Have you been out today?

[Peter]

I did 7 laps of the industrial estate to clock up forty miles of pinch gates and dogs before popping over to the arrivee of the legendary North West Passage, a ride I've done many times.  There can't be many arrivees where you can sit in the company not only of Audax royalty (naming no names) but also a world champion (Mandy Jones), a Milk Race yellow jersey (Mandy's husband Nigel Bishop) and a world champion's father-in-law (Kev Shand, whose son Daniel is married to Joanna Rowsell).  A great day.

[essexian]

At least once a year I drag myself to Ashbourne to do the Tissington and High Peak trails. Well, given that the weather forecaster said yesterday was going to be a lovely warm spring like day, up and early and off I went.....only after saving a bird from "Evil" Petal one of our cats and releasing it in the woodlands at the end of the street. It flew off without issues 

Arriving at the car park at Ashbourne there was the normal hunt for change for the parking machine.... which turns out wasn't needed as they now take cards! Also, unlike previously where the charge started from as soon as you put you money in, now it starts from 10am. Thus, I was able to get 6 hours parking for the cost of 4, given the first two hours were free.

For those who have never been on it, the Tissington Trail is built on a disused railway like, so rises steadily some 800 foot in the first 8 miles. The track itself is reasonably well surfaced (indeed, there have been some repairs since I last used it last year) and has lots of resting points/ picnic tables and the like, if that's your bag.

My first plan was to head straight to the end of the trail some 16.5 miles away to try to set my fastest time for the ascent (I would not recommend trying to go fast on the path as there are a lot of other users at sensible times of the day: hence the reason I set off at 8am when the traffic is mostly dog emptiers and runners). Did I make it...nope, I missed out my 25 seconds! Oh, have I mentioned the fog and the cold yet? Yes, despite the Weather Forecaster saying it was going to be a lovely day, it wasn't! Top tip...never try to climb the Tissington trail if its windy at the bottom of the hill as it will be blowing a gale by the time you get 8 miles in!

From the top of the trail, the plan was either to head onto Buxton some 8 miles away, or to return down to the junction and take the High Peak trail to Long Cliffe and then with both options to double back to the bottom to achieve an overall ride of around 50 miles. I decided that, given the fog, I would prefer to stay off the roads, so headed for the High Peak trail. I didn't get that far however as "they" have done some long needed resurfacing work a mile or so after the brickworks which made it quite uncomfortable to ride on using 25mm tyres, so I turned around and headed back to the junction of the tracks at Parsley Hey.

Mistake. You know the one whose name we don't mention....well she decided that she doesn't like quitters and paid not one, but two visits...     And of course, I only had one spare innertube. Thanks to all those who stopped asking if they could help but thankfully, I managed to change the back wheel without issues (apart from almost freezing to death) and got back to Parsley Hey were I borrowed their track pump and put as much pressure in the front as I could and just went for it.

When I say "went for it" I don't mean speed. By now (12 noon), the trail is full of non regular cyclists, quite a lot of who are on hired bikes, struggling with the incline up the hill. To illustrate this, my fastest time down the hill is 55 miles for the 13 miles done at 7.30 am one weekday morning. Yesterday, with all the stopping for traffic coming the other way, it took me 1 hour 10. And yes, the front wheel held...which was nice.

Overall, 42 cold and foggy miles but enjoyable neither the less.... apart from the visits!

[T42]

Set out on my newly-fettled Trek with 80+ k in mind, noticed at 9 k that my pump was still at home on the Ti rattletrap so did a pirouette and headed back. On getting there ICBA going out again, especially not with the aroma of fresh soda-bread pervading the air.  So settled in to ricotta/spinach ravioli with sprouts for lunch and am currently swigging the postprandial cuppa.

A wondrous total of 13.9 km, but >150 metres climbed so it counts as a Hilly Ride. Whee.

[ElyDave]

pootling about into town on the runraround yesterday for the shopping etc

Out for a "real" ride today on the M5.  Much self-inflicted mechanical head scratching.  I'd changed the screw on the upper idler allowing a little more flexibility and the guard to be tight without stopping the idler rotating, rather than turning itself.  I'd used a longer screw, and unknown to me the hole into which it went was not a closed hole, but bottomless, so the screw hit the steerer and fouled that making it stiff as hell.  It self-loosened with a wiggle, but then despite or perhaps because of greasing the reverse motion of the idler on the return side unscrewed the bolt. Ping, clunk, rattle, as it bounced along the A10.

Once I'd worked it out it was actually a quick fix to run with the dropped chain line but the chain is somewhat too long for that with a threat of de-chaining on RH turns, so I had to do the entire ride in the big ring.

After all that I made 55km in a tad over two hours.  Too warm for the full winter gear, as evidenced by the very soggy base layer, but too cold for lighter stuff.

Now the brakes are no longer dragging, this was actually a pleasant ride.

