Your ride today....

[Diggs]

damn, some lovely tarmac

It varies! The country lane is part of NCN 13 and has recently been resurfaced (properly) and is a dream. Year or so back it was full of potholes

 

[Stonechat]

Slow and steady wins the race and all that. How's the shoulder recovering?

Still in a sling, doing some gentle exercises, back to the hospital early December, hopefully it will kick off a bit more then

 

[booze and cake]

I'm in complete denial its winter so thought I'd go out searching for palm trees. 1st up Lambeth Bridge roundabout

Whitehall gardens has palms surrounding each of the 3 statues, here's Sir James Outram's

It also has this lovely little shed, being used to store gardening tools I think, though someone forgot to put the broom away.

Mountstreet Gardens Mayfair

This one is next Fulham Football Ground

I saw a few palms in Lincolns Inn Fields, but my photos came out blurred an unusable, so this nearby rubble on the corner of the LSE building will have to do instead

I love a green wall, I found another one on Rood Lane

Then over to Lewisham to see a back garden one

I popped in to see the Dutch Elm in Ladywell Park, you don't see many of these anymore after Dutch Elm disease claimed over 25 million of the UK population, they used to be among the tallest trees in the capital.

And finally I stumbled upon this palm in George Lane

I then rushed back home and felt the strange urge to get changed into a loud shirt

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

After all the build up, it should have been something tremendous, but you all know how brass monkey cold it is, and I decided on one of my well worn trundles, around the flatter bits of country outside Leeds. Might be flat but Garmin tells me it was a thousand feet of up, 319 metres and 28.3 miles. And it ought to be a similar amount of down as well or I finished on the roof. For a start, I visited Holbeck. The river is up and strangely so is the Beck of Hol.

I take it you've not seen this
There is a full scale exploration, all the way to the outlets into the Aire, on a site, but I forget which one
https://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/sets/72157600334097542/detail/

Once on the road to Cinder Bridge through Hunslet the wind sort of intruded a bit. Seemed to be from an odd direction. Through John o’ Gaunts and Woodlesford, and especially after crossing the waterways and riding up through Swillington

By 'Cinder Bridge', do mean (what was) the hump=backed bridge on Pontefract Road, now levelled out?

Skeltons Lane and Red Hall Lane gave a little shelter and the left turn onto the A 58 gave a helping shove down Boot Hill.

I know that section well, but never knew that was its name (be it officially, or just locally)

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Got the coming weekend off, but it might be a 'dad - daughter' trip to Haworth?

ParkRun in the morning (we've got a completely revamped course, at Nostell Priory)
She still wants to go, so it'll be a nice drive up, via my regular route, when I go to the Woodentops fell races (M62, M606, Odsal, Wibsey, Clayton Heights, Old Dolphin, Queensbury, Mountain, past the 'Raggalds', etc...)

She (& her friend, who's stopping tonight) can go shoppin/wandering, & I'll go 'sniff some steam' (ulterior motive......)
I might even, suggest/insinuate/force(?) a walk up to Top Withens (as ran past on the 'tops Withens Skyline race)


Granted, that's not a ride diary/day
But, I think I can trade it off, for a day to myself, for a decent ride on the Sunday!?

 

[welsh dragon]

Gorgeous day today, well in the Sun anyway, but in the shade it was bloomin freezing with a nasty headwind To boot. I 0 miles done. I was really warm most of the time, but the A470 was bloomin cold. there was lots of Sun around as well.

 

[Old jon]

@Richard A Thackeray I never thought to post my pics of the beck, those on the link you gave are a very clean beck, in my childhood it was a little different. And smelly too!.
Cinder Bridge was indeed the humpbacked bridge, I think it was purely a Hunslet name. And Boot Hill. Well, personal preference but. The area north of the Ring Road and east of the A 58, all the way to Red Hall Lane, on the OS map is named Wellington Hill, the pub a little further north bears the same ducal name, as do lots of other bits of Leeds. In my college days, and afterwards in my time as a shop steward a lot of people formed the habit of substituting common names for inherited titled names. The habit sticks. Other pub names commemorating battles were also 'reverse Bowdlerised', caused me no end of trouble when I went out with a lass called Alma!

