Your ride today....

[Donger]

Did my Metric Century a Month ride for May today. 100.4km in 5 hours 38 mins, riding from home over to Cheltenham to do the 30 mile version of the BHF Cotswolds Bike Ride and then riding home again.

Nice weather this year, and the usual glorious scenery .... though a sadistic little twist in the route planning, adding a long and very steep climb up Harp Hill at the beginning of the ride, surpassing the effort required by the usual main challenge, Roel Hill. Most people seemed to get off and push .... including myself for once, about three quarters of the way up and gasping for breath. The marshalls were handing out jelly babies near the top, and I'm not one to ever knowingly turn one down.

A few shots of the lovely scenery:

Had a few hairy moments with some horrible chain slipping and grabbing/juddering in the middle ring ....( just had a new chain fitted, and didn't replace the chainset). Straight back to the shop on that one. Nursed the bike round OK though, avoiding any severe effort in the middle ring, and escaping with as few grinding sessions as possible. Got back to Gloucester down the A38, and turned to cross the canal at the old Hempsted Bridge, which is now cycles and pedestrians only. Unfortuntely, it is now the pleasure cruise season again, and I had to wait for the bridge to open as a cruiser went through. I shall expect more of the same throughout the Summer .... and the next couple of weeks perhaps, as the tallships gather for the festival in Gloucester Docks.

By the time I got home, I noticed my rear brake was starting to judder a bit. I've a horrible feeling my rear wheel is out of true and about to give up the ghost. The rims are horribly concave with brake wear, so I've been expecting that. Must have given the bike too much welly recently. Another expensive trip to the LBS seems inevitable now.
Enjoy your rides everyone. Cheers, Donger.

 

[Stonechat]

Needed a long hard ride today to toughen myself up for 100 mi sportive in end of June

Headed down via Clandon and Newlands Corner, then through Albury wonersh and Hambledon to Haslemere where I stopped at Darnley's and excellent coffee place and had a toastie too.

Then up to Hindhead, this is all skirting the Devil's Punch Bowl.

Back through Elstead Wanborough and Normandy, Pirbright Bisley and Chobham

74.79 miles @ 15.0 mph
A good amount of climbing 3481 feet.

Think I pacet it reasonably well, as not too tired at the end

https://www.strava.com/activities/986017667
Pleased to have longest and hardest ride since my shoulder fracture done

Incidentally after about 58 miles Garmin wanted to go into battery saver mode - so I let it, but disappointing at lack of capacity in the 820.
I could get a battery pack charger, but then would not be able to have in on display

 

[Racing roadkill]

The weather stabilised somewhat today.

Out the back of Lyndhurst.

Some of the more hardcore riders having just got to the top of the first climb.

At the top of the big climb at Deane hill.

And another angle.

An interesting car on a trailer.

The riders and I on a nice flat section.

75 miles completed in far better conditions, and 250 odd quid raised for one of the rider's daughter's endeavours to set up an orangutan refuge in Borneo.

https://www.relive.cc/view/986417708

 

[Buck]

Yesterday saw me complete my first imperial century as I joined @nickyboy 's Manchester to Llandudno ride.

The start wasn't the best as I was riding with my non-CC friend, Gil who had organised parking at his work in the centre of Manchester - result! Only, the guard wouldn't let him in (long story) so we ended up finding last minute parking at the £££NCP. The delay meant that as we approached the starting point of Manchester Piccadilly the group had set off and waved as they headed in the opposite direction. As we were dropping our overnight bags off with @doughnut 's good lady wife we had to carry on to the train station where we did a quick pit stop/handover then we were on our way.

The weather wasn't the best at the start but luckily we'd missed the worst of the rain and just had wet roads and spray for the first hour or so.

We caught up with the group a few miles in having navigated the trickiest part of the route getting out of the city centre. We then rode as a group meeting a few others at an agreed rendezvous point just before 9am.

We started to then move out of the built up areas into the country lanes but the warm glow was soon diminished when my friend shouted "I've got a flat" Sure enough the rear was flat. Nick stayed with us as Gil grappled with a tube that just didn't want to play ball so we ended up using another spare tube we had and unfortunately once all sorted we were around 25 minutes into a stop - thank goodness it wasn't raining! We agreed we'd put the pace on to see if we could catch the main group or at least get close. By the time we got to the first café stop in Weaverham we'd pulled back around 15 minutes so not bad going!

