Cycling 2023

[Fishy]

Two 30 milers . Fri and today... pretty much followed route 7 on Friday to Maybole then followed the force to Kirkmichael / Dalrymple then back to Ayr.... Did the coastal route this afternoon to Dunure then towards Culzean Castle.. picked up a single track along the Carrick Hills.. dropped into Minishant then took a country road I'd checked out on Google maps which joins a well travelled single track that I'd done a few times between Dalrymple and Kirkmichael....... Knackered when I got back as we'd been at friends last night and had had a right good bucketload of beer wine and whisky...

[Nickslikk2112]

It's taken me until the end of the first week of May to expose both my arms and legs to the sun. Shows how dismal the weather's been so far. Nice to see signs of the tan lines coming back.

Today's 42.86 miles was marginally my longest ride of the year. Felt longer than that. Probably because it's been a dismal year and I've not been out enough.

Whilst going up the hill to Holmesfield I was overtaken by another cyclist and he absolutely flew by me. I tried upping my pace and for 10 seconds he stopped steaming away, but 10 seconds was enough. Ignorant bugger didn't even say "Hi" to me. I'm a misanthropic sociopath, but I always give a quick "Hiya" to those I overtake.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9029364134/

[dom]

Longest spin of the year for me yesterday, just shy of 70kms. In fact the longest since October 2021 when I did my last fondo. Need to find a way of getting in more than 1 spin a week

[David L]

We are spending the weekend in Milford On Sea, Hampshire. Yesterday looked far and away the best of this weekend's weather and we made the most of it.
It was my job to come up with a route that took us into the New Forest on some of the copious bridleways, as much as possible, taking in a couple of 'refreshment' stops en route. As always, I called upon the Komoot app to plan the route.
From Milford, we headed through the village of Everton to pick up the first short section of bridleway. Then a section of road brought us to the edge of the moorland  and followed the bridleway to the east of Sway. Unsurprisingly, it was very boggy in places which meant picking a line required the utmost concentration lest we ended up with wet feet!
After Blackhamsley hill (59m - no hill!) we found a nice 'fire road' which crossed the disused section of the Dorchester to Southampton railway at Hinchelsea. That was a really nice section through forest, rather than open moorland, much more interesting.
Continuing north we hit the Burley Road that took us into Brockenhurst. At this point, I noticed I'd picked up a front tyre puncture. I whipped out the tube and easily found the tiny hole (made easier as we were next to the ford in Brockenhurst!). It was a lovely spot to mend a puncture, next to a bike rack with a lovely flat bench (work area). Once patched, it was lunchtime and we found a garden table in the sun at The Snakecatcher. We both had a pint of Orchard Thieves cider to wash down pulled pork on toasted sourdough...yummy!
After around an hour, we set off again, the sun still shining brightly. Over the level crossing on the Lymington Road, immediately turning left down Mill Lane until we turned eastwards on the Beaulieu Road. The map showed countless off-road options heading south to take us back towards Lymington and, guess what, I took the wrong one! Turned out to be a footpath rather than a bridleway and very boggy. Anyway we turned back when I realised and found the next bridleway a couple of hundred yards further along the Beaulieu Road.
Some pretty sketchy including some fairly deep, boggy sections that took some getting around. We were forced to dismount a couple of times. Back on tarmac at the village of Boldre just outside Lymington.
Another refreshment stop at The Bosun's Chair (by the rail station). Lovely pub, poor beer (Wadworth's). We usually take the road past the marina and then Woodhouse Lane to pick up a short section of footpath followed by shingle track back to Keyhaven. It's been a while and I made my second mistake going through the wrong gate and picking a different path back. We'd never gone that way before but it took us along the top of the sea wall with nice views of the Isle of Wight and Hurst Castle. Probably an extra half mile or so.
The Gun Inn at Keyhaven is a gem so it seemed rude not to!
The last, short leg to return to the campsite is northwards along the single-track road, Lymore Lane. We left around 11:15am and returned at 6:30pm. Not sure of distance because I always forget to 'start tour' for some reason 🫤. I'm guessing we covered between 20 and 25 miles. Flat as a billiard table but a pretty stiff workout nevertheless. We were both knackered....slept well.

