Have you been out today?

[toekneep]

Sorry Chris. It was really really wet and windy and cold up here last night. Really horrible and miserable and we got wet and we got cold and we nearly died.


But, it's been really sunny today.

[border-rider]

yesterday morning was OK  - we did the Tasty Cheddar from Bristol, and very nice it was too.  Several forummers there - John S, Spikey Dave and the Blacksheeps amongst them.

Sunglasses weather til lunch, and we just got back before the Brizzle drizzle set in

Today started shockingly wet, but by late afternoon we had blue skies and sun

[andrew w]

I reckon us northerners are entitled to a little bit of gloating.  We've had one of the grimmest summers ever here in my part of Yorkshire, so I think we deserve a bit of autumn sunshine.  I did 66 miles today in the sunshine - Leeds - Otley - Blubberhouses - Greenhow - Menwith Hill - Hampsthwaite - Fewston - Timble - Otley - Pool in Wharfedale and back to Leeds.  It was great, if a little on the cool side.

Andrew

[clarion]

Top ride, andrew w!

Personally, I'm pleased that the sun was smiling on God's Own County.

[TimO]

Like NSTN, Clarion, and Butterfly, I was planning on doing the PHC tour of old loony bins (mandatory non-PC bit there!), but the weather looked 'orrible, so I also opted to do other stuff.  Ultimately I didn't do any cycling, so now feel very guilty.

[onb]

Nowhere today I as manflu 

[Deano]

I reckon us northerners are entitled to a little bit of gloating.  We've had one of the grimmest summers ever here in my part of Yorkshire, so I think we deserve a bit of autumn sunshine.  I did 66 miles today in the sunshine - Leeds - Otley - Blubberhouses - Greenhow - Menwith Hill - Hampsthwaite - Fewston - Timble - Otley - Pool in Wharfedale and back to Leeds.  It was great, if a little on the cool side.

Andrew

I love the Blubberhouses road and Greenhow Hill... takes me back to the route I used to ride Darlington-Haworth.  Tis a pity Steve GT and Tiermat have been poorly, so we couldn't ride around Haworth today.  My ride around the Dales nearly made up for it. 

With apologies to Chris S, here's one last photo.  The view north from above Tan Hill.  It was amazingly clear - and given that I've ridden up here through snow in May, I don't feel terribly guilty about enjoying it

[Frenchie]

Horrible weather yesterday here until mid afternoon. I did get out; I run to my garage to use the turbo for a good 45 min.! It reminded me of how boring the turbo can be, but, on the other hand, the session was just about intensive enough to keep me slightly entertained. And my MP3 player helped alleviate the rest.

[Steve GT]

Great phots Deano. I wish I had taken the camera with me on my ride through Bronte County and Wharfedale. The light was superb for taking photos.

[Steve GT]

I reckon us northerners are entitled to a little bit of gloating.  We've had one of the grimmest summers ever here in my part of Yorkshire, so I think we deserve a bit of autumn sunshine.  I did 66 miles today in the sunshine - Leeds - Otley - Blubberhouses - Greenhow - Menwith Hill - Hampsthwaite - Fewston - Timble - Otley - Pool in Wharfedale and back to Leeds.  It was great, if a little on the cool side.

Andrew

Andrew, at Greenhow, did you just turn around and go back down the Blubberhouses Road or did you drop down into Pateley Bridge?

[Notsototalnewbie]

We were thinking about going on the PHC ride, then had a possible house viewing which didn't come off.  But Butterfly went over to Bromley last night, and I went as far as the caff this morning

Bikes?  Nah.  I'm a nesh southern jessie now (and bar).

Rest assured we all made the right decision, I've just been and read the ride report.

It seems they did their best to have a good day, but eventually ended up taking a shortcut across a field to avoid a hill (no good can come of offroading! in the rain!) and their bikes got so gunged up with clay on the chains and brakes etc that the wheels stopped turning, and the ride ended up being cut short - a victim of the weather. If I'd been there, I'd have gone over the hill and met them on the other side...no offroading in the rain for me, no sirree. Poor sods.

On the plus side, Mark says in the report that he will do the ride again, hopefully with better weather.

[peliroja]

I went out for a 59.6 km ride this afternoon. At one point I saw a horse chewing grass with its owner hacking away with his scythe. I realised it was a fuel stop - the horse needed food and the owner was gathering it. A wonderful rural sight. I am sorry I didn't take a photo.

Oh, how lovely!

[clarion]

Went to look at a house in Forest Hill, so trekked through the middle of Peckham, which isn't bike friendly, I found, then up to the hillside.  Nice ride.

And - I never expected I'd say this, for two reasons - I enjoyed the hills on the South Circular on the way home.  I've driven past the Horniman Museum a couple of times, and thought, with my cyclist's head on, 'Ooh, that's a hill', but it wasn't too much of a problem (though I might think differently if I'd come up the other side), and it felt good to reach the top, after which we had a long downhill into Dulwich. 

Across Tooting Common in the dark (I'm glad I fitted an extra light, or I'd've had problems), and home after looking at the outside of another house we're going to see tonight.