A welcome coffee and Danish before we were off again.

We headed broadly west and enjoyed some lovely country roads that rolled on for a few miles and as we hit around 50 miles or so we arrived at the Eureka café for a spot of lunch. I think we made the wise choice and sat in the garden area at the back whilst we ate our lunch and charged our Garmins! A wise choice as it was a real sun trap.

Back on the bikes we then continued onto Flint where against my better nature I decided I would take the hilly route rather than the less eventful flat route. (I was planning playing safe after being quite poorly a couple of weeks ago and less than match fit but what the heck!) Now climbing isn't my forte and the little ramps on the narrow country lane were really tough but eventually passing under the A55 we then headed up the final part of the climb which was actually easier for me (maybe because it wasn't on the narrow lanes or perhaps was shorter?) who knows. The contenders for the KOM were all waiting for us at the top of the climb and a short rest and regroup was the order of the day.

Back on the bikes, as we headed through the village of Loc, Gil had flat No.2 so another stop to sort before we headed on to catch the rest of the group as we dropped down into Prestatyn and then onto the coastal path/promenade through Rhyl & Kinmel Bay all the time battling a tiring head wind but were a group of 6 so the stronger riders kept sharing the front.

As we came into Colwyn bay Gil decided to make it a hat trick and get another flat so after the third inner tube replacement we were back on our way again. Following the coastal road and NCN we eventually hit the final climb of the day as we came into Llandudno then through the town to a well deserved celebratory fish butty !!

101.6 miles 3,360ft of climbing

https://www.relive.cc/view/984692736

https://www.strava.com/activities/984692736

 

[GrumpyGregry]

100km, 1400m of climbing, in just over five hours, and in a single bound taking my mileage for the year up to 160km.

 

[Old jon]

Its amazing how sometimes the idea of a ride just sort of takes over. The route arrived in mind sometime last evening to such effect that the rainy and breezy weather had no bearing on my desire to go out and ride. So, here follows the tale of thirty eight point six miles in the wet.

The Leeds end of Dewsbury Road is still afflicted with road not works, when you arrive there it is difficult to know what you might be faced with. The Holbeck end of Jack Lane provides a route to calmer riding, although Water Lane has its own brood of road restrictions to deal with. Best place to be is over the river, heading more or less northeast past the clock at Oakwood and crossing the Ring Road at the top of Boot Hill. Turn Right on Red Hall Lane, keep on along Skeltons Lane and turn left for Thorner. For a change, I left Thorner by Milner Lane, which has that steep little hill to climb. There is a gremlin lives half way up that hill, a gear gremlin that disorders your derailleur as you gasp and puff past his front door. Twice it has happened to me, you could call it disorderly changing or you could just swear, get off, and walk. As I did. No further gear problems all ride long.

Once on the ridge, ride towards East Rigton, but take the right turn for Bramham, and once in Bramham, squiggle about a bit looking for the Tadcaster Road. Memory did not work very well, but I found it soon enough by cheating. Go south out of the village and take the next left. A nice piece of road, much better surfaced than some around, so I guess traffic levels are not that high. Tadcaster is a busy sort of place, breweries and such, no need to travel all the way in, turn right onto the A 162 for Towton. These few miles were where the wind was felt most, of course I never recall any assistance from tailwinds, do I? In Towton, turn right on the B 1217, bypass Saxton, pass the Crooked Billet and up the rise to Lotherton Gates.



Just for a change. But, doesn’t the road look different in the rain? The homeward bound grooves in the tarmac were found without difficulty and I rode through Aberford, Barwick in Elmet and Scholes to find that short stretch of A 64 that leads to Thorner Lane, followed by Skeltons and Red Hall lanes and back to the A 58. This is on my outward track, but the opposite direction, so gravity plasters a grin on my face as Boot Hill descends, carrying me with it. Trundle across lunchtime Leeds and back home, still in the rain but who cares? Was good.

