Time for me to MTFU in Brizzle

redvee

Bit late in the year to start doing serious miles but after seeing the efforts of GB155 I have no excuse for not getting some miles in during the 'summer'. Looking for some suggestions for 20 mile rides in the area accessable from the city centre, preferably flat to start with till I get up to the fitness levels of ITB et al. Need to find another outlet for my time other than sat at the PC or asleep on the sofa when not at the PC. Google maps routes would make it easier for me.

TIA

ris

if you want pancake flat then take the sustrans out to bath and back, quite pretty but eventually the monotony of grinding away on the flat does get boring.

i did chippenham to bristol and back today along the A420, which was splendid apart from the traffic in bristol (how do you urban riders cope with the stop-start, it drove me mental ) and the hills.

on the way out of bristol is freezing hill, just past warmley and wick on the a420. reasonable length and fairly steep but the view from the top is spectacular, and gets better as you go along toward marshfield and the shoe.

redvee

ris wrote:

on the way out of bristol is freezing hill, just past warmley and wick on the a420. reasonable length and fairly steep but the view from the top is spectacular, and gets better as you go along toward marshfield and the shoe.

Chippenham might be something in a few months time, got to start small. The cyclepath is best done on a weekday, weekends with good weather will be 10mph . The hill on the A420 takes you to Togg Hill, if you don't know anything about it google Ron Davies MP and badger watching :shock:

ris

i knew it as both togg and freezing, but i guess the proper name is the former.

i'm not sure i know enough of bristol to recommend a flat route, all the ones i seem to end up on feel like the alps. just popping a couple of miles seems to mean grinding up some hideous incline! not that wilts is that much better to be honest.

it might depend on what side of bristol you are - the roads out from bradley stoke (i used to live there.. oh the shame of it...) can be quite pleasant and i don't recall anything like togg hill on them - but if you live in bedminster then chippenham might even be nearer!

gtvlusso

ris wrote:

i did chippenham to bristol and back today along the A420, which was splendid apart from the traffic in bristol (how do you urban riders cope with the stop-start, it drove me mental ) and the hills.

No one stops for anything in Brizzle and we MTFU/RBFU (Red Bull the fudge up!) for the hills....especially fun on a fixie....!

Good route the 420 - have done it a quite few times, I used to work for Sungard at Marshfield, so I know the area well.....Hated every second of that job though!

My personal favourites are:

Out of Brizzle on the A37 to Chew Valley Lake, couple of cheeky laps, then home for tea. Or a quick hike up Burrington combe!

Portway to Avonmouth - cycle through the dock trading estate and take the road that takes you to the okld severn crossing - either go over and do a loop around Chepstow or blat through Tockington, Thornbury and back into Brizzle on the A38.

Bath - the sh1t way! Ignore the cyclepath and go around the ring road - Great fun as it is mostly flat or downhill. Great if you are going for some Aero action. Turn left at Brislington, drop through saltford and into Bath - then come back on the cyclepath because you have had too many cars going passed you at 90mph!

May do this tomorrow! As a pick me up!

itboffin

I'm planning a couple of Bath / Bristol runs myself in the next week, got get some serious hills in before the Dragon Ride.

I'm also planning a Home to Bristol SCR pub run, slightly shorter distance than my last one mind but some serious hills along the way, I doubt i'll be able to hold the same avg speed.

Redvee get thee onto www.bikehike.co.uk it's the best for route planning.

ris

gtvlusso wrote:

ris wrote:

i did chippenham to bristol and back today along the A420, which was splendid apart from the traffic in bristol (how do you urban riders cope with the stop-start, it drove me mental ) and the hills.

No one stops for anything in Brizzle and we MTFU/RBFU (Red Bull the fudge up!) for the hills....especially fun on a fixie....!
!

i quite enjoy the hills i can have a go at but really didn't fancy blowing up halfway up tog hill so i pootled up it a bit.

i did notice a few bemused looks from other cyclists and motorists in bristol as i stopped for the red lights and roundabouts, obviously a surefire way to spot a foreigner

heading down falcondale hill in westbury-o-t i swear i hit every set of sodding lights at red.

redvee

ris wrote:

heading down falcondale hill in westbury-o-t i swear i hit every set of sodding lights at red.

You got to get those lights spot on, if you stop at one, you stop at all of them If you cruise/roll upto them in a car you stand a better chance than chasing the green by accelerating to the lights.

gtvlusso

ris wrote:

heading down falcondale hill in westbury-o-t i swear i hit every set of sodding lights at red.

Should have popped in for a cup 'o joe...! Falcondale is a funny one - I don't go over there as I cut through Westbury to get to Henleaze (where I live!).

redvee

Wussed out at 2pm today when it was too cold and started to rain, got as far as Chicago Rock which is 1.5miles from my place :oops: Though I did MTFU and go back out at 5pm for 8 miles.

gb155

redvee wrote:

Bit late in the year to start doing serious miles but after seeing the efforts of GB155 I have no excuse for not getting some miles in during the 'summer'. Looking for some suggestions for 20 mile rides in the area accessable from the city centre, preferably flat to start with till I get up to the fitness levels of ITB et al. Need to find another outlet for my time other than sat at the PC or asleep on the sofa when not at the PC. Google maps routes would make it easier for me.

TIA

Im innocent mate