Tell us about your weekend ride

Nice bash out before the rain came in (we literally got back 30 mins before it started hammering it down, and it didn't stop until this morning. Lucky.

http://app.strava.com/activities/54983984

My friend captured me in the most hilariously 'faux pro' pose...

Me and Simon (OLC) did a little leisurely charity ride yesterday through our workplace taking in the Thames path to Greenwich, through the park then up to the Thames Barrier and on to the Woolwich Ferry. We then went past City Airport up to the Greenway all the way until the Olympic Park then through the canal to Victoria Park. Then back onto the canal to Haggerston Park and Columbia Road and back to Staple Inn where we started via Old Street. Some of you in LMNH may have seen us with our geeky blue "Actuaries on wheels" bibs and for this I do apologise! The route took me through many parts of London I had not seen before and was mainly on small cycle paths and windy footpaths so the map may not be entirely accurate (Ignore the name Maters Bike Ride, was meant to be called Masters Bike Ride and it won't let me edit it, grr). Have had to plot it on walkit as none of us had any fancy gadgets to record it.

All in all was a really lovely day, I'd recommend this route if you fancy a pedestrian sunday ride.

http://walkit.com/themed-walk/london/cycle-bike/katrinnas/maters-bike-ride/

Nice little spin on the MTB. 20 miles baked in glorious sunshine. 22 degree heat, after the previous days rain made everything just that little bit more bearable. Fun times.
Still a few sheep carcasses out and about after the snow.

http://app.strava.com/activities/55085369

I love the smell of future diesel in the countryside today.

Is Bio Diesel unknown in this country?

Weekend in The Lakes, to Keswick for an outdoor activities festival.

I managed to tuck in some early early cycling over a few local passes (Whinlatter, Newlands, and Honister); though it was the walking that stole the show. Cat Bells/ High Spy on the Saturday, Longside Edge to Skiddaw on the Sunday... but this isn't the forum for that.

Decided to give Surrey Hills a go for the first time yesterday. Some fantastic cycling with really beautiful sceney but my far so of the most challenging I've ever done. Some of the hills were an absolute killer and the gradient was just mental. Great fun though and the weather turned out to be great :)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/315056204

Did Stroud - Oxford via back roads on Sunday - the section between Cirencester and Burford is some of the prettiest cycling I've ever done. Bucolic, ridiculously picture-postcard Cotswoldian scenes, lovely road (got on Roman Road and stayed on it) and perfect conditions. Spring was spaffing its chlorophyllic abundance everywhere, and I was enjoying it dribbling down my face. Or something. Definitely want to do Oxford - Bristol and then on to Lands End later this summer. There be some good roads out west...

Is there an easy way to export Garmin to strava?

Use this http://www.garminsync.com/

Decided to give Surrey Hills a go for the first time yesterday. Some fantastic cycling with really beautiful sceney but my far so of the most challenging I've ever done. Some of the hills were an absolute killer and the gradient was just mental. Great fun though and the weather turned out to be great :)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/315056204

Dude, I think we had a quick chat early doors around Bank station? I asked where you were riding to and you said you were gonna try Box Hill... I said I was going to Kent. You were wearing a black rapha top I think?

I cycled to the Thames barrier, brilliant if you want to take some 'urban' pics, its also near grenwich and a foot tunnel under the Thames - highly recommended.

Dude, I think we had a quick chat early doors around Bank station? I asked where you were riding to and you said you were gonna try Box Hill... I said I was going to Kent. You were wearing a black rapha top I think?

Hey man I'm afraid that was not me. I got the train from Victoria :)

^ Ah. Now I feel like a bit of a tit! Oh well, hope you had a good one out there!

1 1/2 hours of sleep, up at 6am, rode this with friends.

http://app.strava.com/activities/55414633

Including the first time I've climbed this:

Which includes this (at the end):

Girlfriend looks way too happy. I think I was vigorously cursing the climb out at this point.

Was then followed by this though. Never has brunch been more deserved.

Regardless, I'm an idiot. My legs hurt.

