Your ride today....

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A very gusty ride today around 40km



A sod of a climb
Wakefield Triathlon Club, & also (I think?) Calder Clarion, both use this as a hill-climb course

We approached from the other side on Sunday

That said (wrote...), I did ride up it a few weeks ago, (Sunday 7th May) with some of 'WTC', climbing from Denby Dale Road - on a circuitous route to the Oil Can Café
This was about a week before their hill-climb, some responses to the days ascent - both verbal & bodily, shouldn't mentioned herexx(

And, I rode the top half 'solo', perhaps in March, via a climb of Jebb Lane, from 'Old Post Office' roundabout (jct 38/M1), to join Litherop Lane
 
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Mike_P

Guru
Location
Harrogate
Which should have rewarded me with a swift descent of the whole of Pool Bank. One of those slow vehicles emblazoned with the word ‘Police’ stuck resolutely at 32 mph all the weary way down. Yes I could have overtaken the thing, just did not fancy the boring post enjoyment lecture.

You could have always pointed they were exceeding the speed limit anyway!
 

delb0y

Legendary Member
Location
Quedgeley, Glos
Woke up too late to do a long(ish) ride so settled for a go at Portway. Was a bit like hard work. Had to stop half way up by the back entrance to Prinknash Abbey for a breather and to let the old heart slow. No problem cycling the rest of the way up after that breather - but hadn't realised that there was only another 20 or 30 metres to go before the 20% section eased off. Must go back and try again.

Funny thing was I was in my lowest gear - 30 / 32 - and I was still standing up and having to grind. A few miles down the road and there's a section in Painswick that was only a few % less (according to ridewithgps) and I was able to spin up there reasonably easy with a gear to spare. Something horrible must happen between 16% and 20%!

Derek
 

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
Sara P, Steve E and me in the Green, Margaret PR, Jules H, John G and Rich B in Upton. Rich was having mechanical problems with his rear wheel so he headed off home. We six called Tewkesbury but to make a bit of a ride we went by the Castlemorton lanes to cross Longdon Marsh and take the dodge around Bushley Green. We met another pair of riders whose plan was the same as ours. So we rode together.

The Cafe at The Mythe had the patio area in operation so we sat outside for our coffee and cake. We headed off after a pleasant break by Twying and Strensham. Jules and John headed homeward along the A38 and Margaret parted at Upton. Sara headed off not long after when Steve and I decided to take shelter from a heavy shower. It didn't take long to pass before the last two made the final few miles in.

Nice wee social one today. We managed to avoid all but that one shower. All good. 39 smiles
 

gavgav

Legendary Member
Woke up to a better forecast than yesterday suggested and so got out for a decent morning ride.

We'd had 24 hours of incessant torrential rain, yesterday, and so I thought the roads may be flooded in places and I only had the Carbon as an option, with the Cube still up at @Rickshaw Phil 's following its service. Risked it anyway.

Followed the start of the same route that I did on Thursday, along the old railway bed and down to the roadworks.......where I found the cycle path closed and a trench through it. Why didn't they put the barrier out by the roundabout, where I could have taken a different route, instead of waiting for us to get down to the roadworks?! :wacko:

So it was back to the roundabout and through Abbey Foregate, up to Heathgates and through Sundorne. I encountered an Audiot after crossing Whitchurch Rd, when I turned onto an estate road, with cars parked down one side and my right of way. He approached the parked cars, initially waited like he should have and the decided to barge through, forcing me to brake and swerve. He was given a glare and I continued along the old canal path, which was a bit dicey after the rain and out to Upton Magna.

I then took the road to Withington, passing loads of cyclists in the opposite direction and realised they were on the Severn Hospice Charity Ride :okay:. I really must do that one year. The roads were very wet, sandy and mucky down to Isombridge and Longden on Tern, and without mudguards on this bike I had a decent wet and muddy stripe up my back.

Followed the lanes to Rodington and Roden, floods to contend with along there and then Poynton, Bings Heath and up Ebury Hill. The descent down Haughmond Hill, back to Upton Magna was good fun and I came across a chap who was touring, with full panniers. He had the map out and so I asked if he was ok, giving him some help with the route he should take to Cressage and Much Wenlock, which was his intended course.

