Have you been out today?

[perpetual dan]

36km / 1hr40 through lanes to Newick, with a spot of byway and then rather more A road than usual - which was pleasantly quiet in the sunshine. It compared well with Martin's audax from Barcombe during the football world cup.

I had one cheeky child (infant school size) tell me "it's not far now" on a hill. Far is all relative, but I'm pretty he thought i had a way to go still

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[giropaul]

Nice longish, slowish ride around the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. Noticeable police activity around the border, especially tracking a group of 3 chaps on bikes - all 6 feet apart but looking out of place I suppose, urban non- cycling clothes looking as if they were just off to the shops, but no shops for 10 miles. It was close to HMP Dovegate though, I seem to remember a book where a criminal escaped by dressing as a racing cyclist and infiltrating a race.
On the other hand, the police could have been hunting for fugitive Hedgehogs https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11375461/hedgehogs-on-run-prison-escape/

[Jurek]

My first ride onna bike with proper big wheels (as opposed to The Brommie)  in almost a year.
Christ! I'm unfit!
Rode into the West End:
Crossed the river using Blackfriars Bridge,
Crossed back on Westminster Bridge,
Crossed again on London Bridge,
And finally back to the good side of London over Tower Bridge.
What a surreal experience.
Other than busses, and cyclists (entire families cycling together) it's a ghost town.
I've never seen anything like it - not even on Barry's Xmas Day rides.

The good news?
Ceanothus Victoria my favourite spring shrub,  is impressively out in force.

The not so good news?
The skanky stuff which comes off London Plane trees, and gets in your eyes and throat is doing likewise.

Added bonus was bumping into Jane (OTP) and engaging in a ~20minute socially distanced natter.

ETA - Sunburn to head has been achieved.

[Salvatore]

It was close to HMP Dovegate though, I seem to remember a book where a criminal escaped by dressing as a racing cyclist and infiltrating a race.

Prisoners on bikes anecdote: Several decades ago was on an rainy Audax somewhere on the edge of the Cotswolds (?Wootton-under -Edge?) and two of us had stopped in a corner shop. In came 2 blokes in heavy waterproofs, one older and one much younger (i.e. Fletcher and Godber), and asked if they could use the phone. It turned out they were inmates from (I guess) Leyhill open prison. They'd been allowed out for a bike ride, but had a mechanical and wanted to phone the prison to say they'd be late back (or "come and get us"). Their problem was that no-one was answering the number Fletcher was ringing, which he was reading from a laminated card. They were obviously worried they could get into trouble, and didn't appreciate my friend's smartarse jokey comments.  We made our excuses and left, so I don't know what happened to them.

[Ashaman42]

I did! Just under 15 miles. It was nice apart from one cockup on my part. A combination of brain fart and body malcoordination meant I pulled across a cross road in front of a car that was doing at least 40mph. It wasn't mega close, they didn't have to brake really hard but they definitely had to slow for me to clear their bow. No excuse for it. 

[Tim Hall]

Out on the boingy bike again. This time I had 1 x tube, 2 x levers, 1 x roadmorph pump.

Down to town, across the other side and onto a bridleway. Onto a lane then off road again into St Leonard's Forest. Many family groups on foot or on bike getting their exercise.  Out onto the road, into Colgate and keeping an eye out for my next bridleway. Found it, nice woodland track, well signed as I made my way to the main drag. Skip over that then skirt some housing to hit the pedestrian level crossing just on the edge of Crawley.  The pitchfork brigade seem to have been out (see pic). There was more similar graffiti as I went up through the woods. Fortunately I was going home.  A bit more road, a bit more bridleway and home.

[Wowbagger]

Yes, the same as my past few rides, except I ventured down the bridleway behind Barling Church, and the little extra pushed me just over the 10 mile mark for the ride. Cuckoos have been heard near the labyrinth of estuaries in the vicinity of Potton & Foulness Islands and I thought there was a chance...

There wasn't. To be honest, given how beautifully sunny it is, it was a very unpleasant ride. I've been reading all about you lucky people who are finding far fewer cars on the road. Well, all the bastards were out this afternoon, hurtling around narrow country lanes as though they were Finnish or something (see pilu ralli). Lots of them had loud blaring sounds coming from their open windows and one of them decided to overtake me when I was signalling right.

The headwind on the way out was awful and by the time I turned to come home again I had a rotten headache.

If the weather remains goo I will probably try again tomorrow.

[Davef]

I went on a slightly longer ride than usual availing myself of “Coronavirus restrictions act” section 6, paragraph 5 “rollover of unused exercise minutes”

I have my first cycling tan of 2020.


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[Ashaman42]

Whilst the roads are quieter than usual here it was busier than a week ago. Mostly fine but I did have one oncoming arse on a narrow lane (you can just fit a car and bike) carry on barrelling towards me when there was a big end of a driveway that he could have used as a layby. Which given our spacing and speeds would have cost him maybe three seconds. Git.

[TimC]

31km around a few more of this year's unvisited lanes. Kin windy, and not warm, but a beautiful afternoon. Saw more cyclists than I have on previous rides, but fewer walkers - though it was fairly late in the afternoon. Very few motor vehicles.

[zigzag]

.

[Jurek]

That's cool.
I don't think that Londres Centrale was enormously different.

[rogerdodge]

Nice longish, slowish ride around the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. Noticeable police activity around the border, especially tracking a group of 3 chaps on bikes - all 6 feet apart but looking out of place I suppose, urban non- cycling clothes looking as if they were just off to the shops, but no shops for 10 miles. It was close to HMP Dovegate though, I seem to remember a book where a criminal escaped by dressing as a racing cyclist and infiltrating a race.
On the other hand, the police could have been hunting for fugitive Hedgehogs https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11375461/hedgehogs-on-run-prison-escape/

And in Cinema... A Nous La Liberte.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru7i4yJSyL8
Drop in at about 9mins.

[rogerdodge]

65 miles around the Warwickshire lanes. The longest for me this year. I have been out a lot since lockdown but there were more cyclists today than I have ever seen. Plenty of walkers too. Not so many cars, except for the little clusters around honeypots. Most people in good spirits.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I have actually been out zoinks today zoinks on a bike zoinks. Just pootling around town but not quaxing. The thing that most struck me was the number of people out in not-cars doing not-driving. Lots on bikes, carbon and lycra but more families in jeans and hoodies, lots walking, running, jogging, and the perennial Bristolian pastimes strolling around the docks, looking at cranes and dirty water. Although I wonder if the water is also cleaner now?

[bludger]

Did for fourth isolationist mission

https://www.fixedbeers.com/missions#isolationist-missions

And seeing that grams did it I did swains as well. Though I was riding the geared bike so my effort was much less heroic.

[S2L]

30 miles and 2 KOM, not a bad day in the office... 

[sg37409]

A mates wife was on her bike on the canal path near clydebank and got multiple punctures from tacks scattered across the path. 😣

[bludger]

It's happening down here too.

https://road.cc/content/news/tack-attack-riders-puncture-tacks-strewn-london-road-272873

[TimC]

It's happening down here too.

https://road.cc/content/news/tack-attack-riders-puncture-tacks-strewn-london-road-272873

And near me too. No news report, but a number of local guys reported a tack-attack on a local road the other day.

[S2L]

Is going out to spread tacks on the road one of the allowed reasons to leave the house? 

[Kim]

Is going out to spread tacks on the road one of the allowed reasons to leave the house? 

It's probably okay if you carry some drawings of rainbows...

[Hot Flatus]

Havent been out yet, but will do as soon as I get back from terror-shopping

[S2L]

Havent been out yet, but will do as soon as I get back from terror-shopping

I found the sweet spot... we have a bakery that opens at 7 AM and it's deserted until 8 for bread and I go to the supermarket at 7 PM, when it's real quiet (but there is no more unpackaged bread).

[Cudzoziemiec]

Havent been out yet, but will do as soon as I get back from terror-shopping

Where are you getting your terror? They're clean out of it round here, the best we can find is mild unease.