Have you been out today?

[markcjagar]

130km/2400m with the lads.

Sheffield to Holmfirth the nicer way - then Meltham, Marsden and onto Denshaw via Knott Hill Lane - which is savage and long.

Up Newhey/Huddersfield Rd and over to Huddersfield, stopping for an ice cream at the top.

Through Huddersfield and off towards Jackson Bridge - which is harder and longer than the previous.

Back via Penistone and Stocksbridge. The main road down from Stocksbridge has been resurfaced at the tip which has need doing for like 5 years, so that was nice.

Good day out!

[mzjo]

It would not normally be worthy of comment but I did get out today. It was the first ride out on the road since february (other sorties have been 2km round trips to fetch the bread. I was on the Dino which for those who don't know is a 'bent. First sortie with the 'bent for about 10 years (I find it a bit difficult in traffic so it ends up buried at the back of the garage). I have done a couple of sessions with it on the turbo which have been also aimed at sorting the mechanical niggles.
Anyway today I put the beast on the trailer and took it up to a carshare carpark to start out of harms way (also saved a bit of climbing, bent climbing legs not being up to much at present). I don't know how far I went nor for how long, over two hours and probably 30-40kms. The knees were feeling it a bit and it will go better with cycling sandals and auto pedals rather than rubber pedals and floppy walking sandals (my left foot kept slipping because the right one has the replacement knee) but it was fun.

[andrewc]

Amazingly I can write something here.  I got back from a tour last September, and did nothing other than a weekend ride to the parents until Xmas.  After that I was ill for 6 weeks & it took up to the start of June before I felt well again.   I've also added 8kg to my already considerable bulk. 


An afternoon start as I picked up NCN62 near Broad Green station.  This is a converted railway line so is traffic free (apart from the helmetless scallies on motorbikes) ,  It's mostly straight & goes right across the eastern  side of Liverpool to Aintree.  A little bit of road here, as the official route is convoluted but then onto the banks of the Leeds-Liverpool canal for a short interlude, before picking up another old railway (Cheshire Lines) across the flatlands to Southport, where the sky was blue & I could see Blackpool tower away in the distance.    An easy 40Km.   I thought about riding back to Liverpool on NCN 810 , but decided to risk the train back instead.   I managed to nod off & nearly missed the stop at Liverpool Central ! 

[T42]

Yesterday, 120k jaunt to this tourist trap.



Trapped tourists were cheek by jowl and the only masks I saw were worn by people sitting outside restaurants waiting to be served, so I didn't hang around. Had lunch a bit later in my usual place, nice & calm.  Met an old chum on the way home, returning from doing the last point on a 5-point star of 200k rides, one a week. Nice idea but I'm not up to that yet - I felt grand all day yesterday but I can hardly move this morning.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Had the chance to do another longish ride today, but the weather forecast (30C by 11am) looked a bit daunting.  Planned a flattish 120 mile ride taking in the Lambourn Valley, South Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley, with only one notable climb in the Chilterns.  Woke up (naturally) an hour early so was away at 3.20am into the silent summer night.  There was a temperature inversion in the Lambourn Valley so it was only about 11 or 12 degrees and I felt chilly in shorts.  Just climbing over the Downs to Shrivenham, got pushed along by a strong tailwind kicked off by the sunrise, which wasn't the best as after 4 miles of tailwind I then had 80 of mostly headwinds - firstly heading a bit south of E in to an ESE wind and then, as I turned to go south west back home, the wind turned more southerly.  I was too early to stop at Velolife for a coffee so soldiered on increasingly thirsty for the last 30 miles back home, in Italian summer heat, and got back with two empty bottles but just before it got unbearable.  Fifth 100-mile ride in July, the first time I've managed 5 such rides in a month.

[Wowbagger]

I broke my duck for the month with an 11 mile mini-loop to Barling. Lots of other cyclists about, one arsehole motorist who overtook far too close (there were parked cars on the other side of a narrow road) and then hooted after he had gone by, and a buzzard. Returned home to boiled eggs, toast and marmalade for breakfast. Now to take Jan her first cup of the of the day.

[nobby]

I went out on Tuesday for 15 miles, on and off road, on my motorised On One and remembered why I like the electric motor.
I also lost my 25 year old silver wedding present; a bracelet the wife bought me at an Iranian jewellers in Paris.

I went out Thursday on my new Moulton TSR - no motor - for another, different 15 miles. On the last mile, the only point where the two routes were the same, I found my bracelet draped over the anti cycling barrier of dog poop alley. I am a lucky sort of chap 
The bracelet now has a safety chain.

[cycleman]

Glad you found it   

[rogerzilla]

95.5 miles on the tourer.  Bloody knackered.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

A Carlsberg ride today

Nearly all the route was on tiny lanes, taking advantage of a dry summer so that they are as clean as they get.  Headed through South Warnborough and the long climb of Pickaxe Lane and the consequent manic descent to Upper Froyle.  I took the gradual rise through Wyck and the Worldhams, the air really clear, great views.  Second hair-raising descent was from Hartley Mauditt to Oakhanger, reminding me why I normally do the climb.  Headed through Blackmoor and the climb up to Bradshott to start a magic five miles through Empshott and the minimalist ford in Empshott Green before doing battle with the hinterlands of Priors Dean where the lanes weave through deep banks and woods at astonishing gradients up and down before emerging to some sort of normality on the fast road that heads to the top of Stonor Hill.  Then picked little lanes to West Tisted and round the back of Hinton Ampner to Kilmeston.  This was almost as good as the previous section.  There were quite a few cyclists on the road through Lane End but I escaped them by descending Ovington Down.  There was a house with the most amazing climbing rose, but i was busy winding my way through the water meadows and forest and my second ford, along a lane so narrow that it felt like I was riding through people's gardens.  The tail wind picked up and blew me up to Woodmancott, and then again through the upper Candovers to get back home.

Had a shower, made a large coffee, then the heavens opened for 10 minutes, with me sitting comfortably in an armchair.  If Carlsberg did bike rides...

[FifeingEejit]

Thought I'd bag a few tiles last night by taking advantage of the touring bike needing run in for later in the month and it being 26" wheeled, so I took it into tentsmuir forest to bag a low tide tile or 2.
The rough forest tracks were fine but I found the limit for me on slicks on the MTB trail I took from kinshaldy out onto the edge of the muir through the tank blocks towards reres woods.
Missed the exit I wanted out into the sands so ended up with a long beach push and then staring out omto one of the exposed sandbanks before switching to twoped drive and legged it as far as I could be bothered clutching the phone in tile view mode.

Long push repeated down to the end of the runway at Leuchars and a 1 km walk round  the edge on the base on the way out the la ding lights were on, as I returned they were off hm!

Dingied one of the best mtb trails in the area in favour of the track and into Leuchars where I'd spotted some woods that the base fence didn't dissect in the last tile, sadly it turned out to be in the grounds of Earlshall Castle and a big wall in the way, I can see how to claim it from that side still but bright orange cycling gear will need swapped for catburglar black.
Or I can wait until another convenient low tide and claim the tile from guardsbridge.

I should really get the mtb out though

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

[Feanor]

Another pilgrimage on the Andy Scott sculpture trail.
This time, to Cumbernauld and Arria:


Arria by Ron Lowe, on Flickr

130k.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3854163042

[Cudzoziemiec]

The overlap between cycling and trainspotting became clear today – once tried, you can never get free. So yesterday, after several months of clean living, I went out on a pure pleasure trip – escapism – and ended up doing 105km. Yes, it can't be long till I'm willing to dive into the filthiest toilet in a 24-hour service station to rescue that dropped brevet card.

Although I hadn't done much more than 1km when I turned back. I realised I'd forgotten two things: my watch – not needed but I wanted to take advantage of the sunny day to charge it up (it's solar-powered); and a mask – I wasn't planning on entering any shops, as I had lunch and a thermos of tea in my saddlebag, but just in case. Suitably equipped, I set out again. Up through Tortworth – the Farmers Table still closed, or just not open Sundays or something – and some general meandering, exploring lanes I've ever never taken before – because they don't really lead anywhere useful – or rarely. One of these was so small it wasn't on my Garmin's map and I wasn't entirely sure whether it was a road or just a farm track. In fact it is a proper road, yellow on the OS map. This road brought me out by a railway bridge, where I turned round and re-rode the road, but as I did so, I saw three cyclists: one in a white shirt, and a tandem pair with the pilot in fluorescent yellow shirt. Nice to see a tandem but I thought no more of it.

Much meandering later, I was riding through Halmore on my way to Sharpness, having decided to try and follow the route of the old railway to the old bridge (which turns out to be impossible; it's now private farm land and all fenced off) when I saw Keith and Sue on their tandem. Guess what Keith was wearing?