[perpetual dan]

After feeling rough most of the weekend, I nipped out for an hour of out and back to Barcombe. New wheels and brakes feel good, and I felt better for a ride.

[IanDG]

First ride out on the Genesis Equilibrium. 52km over Achmor to Callanish and back via the Pentland Road.

First ride on the Equilibrium by ian, on Flickr

[Basil]

That's a lovely shot, Ian.   
Shame that old bloke on bike got in the way.   

[IanDG]

That's a lovely shot, Ian.   
Shame that old bloke on bike got in the way.   

 

[Cudzoziemiec]

For the second day running, a bike on bike collision happened directly in front of me on the cycle path. Yesterday's was pure comedy gold. A man and woman riding side by side. "Look!" cries the woman, pointing at a bird in the hedge or something. She stops, he stops, she overbalances, he can't unclip, they end up in a stationary heap with, somehow, her brake lever wedged in his spokes. But no injuries or damage. Today's was different. It involved a member of the group I was riding with in a head on collision at fairly high speed with another cyclist and resulted in one person being ambulanced to hospital with a neck injury. I'd better not say any more as there's a chance I might end up as a witness in court. 

Ride went ok after that. Ride leader was fantastic in dealing with the situation. Cake was eaten, albeit at Bath tourist prices. Many hills were climbed after a late lunch. And descended. There was a little light drizzle and cloud obscured the views but it stayed warm and waterproofs were definitely not required.

[Basil]

Reminds me of the time I rode round a corner on a lane on the way to stourbridge on Severn straight into a five across road filling group coming the other way.

My fault, apparently.   

[Ruthie]

I am such a div sometimes.  I couldn't find my tyre levers yesterday and didn't have time to faff round looking for them, so I went out with three teaspoons in my bag instead.  I forgot about it today and went out with them still there, with just an inner tube and pump to keep them company.  I was planning my longest ride of the year.  Did I take food?  No, I did not.  Because that's what a grown-up would do.  And I'm only 49 and a bit.

It was bloody glorious out there, I had a bit of yesterday's ride bothering my legs but still managed to get up That Bank.  There was about five minutes of complete stillness, when all I could hear was my tyres on the road.  I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for being alive at that moment.

There's this little corner, just after you pass the end of the inhabited lands of County Durham.  It looks flat but there's some kind of magnetic field that repels aluminium bikes because by the time you get to the end of the short stretch of road you're inevitably in your little ring, wondering why your body suddenly went all weak.  At that point I regretted not bringing food, because I couldn't keep the bike in a straight line, and I couldn't see properly, and forward momentum became a fond memory.  Luckily, the bright lights of Staindrop were just up the road, and I was so so glad to get there.

But they were putting the blinds down in the cake shop.  It was four o'clock.  They were shut.

I had my face pressed to the window like a beggar child at Christmas, and the angel from heaven who runs the cake shop (Susan at the Country Teashop, Staindrop) unlocked the door for me, and harps strummed, and there was a blaze of golden light, and she said Yes of course I'll sell you some cake and coffee to take away, you can have carrot cake or lemon cake and I'm afraid it's just Americano, would you like hot milk with it, of course you can have four sugars, of course you can have both cakes, it would be a pleasure.

I sat in the bus shelter doing a passable impression of the Cookie Monster off the Muppets, hoping my crush who lives in Staindrop would not walk past, and he didn't.

It was half an hour before I felt up to mounting the bike and I could see the road.  It was a race to get back for my 6pm commitment.  My word, I live my life close to the wire.  I can turn a walk to the corner shop into a high-octane near-death experience.  Base jumping?  Ha!

What a stupid thing to do.  But I lived, this time.  And I had lights so at least I got that bit right.

[Basil]

Superb,  Ruthie.   

An enjoyable,  amusing write up too.    

[Kim]

I look forward to the follow-up post in a few months time when rummaging for cable-ties or whatever partway through some epic bike adventure you wonder why there are three teaspoons in your bag.   


Meanwhile, yes I've been out today.  44km.  It was rubbish.  Everything hurt, my left wrist doubly so.  The wrist I can attribute to a suboptimally shaped bicycle, but don't know what the rest was about.  I hope it's not lurgy.

[Cudzoziemiec]

But tea spoons are way more useful than tyre levers. Okay, you can stir your tea, or even your americano made by Susan at the Country Teashop, Staindrop, with a tyre lever, but it wouldn't be much good for eating cake or, say, yogurt, would it? OTOH I'm sure lever-fulls of sugar and stuff happen all the time on audaxes, in bus shelters at 2 o'clock in the morning with another 156km to go.

[cycleman]

probably not enough cake , kim

[Kim]

But tea spoons are way more useful than tyre levers. Okay, you can stir your tea, or even your americano made by Susan at the Country Teashop, Staindrop, with a tyre lever, but it wouldn't be much good for eating cake or, say, yogurt, would it? OTOH I'm sure lever-fulls of sugar and stuff happen all the time on audaxes, in bus shelters at 2 o'clock in the morning with another 156km to go.

