Your ride today....

[jembullo]

Still heavy-legged from my first ever imperial century last week, I foolishly entered the "Winchcombe Falling Leaves" 100km audax today. It was "AAA" 1.75 rated one, meaning that it had sufficient climbing to count towards an Audax UK altitude award ... 1,750 metres of climbing to be precise. Gulp!
Got off to the worst of starts, as I noticed at the very last moment before the start that my computer was still set on miles, while the route sheet was in kilometres. Instead of being one of the first of the 68 entrants to start, once I had fixed it I was one of the last to get away.
View attachment 146365
I had already noticed that this was not quite the usual beardy audax crowd .... they seemed a good 10 years a man younger than normal. As this was at the extreme end of my climbing ability, I got the distinct feeling I was going to roll in dead last behind that lot today. Things got worse as I was forced to dismount and do the push of shame just 2.5km into the ride, on the vicious climb up out of Winchcombe to Bela's Knap. That was followed by a front derailleur problem that took me 5 mins to fix, using the barrel adjuster. Took me a good 15km to start reeling in backmarkers, and it was a relief to catch up with a small group of riders at Syreford.

This was a very well planned route, through lots of woods and down some very quiet country lanes.... but relentlessly hilly.
View attachment 146366
Spent most of my time grinding my way grimly up hills or not wanting to lose any momentum on the down slopes, so didn't stop for photos very often .... but this route really did take in the very best of the Cotswolds, and in quite amazingly mild and sunny weather for the beginning of October. I did stop for a moment in Bibury for an energy bar and a drink. Lots of the others were crowding out the pubs and cafes, but I adopted a "rest less, suffer more" strategy to overtake a couple of dozen riders and try to make sure I made the cut-off time.

View attachment 146367 Carried on with the grim grinding past The Barringtons and the Rissingtons before stopping for another energy bar and drink at Bourton on the Water, which was heaving with tourists:

View attachment 146368 Really started to flag on the big long drag out of Bourton up the hill towards Naunton and Guiting power, but found a good rythm and stuck with it without daring to stop in case I had a repeat of last week's "cafe legs". Despite the best direction sheets I have ever been given for an audax, I suffered a bit of brain fade immediately after the final information control, and ended up needlessly going through this ford twice before getting back on track:
View attachment 146369
Nearly lost the rear end both times ... but that was nothing compared to the muddy, wet, slushy and rocky track up through Guiting Woods. At one point I had the options of going through a deep muddy puddle, a slippery, slimy sloping muddy rut or a pile of horse manure ..... and I actually opted for the manure, hoping desperately not to have a subsequent visit from the puncture fairy. Eventually emerged up on top of the Cotswolds again, with far-reaching views. Boy was I glad to get a distant view of Winchcombe, way down below me. Climbing nearly over:
View attachment 146370
With my zero cafe stops policy, somehow I made it round the course within the time limit. 101km in 7 hours 10 is slow, I know, but man that was one sadistic route. 1,750 metres of climbing, to put it into context, equals the total of the three biggest climbs I recently did in the Alps. Best of all, I wasn't last! In fact I learned that five riders had abandoned, and there were still six riders out on the road after I had gulped down my mug of tea and a couple of cakes in the Winchcombe Scout Hut at the end. That will do me just fine. I'll claim it as another veterans' super-heavyweight record.(Certainly didn't see any other 20 stoners out there doing it today). And that's my Cyclechat Metric Century-a-Month Challenge ride for October out of the way early.

I'm going nowhere near a bike for the next few days.
Cheers, Donger.

Another top top effort my Audaxing wingman. You've certainly pushed your limits in the last couple of weeks, but its good to do sometimes and gives you confidence to tackle most things. I've been spiralling downwards over the last week, I've now got a re occurrence of a acute back problem which is really killing me when resting, although possibly climbing all those hill today might have done me in. Having said that I've managed to crack out 100 miles and 6000ft this week in commutes so not all bad news. Let me know when your Nov ride will be and fingers crossed I might actually be able to do it! Well done again pal, top effort.

 

[Gravity Aided]

10.2 miles today, only one other cyclist ahead of me , glorious weather and fine temps. Finally have the Specialized Expediton all dialed in.
68F
Winds NW8
Relative humidity 61%
Barometer 30.07
Partly cloudy.

 

[Brandane]

What a coincidence. How long did it take to cross the moorland bit. Wasn’t there a river in between?

About 15 minutes, but I had the advantage of knowing that it links up with the Land Rover track from Scroggie Bank. It's 15 minutes of marshy, boggy in bits moorland though, hence why I had to carry the bike. No river as such but one or two narrow streams to step across.

 

[Old jon]

Small world @Old jon - they tried to get me too

Not sure what the event was, but there were lots of them.