Hmm, geometry and geography do odd things together, with a little help

 

[gavgav]

My 400k audax ride yesterday – Llanfair 400 audax: https://www.strava.com/activities/985295597

This event runs from near Stockport through to Holyhead. Running along the north Wales coast there’s hilly and flat options with the flat route along Rhyl and Prestatyn with all riders meeting up at Colwyn Bay and then onto Holyhead.

Headwinds were forecast which (should have) meant a tailwind home. Getting there on time I saw about 60 riders including others I’d seen at various audax events. A lovely welcome from Mike the organiser and the Methodist ladies who seemed in awe (astonishment?) at us starting from Poynton. No amount of encouragement to attend their film show instead that afternoon worked so I set off with a front group of bikepackers at a fairly rapid pace.

The first 75k up and it’s the first control: coffee, cake and an authenticity stamp from Mike’s dad. At this point we were ahead of the permitted time: that wouldn’t last! Bouncing this control by stopping quickly I then left the front group behind as they were taking the hilly option – a 53/39 front ring on my Ridgeback Platinum I was using makes hills hard work fully loaded.

To annoy the Welsh locals I went along the coast, possibly a mistake due to the headwinds. Also piles of sand and wandering locals on the coastal bike path. Imagine turning a sharp corner and going straight into a sand dune. On 23mm tyres. However, stopping for an early lunch meant I wasn’t far behind the remaining few of the fast group at the Colwyn Bay control and was passing other riders struggling in the headwind. My tip? Get low and spin – we’ve enough winds here in West Yorkshire for lots of practice. I bumped into Charlotte from the Skeggy 300 audax at this point and we rode together to the finish. Through Conwy and Bangor across some impressive bridges. Do you like bridges? Or castles? Then ride this – Menai straits and the two Brittaina and Menai bridges, Conwy and other castles. It’s a feast for Thomas Telford bridge construction fans.

The route across Anglesey is a lumpy one on the A5 but we hit Holyhead in just over 8 hours for a food stop. Rolling in as the first riders to Holyhead the café was empty and waiting with food. This meant a fast stop and the decision of the quick but dangerous A55 or the even lumpier standard route. Major traffic on the A55 made it an easy decision.

The route back should have been a tailwind. Well that didn’t happen! Through Conwy and several unpronounceable villages I reached Abergele services just before 10pm where they hadn’t been warned riders were en route. By then a couple of bikes had passed me but I’d also seen someone still on their way out: he’d done 150k whilst I was at 280k – it’d be a long, wet night. Out of Abergele (two hamburgers with fries) and another choice – dangerous and fast or safe and lumpy? Rain was en route … fast! The next control is on the M53 services, reached around midnight with the forecast rain still just a few drops.

The final leg is again lumpy, through the Cheshire hills back to Poynton. At this point my companion started tiring so we slowed but kept going at a steady pace. Rain hit hard around 1.30 am and I thought I’d eaten enough to make it back. My mistake. With 10k to go all energy went and I was plodding, brain and legs gone. Cue shovelling down anything I still had: flapjack, gel, malt loaf, jelly beans, it didn’t matter. That worked and 10 minutes later I was back on it heading through the rain to the finish, 3rd rider back and more than 3 hours faster than in 2015. I'm happy with that given I'm injured and awaiting a couple of operations. The consultant says I shouldn't be able to ride a bike - guess who's been proved wrong!

The Llanfair is well organised and a good route. Next time? I’ll go hilly, but with a different bike set-up.

Impressive cycling that!

 

[Aravis]

Did my Metric Century a Month ride for May today. 100.4km in 5 hours 38 mins, riding from home over to Cheltenham to do the 30 mile version of the BHF Cotswolds Bike Ride and then riding home again.

... back to Gloucester down the A38...

I think I passed you as I headed out of Gloucester at the start of my ride - about 12:20pm opposite the Premier Inn in Longford. You looked a little preoccupied, and having heard of your mechanical gremlins that's entirely understandable!

I was heading for Horton, south east from Northampton. My mission was to fetch my mother-in-law's car, for reasons which I thought were interesting until I tried to relate them here. After so many rides which have been purely for pleasure it was nice to have an important task to accomplish with the bike. With a little wandering from a straight line I also managed to edge over the 100:

The third quarter was through lands I didn't know at all. Having an electronic map on the handlebars comfirming that one is on track is so liberating! A feature during this phase was that all the villages seemed to be situated on the tops of hills - usually pretty steep ones. Not quite the dignified and effortless saunter past the village pub I normally hope for.

