Your ride today....

[Richard A Thackeray]

A great area to ride round!

Here it was straight on for the long descent down the A660 into Otley, where despite being into the wind I maintained good progress, only to get called a 'ducking fickhead' by some big man in the passenger seat of his mums Clio as they passed. The irony, which sadly I never got to explain to him, was that he hadn't been stuck behind me, he'd been stuck behind the driver of the 4x4 and trailer that had chosen not to pass me all the way down the hill, despite having ample room to do so if they'd wished to.

Always a good descent down there, & a nice steady big-ring slog back up it

Anyhow, straight on at the roundabout (not literally) and on into Otley, through the town noticing that Weegmans was shut and thinking of all the customers they'll be missing out on today. Down to the river and over the bridge, accompanied by a procession of Hogs (motorcycles, not swine), then right onto Farnley Lane, stopping at Wharfemeadows Park for a drink and a bite to eat by the weir

Such a shame that Dunnies is long gone



:

Refreshed and back on the bike and up Farnley Lane for the long climb to Farnley Hall, turning left at the junction for the up, down, up to Farnley itself, taking the right hand fork for the lovely and almost secret descent down to the River Washburn, with the sharp climb up the other side, where I met a cyclist heading the opposite way - the first time I've ever seen a cyclist on here and goodness knows why as it's a great little lane. Eventually popped out onto the B6161 for the long descent into Leathley (the reward for all that climbing), then along the valley bottom to the A658.

Have you ever ridden down to Dob Park Bridge

 

[cosmicbike]

I've not really had any interesting rides lately, more a case of commutes and cramming in quick 10-12 milers whilst in the midst of moving house. On the plus side, we're in now. On the down side my commute is now shorter, and no new roads to explore as we only moved 1/4 mile..
733.9 miles so far this month, nearly there....

 

[NorthernDave]

A great area to ride round!



Always a good descent down there, & a nice steady big-ring slog back up it




Such a shame that Dunnies is long gone

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:


Have you ever ridden down to Dob Park Bridge

No, although I've seen the signs for it.
What's down there (apart from a bridge)?
I guess it's rideable on a road bike? I'm always a bit dubious about Google maps, having been misled before...

As for Dunnies, it would have been a welcome stop today.

 

[Old jon]

A very nice route 'Old Jon'
I know the entirety of it, up to Barwick-in-Elmet & the A64

The last time I climbed up 'Garforth Cliff' past the water-tower (or is that gone as well?. I know there's an underground reservoir there), I was surprised to see that Savills had ceased to exist
Peckfield Bar was even more important in the coaching days

Yes, the road, from the Crooked Billet, back up to Lotherton Hall gates is more of a ascent than is realised

Yup, the water tower is still there, or it was this morning as I rode by.
One of these days I may ride out to the toll bars and bridges I have memories of actually paying at, but I doubt I had an income when Peckfield was charging.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A ride out with my brother again today. He suggested doing one of our regular routes out to Folly Bank then taking a left and continuing the climb to Yell Bank (about 530 feet of climbing in 2.5 miles) but I suggested varying it by getting up to Yell Bank a different way that I don't think he has been before and coming down via Folly Bank. He was happy with the sound of that and so we set out.

I let him set the route to start with so we took a slight detour around Condover and unexpectedly met our cousin who was out with a couple of triathlon group friends. She is in training having agreed to take on the Anglesey Sandman Tri in only 3 weeks time.

Moving on we set a decent pace on the way through Pitchford and Acton Burnell towards Longnor where I'd intended to turn off. On the way Doug found that he'd been pressing on a bit too hard (not my fault - he was setting the pace) and didn't feel he could face the extra climbing this time. After a little bit of discussion we decided to abandon the hilly bit for today and shorten the loop.

We still got on at a reasonable pace pasing the new houses by the pub at Great Ryton mentioned by @gavgav (would be too tempting for me too ). At condover we decided to head over Lyth Hill as Doug felt more up to it by now and we both weren't overly keen on mixing with the Bank Holiday traffic on the A49 if we could help it.

19.1 miles at 13mph average which isn't bad at all considering. I used the Galaxy for this trip, running in some new Vittoria Voyager tyres (nice) and tweaked brakes so that it actually stops properly which is something that had been disappointing me about the bike 'til now.