From there it was along to Berwick Wharf and Atcham, where I paused to take a shot of the entrance to Attingham Park
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It would have been my Nan's Birthday, this week and so I had a bit of nostalgia by nipping into Atcham village, where they used to live and I spent many a happy time when growing up.

Finished the route to Betton Abbots and home, with a good clean of the bike needed once I was back.

33.8 miles at 13.3mph avg
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
Other stuff to do earlier today meant I wasn't expecting to get a ride in today.
However, when a spare hour materialised it would have been rude not to, wouldn't it? :okay:

It was like rainy season in Rangoon here this morning, hour after hour of relentless heavy rain, although by the time I got out the sun was shining and the sky was blue.
I did initially think about taking the Road Comp due to it's mudguards but found the tyres nearly flat (my bad, I haven't been out on it in months and it's been neglected...). I could have pumped the tyres up but I only had an hour, so much like @gavgav above, I thought sod it and took the Pro Carbon (with the Ass Saver fitted ;) ).

Coal Road, Red Hall Lane and the A58 were swiftly despatch - or as swiftly as I ever do, then onto Whin Moor Lane towards Shadwell, which was busy with dog walkers, joggers and ramblers. I'm not used to afternoon cycling - it's a lot quieter on a morning!
Right at the end of Gateland Lane in Shadwell and the longish descent through the village down to Bay Horse Lane, up the other side and across the A58 again, on to Carr Lane and the twisty ups and downs to Thorner.

Did I mention the earlier rain? There was an awful lot of mud and gravel washed out of the fields - in places the lanes had clearly been under a few inches of water so progress was a bit tentative in places where I'd normally have ben pushing on but what the heck, the sun was shining and I was out in the countryside.

Left at the Mexborough Arms, past the church and onto Milner Lane for the climb onto the ridge which never seems to get any easier. Along past the woods, where it was the busiest I've ever seen it with horseriders, cyclists, and walkers. Several old Saabs were parked up with people milling about, so perhaps some sort of mini-rally was going on? Odd place for it, but never mind.

Round onto Holme Farm Lane and I started to rethink my route. I had initially planned to loop through Rigton, up onto Brahmam Lane and then back to Milner Lane but I was going to be pushed for time and the state of the quieter lanes up to that point made me wonder what state the usually deserted Bramham Lane would be in - it's often a mudfest through the winter and it wouldn't be any fun.

So I decided to stop for a quick photo and a drink and then retrace my steps:
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So that's what I did. Down the hill into Thorner off the ridge on the mud / gravel under the tree canopy was 'interesting' :hyper:, and I headed back up Carr Lane rather than tackle Van Zyl Hill, so onto the A58 for the short but quick run down to Coal Road, up the hill and a little sprint along the flat section before dropping down onto local roads to home.

14.2 miles (22.85km) in a steady 1h 3m at an average of 13.5mph with just 672ft climbed and a very acceptable average temperature of 21.4°C

Great weather for it (not too breezy for a change) with plenty of cyclists making the best of it including a few family groups which is always good to see.
The bike is filthy though, and I've got the Road Comp to fettle now as well...:rolleyes:

And finally, the map:
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Dave 123

Legendary Member
Well, I don't know...
N+1
N+2
N+1.5......

What is it then for a new tandem?

We started off the day by collecting a new tandem from Bicycles by design in Coalport. It's pure indulgence, and we're so blooming lucky to be able to do it.

After a quick spin down to Ironbridge, saddle adjusting etc we headed for Ellesmere, but a massive black cloud turned up, threatening.... so I went to the place that I love most, the Ceiriog valley.

We had to stop after a mile or two. Jo wasn't happy with her temporary saddle. She was supposed to have a Brooks with a cut out, but didn't get one, so she fiddled about with her Selle Italia saddle.

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After not very long there was more adjustments to be had... not even 5 miles done!
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As a kid, the grey house in the trees, I thought was haunted... there was ALWAYS a light on! And it looked creepy.

We reached Glyn Ceiriog, then Pandy before climbing up and down to Treceiriog
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Then we reached my spiritual home, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. I had the great idea of a pint of shandy at the West Arms, but in the excitement of a new bike to ride we'd forgotten our wallets!
I took a pic of the bike instead...
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Raspberry and orange, how cool is that? I think Jo needs to angle those bars down.

