Your ride today....

[Elybazza61]

After Saturdays bash a more leisurely ride in today,roll down the A10 and Cam cycle path;quite quiet this morning for a Monday so a hassle free ride on the loaded up Trek.

https://www.strava.com/activities/725362514

The mongrel in commute mode;

Needs a better saddle asap(yes I know the one on there is not level but it's still poor)so will get another Fabric scoop for the XLS and the Charge Spoon from that will go on this.Everything else is ok,brakes could be better so might keep an eye out for some better long drops for the front.

 

[13 rider]

Day of work so a ride called for . Got up this morning to damp and dreary conditions checked the weather app and early the best time . So out with the bike target was 50 miles . Set off on my favorite route up to St Bernards Abbey in just a bit of drizzle . Turned for Diesworth ,Long Whattonn and Kegworth a route I not done for months out to Gotham and into Nottinghamshire but thankfully not for long .East Leake ,Wysall ,Willoughby on the wolds and back to Sileby now into the headwind and it's beginning to rain properly now so on with my rain jacket . Cossington ,Rothley ,Cropston and Home 54.4 miles in the bag at 16.4 mph and only slightly damp .Miles take to past the 4000 barrier for the year

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Day 2 Ezkurra

Our first Spanish breakfast was a bit of a strange arrangement. We managed tho’ and headed out of town with my sat nav taking us onto a main road. By the time we had climbed out of the valley the error had been recognised but we were now where we needed to be so that was that. We dropped to Azpieta on an horrendously busy road. Azpieta isn’t much fun either and Richard and I got separated. After a few false exits and asking in a bar I find the correct road out. What a relief to get on a lovely quiet road even if it goes upward for quite a way. It’s in all of this that my helmet gets lost, falling off the back of the bike after a stop. I only brought it to fend off the Spanish authorities if things got that way. Richard takes a slightly bigger road out of town which turns out to have less climbing on the opposite side of the valley but we meet up at Bidania for lunch. The scenery was now superb with the foothills growing to substantial sized mountains. Ezkurra turned out to be a lovely picturesque village in the mountains. What a great spot to stop at. Quite a bit of climbing today with each climb being ~5 miles. 46 miles and nearly 7000 feet climbed today.

 

[Donger]

....a route I not done for months out to Gotham .....

That rings a bell. Does the signpost still get vandalised all the time by local jokers to read "Gotham City"? Every time I've been past it they seem to have done it again!

 

[13 rider]

That rings a bell. Does the signpost still get vandalised all the time by local jokers to read "Gotham City"? Every time I've been past it they seem to have done it again!

Not the joker but the riddler Used to use batman jokes everytime I rode through it

 

[bruce1530]

Yesterday I wrote:

(my first post on this thread...)
Got a quarter of the way up, and my legs basically stopped working :-) So turned round and headed home!
20 mile round trip, great start, big disappointment in the middle, and a reasonable run (into the wind) home.

(and next time I need to take some photos - the view over the Clyde was spectacular!)

So today, I went out over nearly the same route. It wasn’t pretty or elegant, but I got to the top of the hill. Stopped a few times on the way up, but of course that was just to take some photos, not because my legs had stopped working........

Heading along the coast.

About a third of the way up. Beyond the windmills (a site where they test offshore wind turbines) you can see Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae, with Arran in the distance.

Windmills

Looking into Millport bay

A wee bit higher up

And the view from the top, looking a little to the south.. Arran in the distance.

 

[Tin Pot]

Fun at the Hever Castle Triathlon over the weekend

Of course, I cycled 20 miles to the event as well

 

[Elybazza61]

Back on the XLS today and a roll down the 20p road and through Impington/Histon in to the city.

Steady Zone 2 although it did seem a bit harder work than usual so Saturday's excertions must be catching up with me plus my sinuses are bad at the mo(apparently I'm snoring a lot at the mo).so might need a TUE.

https://www.strava.com/activities/726345089

 

[hondated]

View attachment 145410 View attachment 145409 View attachment 145408 View attachment 145407 View attachment 145406 View attachment 145405 View attachment 145404 Dug out my base layer, wee skull cap and winter gloves this morning but when I went to get the bike realised it was pretty warm, just very windy.
So away on the Pashley in short sleeves and my older but better vented helmet good choice
Toddled about a bit, did a bit of "off roading" then decided to explore a bit
Headed along the coast road to Cove Bay, over the railway bridge and down a very steep hill towards the harbour. Never been that far down before, really pretty, (almost like being on holiday )
Had a wee rest and enjoyed taking in the scenery, lovely!
Pushed the bike back up the hill and set off towards home.
Sadly my nice wee run was spoiled by a close pass that made the driver coming in the opposite direction sound their horn Reported and driver will be spoken to

Thanks really enjoyable report with great photos.

 

[Dark46]

Today I have been out with Eastgate Cycling Club as I'm on leave I decided to go with them to Midlands Air Ambulance to hand over the money we raised earlier in the year.

It was a 10:00 start from the shop but I got there early to be on the safe side. I was hoping that being in the week and during the day there would be more retired people there so I wouldn't have to worry about the pace. How wrong can someone be? Every one who turned up was at least 2 gdoups higher than me on a regular club ride arrrggghhh.

There were 8 of us in total and headed towards the A38 and Tewkesbury.

Well I was glad to get in the middle of the group otherwise there was no way I was going to live at the pace being set.

At Norton we turned off to head to Wainlode to go down the hill there. ( Going up wouldn't have been a problem this earlt in the ride) After going along the side of the river we hung a left foward Tirley and eventually came out above Tewkesbury. We were met by a " road closed" sign thinking now where do we go? As we approached a guy removed the sign and let us through. Having removed the top surface from the road the vibrations were horrendous.

Here we rejoined the A38 and headed north towards the M50. It wasn't long before hanging a left and going down a lane away from the main road to cross over the M50.

Once that was done we crossed over the A38 and headed for the Air Ambulance base .

After a very informative chat with the Pilot and paramedics we headed back to cross the A38 into Rydall before heading to Upton on Severn for a drink and something to eat.

From Upton it was towards Gloucester via Corse and Staunton.
It was here I started to have shifting problems on the crank .

Just out of Corse I started to loose touch with the otbers due to eind and gearing. Plus also due to oushing at the start of the ride. I told the others to carry on and I would be fine.

I just went straight and headed through Hartpury abd Maisemore to Gloucester.

A thoroughly enjoyable ride , beibg pushed at the start abd riding with people I don't normally ride with.

In the end just over 50 miles at average of 14.7 mph. I wish I had saved the ride and split it into two as at the ambulance base I was reading 28 miles at 15.8 average.

But on strava I got 43 trophies and in there were 21 pbs so alll good.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Day 3 St Jean Pied de Port

After a small breakfast (do they ever eat in Spain?) we took a lovely cool descent into a bit of a busy transport corridor. It was fairly easy and quick riding but the route was shadowing and even using bits of busy road. Time to just ride. At last the turning came for the Col de Ispeguy. Now the road was quiet and as I rode up the valley I could see the wall I had to ascend looming above me. In the end the col was very nicely graded and it was a joy to ride. At the top the country and the scenery changed. France had more crags and dramatic scenery as well as vultures circling. The Spanish side had been more soft and rural. Oddly the French thought the col was 672 meters while the Spanish thought 690 meters.

As I dropped off to St Etienne de Baigorry red and black kites were apparent. St Etienne has a lovely old church and bridge and a kingfisher flashed along the river. Time to stop for lunch and the Plat du Jour went down well. Richard had been taking his time (not that I was rushing) so I decided I would drop my saddlebag off at the Hotel in St Jean and take in a loop. The Hotel lady was very obliging and I was soon riding up a lovely valley. However two cols were ahead of me. The Col d’Haltza is really just a top whereby a small descent takes one onto the Col de Burdincurutcheta. These two were tough climbs with 11% featuring a lot. I reached a lovely spot just over the summit where a café invited me in for some well earned hydration. I now headed off on a loop which Madame had indicated only had a little bit of climbing on it. I thought the first little bit was it but then the second bit arrived. Finally the proper little bit appeared and whilst it wasn’t a major col it wasn’t easy either. It was as very much worthwhile tho’ as the mountains and the landscapes were huge.

When the descent came it was on a poor surface and a narrow road and quite technical and steep. Brake blocks heated up my rims significantly. A rider came the other way “dancing” on the pedals. I wish it was that easy for me. Down in amongst the villages the sign said “Route Barre”. The detour took me up some steep little climbs on lovely lanes. Those extra wee climbs I could have done without. 79 miles and nearly 9500 feet climbed today and I’d been properly introduced to Pyrenean climbing.

 

[Elybazza61]

A10/Cam cycle path route again today;lovely morning but a stiff headwind made things a bit harder.

A10 seemed a bit busier today but still everyone gave plenty of room so all ok;passed fellow club member JP along the way so I guess he was saving his legs for a tailwind bash return this afternoon.

Bashed it a bit along the river where it's still relatively quiet before a quick stop at the little 'trose for breakfast supplies and then to work(boo).

https://www.strava.com/activities/727472335

 

[Stonechat]

Nice weather for a ride today.
Headed over to Richmond Park via my normal but less obvious route. Into Ashford, cut through Fontmell Park to Feltham Hill Road, round the back of Sunbury and Feltham to Hanworth and Hampton, crossing over Bushy Park, across Kingston Bridge and quickly gettin goff the main road to a nice back way in to RIchmond Park (Kingston Gate)
Did one lap clockwise, though any attempts at a good lap time were thwarted on the leg between Richmond Gate and Roehampton Gate, which is downhill, was held up bu slow cars. This was with the wind and could have rattle down at a fair pace today.

After the one lap, back home via Hampton Court, then down by the river through Hampton, Sunbury, and Shepperton. Closed road by Halliford School in Shepperton did not stop me as pavements were still in use.

Overall 32.5 miles :@ 16.6 mph. 415 feet climbed, which is mainly the two hills in RP.

https://www.strava.com/activities/727755599/
I again managed to split my ride in two, this time I managed to stick them together
LOts of PRs, mainly as I have not ridden this way for a while

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Day 4 Montory

After my earlier experiences with the puncture in the heat and the very hot rims yesterday I bought a couple of spare inner tubes while I could at the bike shop in St Jean. Richard and I then dodged around some little lanes to bring us onto the valley run and the climb over the Haltza and Burdincurutcheta. If I’d thought ahead I would have chosen a different loop yesterday but no worries it’s all good. The climbs seemed to go more easily this time even with the extra load of the saddlebag. We stopped at the little café again and Madame remembered my order from yesterday so I got my “usual”. Richard had a puncture. It took an age for him to sort it all out and he really hadn’t diagnosed the problem.

We headed up the next col as the Burdincurutcheta isn’t the top really. This bit wasn’t too hard and by the time we crested the Col Bagargui we had stunning views over the Pyrenean peaks. The descent was steep and the valley run to Larrau was hot. So ice cream called in Larrau. Not far now along the valley but I took a little diversion by Haux along a lovely quiet lane. There was some climbing but definitely worth the effort.

Richard had punctured again on the descent. He blamed his rim tape for the problem. So tomorrow he will detour to Oloron St Marie for a bike shop and new rim tape. That route won’t have any climbing. I’ll stay on route and do some Tour de France famous ones. 43 miles and over 7000 feet of climbing today.

 

[Diggs]

What started as a lovely day, turned out to be a tale of a puncture, broken inner tube valve and cautiously negotiating the final bramble covered bridleway with no more spare tubes.
A great ride out to Thorndon cross country but luck ran out and was changing tubes on the side of the A127. Finally breathing a sigh of relief as I reached the quiet lanes leading home, only to be forced off the road by a moron on the phone in his merc. Lucky I was on the MTB.