Photography was a bit of an afterthought this time so here are the only snapshots, taken at our drink stop while crossing Lyth Hill.

 

[Dave 123]

I donned the new super suit, and went for a 65 odd mile ride in the nice bank holiday weather.

https://www.strava.com/activities/693309199/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB&v=1472486249

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Mmmmm coffee and cake in the sun.

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Very nice afternoon.

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Mmmm beer.

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And some entertainment.

Nice day for it.

You be careful with that beer & cake or you'll be bulging out of your suit in the wrong bits!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

No, although I've seen the signs for it.
What's down there (apart from a bridge)?
I guess it's rideable on a road bike? I'm always a bit dubious about Google maps, having been misled before...

As for Dunnies, it would have been a welcome stop today.

It would indeed

It's a glorious little packhorse bridge, over the River Washburn
That said, it might be a bit of a damp/muddy approach from the south, better on a CX bike
It can be approached from the north, with maybe the last 100 yards walked (t is a fairly steep lane to it though)

Yup, the water tower is still there, or it was this morning as I rode by.
One of these days I may ride out to the toll bars and bridges I have memories of actually paying at, but I doubt I had an income when Peckfield was charging.

I'm sure none of us remember the Toll-House at Peckfield Bar, it was probably gone by 1900?

 

[NorthernDave]

It would indeed

It's a glorious little packhorse bridge, over the River Washburn
That said, it might be a bit of a damp/muddy approach from the south, better on a CX bike
It can be approached from the north, with maybe the last 100 yards walked (t is a fairly steep lane to it though)

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We used to do a lot of walking in Washburndale, before our dog got too old for such things. We never made it down as far as the bridge though, usually ended up heading up the valley towards Thruscross and beyond. I keep meaning to have a ride up there, but it's probably just beyond my range this year.

 

[EltonFrog]

Busy day today. A trip to Gouda, just cos it sounded fun and it has nice cheese. Following the cycle routes we took a very scenic ride via Vlueten, De Haar Castle, Woedern and Oudewater, through some stunning countryside and lovely towns and villages. The journey was better than the destination, Gouda was a bit dreary apart from the cheese shop and the town hall. On the way back we stopped at Oudewater because we found a cycle shop, had a look round and bought a bell, you need a bell on your bike in Holland. The owner there was very helpful, he even fitted the bell! Oudewater is a beautiful old village, with canal through the middle. On the way back we took a slightly different route, more direct, still lovely scenery. Once back in Utrecht we stopped for dinner and had a Fab burger.

De Haar Castle, 'tis a silly place.

I thought this house and garden in Laagnibuwkoop was fun.

A little street in Gouda.

"Do you in fact have any cheese"?

The canal area in Gouda was pretty the rest was a bit like Staines.

Busy on the roads out of Montfoort.

Canal side building in Oudewater.

About 55 miles today.

 

[hondated]

I joined Andy G. for this super Welsh event. The early rain had passed in good time and the mists were to clear from the heights soon. We checked in at HQ to set off around Lake Bala to take the superb Trawsfynydd mountain road. The climbs are steep and keep coming. Sadly some were already off and walking this early in the ride. It would be a very long day for those folks. Usually Andy climbs quite well and waits for me. Not today. He was always off the back. No worries, I'd just wait on the tops. As we got higher we got closer to the mists on the tops of the mountains. Even so the views and scenery were superb. We turned away to take to the Coed Y Brenin forest with plenty of climbing to be done. Our pace was matching that of others so we had settled into seeing familiar faces. I'd tend to pass them on the ups and they would pass me as I waited for Andy. All were having fun. There were plenty of 17% climbs as we round in small lanes to cross the Afon Wnibn at Bont Newydd with more 17% before emerging onto the main road and the long climb of Blwch Oerddrws. The descent was awesome. Two PR's for me. On the first section I hit 51mph (PR by 1mph) and after backing off for a shallow bend my speed rose to 52mph(so another PR). I've only ever reached 50mph twice so more than twice on one hill is amazing. The control was at the bottom but no Andy. I was getting quite concerned when he turned up with a tale of a front wheel puncture on that fast descent. Yikes. Fortunately no harm done.