Not far - about 25km including a bit of riding round the squares of E&C waiting for Butterfly (who rode further as she came up from her work), but it was good fun.

[Polar Bear]

Went for an evening 20 miler on Daisy.  Roads were soaking due to a downpour that finished about ten minutes before we went out, and the potholes on one section with the puddles made for cautious progress.

And ...

The Endura Race Lite front lamp I've had for a few years and used very little is now adorning the Morphe Randonneur bars that Daisy now has up front.    It's a stupendously effective light.   I can even get oncoming cars to dip their lights simply by pressing the buttons to go to the lower output setting.  The blue/white appearance looks like a light on a new one-eye moped or small motorbike.   The very marked difference in behaviour by oncoming traffic was most welcome.   

Just need a Dinotte for the back now ...

[Notsototalnewbie]

The balance has well and truly been restored on the way home, given my excellent commute this morning 

A taxi tried to move into my lane on Bond street as though I wasn't there, and I was right alongside him so couldn't just let him go as I normally would, all I could see was his bonnet coming towards me as he started to swing into the space I was occupying.

I swerved a bit, let out a bloodcurdling scream, and blasphemed at the taxi driver (I wish I could stop the blasphemy at times of stress, it would really upset my nan if she knew  ). He stopped trying to drive into me when he heard the scream...must have woken him up 

The peds on Bond St jumped out of their skin when I screamed, and I felt a bit stupid and overdramatic given that he hadn't actually touched me - but without it, I reckon he would have kept going and I'd have been off, especially as the roads are so greasy at the moment.

I don't get it. If he'd glanced to his left just a tad, he would have seen me through his fecking window.

[peliroja]

I got shrieked at by a taxi driver this evening. I've no reason why, either. 

[Wowbagger]

Just a couple of almost-wet commutes.

[Greenbank]

I got shrieked at by a taxi driver this evening. I've no reason why, either. 

Did you see me this morning? (I was the one with bike upside down fixing a puncture on the King's Road just after the Harwood Road s-bends/wiggle).

I thought people (motons and non-motons) were very edgy and fighty coming home this evening (left work at about 6.30pm). They don't like the evenings getting dark so early.

[peliroja]

I got shrieked at by a taxi driver this evening. I've no reason why, either. 

Did you see me this morning? (I was the one with bike upside down fixing a puncture on the King's Road just after the Harwood Road s-bends/wiggle).

I thought people (motons and non-motons) were very edgy and fighty coming home this evening (left work at about 6.30pm). They don't like the evenings getting dark so early.

Yes! I saw you, but didn't recognise you. Sorry to hear about the faerie visit... I was heading for work later than usual having worked until midnight, again. 

[Notsototalnewbie]

Speaking of faeries, there was a bloke on the Brixton Road struggling to get a tyre off with his bare hands. I pulled over and offered to loan him tyre levers but he insisted he was fine.

[TimO]

Speaking of faeries, there was a bloke on the Brixton Road struggling to get a tyre off with his bare hands. I pulled over and offered to loan him tyre levers but he insisted he was fine.

Ah, a Real Cycle Mechanic, presumably he then patched the inner tube with a piece of flesh he gnawed off of his own arm ...

I only managed to do 2.5 miles today, a quick trip to B&Q, and got utterly soaked on the way back.

[Notsototalnewbie]

He had a gert big frame pump, but I suspect he was feeling foolish for not having considered how he was going to get the tyres off. And they looked tight. Mad.

The nice/nasty taxi driver balance has been restored after my incident yesterday.

Filtered on the right up to some lights, they changed and I slipped into a space in front of a taxi and behind a Porsche. Cars parked either side ahead (one way street), so I put myself in the middle of the lane to stop any squeezing past funny business, but went as fast as I could in order not to piss him off more than necessary.

The lights up ahead are red anyway, so both me and the Porsche in front of me's racing efforts are in vain. The taxi pulls up alongside me (I'm in the right turn lane) and says 'Excuse me.' I prepared myself for a whine about how I'd held him up etc,  but he smiles and says 'You were doing 25mph back there according to my speedo!' and appears impressed and congratulatory, rather than p*ssed off that I'd prevented him doing the 30mph he could have been doing. Wonders will never cease.

[clarion]

You've reminded me to check that I have tyre levers on board.  I usually do (along with waaay too many tools for a short commute ), but I've been moving things from bike to bike lately...

Well done on getting congrats from a taxi, btw.

Last night, I took a different route home to go look at a house.  Riding through the mess of motorism that is Brixton, I realised how lucky I am to have the commute I currently do.  Then I rode embarrassingly slowly up Brixton & Streatham Hills

Oh dear.  But it was quite fun going home with Butterfly

EDIT:  The house was cr@p and overpriced, btw...

[tiermat]

Just back from what is becoming a regular lunchtime blast, just 9 miles (must be careful not to get stuck in a rut) but most of it is HILLS!!!!

[onb]

Just been out and done 15 miles around Gargrave ,I had the feeling I shouldnt be doing this as I set off 4 miles down the road my lungs and jelly legs just confirmed the notion for me ,I almost turned back but chose to cough and splutter the rest of the ride .Will probably feel shit later ,a cold is gods way of telling you not to ride.