This is the canonical use for the lightweight racing spork, but teaspoons are a classier alternative.


Cycleman: You may be right.  This ride was powered by biscuits.

[Invicta]

Enjoyed my longest ride of the year, today; probably the longest including last year too! Out from Witney to pick up the Poor Student at Leafield, which I took as far as Cirencester. It was a pleasure to be southbound on the Whiteway for once, especially as the wind was with me, even though that meant taking the climb out of Compton Abdale and the next up to the old airfield. In Cirencester, I swapped to the Banbury Cross 200 Perm route for a relatively flat return to Witney via Cricklade. 136km in total. En route to Cricklade I passed a train of horse drawn carts and caravans, a couple with no driver, just the horse tethered to the cart in front! Need to keep the ball (or the wheels) rolling now and build on this. A good day out.

[ElyDave]

I've stirred many a cup of coffee with a ballpoint pen, or screwdriver.  Not a tyre lever, but the opportunity has not yet presented itself, perhaps I should go out and search for it

[Redlight]

A gentle 60km out around north-west Kent, to loosen the legs.  Very pleasant this morning.

[sg37409]

Yes, god knows why though. Pissing down and blowing a gale, and none of my club mates were so daft, so ended up doing the circuits on my own ! 

[Cudzoziemiec]

Was thinking of WNPR (Naish Hill!) but this wind...

[Wowbagger]

I am such a div sometimes.  I couldn't find my tyre levers yesterday and didn't have time to faff round looking for them, so I went out with three teaspoons in my bag instead.  I forgot about it today and went out with them still there, with just an inner tube and pump to keep them company. 
...
I had my face pressed to the window like a beggar child at Christmas, and the angel from heaven who runs the cake shop (Susan at the Country Teashop, Staindrop) unlocked the door for me, and harps strummed, and there was a blaze of golden light, and she said Yes of course I'll sell you some cake and coffee to take away, you can have carrot cake or lemon cake and I'm afraid it's just Americano, would you like hot milk with it, of course you can have four sugars, of course you can have both cakes, it would be a pleasure.

I sat in the bus shelter doing a passable impression of the Cookie Monster off the Muppets, hoping my crush who lives in Staindrop would not walk past, and he didn't.
...

Having two flavours of cake requires two spoons, does it not? And the third spoon would have come in handy had your Staindrop Crush wandered past looking to be in need of cake! How many brownie points would there have been in that? 

Mrs. Wow and I did some cycling over the weekend, on our electric tandem. Not much - a total of 28 miles over 3 consecutive evenings. They were, however, utility miles - of a sort: essential miles taking us from the B & B to pubs and an Indian restaurant in Lavenham and Long Melford. We had beer in the Hare, Long Melford, and found out that there are two Indian restaurants there and that the Masala Café is the better of the two. We found the Angel in Lavenham and much to our surprise we were plied, gratis, with deep fried cauliflower. Like most deep fried stuff, put a bit of salt on it and it's very tasty, but don't overdo it if you don't want added jet propulsion to your ride. We also returned to the Hare for our dinner on Monday, but the deep fried cauliflower deprived me of the appetite for a starter.

Our host at the Clay Hall House, Simon, was very impressed at our intrepidness when we went out after dark on our bike. He's a cyclist too, having done time trials and stuff. "We've had lots of cyclists stay here, but none of htem have ever gone out after dark!"

[TimC]

Didn't know you were in my area, Wowsa. As you know, I'm not in Melford any more but could have advised on pubs and curry!

[T42]

80k fat-burner on easy roads with El Presidente, who has been afflicted with grandchildren all week and was in dire need of such therapy. Alas, the slow pace meant that my favourite patisserie had run out of sandwiches - they do a great half-baguette full of smoked chicken, cheese, salad & tapenade - so lunch was a chunk of cheesecake & a couple of cups of creosote posing as coffee. 'Twas confoundedly cold with a wind that went slowly through rather then round, but despite being rather lightly dressed I felt warm enough and had a good time. El Pres a bit less on the outleg, but once the wind at our backs he perked up and enjoyed himself.

Saw four Great Egrets in a field, but they effed off before I could get my camera out.  They're migrants, so somewhat chary of cameras these days. Marine Le Pen would be scandalized.

[drossall]

As noted in another thread, my wife was in Stony Stratford for a conference, and spotted the Twenty3c bike shop/cafe. That was as good a target for a ride as any, so I headed out west though Woburn.

It's always hard to know how to get round Milton Keynes, and the Redways are slightly less navigable than the typical labyrinth that they resemble, so I picked up the line of the old A5 at Little Brickhill and headed up the west side. Not bad, but not the country riding of the rest of the route.

I got a bit battered by what seemed like a side-wind on the way out, and was expecting the same back, but actually the wind mostly helped on the return. Decent day out, and one or two roads I don't know well.