Refreshed at the control we now had to climb over to Llanbrynmair where we turned to climb again to the Nant Yr Eira. Llanerfyl provided so late lunch and a chat before tackling more climbs on a loop to the control at Abertridwr and more refreshment. Just one more major climb ahead of us now but first a lovely bit of flat. Yes flat! Not for long tho'. It was beautifully scenic along Lake Vyrnwy before we swung away to take us up and up to the summit of the Bwlch Y Groes. It starts with some very steep stuff, gets a bit easier but finishes with a nasty sting in the tail. I felt strong on this last climb and picked off riders as I went. Andy took a while and it was getting quite cold up there. We were now on the finishing miles as we dropped away to Lake Bala and return along the back road as we had set out all those hours ago.

It's always a great day out at this event. The organisers are superb and hard working and the route is always different. We get to ride in superb quiet and scenic countryside and it is always a challenge. This one was longer than usual and had the challenging climbing as usual. 100 miles and 10500 feet of climbs. What's not to like?

Congratulations to you both. Clearly you are both hard core riders.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Congratulations to you both. Clearly you are both hard core riders.

Nah - we have soft centres

 

[cyberknight]

Just a steady recovery ride today .

https://www.strava.com/activities/693603755

 

[Jenkins]

Today was a mixed on & off road ride using the Kona Jake CX I was thinking of getting rid of..

I've only ridden round Alton water on road, but following a bit of non-sober planning last night I had a route loaded to my Garmin that used the back road route into Ipswich, then through the Chantry & Pinewood areas of Town to a bridleway I knew about but had never used that runs for about a mile over the A14 to Belstead. From there it's a short ride to Alton Water itself and the off road route that runs around the reservoir for about 8 miles. The place was packed with cyclists & walkers thanks to the good weather and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. A quick stop for an entry to the "cycles in front of a wall" thread was made at the dam end of the water.

I had intended to stop for a coffee at the cafe further round, but it was so busy I kept going and had a swig from my bottle of squash instead.

Once I'd completed the lap I retraced my wheel tracks back to Belstead and then on to Copdock and back into Ipswich where, on the way out of town, I was held up by the local museum's historic fire engine being towed by one of the modern versions. As I made my way back home through Bucklesham, some quick route change calculations were made in my head so that the mileage for the day would be just over the 50. And then further calculations were made to add a further 12 to give the metric 100 so I ended up at Felixstowe Ferry, then back along to the other end at Felixstowe Dock before finally heading home.

So that's a 55 mile round trip to do a 8 mile ride. What else were warm & sunny public holidays designed for

https://www.strava.com/activities/693289548/

 

[gavgav]

A ride out with my brother again today. He suggested doing one of our regular routes out to Folly Bank then taking a left and continuing the climb to Yell Bank (about 530 feet of climbing in 2.5 miles) but I suggested varying it by getting up to Yell Bank a different way that I don't think he has been before and coming down via Folly Bank. He was happy with the sound of that and so we set out.

I let him set the route to start with so we took a slight detour around Condover and unexpectedly met our cousin who was out with a couple of triathlon group friends. She is in training having agreed to take on the Anglesey Sandman Tri in only 3 weeks time.

Moving on we set a decent pace on the way through Pitchford and Acton Burnell towards Longnor where I'd intended to turn off. On the way Doug found that he'd been pressing on a bit too hard (not my fault - he was setting the pace) and didn't feel he could face the extra climbing this time. After a little bit of discussion we decided to abandon the hilly bit for today and shorten the loop.

We still got on at a reasonable pace pasing the new houses by the pub at Great Ryton mentioned by @gavgav (would be too tempting for me too ). At condover we decided to head over Lyth Hill as Doug felt more up to it by now and we both weren't overly keen on mixing with the Bank Holiday traffic on the A49 if we could help it.

19.1 miles at 13mph average which isn't bad at all considering. I used the Galaxy for this trip, running in some new Vittoria Voyager tyres (nice) and tweaked brakes so that it actually stops properly which is something that had been disappointing me about the bike 'til now.

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Photography was a bit of an afterthought this time so here are the only snapshots, taken at our drink stop while crossing Lyth Hill.

This doesn't auger well for Wales. He needs to get up some climbs and quick!

 

[Hill Wimp]

Just what @Hill Wimp would like