Your ride today....

[Dave 123]

I'd seen the forecast for today at the weekend.... No wind (or less than usual).
The light levels weren't enough to put a spring in my step, and I nearly put a light on my bike but decided against it.
After 2 minutes something cold and wet hit my forearm, then another, then drops on my glasses.... Typical! For the whole ride it never got beyond "a bit rainy" but once I'd reached The Gransdens, my furthest point, the roads were starting to shine a bit. This made me slightly wary as there are a couple of sharp turns to negotiate.
I managed to stay upright all the way home!

The farmers were out harvesting despite the shower, the combine is down in the dip, you can see its dust cloud.
At Toft I caught another rider at the top of the hill, it was Mrs Daves boss, I gave him a wave and went by. He decided he was going to get a tow from me, so I sat up and rode level with him for the last couple of miles. It's my wife that works for you, not me you cheeky git!

A nice leg stretch 20 miles.

http://www.strava.com/activities/366675530/segments/8755208463

 

[gbb]

Just back of holidays early hours this morning so a day off today...so best get one in eh ?
Havnt been on the bike for maybe 3 weeks so as usual, expected it to be hard and as usual, was wrong. A quick 19 miles to Whittlesea and hereabouts, no great pace but found the going really quite good , very satisfying for my current fitnèss levels.
No biggie, just good to get out there.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

This morning was too nice a morning to miss being on the trike, so despite having an consultant's appointment in the early afternoon and me not being the quickest of riders anymore, I decided on a nice long bike ride. Well it was the usual route, it just takes me a long time.

But it was a day of pictures, if you happen to like clouds and light that is.

A what's behind me photo and another of those really nice country lanes...

Another 22 degree halo, but this time not complete and only very short lived (a matter of minutes).

The view from part way up the climb and looking back at the Old Pale. There is also a New Pale. They are the highest points around here and needless to say ended up with transmitters on them at some point in the distant past..

There were some beautiful backlit clouds this morning.

Another of the view.

Anyhow, the route https://www.strava.com/activities/366406893 34km and mumble mumble mph....

 

[13 rider]

Back from a bad day at work sun shining so time to destress on the bike .From home headed through Newtown Linford with no route planned headed out to Ulverscoft and up the climb of Pollybotts lane still don't know whether I love or hate this climb but I keep doing it .Not been up it for a month so I was missing it . up it in my second best time and at the cross roads I decided to keep climbing a went straight on up Whitcroft lane .At the T junction went right then left headed back to beacon crossroads went left on to a lovely steady descent pass the golf course all the way to Cropston kept the speed above 30mph for a mile .Into Cropston and on to Thurcaston ,attacked a strava segment were my mate is Kom flew up the hill in 18 seconds my of but still 7 seconds short of Kom don't think I'll every do that .from Thurcaston to Home .14.1 miles at 16.3 mph on a lovely evening back home feeling nice and relaxed really enjoying my evening rides beats TV watching

 

[EltonFrog]

View attachment 99764
There were some beautiful backlit clouds this morning.
..

Great photo.

 

[Philh]

Currently on holiday in the Loire Valley, lovely riding in this gorgeous weather. 33 miles today with a coffee stop here in a town called Chaillac



The bar was English owned. The lady sitting outside had a chat with me about saddles.

The minor roads are like ribbons of silk, wonderfully smooth and grippy, although only one car width, very few vehicles about. 654m ascents, average 11 mph with a max of 36mph. Some big hills!

A mile from the campsite I had a puncture, the first one on the new Mavics. I felt a strange bumping on each revolution and found the tube had been fitted like this. The hands belonged to a Dutch man from the same campsite who stopped to help. The tube was folded over even though it was the correct size. New tube and CO2 to the rescue so no real problem but it was strange the tube, which was the correct size, had been fitted like that.

This is a superfluous picture of the campsite taken with my gopro. There is a swimming lake in front of the line of caravans.

 

[EltonFrog]

Another 3.5 miles run today, 20 seconds slower than the last time I did 3.5 miles.