[Slim]

A dry day, warm in the afternoon with a light wind from the west was forecast for yesterday. Sunset at 8:44pm. A perfect day really for a Wales trip, especially on the sixth anniversary of my first ride there and back.

I set an alarm on Saturday night for 04:45, but woke at 04:30 and was out of bed a minute later. I set off at 05:48.

This was my third ride to Wales and back. I'd chosen a substantially different route this time. My destination point just to the west of Whitchurch was the same, but the last 30 miles to get there would take me through Eccleshall, Loggerheads and Market Drayton, to the south of the usual route. I'd also planned to go a different way for a short stretch of the route between Handsacre and Colton, to bypass Rugeley.

Cool for the first couple of hours after I set off, but I was wearing adequate clothing and was comfortable. All went very smoothly until I powered up my Garmin eTrex handlebar-mounted navigation unit to guide me through the new stretch past Rugeley.

The first problem was that its batteries were dead. I transferred the AAs from my DAB personal radio. The second problem was that the new route I'd transferred to it wasn't available from the GUI. Even in files of the same protocol there can be minor differences in format and I can only assume that the Garmin didn't like the particular GPX file that I'd generated in a route-planning app.

Of course, I should have checked the eTrex before I set off. Oh well - I only needed the assistance of a mapping tool for a relatively short part of the route and found my way easily enough using Google Maps, but it was a pain to have to stop and consult a phone. I did use the eTrex in its basic mapping mode and that was useful to a degree. So I left the batteries in it and bought some more AAs at a petrol station a few miles further on to power up the DAB again.

To be honest, a decent phone with a GPS navigation app is a much better proposition in most cases than an eTrex. The screen is always bigger and clearer on a modern phone and you can easily buy handlebar mounts for them. However - on a long ride, I like the fact that the eTrex takes conventional batteries, because you can buy them at any petrol station and they hold a longer charge than the rechargeable unit in a phone. But I'm starting to think that taking two phones, or perhaps a power bank might be a better bet.

The road through the village at Eccleshall had been closed for a Coronation street party, but I guided the bike carefully through the barriers and weaved a careful path through the celebrants. At Market Drayton, a road race was taking place and once again the road was closed. Once again I just ignored this, so I had to dodge oncoming athletes before finding a detour. Annoying.

Just outside Market Drayton there's a brand new housing estate, with the front doors of gleaming new properties bearing a sign saying "I could be your new dream home". But directly across the road, there's a site with a huge sign that announces "GYPSY / TRAVELLER SITE COMING SOON, PLANNING PERMISSION APPROVED". New nightmare home, more like. You couldn't pay me to live there.

By 1100 or so the sun was out and the temperature had climbed very nicely, so I removed a layer of clothes and sealed them in a plastic bag. I packed them into a camouflage pattern nylon drawstring bag which I then stashed in a hedge just off the road next to a farm gate. Much better than carrying them around in a backpack for the next 40-odd miles.



I arrived at my destination, the border between England and Wales, at around 1330. I pedalled across it for about 150 metres then turned back. Interestingly the sign on the other side of the road reads "Welcome to SHROPSHIRE" rather than "Welcome to ENGLAND".

On the whole I wasn't really that impressed with the new route. It was OK, but a little busier and less scenic than my traditional Wales route. I probably would have come back the old way if not for the need to pick up my clothes on the way back. I'd thought the traffic would be quiet on the middle day of a public holiday weekend but no, not really.

By the time I reached Eccleshall again the street party was in full swing, with a band belting out Cranberries covers from the side of a truck. A bit harder to weave through the revellers and I had to resort to riding along the pavement.

I didn't much like the detour I'd taken around Rugeley on the outbound part of the route, so I didn't bother with it on the way back. But I missed a turn for Kings Bromley and gave myself a few more miles to do.