 

[Old jon]

Twenty nine and a tenth chilly miles today. I appear to have got the clothing sorted, as if, probably luck. Last exit from Holbeck was via the Leeds and Liverpool towpath today. As I rode along to Viaduct Road I was trying to count how many sets of traffic lights I was bypassing. Water Lane end to City Square is four and I gave up the count. Well on the way to twenty before the start of Kirkstall Road.

Anyway, the ride up Cardigan Road, through Headingley and all the way up past Lawnswood kept the legs and lungs labouring well, and the temperature up also. Once things level off it is a different matter, so a simple little ride made sense. Through Bramhope, Dyneley Arms and turn right. Overtaken by a van as I WHEEEE down Pool Bank and then had to brake behind the literate idiot, he must have been able to read, all the SLOW signs lit his brake lights. Thankfully he ( I know it was a he, the name was on the van ) carried straight on for Harrogate at the bottom, I turned left for Otley. Much too cold to stop, so in Otley a couple more left turns and I am pointing up Leeds Road and that long drag up the shoulder of the Chevin. Well worth it for the temperature increase. I suppose I could try riding faster on the flat? If it was so easy . . .

Along the A 660 and back to Lawnswood, the roundabout was oddly busy.



Down through Headingley, the usual right turn and down again to Kirkstall. Find the towpath, ride to the Leeds end and the last little wander around Hunslet to home. And then the sun came out.

Some may have seen this map before,

 

[Biff600]

Some clown (me !) pressed the power on/off button on his Garmin after his ride today........so it saved precisely NOTHING !!!

Lucky enough, I was also tracking it on Strava......

https://www.relive.cc/view/785066088

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Lovely sunny day today after some days of deepest gloom. The ride south had some assistance from the NE breeze. Very pleasant. That got the first 10 done easily enough. Then the climbs around Redmarley didn't seem too bad. Sometimes those lumps feel quite testing. Soon I was turning for the ride back north but first I climbed Woolridge for some lovely views out over the Valley. Wales was hidden in murk unfortunately. I spied that there was water down in the valley tho'. Would it prevent my standard run up the Hams? It didn't but the Hams were flooded in the fields and the wetland birds had begun to move in. I stopped briefly to check the Widgeon, Canada and Greylag Geese as well as some wagtails. Other things were about but I needed some binoculars for those.

What did prevent - or more accurately - hinder me riding north was that NE breeze. My old war wound began to complain so I had to take it slowly too. No worries as I jinked by the Rampings for some shelter but then had that wind again to Tunnel Hill. Roadworks made things interesting but the footpath was helpful so that I could jink by Clive's Farm. Signage indicated that the lane into Upton is flooded. No trouble for me today as I was heading the other way. Back facing the wind I had a bit of a struggle through Hanley Swan before I could turn westward up the Guarlford road and home. Apart from that wind it was a super day to be out and about. All Good with 44 smiles

 

[Pale Rider]

I'm in complete denial its winter so thought I'd go out searching for palm trees. 1st up Lambeth Bridge roundabout

Whitehall gardens has palms surrounding each of the 3 statues, here's Sir James Outram's

It also has this lovely little shed, being used to store gardening tools I think, though someone forgot to put the broom away.

Mountstreet Gardens Mayfair

This one is next Fulham Football Ground

I saw a few palms in Lincolns Inn Fields, but my photos came out blurred an unusable, so this nearby rubble on the corner of the LSE building will have to do instead

I love a green wall, I found another one on Rood Lane

Then over to Lewisham to see a back garden one

I popped in to see the Dutch Elm in Ladywell Park, you don't see many of these anymore after Dutch Elm disease claimed over 25 million of the UK population, they used to be among the tallest trees in the capital.