The event was organised by these folk,

www.wildboar-challenge.co.uk

I saw the signs at Oulton / John o' Gaunts, and crossed their tracks frequently through the morning.

 

[Basil.B]

Did a 37 miler on my single speed yesterday.
Had a nice free lunch, lovely juicy blackberries in the hedgerow where I had stopped for a swig of water near the Renault F1 factory.
Later on disturbed a Red Kite enjoying his lunch pecking at a dead pheasant on the road.

 

[Stonechat]

YEs we saw lots of cyclist doing the Palace to Palace ride in aid of Princes trust

Not sure how long it is but let's just say some of the people were finding it tough

 

[AlanW]

I had already noticed that this was not quite the usual beardy audax crowd .... they seemed a good 10 years a man younger than normal. As this was at the extreme end of my climbing ability, I got the distinct feeling I was going to roll in dead last behind that lot today. Things got worse as I was forced to dismount and do the push of shame just 2.5km into the ride, on the vicious climb up out of Winchcombe to Bela's Knap.

I rode this audax as well yesterday, in fact we are the group to the left of the first picture. I guesstimate that its around my 15th year and every year I forget how hard it is, it must be my way of dealing with it I guess? That said, I always remember how bad and cruel the first few miles are, that really is a brutal start!! We rode round in a steady, if rather brisk pace at a times (!!) in 4 hours 20 minutes sadly with no stops

Made worse this year, as I had done a three hour session down at Newport track Saturday night till 9pm, I was soooo glad to finish the audax!

 

[daisyj]

Beautiful morning and a day off so I set out for my new 11 mile loop. Headed out to Nunney, a bit chilly to start with but soon warmed up.

Then on to Mells, past the quarry and a steep (for me) climb. Recovering from the hill, I cycled on to Great Elm, enjoying the sunshine but struggling with the light at times.

I stopped for a banana and drink, then pedalled on to Great Elm before heading home. Average speed 9mph (on a chunky hybrid). Thoroughly enjoyable.

 

[postman]

Manflu get thee behind me.Twenty miles in this fantastic October sunshine, beautiful scenery.Car free.A coffee stop after ten miles.I was the only customer at the time.Served by a cyclist no less.Very knowledgeable,kind and considerate.Average speed 15.6.
It's wonderful on a turbo trainer.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Day 9 Pont De La Taule

Just for a change we could start by going downhill this morning. I was expecting it to be quite cold at 4500 feet first thing in the morning but it wasn’t. Even descending in a simple road jersey was comfortable. The Col de Portet d’Aspet comes next and the Fabio Casartelli monument. A lady came over and we had quite a chat (as far as my limited French would go anyway). It seems there is a society who look after the monument and greet visitors. Eventually I said my goodbyes and took to the climbing. This one isn’t too bad being ~3 miles in length. The descent was quite technical with very tight hairpin bends.

On the flattish bit my saddle broke. Aw shucks. I fiddled about and eventually secured it with a cable tie. Essential equipment are cable ties. The long climb to the summit of the Col de Core might be a bit of a mental challenge for some as the summit can be seen from a long way down the valley. By now such mind games were behind me tho’. At the top a German party, van supported, were taking in the views. I took the opportunity to have a bite to eat and spoke with a couple of the riders whose English was excellent.

I dropped off into the oven as it was hot again lower down. At Seix I’d just missed the café lunch time so had to go hungry. There were at least two groups of riders from the UK tho’. I did manage to get some cold mineral water from a Pizza wagon as they were shutting up shop and they poited me at the fountain to fill my bottles. It wasn’t far then to the Hotel but I had plenty of time in hand so I rode up the dead end but beautiful valley road by Conflens to Salau following the river all the way as it cascaded over boulders amongst the trees. Here I found a bar which offered the chance of some refreshment. Inside hung numerous medals and a Masters World Champion Cyclo Cross jersey. I was in the presence of greatness and my lady host was arranging some wonderful bikes within her stable.

The return down the valley was easy and our hosts at the Hotel discussed the European Brown Bear situation in the local hills. It seems the population is doing well despite some opposition from some of the locals. 56 miles and more than 7500 feet climbed today.

 

[NorthernDave]

The event was organised by these folk,

www.wildboar-challenge.co.uk

I saw the signs at Oulton / John o' Gaunts, and crossed their tracks frequently through the morning.

That looks like a decent route. I might give it a try on the hybrid , although the level crossing off Manston Lane has been shut down weeks...

 

[gavgav]

What a glorious day of weather. Spent all day in the office, wishing I was out in it and so I got straight out for a ride after work.

Out through the estate and down to Meole, before heading through Bayston Hill and up Lyth Hill. Dropped down to Exfords Green and had lovely views of the sun setting behind the Longmynd.

