Ride Reports

Bassjunkieuk

I think we should rename this thread to "ITB's thread to pi$$ everyone off"

Looks lovely! I think the greenest thing I'll pass on my way home will be the Thames :-D

cjcp

Benno68 wrote:

last night hitting an inspiring speed of 7mph :oops:

That's actually pretty good up there!

CJCP - the road surface is probably as you remember it! Just checked on bikehike. From the bridge over the river going up to the bend at the top is .76km (.47mi) total climb 66m (216ft) - sounds pitiful when reading some of the ride reports on here.

Sounds about right. In the car, it measures roughly 0.5 from the exit off the roundabout.

Any idea what % gradient that works out at, maths was never my strong point

Steep. It's practically a cliff face.

I don't know actually. What I do know is that, if you cleared the trees, you'd see for flippin' miles.

cjcp

Feltup wrote:

Road surface plays a big part. Undulations are bad enough for unweighting the wheels and creating speed wobbles.

Very true.

Hope the weather's good for you on the FWC. I can't imagine any of those descents are gonna be nice in the rain.

Feltup

cjcp wrote:

Feltup wrote:

Road surface plays a big part. Undulations are bad enough for unweighting the wheels and creating speed wobbles.

Very true.

Hope the weather's good for you on the FWC. I can't imagine any of those descents are gonna be nice in the rain.

Thanks! I think getting up some of the hills will be troublesome too, trying to combat wheelspin. My out of the saddle climbing stance is typically a fairly forward affair and on anything damp this just means wheel spin so I have to alter my stance to one I find harder on the legs.

Praying for dry!

biondino

From the bridge over the river going up to the bend at the top is .76km (.47mi) total climb 66m (216ft) - sounds pitiful when reading some of the ride reports on here.

Average of 8.7% gradient. Ouchy.

biondino

In comparison, the legendary and fearsome Mur de Huy, which will be ridden 3 times in today's Fleche Wallonne classic:

The Mur de Huy is just 1300m long but has an average gradient of 9.3 per cent

cjcp

biondino wrote:

In comparison, the legendary and fearsome Mur de Huy, which will be ridden 3 times in today's Fleche Wallonne classic:

The Mur de Huy is just 1300m long but has an average gradient of 9.3 per cent

Yup, always good to watch the pain on their faces as they approach the line!

Rich158

Feltup wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Feltup wrote:

Road surface plays a big part. Undulations are bad enough for unweighting the wheels and creating speed wobbles.

Very true.

Hope the weather's good for you on the FWC. I can't imagine any of those descents are gonna be nice in the rain.

Thanks! I think getting up some of the hills will be troublesome too, trying to combat wheelspin. My out of the saddle climbing stance is typically a fairly forward affair and on anything damp this just means wheel spin so I have to alter my stance to one I find harder on the legs.

Praying for dry!

really..............if it's wet it gives me a good excuse to walk a few hills :oops:

Cue - 'I would have ridden them but I was putting so much power down my back wheel just kept slipping out'

itboffin

Not much to report this morning, mrs itboffin joined me for the warm up even holding mid 20s for a good distance, not bad for a non cyclist and once again proving that my old hybrid is a fast machine.

Its much warmer this morning than yesterday, no breeze today, phew it's a hot one hope you all have air con in your offices :twisted:

Edit: I did notice a lot of loose stones and gravel around the lanes this morning, not what you want just as you sweep round a tight bend :shock:

cjcp

Go. Away.

Feltup

Rich158 wrote:

Feltup wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Feltup wrote:

Road surface plays a big part. Undulations are bad enough for unweighting the wheels and creating speed wobbles.

Very true.

Hope the weather's good for you on the FWC. I can't imagine any of those descents are gonna be nice in the rain.

Thanks! I think getting up some of the hills will be troublesome too, trying to combat wheelspin. My out of the saddle climbing stance is typically a fairly forward affair and on anything damp this just means wheel spin so I have to alter my stance to one I find harder on the legs.

Praying for dry!

really..............if it's wet it gives me a good excuse to walk a few hills :oops:

Cue - 'I would have ridden them but I was putting so much power down my back wheel just kept slipping out'

Good point, maybe I'll put my flip flops in a back pocket for the hills!

Feltup

cjcp wrote:

Go. Away.

+1

lost_in_thought

biondino wrote:

In comparison, the legendary and fearsome Mur de Huy, which will be ridden 3 times in today's Fleche Wallonne classic:

The Mur de Huy is just 1300m long but has an average gradient of 9.3 per cent

Oooooh the 'hard way' up to the war memorial in Goulburn was a hill with an 8% gradient (printed on a warning sign) that went on for 1.2km.

