Tell us about your weekend ride

Are you related to @blue_fleet, by any chance? :)

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/242671/

No, but thanks for that link. Reading that will keep me procrastinating for a while more when I should be studying!

Had a lovely Kentish ride planned. Hit some wet moss and took a tumble somewhere round Well Hill I think. Tried to continue but too snowy and too sore.
On train from Shoreham home. Should have just stayed at home. Going home to remove bibs to assess damage.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1435934389/

1 Attachment

If you ever fancy company give me a shout I’m close ish.

Rode down to Kings Cross from East Finchley today to get a refund on my return ticket to Durham on 2.45 train that was cancelled.

Tubeless tyres don't puncture

But they do burp, and then you don't have a compressor, so you need a tube ...

1 Attachment

From the beauty of @pascalo 's rides^

Well, I elected to not take pics in the industrial estates around Londsdale Road, nor did I snap the landfill or the desalination plant.

Er oops. :)

Have fun at both!

Tubeless tyres puncture, hose your bike with jizz and then you cut them to pieces to fix them only to have to ride to the nearest bike shop at 30psi to get them replaced.

#ftfy

It's not warm yet, but feels like this was the first weekend of spring. Some of the roads are really clean for being winter and there's lots of light.

2 Attachments

Tho it was rather nice a week before too, but the atmosphere was a bit more arctic.

3 Attachments

.

1 Attachment

.

2 Attachments

Went out and did 75km in to Kent. There is still snow in the hedge rows by Brastead!!
Set a PB for Toys, Brastead and the less scenic climb past the fire station in New Addington. Nice to see some progression from the training.
Also got a puncture which when I noticed was pretty worried about as I hate changing them, new tyreleaver/10 breezed it!

.

1 Attachment

Where is that?

https://goo.gl/maps/EpSvAiU4hfr

Past weekend was lit.

http://www.norkabizi.com/2018/03/bilbao-bilbao-2018.html

Gravelaide 3 this week. I originally signed up for the 160k route with 2500m vert, but even during our 100k+ training rides I thought that was a bit more than I could stomach.
So event week comes around and I am getting a fucking cold. Unbelievable. I was hell bent on riding, but when we rocked up I somehow chose to not do the shortest course (67k, 1200m vert) but the medium one (100k, 1900m vert).
There was a severe weather warning, too, that saw another big sportive actually cancelled because of the high wind speeds.

So we set off, and the first 50k was okay. There were sand pits and gravel and single track. And some climbs. Ouchy ones with no traction. Then at the 60k mark I started fading. I was desperate for shelter from the wind. The gusts were starting to stop me in my tracks.

Around 70k, there was a brutal brutal climb, I couldn't pick a clean line on a 20% bit and ended up doing the walk of shame. On top of the ridge we got thrashed about by up to 80k wind gusts. Despite that I managed to recoup a bit, and ride well up to the last 10k, which took everything from me.

3k from the finish the final set of 3 steep rollers. The first one obfuscated the following ones, and I was sure it was the last hill for the day. When the one behind it emerged as I crested it, I was ready to give up there and then. My friends just rode up it, but I came to a grinding halt, big ring on a 42t cassette and I could barely move forward in the wind. even on the flat bit in between. The last roller I had to stare down on my front wheel and tell myself "foot down, foot up, foot down, foot up".

Boy, I am cooked. I bet tomorrow I'll be sick as a dog.

1 Attachment

.

1 Attachment

Nice flat Windsor loop today. Great Park was fairly icy in places but apart from that, roads out West seemed in good condition.
2hr head wind on the way home not so good. Double gloved today (borrowed a pair of Emma's) so had toasty hands.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1459785312/

1 Attachment

Hefty jealous.

Don't be, I feel like shit today. Proper man flu.