Author Topic: Have you been out today?  (Read 3813678 times)

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22575 on: 13 July, 2019, 08:30:52 pm »
86 rolling and warm km out to Mayfield then a bit of looping between Heathfield and Hailsham, crossing familiar spots from El Supremo audaxes and also taking in some of the cuckoo trail.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22576 on: 18 July, 2019, 10:25:32 am »
141k yesterday to my distal coffee-shop preference.  Beautiful day, not yet excessively betouristed, the usual storks, herons and fat-arsed fishermen along the canal, gratifying headwind on the last 10k to my turnaround point, whereat cheesecake with mirabelle ice-cream and a little too much coffee for my drug regimen, who cares?  This brings me back to the level of fitness I was at before medical inflictions at the end of May, how jolly.

Followed a tip from GCN (yes, well) and drank a good volume of Isostar with a bit of bicarb to cut the acid once I got home. I feel a lot perkier this morning than I usually do after such trips. Highly recommended.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22577 on: 19 July, 2019, 10:17:04 pm »
Down from Clitheroe towards the Mersey Roads (supporting Bunbury, mainly with sarcasm).

Looking back at my route, I think I accidentally rode one of THE 100 GREATEST CLIMBS. I thought that road out of Whalley was a bit steep - it was pissing down, and I had to stay seated or my rear wheel would slip uncontrollably, even with my tent on the back. But there were alpacas at the top, and it was quieter than the main road.

It did stop raining and I had a clear run through Salford, but once I was away from the urban stuff, the rain really came down. Luckily there was a handy pub in Dunham Massey where I hid from the rain.

Currently camping at Delamere. It was a lovely evening after the rain, and what a welcome shower that was.

bludger

  • Randonneur and bargain hunter
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22578 on: 19 July, 2019, 10:35:38 pm »
Popped out to do some chores. Picked up some M520s from click and collect, some medical stuff, and got a load of car shampoo from Halfrauds for cleaning the bikes.

Treated myself to a new sponge too.
YACF touring/audax bargain basement:
https://bit.ly/2Xg8pRD



Ban cars.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22579 on: 21 July, 2019, 11:48:14 am »
36 mile cafe ride.  Slower average speed than for the entire Dun Run.  And I walked a bit of that!
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22580 on: 21 July, 2019, 12:54:44 pm »
Yes, and I still am!

I’m about 25 miles into a (roughly 40 mile ride to Burton upon Trent and back. Having got passed the turnaround point and with the wind now behind me, I figured a pint and some nuts were due.

First ride on the (almost finished) Colnago. It’s dreamy.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22581 on: 22 July, 2019, 08:45:22 am »
(Yesterday) I did the Danebury 150 (comfortably 160 with a diversion and a couple of small errors). It was a lovely day out, on roads I wouldn’t normally ride. Felt a bit far by the end, which is often the way with audax ... and I think I was lantern rouge, the the 200 was still coming in.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22582 on: 22 July, 2019, 01:34:15 pm »
Yesterday. most enjoyable 27 mile cafe ride. I must confess to having difficulty with the second sausage.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22583 on: 22 July, 2019, 03:58:08 pm »
This morning, a bit shy of 60k over a local set of lumps and home on the flat without a coffee stop.*  Hot with practically no wind.  Dunno what's up with my condition, I'm futterly ucked now.

*c.f. going to bed without any supper.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22584 on: 22 July, 2019, 04:52:42 pm »
A whole 40-odd km yesterday out to Iron Acton to see if there were any stragglers from the CTC barbecue (there weren't) and home again including a tiny bit of exploration which had to stop when I came up to a sign saying "Pedal and motor vehicles" strictly banned on account of it being ancient woodland. Nothing fell off, including the bits held on with sugru and electrical tape, which is the main thing.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22585 on: 22 July, 2019, 07:51:25 pm »
Mr Deano, if you left Whalley towards Billington over the river Calder bridge and did a sharp left and was into serious climbing within 10m then yes that was the climb of Whalley Nab on the way to York. Possibly you were looking for the next left, a sharp hairpin and then a gentler climb towards York. Still the same wonderful Lancashire views from the top. 

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22586 on: 23 July, 2019, 08:23:22 am »
A whole 40-odd km yesterday out to Iron Acton to see if there were any stragglers from the CTC barbecue (there weren't) and home again including a tiny bit of exploration which had to stop when I came up to a sign saying "Pedal and motor vehicles" strictly banned on account of it being ancient woodland. Nothing fell off, including the bits held on with sugru and electrical tape, which is the main thing.

