Your ride today....

[Lilliburlero]

Just coming out of Congerstone I could see 2 riders in the distance and they looked like @Lilliburlero and his riding partner Paul so put in an effort and caught them up to discover they were females riders sorry lads but they did look like you from a distance .

Thanks

 

[Brandane]

The sun started setting at the foot of the Fairlie Moor Road and had fully set by the time I had puggled my way to the top.

(Maybe @Brandane can help me with this one - what is it specifically about FMR that means that I have to get off and push every single time I go up it?
It's not particularly steep, nor particularly long, but every time I've ever gone up it I wobble to a stop on the same stretch, then 20 yards on I'm able to get back on and ride straight to the top, yet I can climb steeper and longer roads. I can't work it out.)

A supreme effort Ed.! Glad to hear there were no lasting effects from your muddy face-plant.
As to the tactics for getting up the Fairlie Moor without getting off to push..... You're asking the wrong person . I can just about manage it on bikes with a very low gear (first thing I had to do when I got the Genesis Croix de Fer was swap out the 11/26 cassette for a 12/32), but any time I do it, I only have a few flat miles in my legs. I haven't come from Glasgow via Greenock and the Brisbane Glen BEFORE having to face the dreaded climb .

 

[cosmicbike]

Rode home this morning in misty light rain, not too bad as it's warmed up a bit now. Similar on the ride in tonight. Have managed to stay on target for 17 miles/day so far, tonight's ride in brought up 533 miles for the month, more than I've done since August 2016. Counter gets reset tomorrow and I start all over again

 

[galaxy]

I'm working like a Trojan to get all my work Finnished up before we move. Then sorting house. So the bike is hardly getting touched at the moment. Booo

 

[Spartak]

Took my SingleSpeed out for a ride this morning along the cycle track to Avon Riverside.

Recently fitted 25mm tyres instead of 23mm .... what a difference in comfort !

Nice ride stopping at Costa on the way out for a cheeky cappuccino ;-)

 

[Old jon]

By 'eck, two single speed rides together! Start of a trend maybe?

Out on the fixed today, hopefully the last of the towpath rides, 20.7 miles in absolutely filthy conditions. For a towpath that is. The bike was so bloody mucky when I reached home I had to clean it. This is something of a departure for Old jon, the road bike was in the shed looking mournful and slightly dirty. So I had to clean that as well. Cleaned out I am! No sprocket arrived yet, so still on the way too tall gearing which made the twenty miles feel a lot more. Maybe tomorrow for the lower gearing.
One pleasant surprise today, last year, nope, year before last, the towpath beyond Rodley had a really horrible concrete and lumps of brick surface. Today it is up to the standard of the rest, so my journey took me all the way to Apperley Bridge, where ten miles came up on the Garmin, so I thought OK turn around now. It may have recorded the mileage, the Garmin that is, but it did not upload the map or any other details. Not to blame that device, all my Windows things have fallen out with me. It will fix sometime. Roll on the next ride. No map, no video, I will have to keep the words bright and shiny then!

 

[Jon George]

During the recent cold snap, I popped out to the shops with my wife. She was wrapped up in a coat, whilst I was in my shirt-sleeves. We bumped into a neighbour who, after the usual pleasantries, looked me up and down, pulled his coat collar up and asked if I was cold. I genuinely didn't feel so and I think the reason is going out riding on days like this. Somewhere during the last six years of cycling I've become less bothered about the muck British weather can throw at me.
I had a couple of hours free (should have allowed for three), and decided to get my February 50km ride in. I was also a bit stressed (having odd moments where my internal monologue mutates into some kind of tourette's gibberish - something I'm sure my subconscious will work out soon and let me know what the damned problem is I'm apparently worried about. )
When I left Ipswich, it was overcast. By the the time I got to Bucklesham and the natural highs where beginning to kick in, there were a few spots of rain, but nothing to worry about.
By Kirton, it was a drizzle.
By Trimley, it was raining.
By Felixstowe, it was raining hard.
It was around this point I began to consider the wisdom of not yet replacing the mudguards on Patsy #2 The CX. And of attempting this ride, today.
As I left Felixstowe the chaffing begun.
At the time of writing, I have yet to summon up the courage to inspect the damage.
So, to take your minds off that image, here are a couple of pics.

This on the approach to Kirton:-

And this on Felixstowe sea-front. (The old hotel on the hill looking like the older cousin to The Bates Motel.)

 

[The Bystander]

It was raining first thing but I wanted to bank a 50km ride and the forecast suggested that the (already light) rain would be easing and stopping soon enough. I could have waited but wanted to get out before I was distracted by a dryer alternative.

Nothing much to report, light winds, light traffic, same route as last time, a bit warmer but a bit wetter. The rain did stop about half way round but even the rain failed to dampen my enthusiasm for the ride.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Mrs 26 and I rode over to Upton in grizzly conditions to meet June P and Ralph R. The forecast was for an improvement in the weather. Should be bright if cloudy. Mrs 26 had to get back so wended her way home while we three took to the school and on for Tewkesbury. We took the jink by Aston on Carrant to emerge on the flanks of Bredon Hill at Kemerton. Although we had seen glimpses of blue we also had attempts at rain coming and going. The cafe at Beckford would be an early bail out if it got worse but we made it around to Elmley Castle to try out the new cafe here.