And finally I stumbled upon this palm in George Lane

I then rushed back home and felt the strange urge to get changed into a loud shirt

Another clever idea for a ride.

Speaking of green walls, there used to be a pub in the Borough with a large yard wall covered in a single ivy.

If I recall it was in one of the side streets off Great Dover Street, certainly in that general area.

Dunno if it's still there, but you might like to have a scope about sometime.

 

[Diggs]

After a eventful week, looking at the weather I simply had to get out on the bike. Not really to go anywhere, just to have a quick blast. Popped round to Daddy Diggs place to get 15 miles round Pages and Harold Court woods

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Quite a nice end to the commuting week today. I'll come to that after a quick roundup:

Monday - no ride. The weather was every bit as wet as the forecast suggested so when Doug offered me a lift I gladly accepted and don't regret it.

Tuesday - There was debris left from flash flooding all over the place on the way in so the lift was clearly the right decision yesterday. On the way home I started off with fingerless gloves but changed to full finger ones after a mile.

Wednesday: Went over Lyth Hill on the way in. The view wasn't bad but it was quite misty everywhere. At Condover, Station Road is closed for drainage work or something which meant taking a detour. The detour is actually shorter than my preferred route but I didn't want to get to work too early so added a bit on.

Thursday - Up and about early so I did the extended commute. It was quite cold which slowed me down a little but I still enjoyed the ride. On the way back I extended it again by going over Lyth Hill making for a 29.5 mile round trip.

Today - Contrary to the forecast it was frosty out (third frosty Friday in a row) but the roads have almost completely dried out so I didn't fit the studded tyres this time. There were some good views on the way with clear skies and a low lying mist in places. I found I had time in hand so went through Attingham Park, which was worthwhile, before rejoining my usual route.

As I approached the trading estate I found myself following a fresh trail of spilled diesel (good job it's not wet) which to my surprise went all the way to my work. It seems the boss's car has suffered a bit of a failure.

Leaving this evening I headed out into more clear weather and riding towards a nice afterglow which I would have photographed but past experience tells me my phone camera doesn't capture these conditions. It's chilly (another frost overnight no doubt) but really nice out for those who have got the layers right.

Attingham Hall.

Mist in the grounds.

Blue sky, straw bales in the fields. It can only be... November?

 

[gavgav]

Been a rubbish week at work, starting with us being told the organisation is no longer sustainable and will be merged or taken over, meaning back office staff like me will be out of a job probably, finishing with our head of department pulling me onto a failing project that I have no experience of and my boss off it onto the area of work I am experienced in . I had planned some overtime this morning, but after telling them some home truths I knocked that on the head and decided bike ride instead .

Cold but no sign of the forecast fog, so I headed out on the Betton Road and then branched off to Berrington, Eaton Mascott and Cound. Took a left and then through Harnage up to Cound Moor and Evenwood.

Next was Acton Burnell and then the nice fast section to Pitchford and Cantlop, before looping through Sutton Farm estate and back home.

19.6 miles of much needed chill out time and far more enjoyable than being sat in an office for 4 hours of demoralising work

 

[cosmicbike]

Been a rubbish week at work, starting with us being told the organisation is no longer sustainable and will be merged or taken over, meaning back office staff like me will be out of a job probably, finishing with our head of department pulling me onto a failing project that I have no experience of and my boss off it onto the area of work I am experienced in . I had planned some overtime this morning, but after telling them some home truths I knocked that on the head and decided bike ride instead .

Cold but no sign of the forecast fog, so I headed out on the Betton Road and then branched off to Berrington, Eaton Mascott and Cound. Took a left and then through Harnage up to Cound Moor and Evenwood.

Next was Acton Burnell and then the nice fast section to Pitchford and Cantlop, before looping through Sutton Farm estate and back home.

19.6 miles of much needed chill out time and far more enjoyable than being sat in an office for 4 hours of demoralising work

Liked for the ride, I always find it clears the head. Hope work works out for you