When I hear of TdF chappies going downhill at >96 kph and think of doing the same on my bike with bar-bag, Road Morph & Raceblades, on our chip'n'lump-strewn roads, I get a kind of about-to-lose-bowel-control feeling.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22587 on: 23 July, 2019, 08:29:44 am »
A whole 40-odd km yesterday out to Iron Acton to see if there were any stragglers from the CTC barbecue (there weren't) and home again including a tiny bit of exploration which had to stop when I came up to a sign saying "Pedal and motor vehicles" strictly banned on account of it being ancient woodland. Nothing fell off, including the bits held on with sugru and electrical tape, which is the main thing.

When I hear of TdF chappies going downhill at >96 kph and think of doing the same on my bike with bar-bag, Road Morph & Raceblades, on our chip'n'lump-strewn roads, I get a kind of about-to-lose-bowel-control feeling.
Agreed but I'm not sure of the relevance to my post?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22588 on: 24 July, 2019, 08:58:32 am »
Did another 4 mile round trip utility ride to collect a box of firewood on the trailer before all the thunder and lightning last night.  Managed to saw my thumb instead of a piece of wood and dripped claret all over the place but fortunately nothing too serious.  Still a good few boxes to collect which bodes well for some more evening rides.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22589 on: 24 July, 2019, 09:09:10 am »
Yesterday.

I had intended to ride from Edinburgh to St. Andrews but the sleeper arrived 2 hours late. I caught a train to Markinch so I did get 21 lovely rolling Fifey miles, arriving with about 45 minutes in which to find lunch before my course started.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22590 on: 24 July, 2019, 11:58:23 pm »
Mr Deano, if you left Whalley towards Billington over the river Calder bridge and did a sharp left and was into serious climbing within 10m then yes that was the climb of Whalley Nab on the way to York. Possibly you were looking for the next left, a sharp hairpin and then a gentler climb towards York. Still the same wonderful Lancashire views from the top.

That's the one. I was heading south and didn't like the look of the main road, so it seemed the natural choice. It was a bit steep, I had to stay in the saddle otherwise my rear wheel was skidding.

Can't say much for the Lancastrian views - it was siling it down.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22591 on: 28 July, 2019, 09:19:28 am »
At the Cotswold Water Park cafe.  Thought I'd give the LHT a run out this week.  Headwind all the way.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

BrianI

  • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Lepidopterist Man!
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22592 on: 28 July, 2019, 10:05:03 am »
Nope. Not allowed for another few weeks at least :-( Darned laparotomy :-(

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22593 on: 29 July, 2019, 02:30:10 pm »
It was Sunday morning so the traffic was quiet and I wanted to get there quickly, so I blatted straight up the A38 to Gloucester. In the outskirts I took to the towpath and very soon – thunk, chunk, bump! Flat front tyre. The S&G was to one point the world's broadest canal but its towpath is narrow, not an ideal environment in which to change a tube. Air was gushing out of an old patch, no new holes visible, nothing in the tyre, so put a new tube in and off. I haven't been to Gloucester since last summer, when I'd seen from the other side of the canal they were resurfacing the towpath, looked like tarmac. It turns out they've put a tarmac base down, presumably for durability and all-weather use, with gravel on top. I presume the gravel is because it matches the canal aesthetic and is kinder to the feet of runners, small children, dogs and tow horses, not that I've ever seen a horse along there. It also makes a pleasing crunching sound underwheel.

Stopped at the Comfy Pew and had some "cauliflower wings," which were pleasant in an odd way, then out across Alney Island and up through Maisemore and Hartpury. The hill between these two is one of my favourite places to ride a bike, especially for the views of the Cotswolds to the right, the Malverns straight ahead and far off to the left the Black Mountains. In the next village, Ashleworth, someone was selling homemade jam from their garden. There was a choice of rhubarb jam or rhubarb chutney... I got a jar of jam. A Carradice saddlebag is a very useful thing to have! Meandered up some lanes I'd never taken before, which turned out to lead me in a loop back to where I'd been five minutes earlier.

Just after Ashleworth is a low-lying flooded area that's an important site for water birds. Occasionally there are hordes of twitchers there, mostly middle-aged men in odd clothes getting obsessive about things other people find bemusing; if they had bicycles they'd be audaxers. Yesterday there was only one. Apparently most birds are moulting at this time of year so it's a bit dull for them, but he did get very excited when he spotted a roebuck. "That's a truly wild animal! One of only two native British deer species! He's a wonderfully healthy specimen, look at his coat!"