Beautiful out there in the warm sunshine on the way back, especially with a light tailwind. Newcastle vs Arsenal kept me entertained for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I also listened to the Rolling Stones' ludicrous (if interesting) 1967 psychedelic bandwagon-jumping album Their Satanic Majesties Request. There are a couple of good songs on it. I like 2000 Man, which was covered by Kiss on Dynasty. But mostly it's terrible.

Back on 151.27 miles, a few minutes after sunset. 261 done this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9030329145

[Nickslikk2112]

I'd be happy doing 150 miles in a week, let alone in one ride! Still, onwards and upwards.

Got 30 miles in today after yesterday's washout. I also felt like shit most of yesterday - probably because I had done 150 miles in the previous week - so would have probably stayed in anyway. Another four 30 mile rides will get another 150 in this week. I'll be happy with that.

On the gravel bike today, not much gravel, but plenty of shitty surfaced roads, both metaphorically and physically, there must be some seriously ill horses out there...

Tried to ride at Tempo today and for the most part managed it. Should do it more often really, then my Garmin wouldn't tell me off for going out when it recommends staying in for 72 hours after a stiff workout. Did manage to set some PRs on the way back without digging in too hard, maybe this is the way to go. When I ride with power pedals I spend too much time trying to keep the numbers up instead of resting.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9039034555/

[Nickslikk2112]

I vainly hoped to get a 40 miler in today, but the weather forecast - and more importantly looking out of the window before I went out - changed all that. The beautiful start to the day had become increasingly sullied by dark clouds.

Therefore I set out hoping to get in as much as possible. As it turned out I did OK, a few drops of rain blew through, but the showers I could see were all well away from my roads. Got back home on 32 miles, changed out of the cycling gear and then RAIN, absolute stair rodding rain. Got drenched getting the washing in, if I'd stayed out to do 40 I'd have been a miserable little bunny for the last half an hour.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9045211578

[Fishy]

Out yesterday hoping to do 30.. came back at just under 28.. very warm still a bit of a breeze... almost jumped on by a dog who was going for me but luckily the lead it was on stopped it.. gave the owner some choice words.. back out exploring Dalrymple single tracks roads which are pretty much traffic , walkers and dogs free.. bliss

[Nickslikk2112]

After only managing 7 miles on Thursday - thanks Rain - I was hoping for substantially more today. However once again I watched much more mileage than I rode thanks to the Giro being on. Nice to see a Brit win, even if he's racing as a Plastic Paddy, I don't think Kingswinford in the West Midlands is any way related to Swinford in Mayo.

It wasn't until nearly half four that I got out, but at least by then the sun was well established and wasn't behind a veil of cloud. I thought the roads might have been quieter today, what with Chesterfield being at Wembley, but no, the senseless wankers in their Beemers, Audis and Wankpanzers were still out treating the noble cyclist with contempt. I pity them with their pathetic smoked 4D numberplates.

Anyway, got it up to 41 miles for the ride, which was nice. Garmin tells me I should have taken it easier, but it can feck right off. I'll do as I please.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9065421643/

[Nickslikk2112]

Garmin told me I should rest again today. Do I listen to inanimate objects? Hell no! I did take it steadily though, aiming not to get the old heart rate up above 140 but even on a flatter ride round here there are still some uphill bits which force you to work. Unfortunately.

I didn't spend most of the afternoon watching the Giro today either. It was Time Trial day and even I draw the line at watching people ride round one by one, even if it is pissing it down and there's the chance of a spill on every corner. Instead I watched the Cross Country Mountain biking, it's over in a an hour and twenty and Thomas Pidcock won it, even after coming off a couple of times, better still, he beat a French man

Anyway, back to me - yes Mrs S it's all about me - I managed another 40 miler today, trying not to put too much effort in averaging 17 mph. I did the same ride last July at a 17.3 mph average and only briefly had my heart rate over 140. Guess I must have been fitter.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9071703100

[Slim]

Didn't think I'd much feel like cycling after 160 miles of driving today and I didn't really, but since the weather was nice and I hadn't been out on a bike for over a week, I thought I'd make the effort. About 90 minutes after parking the car on the drive following a weekend away in Norfolk, I was mounting Boardman II.

With the wind coming from the north-west, I decided that a trip up over Swarkestone Bridge and west along the Beloved A Road was in order. I wanted to do about 40 miles.

I went up via Top Brand and Isley Walton. I especially like to glide along Top Brand in the sunshine. Turned back a couple of miles after Hilton and came back via Wilson and Breedon on the Hill, to avoid Rotter's Rise after Melbourne.

Unusually cool for this time of year when I set off, I thought. So I wrapped up warm. Should have taken a backpack so I could remove the tights and a top layer, and possibly my woolly hat because the temperature had climbed quite a bit by 4pm.

The second Boardman has had new bar tape since last time it had a run out, and the new tape performs pretty much exactly like the old tape - which is fine. The important thing is that it's dark grey instead of a highly impractical shade of bright yellow.

Back on 45.36 miles, that's 306 this month.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9076476130

[Nickslikk2112]

Being as the weather seems to be set fair, I thought I'd go out and do the same ride as I did four weeks ago to see if the old fitness levels are improving. Can't say for sure, as I put in a bit of road I use if I don't think I'm going to do enough in a ride, when I would have done enough in the ride. Ho-hum. It did mean that 43.5 miles was my longest of the year though

I think things are on the up as I averaged 16.4mph as against 16 last time, but there are a multiplicity of variables out there. The wind is one, today it was 13mph from the NW, four weeks ago 13mph from the NE, so today was slower going out and quicker coming back. I was a minute slower up the hill going out and a minute quicker up the hill coming back. Swings and roundabouts.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9081250936

[Slim]

Wanted to do about 40 after work. The wind was coming from the north-west again. Took the slightly longer route up to Swarkestone Bridge through Isley Walton, then instead of going left along the Beloved A Road, I turned right to go through Weston and Aston-on-Trent. Then west toward Derby.

Stopped when I got to the bypass roundabout - which I dislike, because it wasn't a feature of that road when I used to commute along it 30-odd years ago. Then I turned and came back home exactly the same way, except for a half-mile deviation in Coleorton.




Nice out there, warmer than I expected and I slightly overclothed myself. Quite bright, but cloudy until the sun came out for the last mile. Back on 39.23.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9089507689

[dom]

So got out both Saturday and Sunday and managed just shy of 100kms (60 miles) over the 2 days.

50kms on the Saturday which included 9kms on the newly opened Greenway which when complete will go from Navan to Kingscourt (approx 32kms). The weather was meant to be great but I woke up to fog and although it cleared the cloud didn't and it was considerably colder than expected.

The Sunday was even worse as it rained for much of the spin. The adage that there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing really applied to me that morning. I made the mistake of only wearing short fingered gloves. They had to come off half way round as they were completely sodden. By the time I got back my left hand was blue and it wouldn't release from the grip position. 5 minutes later it was getting back to normal. Anyway glad I got out on both Saturday and Sunday and hopeful of some modest midweek spins too (with the correct attire!)

[Nickslikk2112]

Garmin was recommending a rest day again today - has Mrs S got hold of it and programmed it to day that? Whatever, I just listen to my inner voice(s) and off out again it was.

I decided to have a gentle spin though, so took the Gravel bike out, it won't go really quickly, so why bother. Even took it off-road today, still don't like it when it's too bumpy and I'm glad that it's been dry for a few days as the bridle path I went down would have been a bog where it had been chewed up by horse's hooves. I suppose practice will make perfect.

For the first time ever I rode up to Hardwick Hall, doable on the road bike, but too many cattle grids. There were also too many berks in Mercs coming by me with a foot to spare. In fact nearly all roads were full of Mercs today, was it "Drive like a Twat in a Merc Day"?  Three in a row came by me on the lane up to Stanley.

Also did a bit more of riding the Five Pits trail, that's my level of gravel, almost Strade Bianche like in places. Another 30 miles in the wheels and nearly at 400 for May.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9087344195