Called in for a quick chat with my brother, before heading back out into the dwindling light. Nights aren't half drawing in quick now! The temperature had dropped considerably now that the sun had gone, but the legs felt good and i set good pace, for me, through Condover, Betton Abbots and home.

16.7 miles

 

[gavgav]

Still heavy-legged from my first ever imperial century last week, I foolishly entered the "Winchcombe Falling Leaves" 100km audax today. It was "AAA" 1.75 rated one, meaning that it had sufficient climbing to count towards an Audax UK altitude award ... 1,750 metres of climbing to be precise. Gulp!
Got off to the worst of starts, as I noticed at the very last moment before the start that my computer was still set on miles, while the route sheet was in kilometres. Instead of being one of the first of the 68 entrants to start, once I had fixed it I was one of the last to get away.
View attachment 146365
I had already noticed that this was not quite the usual beardy audax crowd .... they seemed a good 10 years a man younger than normal. As this was at the extreme end of my climbing ability, I got the distinct feeling I was going to roll in dead last behind that lot today. Things got worse as I was forced to dismount and do the push of shame just 2.5km into the ride, on the vicious climb up out of Winchcombe to Bela's Knap. That was followed by a front derailleur problem that took me 5 mins to fix, using the barrel adjuster. Took me a good 15km to start reeling in backmarkers, and it was a relief to catch up with a small group of riders at Syreford.

This was a very well planned route, through lots of woods and down some very quiet country lanes.... but relentlessly hilly.
View attachment 146366
Spent most of my time grinding my way grimly up hills or not wanting to lose any momentum on the down slopes, so didn't stop for photos very often .... but this route really did take in the very best of the Cotswolds, and in quite amazingly mild and sunny weather for the beginning of October. I did stop for a moment in Bibury for an energy bar and a drink. Lots of the others were crowding out the pubs and cafes, but I adopted a "rest less, suffer more" strategy to overtake a couple of dozen riders and try to make sure I made the cut-off time.

View attachment 146367 Carried on with the grim grinding past The Barringtons and the Rissingtons before stopping for another energy bar and drink at Bourton on the Water, which was heaving with tourists:

View attachment 146368 Really started to flag on the big long drag out of Bourton up the hill towards Naunton and Guiting power, but found a good rythm and stuck with it without daring to stop in case I had a repeat of last week's "cafe legs". Despite the best direction sheets I have ever been given for an audax, I suffered a bit of brain fade immediately after the final information control, and ended up needlessly going through this ford twice before getting back on track:
View attachment 146369
Nearly lost the rear end both times ... but that was nothing compared to the muddy, wet, slushy and rocky track up through Guiting Woods. At one point I had the options of going through a deep muddy puddle, a slippery, slimy sloping muddy rut or a pile of horse manure ..... and I actually opted for the manure, hoping desperately not to have a subsequent visit from the puncture fairy. Eventually emerged up on top of the Cotswolds again, with far-reaching views. Boy was I glad to get a distant view of Winchcombe, way down below me. Climbing nearly over:
View attachment 146370
With my zero cafe stops policy, somehow I made it round the course within the time limit. 101km in 7 hours 10 is slow, I know, but man that was one sadistic route. 1,750 metres of climbing, to put it into context, equals the total of the three biggest climbs I recently did in the Alps. Best of all, I wasn't last! In fact I learned that five riders had abandoned, and there were still six riders out on the road after I had gulped down my mug of tea and a couple of cakes in the Winchcombe Scout Hut at the end. That will do me just fine. I'll claim it as another veterans' super-heavyweight record.(Certainly didn't see any other 20 stoners out there doing it today). And that's my Cyclechat Metric Century-a-Month Challenge ride for October out of the way early.

I'm going nowhere near a bike for the next few days.
Cheers, Donger.

Fantastic! You are an inspiration

 

[cosmicbike]

Had a day off the bike yesterday, but back to the commute this morning. Chilly enough to have to wear a long sleeved jersey, first time this year it's been in single figures. Legs decided not to play ball after 5 miles, so onto the magic tablets again. Quite a painful ride home and actually nice to get off the bike
Hopefully settled by tomorrow as it's night shifts, and better be happy by Friday when I plan for the months metric half..

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Had a day off the bike yesterday, but back to the commute this morning. Chilly enough to have to wear a long sleeved jersey, first time this year it's been in single figures. Legs decided not to play ball after 5 miles, so onto the magic tablets again. Quite a painful ride home and actually nice to get off the bike
Hopefully settled by tomorrow as it's night shifts, and better be happy by Friday when I plan for the months metric half..

Have a like for the report. I hope all is well for the next ride