I noticed that all the fields have harvested up the track now, the landscape looks very different.

 

[ColinJ]

In THIS POST, you chuckled at the street that wasn't a street, you laughed at the lane that wasn't a lane, and you howled out loud at the idiots who ignore a barrage of warning signs and still drive up steep, rough farm tracks because their SatNavs tell them to.

Well, have some more of the same ...

A little 14 mile cyclocross ride with a couple of big hills this afternoon ...

Up Colden Clough bridleway and at the top I found that locals still feel the need to tell drivers to stay on the road. Please stay on the road. Don't drive down the dirt track. It gets steeper. And narrower. And rougher. IT IS NOT A ROAD! IT IS A BRIDLEWAY!! THAT IS FOR PEOPLES' FEET, HORSES' HOOVES, AND BICYCLES' WHEELS!!!

"And they STILL try to drive down there!"

On the road to Blackshaw Head, then round to Great Rock and down the steep road which had been catching out the CX bike's front brake. The new brake worked better last time but was juddering horribly. A good fettling plus the pads starting to bed in and the brake is now 90% better. I would like to sort out the remaining slight judder but I can live with it. I can now stop when I want to, that's the main thing!

I crossed the A646 in Todmorden and climbed up to Lumbutts, then round to Mankinholes where I joined the London Road. Don't get excited, you southerners - it's a road that isn't a road. And it doesn't go to London!

It is a part of the Pennine Bridleway and is crossed by the Pennine Way footpath. @User14044 will probably remember it from his PW walk with Mrs RM?

CAADX below Stoodley Pike on London Road

The CAADX was working pretty well on the mild rough stuff. I was having to be a bit more careful than when on my mountain bike with its chunkier tyres and front suspension, but the old human suspension still works (out of the saddle, knees and elbows bent to absorb shocks).

It's a few years since I have ridden up there and I had forgotten how much I like it.

CAADX at a gate on London Road

I came out onto Kilnshaw Lane, a lane which at least looks like a lane though the sign by the gate at the other end of it says that it is a bridleway!

I had to be a bit careful descending the broken cobbles of Back Lane towards Old Chamber. Those tyres are not as forgiving as the 2.5" ones on my MTB, and it would be easy to gash one on a sharp rock, or lose grip on the bars.

View from Back Lane looking towards Mytholmroyd

Somebody has been rebuilding ruined farm cottages at Old Chamber for years. They are probably worth hundreds of thousands of pounds now. The last one is finally nearly finished. It looks very nice, with great views over the hills and down into the Calder Valley.

The top of the steep descent of Spencer Lane from Old Chamber used to be very rough but it has been newly resurfaced so I started to hurl the bike down there only to discover that the tarmac only goes halfway down and then abruptly becomes cobbles again!

Well, I got another chance to bed those new brake pads in! I managed to lock up the back wheel but got the bike down to a sensible speed before the cobbles attacked!

I followed a farm track down to the right above Crow Nest Wood, and then turned left just before the railway bridge to follow Crow Nest Road. (Yeah, you got it - a road which isn't a road, but another bridleway!)

Crow Nest Wood, Hebden Bridge

That was that. Another test for the CAADX, and the kind of thing I bought it for. A relatively short ride but an enjoyable one, and one which felt harder than the distance would suggest, given the extended climbing and descending on the 'rough stuff'.

 

[Tin Pot]

MTB Ride through the woods this evening, it's like being 8 yo again.

Except on my own

 

[Buck]

Monday evening was my first ride out on the bike after picking up a bug the week before and feeling pretty rough all week and frustrated at not being able to get out.

I left home and headed out towards Penistone on the main road which thankfully is usually relatively quiet on an evening. The weather was a bit blustery but other than that a lovely evening.

Instead of my usual "turnaround and come back the way you came" at Hoylandswaine roundabout, I turned right and headed down into Penistone and then headed out towards Thirlstone.

I'd decided that I'd head up on to the tops where all the windmills are bu this meant a nasty (to me!) climb up then a sharp incline to the Royds viewing area. Beautiful little spot with a panorama across the surrounding countryside and long distance views.