Nearly killed me in 33 degrees. Impressed with myself for making it up there, even if my lungs did try to exit my body through my trachea for 10 minutes afterwards.

itboffin

Feltup wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Go. Away.

+1

If that's aimed at me i'm deeply hurt and wil have to return to the garden, anyway my BBQ needs turning down and more ice in the beer bucket.

you DO know what a beer bucket is don't you???

il_principe

itboffin wrote:

Feltup wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Go. Away.

+1

If that's aimed at me i'm deeply hurt and wil have to return to the garden, anyway my BBQ needs turning down and more ice in the beer bucket.

you DO know what a beer bucket is don't you???

It's what you're going to be drowned in if you keep this behaviour up!

roger_merriman

nice 40 miler out of leafy SW london a bit of north downs this,

wee hill gave me some trouble a while back, consdering it's not much of hill, i had to go back and breeze up it, show it some contempt, and then off down to ranmore, up boxhill and back for a sit in a leafy park to wait for my wife to arrive with lunch, not bad ride no?

benno68

biondino wrote:

In comparison, the legendary and fearsome Mur de Huy, which will be ridden 3 times in today's Fleche Wallonne classic:

The Mur de Huy is just 1300m long but has an average gradient of 9.3 per cent

Dunno how they do it - crazy, crazy!

itboffin

jashburnham wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Feltup wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Go. Away.

+1

If that's aimed at me i'm deeply hurt and wil have to return to the garden, anyway my BBQ needs turning down and more ice in the beer bucket.

you DO know what a beer bucket is don't you???

It's what you're going to be drowned in if you keep this behaviour up!

i'm just bored :roll:

Feltup

Bless, go and restock the beer bucket with ice it is gettign a touch warm.

itboffin

I timed today ride just perfectly, it's still warm but all hazy now, I managed to get two laps of my Windshire 3-lap challenge before suffering vice like tightness in my thighs, not sure what that's all about.

always_tyred

roger merriman wrote:

Roger, what are those strange lever thingies attached to your down tube?

roger_merriman

Heh one of them is even friction only I kept the old suntour derailer make chain rub easy to fix ;-)

benno68

Feltup wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Feltup wrote:

I have a 11-23 on the back but to be honest you just need to find a steeper hill. It just gets silly spinning at really high speeds.

:shock: Leckwith Hill is steep enough as it is! To give you an idea, it has an escape lane for HGVs just before the bend to the right.

You could do over 50, but, tbh, I don't find it a pleasant hill. The road surface was always poor. Mental thing.

Road surface plays a big part. Undulations are bad enough for unweighting the wheels and creating speed wobbles.

I shall amend my suggestion above to "you need a steep hill with smooth tarmac!"

I am hoping the Kirkstone Pass is in good condition for a blast on the FWC.

Went down Leckwith Hill today, peddled a short way down to 30mph and then tucked down and seemed to hit 40mph easily, until I had to jam the anchors on because of traffic :x

Thanks for the advice on tucking in and freewheeling down, I'll see what I can do with a clear run down it soon.

Feltup

Glad it worked out for you. Go fast but stay safe.

p.s. the faster you get up to your max comfortable pedalling speed the more hill you will have left to tuck down.

itboffin

I had to fight for every inch of road today, MASSHOOF gusts and generally a strong SE wind, nearly had two off's :? still I did manage to catch a tailwind for 6 miles on the way home reaching a healthy 37mph

I'm totally toast now it's been a tough week what with all these long country rides and the sun burn, early BBQs and jug after jug of Pimms

I didn't know they made noises i'd assumed they were silent like giraffes.

Feltup

Ahhh Sellafield Sheep, yeah they make a kind of whining/humming sound if I remember correctly. The ones I pass in the morning have so far stayed silent even though I try and say Hello each morning, damn right rude if you ask me.

itboffin

Being a townie myself I was more than a little alarm when the brown one approached me but it was okay he just wanted to know if i'd like to buy a cheap designer watch, I politely declined :roll:

Feltup

Yeah your fine as long as you are quiet and steady but never alarm a llama.

il_principe

The llama looks stylish and swanky,
But he's really quite stubborn and cranky.
With no reason why
He will spit in your eye,
And he won't even lend you his hanky.

benno68

itboffin wrote:

Being a townie myself I was more than a little alarm when the brown one approached me but it was okay he just wanted to know if i'd like to buy a cheap designer watch, I politely declined :roll:

Looking at the photo, the brown one definitely has its eye on you. You sure you weren't wearing a Chewbacca outfit at the time? :shock: