Tell us about your weekend ride

The only thing I doubled up on today was pints.

Did any other south east types get abused by kids on layhams yesterday?

Heading back to town down that way at about lunchtime yesterday, fortunately pretty fast, and three little shits threw bottles and sticks at me... Fucking glad I dodged them all as it could have caused an accident. Shouted obscenities and carried on, but would have loved to confront them.

I get shit off drivers or those rough locals that live in the campsite thing around there quite frequently. Shame.

And there's the flytipping.... Ah, lovely suburban life.

On the canal paths near Wakefield

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Rode a 100 miles of the Epic Echappée fixed on my Pomp on Wednesday. These Sunday Echappée guys blog write-up is a bit OTT but when it comes to route planning they are fucking boss. It's a standard run out from Richmond into Surrey but swiftly headed onto gravel, single and double tracks of packed dirt bridleways with longer sections of tarmac between them. They used the off-road stuff to connect out-of-the way lanes and perfectly paved private farm roads so most of it was traffic free and beautiful - it was so, so much fun. All the gravel. 35mm fixed was a serious laugh but I was out of the saddle a lot, probably too much really because I had to chop off a 15km nubbin out in Kent and miss out Beddlestead on the way back in. I was so broken after going up the butthole end of Toys that I had to walk half of Brasted Hill. I might try it again single speed some time, I might make it all the way around that way as the sharp downhills on 66gi was getting to me by the end.
https://www.strava.com/activities/639703624

This technically happened on Wednesday but as I had the day off it counts as a weekend ride for me.

A couple of pictures:

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another

That one didn't work, I'll try again.

I cannot understand why the first picture loaded perfectly but the second one won't work. Maybe I'll try later on.

In the meantime, here's the text to go with the photo:

Willesden to Kislingbury (near Northampton)

A main road bash, onto the Watling Street (A5) at Edgware, and just keep going for 60 miles, with another 5 miles of lane at the far end.

You’re probably thinking ‘The old boy’s gone off his rocker – why on earth do such a hellish ride?’

Well, I knew I was going to get a lift home, and this gets me away from the rather over familiar territory where I normally ride. Apart from that I have a feeling at the back of my mind that cycling is something to do with transport, so making a journey to a place some distance away can feel better than going round in circles, as we so often do (Minet/ Regents Park). The A5 is not the worst main road to ride on as it runs close to the M1, so traffic is relatively light, and it’s not monotonous since it rolls up and down through some attractive country and ancient towns (Dunstable, Towcester). Unfortunately it also goes past Milton Keynes, but you can’t have everything.

I wouldn’t bother writing about this except that I thought some of you might be interested in the bike I used (see photos). There’s a lot more collecting and restoring of old bikes than actual riding of them, and this is partly because many ancient machines don’t ride very well, even when smartly repainted. This ‘Duckett’ is an exception and I think it’s quite an interesting transitional machine because it has some roadster features (Westwood rims) and some more modern attributes (brazed up seat stays, 3” handlebar stem extension, forward opening rear dropouts). Also it was clearly a quality machine with a lot of BSA fittings.
It does ride surprisingly well, although only after turning the handlebars forward – I first rode it with the bars facing backwards as originally intended, but I found this hopeless because my knees hit the bars as soon as I got out of the saddle. I guess that when this machine was new (late 20’s I think) people thought that climbing ‘en dansant' just wasn’t British, and so shouldn’t even be contemplated. I can still climb reasonably well (for an old bloke, that’s to say) but not without getting out of the saddle, and I really don’t understand how they used to manage – it must have involved a lot of stiff upper lip (and, I suspect, walking).

I got this bike out of storage to use for a club’s seventy fifth anniversary ride – I thought it appropriate to use a machine that would have been more or less current in 1941, and this was the nearest thing I had. I haven’t ridden fixed much in the past couple of years, and I must say it was a pleasure to go back to it, enough to encourage me to use it for Saturday’s ride. My gear was 67” (44 x 17, 26” wheels) with six and a half inch cranks – this was the original set up, and I find it suits me pretty well.

If people are interested I could provide a few more pictures of the bike and dig out a bit more information on the maker.

Another try for that photo:

No, still not having it.

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Great bike and ride! Definitely keen to hear more about the bike and parts.

If you can sit on 30kph on the flat then sitting at 40 in a bunch is easy. (in reply to Beseku)

It should be easy, but you have to be able to 'ride on a wheel'.

This is skill which most people can learn, but a few find difficult or impossible. I think it's to do with the quality of a person's binocular vision which is important in judging distances. My ex, although claiming to be a cyclist, was completely hopeless at this, and I realised later on that she had difficulty judging distances even when crossing a road on foot. Another rider I knew, who was capable of being a contender in TT's at national level could not stay in a chain gang for more than half a mile - he was fine when on the front, but useless elsewhere.

A different point is that wind direction makes a huge difference to a weak rider (often me) in a fast moving bunch. Into the wind it's easy because it's the hard men at the front who are really doing all the work, whereas with a tailwind there is much less difference between your effort and those at the front.

Bike looks fantastic Clubman - sounds like a great run!

The A5 is not the worst main road to ride on as it runs close to the M1, so traffic is relatively light, and it’s not monotonous since it rolls up and down through some attractive country and ancient towns (Dunstable, Towcester).

There's a nice off-road section starting in Dunstable, taking you West to the A505 near Stanbridge. If you ever do this again, try turning left down French's Avenue as you're leaving Dunstable and you'll find it.

You're right about the A5 - it's the route I took out of London when I rode to Silverstone last year and certainly at 5am on a Sunday morning it's a decent enough road for cycling on. Nice work.

Great read @clubman

@clubman - more pictures /information on the bike please.

This looks epic! I want to do it so bad! I will steal the routes for future use.
Kudos

Copenhagen - Vienna 9 days Fixed/SS only

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14760152

Link to larger version of picture https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9980640/fixieking/NachVienna.jpg

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Ace post, Chris.

I need to do get a better picture of the bike, and dig out some other material. I'll try to do this before the weekend, but I'm pretty busy, and I'll be away next week. But rest assured I will get round to it eventually because it's one of my favourite subjects.

Since the next post will be about the bike rather than the ride I'll post it in the Bikes and Bits thread.

I have recently had one of those periods of melancholic cycling, where i fell out of love with it, mainly as I wasn't putting the effort into training or racing and becoming pissed off with doing badly........ :)

So with the wife and dog away for the weekend I decided to try something away from my normal cycling routine.

I decided to see if i could ride right around the Thames path and then what ever is beyond it, to find the London Stone on the Isle of Grain. i had previously ridden to Erith around the Thames Path for work so knew there was a pathway there, but beyond that it was all an adventure.

I just decided to stick to the river as closely as I could and see where it got me.

I set off quite late (9-30) from Bermondsey as I had no dog shaped alarm clock to alert me to the immediacy of the new day. So I rushed out of the house and forgot to apply suncream....

I know the path is a mix of gravel, tarmac, broken asphalt and loads of other hashtag terms that enable the bike industry to sell us TOTALLY RAD machines, but I just took the train and hoped for the best.

getting out on the first part of the path all around to Surrey Quays farm, Cutty Sark and the barrier is easy, i just went down a few side roads to see if there were any good short cuts, but Cycle route 4 & 1 seem to have the best bits covered. I nearly got binned by someone chasing Pokemon, but other than than, very pleasant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6pqtQBkq3/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6rdI9BVry/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6uh4RBzKv/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

After you get past the Woolich ferry the path opens up on to dedicated bike paths along past the developments, there is some tots rad groad bruv, just below you, but rather than belting it past dog walkers and joggers i reckon its better to used the facilities, especially as soon the path merges onto the gravel track and you can feel like a true IG superhero smashing along it.

From here to Erith its empty, the path goes from gravel to broken concrete and back to gravel, but its an easy ride. Just watch out for the tank blocks and moto-gates that are there to stop the little herberts getting on the path. Around some of the pumping stations its very twisty and tight and there are some random sets of steps that just appear in front of you, at 18mph :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6yPJOBag8/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

From here you are heading out to Dartford and the paths are very good, but just before the Dartford Creek, you end up back on wide empty gravel/flint paths, its lovely (apart from some of the smells)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH62MI6BZgD/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

the section of track that runs around the Dartford Creek is narrow and overgrown, but the dirt is hard and you can keep your speed up. I had a few 'map' momments after you get spat out on to the main road and after one false start I ended up finding the footpath back around the other side of the creek. This is the first of the really flinty paths that are just the top of the flood banks really. The paths are mainly flint, grass and hard cow trodden mud. After a while though you end up back on the gravel and its a great place to not pay attention to the path and fall off it, right next to the rifle range :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH65HI4BgFh/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

Eventually you get under the Bridge and then you come to a perfect lunch spot - A huge ASDA.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH66bEUBROT/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

I had lunch and then bashed on, I was just following my nose and the map, but nature makes it interesting and many individual LOLs where had (silent tantrums) as i yet again went the wrong way. (I've since worked this bit out)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7BhfhhvHH/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7ClQHBg3f/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

Approaching Gravesend you start to get involved in gate hopping and squeezing through tiny paths, waiting to be savaged by an industrial guard dog, but it is a cyclepath, regardless of its oddness. at one point I went straight through a concrete batching plant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7ImXmhOsC/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

I got my first puncture here and released that one of the tubes I'd brought was useless as it was for larger volume tyres, but i had another, so no worries. After some wrong turns I picked up Cycle Route 1 in Gravesend and enjoyed the promenade and the great cobbled alleys.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7MWxHB1XU/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

The cycle route went mad and you go down some proper dodgy bits, just head down and get it done rapido. I had seen that there was a path marked on maps called the Saxon Way that hugged the coast and that was what I was looking for away from cycle route 1, as that heads in land.

I found it and immediately got two pinch punctures, on the really rough path. I patched both but I had one patch left, so I knew that it was prob silly to continue on away from civilisation, so I did just that. Unfortunately at Shoremead Fort the inevitable happened and I pinched again, the tube was done in two places and I had one patch, so I had to walk (I rode a bit, sorry Hed Belgium Rim) to Higham Station, which I used for work previously, so I knew where it was, which was dead handy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7TU87h7Rr/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

I got the train back then met all the Welwyn Ominum lot in Canopy, I was very pink/angry red, quite (very)tired but back in love with cycling.

This
was what I managed on the day and this is
what I'm planning for August, because I will find that London Stone.

Lessons learnt are this:

1. The paths are rideable all the way along the coast
   
2. Tubeless tyres are getting fitted
   
3. mudgaurds are coming off
   
4. Suncream is a good idea
   
5. The route has good food, drink and pub stops on it, so taking loads of food isn't required
   
6. Cycling is great
   
7. I scored TL points last night purely because of this ride
   
8. I still have a thorn from this in my back
   
   
   

The ride was hell (108miles of Ridgeway) but this was sublime

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Is it just me, but whenever you nod / wave / otherwise acknoweldge a rider you cross paths with around Westerham / Brasted / Biggin Hill, rather than a positive response, 90% of the time you just get a stare and sense that your kit and bike are being sized up or judged?

Lots of rude people out there this morning.

A mate visiting from Oxford said the exact same thing when we rode round there. I've noticed it more and more now

Riders out in the lanes of Essex today where quite friendly - nods / waves were acknowledged / reciprocated.

One guy yelled something that i didn't catch but he could have been talking to his mate behind him.

Banter in the queue for tea hut at High Beech was up to its usual standard.

No just that area, I notice it more and more up here in north oxfordshire/northants border - full kit wankers blanking me