It'd be a shame not to capture a quick photo so I took this panorama on my iPhone whilst I got my breath back.

Back on the bike then a nice paced ride home, cycling into the setting sun. Breathtaking.

https://www.strava.com/activities/366017549

 

[Katherine]

It's been 23 days since my last cycle ride!
But today I can finally post here
Mostly on the East Lancs cycle path, 26 miles, to Haydock and back via Culcheth.
Feeling better now, bit tired, there was no way that I was going to make my metric half century though. My arm is less sore than when I set off, which I'm putting down to the endorphins!
One close pass by a truck pulling a trailer that nearly sideswiped me who followed a considerate car driver who'd been waiting patiently to pass me, but there was only room for one vehicle to pass, not everyone!

 

[Billy Wizz]

I weird 20 mile spin on my work bike.
Just returned from Madrid, a short fantastic break so let's go and burn the Esteril lager off.
Left Woolwich on the Thames path towards Erith got bored turned around and heads off too Greenwich, got board again and turned around and heads back,the bike was great, I think the rider couldn't be bothered.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I was delighted to resume my cycle commute. When I went on holiday on 1st August I thought my work here was done, I could have a break in France and bum around on a bike for the rest of August and I only had to come back to repatriate my remaining stuff and sell, or ship back to the UK, the bike I bought here.

But whilst on holiday I was re-engaged until the end of October so today... I got to ride the cycle-snake once more.

Felt like a lot of Danes have finished their lengthy summer holidays as, at 08:30, the cycle lanes were as crowded as they were in May when I first went awheel here. Clearly I've adapted well in the intervening weeks, I only got pinged once, tutted at once, and a non-Danish* Danish speaker attempted to engage me in conversation in Danish at the traffic lights - they wanted to know where I got my messenger bag from and thought I was a local. It's the fair skin and blue eyes.

*no Dane would ever strike up a conversation with a complete stranger unless they were unbalanced. Unless it were to abuse them road rage stylee. But that isn't really conversation is it?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Today was my last ride with Rachel before her charity ride on Saturday. So far she has raised over £300 and not actually done the ride yet!
Rachel also turned up with a box of goodies from Lush for me as a thank you for helping her with her training and a great card for the both of us.

I was pretty much working on the 'just getting the legs working' for a ride today (for Rachel that is) and making sure she has everything she needs. She has been cycling over to my place on my mtb, changing bikes and riding the road bike, then riding home again on my mtb... today I needed her to end up at home on my road bike and it also meant that it was the last time I would see it before Saturday so it needed to be ready for her, along with it having both water bottle cages refitted, the garmin 200, a rear light, saddle bag and ideally a front light but I failed on that one, so that will have to be fitted on Saturday morning...

So a route to the south was called for and because she was tight on time today I also needed a route that guaranteed she could find her way home without me actually saying do you know where you are and her answer being yes... at the time it was no and her ride has not arrived on strava so I don't know if she made it home but can only assume....
Anyhow - bright blue sky, lovely sunshine and the mist had sadly burnt off by the time she arrived...

A few pictures...

So out via the Whitegate Way and sadly no time to try out that new café yet. I will at some point. Then off via Little Budworth (above) and around Oulton Park before heading back towards Winsford and the Whitegate Way again.

There is a cyclist there wearing a hi viz yellow top (honest!)

I couldn't decide which one I preferred so gave you both...

Then it was home time to make some more bread. I had wanted to stay out much longer but need to be sensible at the moment. I tried this ride without the 'usual' 2nd dose of morphine (though I was carrying the bottle of morphine with me as a precaution and am glad to say it wasn't needed). It would be great to be able to stay out longer, but I'm not up to it at the moment.

So a tad over 20 miles today and a quicker than normal average because of the flatness of the ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/367170066

 

[Crandoggler]

Today was used to try my new turbo trainer out. I love/hate it. It's harder than a hard thing with hard bits.

In all seriousness, I did an hour training workout and I was in bits. It's a lot harder with no downhill sections and just not being able to get out the saddle as much.