It was indeed a good spot for refreshments and we spent rather a lot of time in there chatting about stuff. Eventually it was time to head out so we completed the round of Bredon by the Combertons and Eckington. For a change we looped through Defford village before ramping up to Strensham and the run into Upton where we parted. With rain attempting to get going again I made my way over the standard run in, helped by a bit of tailwind on the northerly leg.

Nice one today in good company. We must try this again sometime. 52 smiles

 

[Deleted member 1258]

A short afternoon ride for me today, 34 miles stopping at the garden centre in Ullesthorpe. Originally I'd looked at today's forecast last night and was planning a morning ride over to the garden centre at Countesthorpe, but I got up this morning looked at the mist and drizzle and abandoned the idea. I took my Good Lady round to her mates at dinner time and it seemed to be brightening up so I got my cycling gear on got my bike out, my fixed, and off I went. My route out of the city took me down the Henley Rd and up Deedmore Rd and on to Shilton, I turned right at the end of the road then left at the traffic lights then right towards Withybrook, the other side of Withybrook I turned right and left across the Fosse Way and on to Monks Kirby where I turned left then crossed Coal Pit Lane and the A5 and on to Claybrooke Pava where I turned left and onto Ullesthorpe, on the way back I just reversed my route out. It turned out to be a quite a pleasant afternoon, the smaller lanes were a bit mucky and they'd been hedge cutting on the lanes between Shilton and Monks Kirby at some point, fortunately the traffic had swept most of it to the side, last year I'd had two punctures there due to them hedge cutting. It stayed dry all afternoon and I saw some sunshine and blue sky during the ride.

 

[Reynard]

Was peeing with rain this morning - when the cats don't want to go out, you know the weather's grim. But late lunchtime the breeze picked up, blew away the rain and the sun came out. Since I hadn't been out on the bike since last Friday's commuting horror (yes, it took me till Monday for all the aches and pains to go away) it seemed like an ideal opportunity to just get outside and enjoy a break in the weather.

Nothing special here, just did what has now become my usual 14 mile loop; Downham, Way Head, Coveney, Ely, Downham and back home. There was a pretty stiff breeze and in places the roads were quite dry. In other places, the amount of mud, muck and standing water was just unbelievable. Kept to a nice easy pace, especially in the stretches of headwind and enjoyed the views over the fen that this particular ride has. Large parts of it are on the high ground and when the light's good, you can see for absolutely miles.

Light was fading by the time I came home, but only needed to put my front "blinky" light on. Afternoons are definitely getting longer, which means I'll have the time to go out further if I want to. Both bike and me were rather muddy, and so both of us have had a good scrub-down.

When I looked at my watch I saw I'd done this ride in my fastest time yet - just a shade over 1hr 10mins. That certainly surprised me.

Points of interest were a police van in Way Head and a large flock of lapwings near Isle vets.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

After a long weekend in Cardiff (sans bike) it was back to the commute today with fresh legs.

The roads were really wet after overnight rain and there were even a couple of floods to wade through. I did have a nice tailwind for much of the ride in and was able to breeze past another rider like they were almost stopped which made me feel good.

Work felt a bit of a drag. Mainly because after a delivery while I was away I now have about five incoming parts shipments sat waiting to be checked off and put away plus the usual outgoing orders that need to be picked and sent out. Ho hum - that'll keep me quiet for a while.

For the ride home the wind was favourable for the short route back so I headed down the main road to Atcham then wished I hadn't as the drivers weren't very polite this evening and one in particular annoyed me by coming past with about a foot of clearance and somewhat in excess of the speed limit by my judgement. I was glad to get off that bit of road. Fortunately the rest of the trip was uneventful and I had the wind right behind me for the last couple of miles which meant a speedy finish to the trip.

The bike has picked up more mud today than it did all last week. The bottom bracket is clean though so the extended mudflap is doing the job.

21 miles exactly at 13.7 mph average.

 

[Mike_P]

2nd ride of the year / 2nd since Oct 2015 this afternoon with the bonus of a bit of sun and little wind. New tyres and mudguards on the bike so progress a bit stop start at times due to clearance issues twix tyres and mudguards Where perfectly okay in the back yard but oncestarted to play up. 17 1/2 miles on typical unflat terrain with a few PRs on Strava thown in, more I suspect due to the relatively lack of wind and me not stopping at the locations I tend to do so,

 

[kapelmuur]

Good news for @GuyBoden and any other friends of Chapel Lane, the new bridge is finished and the road open.

The second pic is the Bucklow Hill end of the bridge. The incline is steeper than it looks and the carriageway is narrow, so approaching vehicles can't be seen. But the footway has been designated as a cycle path so it's safe for cyclists.

The first pic is the M56 - M6 link, still under construction, from brow of the bridge towards Bowdon.

Also, it was very pleasant to be out in a in double digit (C) temperatures!

 

[GuyBoden]

Good news for @GuyBoden and any other friends of Chapel Lane, the new bridge is finished and the road open.]

Yes, yippee, it's open at last. They missed their Jan deadline. I rode over it too today on the way to Tatton park. a 41mile ride, a bit windy, but very enjoyable.