Ride Reports

tailwindhome

Eau Rouge wrote:

. I still don't really believe I actually dialled 101 but I did..

I've never heard of 101?

What's that for?

cjcp

Eau Rouge wrote:

I can't get anywhere near GL's effort. I was hoping to do 100km for the first time this year, in the end I just couldn't face the hilly loop at the end so bailed out at just over 80km. I need to stop planning routes that give me a bail-out at the end.

Agreed. My local circuit (in RP) starts 0.6 miles from my house. Very easy to bail out, like I did in January when it got too cold when I was around the 50 mile mark.

I'm aiming for your mileage tomorrow, so don't talk it down!

Eau Rouge

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

I've never heard of 101?

What's that for?

A single non-emergency number to call instead of 999, but it seems only a handful of forces operate it.

http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet ... 1+SNEN.htm

cjcp

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJustic ... /DG_185338

Cafewanda

CJCP, tell me were up that early because of the children :shock: :shock:

cjcp

Cafewanda wrote:

CJCP, tell me were up that early because of the children :shock: :shock:

Nah - I think my clock's wrong. I got up early though to head out for a ride.

As for the ride, I was beset by massive faffage on my part.

Whatever fettling I did to the saddle a few weeks ago, I should have left it well alone. I've had problems with what I think is an ache rather than a cramp in the hamstrings and an ache in the lower butt cheeks ever since :?. The saddle has also been sliding back on the rails, and this happened again this morning.

First, I adjusted the height of the post. Nope, that didn't work. Then I put it back down. Then it seemed to be angled up. Adjusted it. Nope, too far down. Oh FFS! :x I was a whopping 6 miles (one lap) into the ride by this stage and it still wasn't right.

I then rode laps 2-5 with the ache when I tried to put power down on an incline. Bizarrely, lap 6 was ok - I thought the saddle had slipped nose-up again but had adopted this odd aero-style position to compensate for it and it seemed to work. At the end of lap 6, I checked the saddle and, sure enough, it really was nose-up. I hadn't tightened the bolts up properly on lap 1. I was now running a bit late for my seventh lap even though I'd set out with enough time for eight, but the position was much better, so was able to get much more power down.

Even if I get my saddle position right, though, I seem to have lost some speed at the expense of a bit more stamina - I couldn't get below 21 min laps, despite the strong head/cross wind in parts.

il_principe

Good 3 laps of the park this am, no times were ok but I wasn't hammering to hard. Managed a decent av over the 27 miles. Saw JG just as I was finishing my lap - he was on his first of 9... :shock:

itboffin

This morning little itboffin woke me at 6am which is in fact 5am just perfect on my day off :evil:

Dressed myself in a fashion then remembered I need to have another attempt at fixing 'the squeak' - 1 hr later the bike is on the back of the car and i'm off.

Reaching my destination a wave of hunger followed by wicked tiredness, resulted in me turning around and heading home, sans ride. :?

Enforced rest day I think

Paul E

I decided to have a dry run of my commute before attempting it to get the route down in my head and more importantly to check if my lungs were going to play the game too, I have had to take basically the last 3 months off from biking or anything really due to either chest infections (prone to them) and that then plays havoc with my asthma and having ended up in hospital once this year I don't want to end up there again so I had to take it easy.

Anyway enough of all that, I headed out today determined that the new stuff the gp has put me on would have done it's magic and it did, felt as strong as I could do at this point, did the 11 miles with a few stops to check my route having gone wrong once or twice but not in a major way in 1 hour and 8 mins stopping at all red lights and not pissing anyone off, got to work on shaftesbury ave (not that it's open on a sunday) had a bit of a drink reset the bike app on my phone for a new route and set off again and took again a slightly different route home (okay a couple of wrong turns near deptford) and did the return route which was slightly longer in 1 hour 1 min so overall very happy, bike felt very comfy.

Only a few things to rant about, the idiot in front of me towards the end heading into town on the hybrid with huge earphones on and when i say huge I mean like two cake tins on the sides of his head RLJing happy as you like along upper thames street and I was still catching him up in between with me stopping.

Ohh and tourists, won't say anymore as it's all been said before...

rolf_f

Nice 50 for me - cycled from Pool in Wharfedale to Rufforth, just West of York and back in a narrow loop. I knew how it would be - the outward 25 miles took barely more than an hour - 18 mile an hour tail winds = average cruising speed of mid 20s

Of course, there is then the slight debt to pay to the wind gods and the return trip was bonkers in places. Marston Moor was particularly slow going. Cleaned the fluff out from between my ears though........

jonginge

As IP posted, I got a metric century in today by doing 9 laps of RP. That's my longest solo ride of the year to date. Did the laps in 3:06:48, which, I guess, I'm content with. I need more of these (and longer) with the Marmotte only just over 3 months away.

The headwind up sawyers hill seemed to get stronger on every lap and wasn't pleasant.

There were probably more cyclists in the park than I''ve ever seen at this time of year. There was also a lot of other traffic going at lower than the speed limit. I think only one of the descents of broomfield was off the brakes.

benno68

Went out with some of the guys from Cardiff Ajax, a mixed ability group which ranged from 14 to 56 years old.

Cycled out to Ewenny, same as last week at a leisurely pace and watched the Betty Pharoah Memorial Race, Cat 1 & 2 and then 3 & 4 - those guys don't half put the hammer down!

A good day although I was out for a lot longer than planned and got back by 2:30 ish having left the house at 8:30, got 50 miles in for the day and hit 500 for the month.

iain_j

Pretty pleased with myself, did 113 miles yesterday, never done a century this early in the year

Got the first train out to Chester and despite the headwind and hints of rain I made cracking good time on the first 30 miles to Denbigh. Then wasted tons of time looking for the 2 cafés I know of, both shut, and locating a third one which going by the opening hours sign in the window should have been open but wasn't. In the end I settled for a yucky pasta pot from the Co-op and sat on the bench outside eating it, watching a group of 5 cyclists going into that third café which had just opened. Sod it.

Big climb from Denbigh to Llyn Brenig, one I'd been avoiding for too long. Between the long 17% slope about halfway up, and the much shorter 10% ramp up near the top in a headwind, I'd rather have the 17%. I struggled like a b*stard in the headwind for the 10 miles across the moors. What kept me going was the thought of a water refill and a Mars bar from the shop at Pentrefoelas.

It was shut due to staff sickness.

From there the wind still hampered me to Nebo, but finally I turned enough to get a buffetting sidewind along the top of the moors and down to Colwyn Bay where with nearly 70 miles on the clock I had my first proper café stop.

From then on I had the wind at my tail all the way along the coast, the first 20 miles of it along the promenade cycle path, no traffic, just a few other cyclists and dog walkers, all taking in the sea air. The suffering from a few hours ago wasn't forgotten - oh no - with that in mind I took the tailwind home as my reward

Now making big plans for even bigger rides during the summer, I've yet to break 200km in one day but it's getting close

The Running Man

Well done fella!! Sounds a cracking ride.

113 is a long way in anyone's book.

Lord knows I need to get out and do a long one .... maybe this weekend ....

gert_lush

iain_j wrote:

Pretty pleased with myself, did 113 miles yesterday, never done a century this early in the year

Excellent work dude, that's a good old ride especially in March and looks pretty hilly too, and possibly the longest ride anyone on here has done so far this year

lastant

Whoop, my first ever century out the way! Previous top distance was forty seven and a half miles, so more than happy with London to Peterborough on the back roads. One hundred and eighteen miles! So having now had a night's sleep on it, here's some thoughts on the day...

Route
The first half (London to Sandy) was done completely on a route found via the CTC's route list, and the second half was my concoction using minor roads and parts of the National Cycle Network (having found a nice mash-up of all the NCN).

Happy with most of it but parts of the NCN are an absolute joke to be honest; would not be out of place on Paris to Roubaix route - there were times I was bouncing along a rut made from cars passing through a field for miles on end! Was certainly an experience...

Conditions
Not too bad really. A light shower to start the day, but that was gone in the hour and then a mix of sunshine and cloud. Certainly wasn't 'warm' warm, but wasn't freezing cold either. Guess I lucked out a bit that way, but the North / North Westerly headwind made up for that...

Food / Drink
Looking back I probably had too much of this, but I was a little worried of bonking having never tackled the distance before. Anyway, I got through...

1x Soreen Malt Loaf (Buttered)
1x Tuna/Sweetcorn sandwich
1x KitKat Chunky
1x Mars Bar
1x Nutri-Grain; Apple
2x Mule Bars; Summer Pudding (these were probably unneccesary with <10 miles to go!)

1x Lucozade Sport (500ml)
1x Coca-Cola (500ml)
2x Water (500ml)

Time taken
I left the house at 07.40 and got into my parent's place in Peterborough at around 18.45 so it was a long old day overall but ultimately satisfying.

Niggles
Can feel it in the back of my left leg today, but otherwise not too bad. My back was really aching last night after finishing and was a bit concerned about that!

Can now see where my gloves rub slightly, and my right elbow feels worse than my left as a cycle. Got a fitting at The Bike Whisperer tomorrow so should hopefully be able to sort these out.

Conclusion
So glad I've done it, I'd mentioned during the week that I was thinking of tackling it and there were people that doubted me.

Was amazed at how quiet the majority of the route was (even though it was back roads), and quite how far you can go without seeing anybody or signs of civilisation. Better planning would have reminded me that it was Easter Sunday so the majority of shops would be shut, but was still interesting to see the distance you can go between any significant settlements.

Final thought...the Garmin etrex Vista HCx is an absolute gem of a gadget! Yes, bikeroutetoaster has a habit of crashing and losing a route...but if you save regularly, then convert it using GPSbabel you've got a pretty much fool-proof navigation system. Now just need to remember to re-name routepoints to something useful (Lxxxx or Rxxxx to signal left or right instead of the generic RPxxxx would be a start!) and I'll be well on my way.

Apologies for the ramble...I'm still pretty excited by it all and wanted to get bits down whilst they're fresh in the mind. Bring on the 150km Spring Lambs sportive in Essex next week!

rjsterry

Chapeau sir! Read with interest as I'm planning something similar (London to Bristol) later this year, with a similar lack of long distance experience.

davis

lastant wrote:

London to Peterborough on the back roads. One hundred and eighteen miles!

Seduce a mallard.

Chapeau!

gert_lush

Decided to go over to a mates for easter who lives near Reigate in surrey...so why not cycle from Bristol

Set off about 7.30 am Thursday, blue skys, tailwind, had the barbag on the superGalaxy loaded with food and just a waterproog bag strapped to the rack with a spare set of clothes and the usual tools to keep it all lightweight.

Managed to get by with 2 pages of road atlas which was good and the weather was kind to me and I avoided rain all day. managed to stay of the major roads until I went aroudn andover (and got lost) and also through Basingstoke was pretty busy but simple enough. headed down towards farnham (big hill just before it..was getting a bit tired by then) and headed to Milford and then back roaded it the next 30 odd miles which was fun, lots of map reading (one nice coffee stop in the sun in Cranleigh) and arrived at the my destination at 6pm, cycle time was 8hr40, so pretty happy with that as it ended up at 139 miles in total

Today I decied to cycle back left at 7am...def no tailwind more side headwind and very very strong, especially from Andover to Devizes, that was mental!!!!! home by 5.30 pm and it took about an hour longer cycle time due to the wind, and I only did 135.5 miles on the way home as I didn't get lost!

(oh and did some mountain biking around leith hill on friday, and a quick pub ride on a Tandem on sunday)

pretty tired now
But what a great weekend, thats my 3rd and 4th longest rides ever

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gert_lush

lastant wrote:

1x Soreen Malt Loaf (Buttered)
1x Tuna/Sweetcorn sandwich
1x KitKat Chunky
1x Mars Bar
1x Nutri-Grain; Apple
2x Mule Bars; Summer Pudding (these were probably unneccesary with <10 miles to go!)

1x Lucozade Sport (500ml)
1x Coca-Cola (500ml)
2x Water (500ml)

Now that's a real cyclist food, great choice.

And well done on a great ride thats a beast of a mileage

itboffin

You sir have a screw loose but good work anyway

gert_lush

itboffin wrote:

You sir have a screw loose but good work anyway

..well if its "1000 mile April" then I need to pull my finger out

cjcp

itboffin wrote:

You sir have a screw loose but good work anyway

+1. Chapeau, GL. 8)

itboffin

gert_lush wrote:

itboffin wrote:

You sir have a screw loose but good work anyway

..well if its "1000 mile April" then I need to pull my finger out

so it's 1000 miles in 4 days eh!?!

:shock:

lastant

gert_lush wrote:

Decided to go over to a mates for easter who lives near Reigate in surrey...so why not cycle from Bristol

You're mental!

cjcp

lastant wrote:

gert_lush wrote:

Decided to go over to a mates for easter who lives near Reigate in surrey...so why not cycle from Bristol

You're mental!

Does it mean that he is twice as mental as you, or that you're just half the mentalist he is?

Chapeau on your effort, too! 8)

Would be interested to know the outcome of your bike fitting?

rjsterry

Chapeau GL, I like your style, and your route presents another alternative for my planned London to Bristol ride. Only thing is, I need to finish north of Bristol. Hmmmm, definitely one to ponder.

cjcp

When are you likely to be doing your London-Bristol ride?

iain_j

Chapeau to you all 8)

This time next week I'll be one day in to a 4-day cycle tour around the northern Pennines. I can't wait, in fact I wanna go for a ride tomorrow (beyond the commute)!

gert_lush

rjsterry wrote:

Chapeau GL, I like your style, and your route presents another alternative for my planned London to Bristol ride. Only thing is, I need to finish north of Bristol. Hmmmm, definitely one to ponder.

cheers

I have only done bristol-london once and that was along the A4 which is as dull as ditch water but reasonabley direct, where exactly is it you are heading to north of Briz?