Continued up to Tewkesbury then headed down the A38 back to Gloucester, because it's pretty much the only alternative to retracing. About halfway along there is a signpost to a village called The Leigh with one of those brown historic building signs to St Catherine's Church. I've often ridden past it but never been for a look, so I went to find it. As soon as I walked in, an elderly lady came up to me. "Have you come to join our service?" No, which is just as well as I'd have been 45 minutes early. Soon a slightly less elderly lady joined us and started talking to me. She'd been a maths teacher. Her husband's family apparently find the idea of a woman teaching maths odd. It turned out she'd taught at my sister's school (which was nowhere near Tewkesbury)! I didn't establish whether she'd actually taught my sister, it seemed wisest not to enquire too deeply, just in case...

Had some pancakes when I got back to Gloucester. The Three Choirs Festival is on. My observations indicate the average age of the audience to be around 70, large groups attracted from (judging by accents) Netherlands, Scandinavia and USA. I can see andrewc attending in a couple of decades time!

Then back down the lanes, meeting no more bird watchers or festival goers. My sugrued rear light (photos to be posted elsewhere) survived intact, my knees were tired. There was cake at home. Was.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22594 on: 29 July, 2019, 02:44:17 pm »
48k here, still β-fuXX0rzed. It was not fun.  Well it was, but now my legs hurt & feel like lead so it wasn't. :(
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Ruthie

  • Her Majester
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22595 on: 31 July, 2019, 10:35:45 pm »
Not today, but on Monday, we rode about 100km (return) from Darlo to Bowlees in Teesdale, then walked a couple of miles to see an art installation called Hush, which was ver' ver' good. 

I've been crap at cycling this year, and I was fat and slow and it hurt.  It was still good thobut.

url=https://flic.kr/p/2gKEWkY][/url]IMG_2282 by Ruth Irving, on Flickr

url=https://flic.kr/p/2gKEV2L][/url]IMG_2290 by Ruth Irving, on Flickr
Milk please, no sugar.

essexian

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22596 on: 01 August, 2019, 04:04:34 pm »
I've just done something I haven't done since the 1st June....went for a bike ride....blimey  :facepalm:

Okay, I have never been fast: my average speed last year was just south of 14mph, or able to do long distances: 50km is a nice comfortable distance for me and did expect a bit of a hit from not riding for two months but....well, the only way is up!

The 14 mile ride just undertaken was on the mostly flat roads around Haughton, Ranton and Ellenhall: nothing difficult but slow is not the word: 10.7mph  :facepalm: My riding style was horrid in that I could not spin at more than 70rpm and I hurt in various places such as my neck, back, foot (although not the bad one!) and, er, soft bits.

Frankly, if I didn't know it will get easier the more I do, I would be discouraged. It's going to be quite a challenge to get back to where I was but hey ho....its better than sitting on the sofa all day....although only just.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22597 on: 01 August, 2019, 05:09:24 pm »
Not today, but on Monday, we rode about 100km (return) from Darlo to Bowlees in Teesdale, then walked a couple of miles to see an art installation called Hush, which was ver' ver' good. 

I've been crap at cycling this year, and I was fat and slow and it hurt.  It was still good thobut.

url=https://flic.kr/p/2gKEWkY][/url]IMG_2282 by Ruth Irving, on Flickr
You rode 100km to see someone's washing on the line? Pah! (!)
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22598 on: 01 August, 2019, 05:10:09 pm »
I've just done something I haven't done since the 1st June....went for a bike ride....blimey  :facepalm:
....

Frankly, if I didn't know it will get easier the more I do, I would be discouraged. It's going to be quite a challenge to get back to where I was but hey ho....its better than sitting on the sofa all day....although only just.

Yeah.  I was out for 9 or 10 weeks in 2016, and my first outing was 8.7 km. Note in log says 'rubbery legs'.  The next ride bears the comment "Felt like shit. Sore legs, no strength". Did 100 km a month later, though.

BTW, ever noticed that it's always the best months of the year that get arsed up?  I was out from mid-May until the end of July.

---o0o---

Did 127k on a circuit that's beginning to feel a bit well-worn. Only decent coffee hole on holiday, too. Still, the stretch along the Rhine-Marne canal is lovely.  Got to within ~3 metres of a heron before it said "ooo, 'elp!" & upped stakes. Fun, all in all, but lots of bumps - sore hands & posterior.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Have you been out today?
« Reply #22599 on: 01 August, 2019, 08:35:36 pm »
Yesterday, four of us on a short pootle of about 25 miles to a parkland cafe as the Met office weather forecast was a bit dire, promising an 80% chance of heavy rain at 1.0 pm. In the event, although windy and a tad blustery, it did not rain and turned out to be a very pleasant ride during which we managed to keep the prevailing wind to one side most of the time. Good to be out and about. Repeatedly struck by how much countryside is falling prey to development and new roads, not good.  Also noticed later, that nights are drawing in already, bah.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain