought up the following screen after pressing the "share" symbol on my phone screen (Samsung) and there was an option for "copy link" but this seems to have disappeared. It now looks like this....

Screenshot_20250318-184550_Connect.jpg


So when I couldn't find the "copy link" option, I copied and pasted the link from a WhatsApp post I had sent earlier. The result was the link in my previous post. Seems a roundabout way of doing things, and I'm sure there must be an easier way!
 

SpokeyDokey

68, & my GP says I will officially be old at 70!
Moderator
Purely accidentally, to be honest!
I'm sure that in the past, when trying to do this, I brought up the following screen after pressing the "share" symbol on my phone screen (Samsung) and there was an option for "copy link" but this seems to have disappeared. It now looks like this....

View attachment 765728

So when I couldn't find the "copy link" option, I copied and pasted the link from a WhatsApp post I had sent earlier. The result was the link in my previous post. Seems a roundabout way of doing things, and I'm sure there must be an easier way!

Thank you. I will have a play when I get a mo.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
Yes, it is unusual to see the Isle of Man from Bowland. The south Lakes were very clear, Black Combe and then the Barrow shipyards, so I was shocked to scan further to the south and see more land. It was just the outline of the hills. I’ll try and get a trip over there at some point.
Worth a trip lovely quite roads out of season . Did it last Sept rode the TT course to see the roads the bikers ride at those speeds make it even more unbelievable. Its definitely a bit lumpy
I was thinking that I might too. Definitely not during the IoM TT though!! :eek:
Yes getting overtaken by a motorbike doing 180mph+ might be a bit unnerving
 

Donger

Convoi Exceptionnel
Location
Quedgeley, Glos.
I was thinking that I might too. Definitely not during the IoM TT though!! :eek:
I've thought about cycling the Isle of Man too, from time to time. Every time I look into it I'm a little shocked by the ferry prices and then notice that most of the ferries seem to arrive there either very early in the morning or quite late at night, making it a bit awkward to check in to your accommodation.
 

13 rider

Guru
Location
leicester
I've thought about cycling the Isle of Man too, from time to time. Every time I look into it I'm a little shocked by the ferry prices and then notice that most of the ferries seem to arrive there either very early in the morning or quite late at night, making it a bit awkward to check in to your accommodation.
Yes the ferry prices made our week's trip on the expensive side but 3 adults travelled and split the cost . The problem with the Isle of Man is there probably not enough to do for a fortnight thus making the trip seem less expensive we saw everything really in a week . Our sailing were not that bad timing . Arrived late afternoon straight to accommodation and sailed back 8 in the morning .
 

sevenfourate

Devotee of OCD
Somewhat disappointing ride out here in Tenerife. Poor wife (Who still suffering some slight issues after a nasty bout of pneumonia last year) couldn’t even push up the hills. Let alone cycle. Compounded by a strange bike and busy roads / driving on the right: I’m sure. Also no cycling allowed on the glorious looking Coastal path which was of course very flat. Shame.. as it was cooler this Morning; and was something I’d really been looking forward to doing and trying some off-road exploring on MTB’s ☹️

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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Somewhat disappointing ride out here in Tenerife. Poor wife (Who still suffering some slight issues after a nasty bout of pneumonia last year) couldn’t even push up the hills. Let alone cycle. Compounded by a strange bike and busy roads / driving on the right: I’m sure. Also no cycling allowed on the glorious looking Coastal path which was off course very flat. Shame.. as it was cooler this Morning; and was something I’d really been looking forward to doing and trying some off-road exploring on MTB’s ☹️

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Your lifetime biggest climb is smaller than most of the hills that I encounter round here when I am trying to avoid big hills! It must be really flat round Lowestoft?

Could you sneak off early one morning and have a go at Teide? That is more than double the height of the highest climb that I have ever tackled.
 
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