Tell us about your weekend ride

I rode the Pilgrim's way to Whitstable this morning and was completely alone in the lanes once I got past Sevenoaks for the most part. I just had the route on my to do list and thought sections were off road - they weren't! 38c was overkill.

You missed out most of the offroad sections - after Wrotham there's a long off road section, about 6 miles long, that brings you out in Upper Halling. After that you cross the Medway on the M2 bridge (although there's a new bridge at Halling that means you can pick up the Pilgrims Way without the detour north), there's another long off road section which gets you close to Boxley. After Hollingbourne, where you cut north to go to Whitstable, the PW is close to 50/50 road and off road down to Wye.

Haha thanks - I knew I was missing bits with that route, but it was good to do anyway. I probably should have checked it first - but I just chose it from ones I’d bookmarked last minute. I’ll find a route with all the sections and do it again

I walked the Stour Valley trail earlier in summer and walked along some of the off road bits.

Here's a Patterson drawing (early 1920's) of a bit of road I quite often ride - it's the old A5 (Watling Street) just north of Radlett. I'm pretty certain my photos(next post) below show the exact spot because the OS map shows only one point where the road crosses a stream in that area.

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And here's how it looks today. The rise in the road after that keep left sign is the only recognisable feature, but the brick parapet under the trees on the right hand side is the wall of the bridge.

'What is not damaged by the passage of time?'

The second pic. is mainly to show that I am aware the Patterson always included a bike in his drawings.

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i still find wattling st fascinating that is such an old route when i was back visiting i manage to cycle a little bit of it near Bletchley and MK

I did North London Dirt 3 today, it was very wet and quite hard work. I had inappropriate 32mm Panaracer [edit: Panaracer Pasela ProTite] tyres but made it round by the following measures: puncture repair, derailleur hanger realigning by the nice chap from Canyon at the half-way point, and judicious walking/pushing.

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Oh jeez, that last pic. Well done for finishing on 32s!

Yeah, heard it was more like a North London Mud this year's edition.. hard work in such conditions

Why would you take a bike with mudguards off road in those conditions?

Mudguards in the mud… madness. There were no rock gardens. They didn’t get in the way, and my top half stayed clean.

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The biggest risk with mudguards is a foreign object fouling them and causing the wheel to seize. It’s a real risk on the road, off road it’s almost inevitable.

It’s a real risk on the road

Hmm better take them off then just in case

Maybe not that much of a risk if you’ve got slick tyres on? I lived to tell the tale.

got two punctures and had to jump the train. lovely stuff. think I’ll set up my schwalbe pro ones tubeless for winter... may god have mercy on my soul

extremely funny club winter training ride last night: didn't even manage to hold the back of the group for 100/200 metres. knew I had no top end after dilly dallying all summer but never been that blown away... also maybe shouldn't ride the chainy on my arkose

binned it for the first time in a while yesterday - knee is oozing some nice orange fluid today. lovely stuff. feel OK actually, surprisingly. thought I'd be sorer today. was real sore when I went down, knocked the wind right out me

Leisurely one on Saturday from Greenwich to West Malling, excellent ride apart from two punctures near the end in very quick succession. The decision to not take a mini pump and only a single 16g Co2 cartridge was, in hindsight, sub-optimal. The CAAD12 is not exactly suited to winter rides but its the only geared bike I have so it'll have to do; I shall spend an excessive amount of time this week looking at mudguard options...

Just get out there

https://strava.app.link/aJOKTZrLQab

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Loads and I mean loads around 30 of I think red kites up Titsey hill way. The ones in the air certainly were, the ones on the ground may have been buzzards.

Self explanatory pic.

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Ah, does the Suburban Breakout 100 that Nick Bloom used to organise still run? That always turned around in Cottered.

I don't know about Suburban Breakout, this was just a ride with a few mates (we're disinclined to discuss organisation these days!)

While I'm here, there are two other interesting pics from (aptly named) Waterford, near Hertford. They had spectacular rain round there last night and some roads were inches deep in water. Guess who had cleaned his bike yesterday?

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Guess who had cleaned his bike yesterday?

Could it possibly have been one of your mates? :)

Another dry, almost dusty ride today..

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Ah, does the Suburban Breakout 100 that Nick Bloom used to organise still run?

Alas, no. The cafe for the depart in East Finchley has changed hands and is now a shish place and does not welcome cyclists. And I think he found it hard to get volunteers for the midway checkpoint. It was the only formal event run by our club, Central London CTC. But Nick still leads the occasional midweek clubride.