Sharpness is fun anyway: ships and bits of old train, roads, dodgy railway crossings, flat bits and hilly bits, improbably juxtaposition of bridges, a canal, a wind turbine, and lots of easy grass riding. But it was time to head home – via a field to eat lunch.

[Kim]

The overlap between cycling and trainspotting became clear today

Yes, it's called the Origami Rides

[Auntie Helen]

Went out yesterday for the first long velomobile ride for a few weeks.

Klaus, who was behind me, got annoyed at one point as he said I did a dangerous manoeuvre crossing onto a cycle path and he nearly went into the back of me, not able to pull round me as a car was overtaking him at the time. I was a bit surprised as I had indicated very early.

Got home and discovered the indicators aren't working on the right hand side of the Velomobile. Which explains his annoyance. And which is also a horrible job to repair - I just pray it's the rear indicator (easy to change) and not the front (a complete and utter nightmare to get the thing stuck back in place).

[T42]

Local loop i.a. to pick up some bread from a baker we like a couple of villages away.  Pleasant 23°C for an hour and a half, just a bit of wind towards the end.  Must do that more often.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The overlap between cycling and trainspotting became clear today

Yes, it's called the Origami Rides

On the basis that folding = banknotes = cocaine, that's more Bright Lights, Big City. 

[Ashaman42]

Got out just as the sun set for two hours in the lanes. Decided to ride tonight as I've been intending a night ride since about April and when I checked yesterday I realised it would be a full moon so 

Of course once I got out of the streetlights and hedgerowed lanes I found that the moon was only just over the horizon and then it promptly disappeared behind a cloud 

But I have a dynamo and decent lights so I trundled off up to Herstmonceux church where I discovered my jelly beans were in the other bag that's in the spare room so I just stuck my long top on and headed home again. Didn't bother with the leg warmers as they weren't really necessary and a bit fiddly to put on - I'd have been fine without the top too but as I had it...

I saw a few bats flitting about and discovered some funny little microclimates depending on where the bits of hedge were and where the road dipped and climbed and how close the drainage channels were to the road. Went from pockets of warm air to cool and back again.

Lovely stuff, did 23 miles in a couple hours but I'm glad I wasn't out any longer - I'd forgotten just how much extra concentration riding in the dark can need on smaller lanes.

[Kim]

I saw a few bats flitting about and discovered some funny little microclimates depending on where the bits of hedge were and where the road dipped and climbed and how close the drainage channels were to the road. Went from pockets of warm air to cool and back again.

I've often thought that it would be interesting to map those miniature inversion layers with a fast temperature sensor connected to GPS.  Garmin Tempe has far too much latency and not really enough precision, but it's the sort of thing I only think about when riding my bike, rather than when I'm bored and there's an assortment of Arduino stuff to hand.

There was a Brighton FNRttC some years ago where the effect was particularly pronounced, with the humidity just so for us to keep riding up and down through layers of mist.  The view of the fog rolling across the low-lying ground from the top of Ditchling Beacon as the sun rose was spectacular.

[hatler]

Slightly more macro than that, but watching the mist tumble through the gap in the Downs to the east of there is amazing too.

[Ashaman42]

Had similar on my old commute across to Bexhill to the point where I'd hit a warm patch and my glasses would steam up like stepping into a warm bathroom.

Of course I've also had rides along there where the fog would freeze onto my beard and I'd turn into a big icicle but that's a different matter.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Feeling those micro temperature changes is one of the enjoyable things about night riding. Except when it's just bloody cold.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The overlap between cycling and trainspotting became clear today

Yes, it's called the Origami Rides

Trainspotting and/or train spotting on Sunday, Sharpness docks.

The large green machine was presumably used in shunting flasks of enriched and/or depleted uranium, in connection with the nearby, now decommissioned, Berkeley power station. The small green machine has also been to Berkeley nuclear power station, but not while it was active.

Ed: I'm told by those who know that it's a fireless steam engine, using steam generated by the power station rather than burning its own coal.

[Paul]

My second ride of the year (look, I’ve been a bit distracted, right?). Little Eaton to Mercaston (Kedleston Hall grounds sadly shut), then Cross ‘O’ the Hands, Shottle and back home. 23 lumpy miles is unusual anyway but after a day of work?
Feeling it today.

Oh, and I emerged from Derwent Avenue directly opposite a certain Bainbridge Hand Clinic 👍🏻

[Kim]

Ed: I'm told by those who know that it's a fireless steam engine, using steam generated by the power station rather than burning its own coal.

I suppose that makes it a nuclear-powered train (I know, technically all electric ones are).  Cool.