Lovely coutryside throughout, and a largely helpful wind. I didn't want to finish another ride without a photograph to post, and I thought I'd get my father-in-law to take one at the end with me in it for a change, but the workings of my phone proved beyond him. The roast dinner and bottle of red wine waiting for me made up for it though.

In the absence of a relevant photo from yesterday, here is a gratuitous puffin snap from my wonderful holiday last week. Lets say the relevance is that despite my car woes I can't stop smiling at the memories and my head was full of images like this:

Enjoy your rides everyone. Cheers, Donger.

I certainly did, thanks!

 

[Bryony]

My ride yesterday (was too knackered to post yesterday!) was a 30 mile trip round the Viking Coastal Trail. It's a lovely route taking you all along the coastline through Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Margate on to Reculver then heading in land to go through the villages of St Nicholas at Wade, Monkton, Minster and back into Ramsgate.

I was riding with 2 of my work buddies who are both very new to cycling but are both pretty addicted to now since joining me on my rides!

We set off from Margate heading towards Reculver and all the way there (about 11 miles) we were fighting our way through a beast of a headwind, it was really hard going and at times we wanted to turn round and go back but we pushed through and finally made it to Reculver. We stopped and had a bite to eat at the pub there then headed off for the rest of the ride. Once we headed in land we were sheltered from the wind and at times had the wind behind us. We encountered a few hills some of which were pretty nasty but despite having weary legs from pushing through the headwinds we got up them pretty well. Towards the end of the ride though where the biggest of the hills were round by the North Foreland light house our legs went on strike and we walked up them!!

Despite being hard work it was very enjoyable, it was the furthest my work buddies have ever ridden and the longest I've done in nearly a year due to ill health.

The Reculver towers

River Wantsum

My new cycling buddies (I'm on the right!)

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://www.relive.cc/view/987569962

I finally got round to finishing off the fixing of the Boardman MX Comp today.

I had a cunning plan re. the M+ tyre fitting. I was supplied with an absolute monster of a tyre lever, to get the Tannus Tyres on the 520. It made getting the new super stiff M+ tyre over the rim, child's play. So I now have the MX Comp back in action, with it's new Mavic Crossride 29'er rear wheel and freehub. I wasn't 100% sure it would work, and although it's marginally wider than the original wheel, it still fits perfectly well.

 

[rugby bloke]

The third quarter was through lands I didn't know at all. Having an electronic map on the handlebars comfirming that one is on track is so liberating! A feature during this phase was that all the villages seemed to be situated on the tops of hills - usually pretty steep ones. Not quite the dignified and effortless saunter past the village pub I normally hope for.

Sounds like a great ride, the final part of the trip would have been along some of my favorite roads. There is a new slogan for the tourist board:
"Northamptonshire - Hillier than you think !"

 

[Stonechat]

Well put the Kona into the LBS for its freee first service
Any rides at present will have to be on the Felt

 

[cosmicbike]

This mornings ride to work was great for the first 8 miles, nice tailwind, shorts and sleeves, quiet roads at 0530hrs. The last 2 miles from T5 to work were a slog, something not right as it felt like riding in treacle. Discovered rear caliper seized on when I arrived. Bit of fiddling and it's now off the disc, front brake only on the way home....

 

[Aravis]

Sounds like a great ride, the final part of the trip would have been along some of my favorite roads. There is a new slogan for the tourist board:
"Northamptonshire - Hillier than you think !"

All being well I'll take the car back on Friday and do the return ride on Saturday. I noted the recommendation of the Bozenham Mill loop in a recent thread - I should be able to include at least part of that this time.

 

[cosmicbike]

Well front brake only worked until I used the rear after 3 miles Whilst not as bad as this morning the caliper was dragging and I could hear and feel it all the way home. Just had a gander, 2 of the funny little clip things that holder the cable outer to the chainstay were gone, and it seemed that was preventing the caliper from releasing. Suitably cable tied back in place, all seems to be well, and I am unable to replicate the issue. Will find out on tomorrows commute..
Anyway, just over 8 miles home, suitably hot and tired on arrival..