Back the way we came, but with a quick nose at the aqueduct
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23 miles of feeling our way into a new bike, we love it already!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1096407513
 

Buck

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Today was the day of @ColinJ 's York to the Humber Bridge 100 mile ride. We'd ummed and arred over the weather in the last few days and in the end we made a bold decision to just go for it despite weather forecasts that were rather wet!

We met outside the Minster in York at around 08:30 - already waiting were @Slioch and @Pale Rider with @ColinJ and @Littgull arriving shortly after already wet from their ride from home to the train station to get the train to York (I'd driven to York and the weather was atrocious and heart sinking in equal measure!)

We set off a little damp but looking forward to a good ride. We were not going to be disappointed.

Riding out of York we headed on the Hull Road before heading south on a much quieter B road after crossing the A64 roundabout.The weather kept on showing promises of dryness but we all got rather wet in the first two hours and the roads were holding lots of standing water meaning we'd got to take care and not stick too close to the side of the road despite the road being less wide.

@Slioch and @ColinJ putting on a brave face in between showers
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The wind had been forecast as a southerly and sure enough it was a head wind for the first half of the ride. It wasn't horrendous but you could certainly tell you were pushing to keep the speed up especially when we turned to head south through North Ross when the heaven's opened again - heavy rain and winds - yuk! The pace and conditions were affecting each of us differently and @PaleRider managed to find some shelter and temporary respite from the elements before we all regrouped with a hint of blue sky ahead.

At Howden we had hoped to meet @EasyPeez but he had been sensible when he'd seen the weather and had a bit longer in bed :smile:

Crossing the River Ouse and heading into Goole we managed to get some refreshments - a nice coffee and some flapjack helped me charge the batteries and a 15 minute bask in the sun started to dry out my clothes a little.

We then followed the Ouse on its southbank for someway through interestingly named villages such as Swinefleet; Reedness and Whitgift. All made more picturesque by blue sky and sunshine finally making an appearance.

Heading south we eventually crossed the Ouse and headed north - the first village being called Gunness not Guinness as I first thought :rolleyes:

The next stretch saw us starting to head NE and hitting some hills - surprising on another wise flat landscape. Having enjoyed the flats the 12%+ first climb was a bit of an eye opener especially as @Pale Rider was leading on with his rather excellent electric bike.

The Humber Bridge was now visible in the distance and slowly getting closer (as was lunch)

A nice surprise was at the lunch stop when @EasyPeez joined us at the café. All fed and watered (and sunscreen applied!) we then had a quick photo call before heading over the bridge itself and getting to the north shore.

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By now the sun was well and truly out and we all enjoyed a steady ride northwards with quite a long climb as we headed towards South Cave which also meant a cracking descent for all of us. After this it was effectively flat the whole way back to York.

@EasyPeez left us just south of Elvington and headed back south towards home.

Finally arriving in York it was very busy with those enjoying beverages and company. I left the guys and headed up the cobbled road towards Mickelgate and back to my car as the others headed towards the station and home.

Once home a nice hot shower refreshed the tired legs and despite the suncream I'd clearly managed to catch some sun !! (excuse the knobbly Knee!)

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Thanks to everyone for great company and ride - my second century ride!


105.9 miles with 2421ft of climbing

https://www.relive.cc/view/1096369982

https://www.strava.com/activities/1096369982
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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Today was the day of @ColinJ 's York to the Humber Bridge 100 mile ride. We'd ummed and arred over the weather in the last few days and in the end we made a bold decision to just go for it despite weather forecasts that were rather wet!
...
An excellent report, and you even managed to take a slightly flattering photograph of me too! :okay:

Readers may be reassured that we did not ride down a mine shaft after 25 miles ... that profile must be affected by a GPS glitch. I had one too; I will have to see if it matches yours. I wonder if the rain clouds were affecting the signal?

PS You can clearly see in the first photo that my two brake levers do not line up! I realised that a few rides ago but have not got round to unwrapping the doubled-up bar tape on one side to correct it. Today is a quiet day in so I will do that this afternoon.
 
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D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
51 damp miles this morning, not the ride I'd planned but I looked at the weather this morning and decided I'd save that one for a nicer day. I decided to head for Shenton but was there early so decided to carry on to Shackerstone and use the cafe at the station on the Battlefield Line. It started raining about ten minutes before the cafe stop but was dry when I started for home and stayed dry until I got to Kersley then it rained all the way home, and ten minutes after I got home the sun came out.

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