Got my arse handed to me at Divisional Champs. Still struggling with a messed up face. 3 times up the hill was great, shame I wasn't on it.

Pedal Hevean Ripped it up, placing 123.

http://ridehardridehome.co.uk/the-rider/races/road-racing/south-east-divisional-champs-serrl-e123/
http://app.strava.com/activities/55094829

Saturday was Nairobi --> Naivasha -> Nairobi with a few friends.

177km total, including one massive climb. This all took about nine hours including stops for mechanical issues, food, photos, sore tis nay relief, etc.

I rode the newly built Pinarello. It was not without mechanical calamity, as the BB unscrewed itself after 20km. We've all read on Sheldon about Italian threaded BBs being at risk of unscrewing, but it finally happened. I got a taxi to a workshop which then dropped me an extra 17km or so along the route to catch up. The group couldn't wait for me as there was no time! I started cycling again just before the Nairobi plateau ends at the Rift Valley escarpment, which has to be the most enjoyable descent ever.

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Then after another flat 30km of Rift Valley with moments of drafting clattering lorries, I met the group again who'd just finished lunch. Bastards. Naivasha came quick, then we turned around and went back to Nairobi the difficult way, immediately meeting a 26km long ramp with 750m of climbing. Sapping!

This gulley on the way up made for a nice excuse to photograph the Pinarello. Second photo is at the top, 2700m elevation. Longonot volcano in the background, Masai kids in the foreground.

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Then a long descend back to Nairobi, reaching over 60kph several times, probably around 65-70kph at points when tucked close behind the trusty trucks. But not too close, because of the omnipresent massive potholes.

All my nice blue rides need an extensive list of replacement parts that I can't afford right now so it was time to treat the beater to a day trip. My Genesis Flyer was my first road bike and its just had its 5th birthday. It is by far my most abused steed and in the 5 years I've owned it I've never even washed it. I should feel ashamed of this but instead of it being a disgrace, its filth has perversely become a bit of a badge of honour. It gets all the hard miles around London's moonscape roads and is the only bike I lock up outside anywhere and leave out in the rain. Its done many 1000's of miles but since owning it its only once escaped the confines of the M25. Nonetheless I have still developed a bond with it, it is affectionately known as White Lightening and is about as classy as the tipple with the same name. After suffering years of abuse and to give it a glimpse of the world beyond the M25, yesterday I took it on its first holiday, it was like a Frtizel daughter emerging from the basement for the first time.

White Lightening has DMR mtb/bmx flat pedals that are completely seized into the cranks and I can't bring myself to wear full lycra gimp wear when not riding clipped in, it just seems wrong somehow. So it was to be forumesque attair for the day of floppy Vans, baggy jeans, t-shirt and ruksak, and matched to the similarly inappropriate (for a beater/commuter) 50x16 singlespeed gearing.

So after rocking over to my not 'on here' mates house in Brentwood on Sunday, yesterday we planned to go to Southend. I've never been, he has and promised me it was shit but I still wanted to check it out. Undeterred by the forecast of thundery showers we headed off, him in full gimp gear, 18 gears and a retro steel ride, me with White Lightening looking like a middle aged man who'd stolen his clothes from a Herbert at the local youth centre. I think he must have looked like a mentor or probation officer and I just looked like I had an ASBO.

I would normally be able to look at gps track of my ride to see which way we went but my phone battery is now so shit it cant record any rides longer than about 4 hours without running out of juice, and true to form it did just that. But from memory we went Brentwood - Billericay - the Hanningfields -Danbury - Burnham on Crouch (alas no ferry) so back to SouthWoodham Ferrers (full loop of town looking for right road) Hullbridge - Canewdon - Rochford - Southend. Thankfully the BBC weather forecaset was utterly wrong, as it was all weekend, has Auntie got the work experience kids in this week?

So Southend, well my expectations were low and first impressions approaching town were'nt too bad but the closer we got to the seafront the greyer and grimmer it became. Got some overpriced chips and headed for the beach. Not even sand! First Brighton and now this, a seaside town without sun is tragic enough but no sand, proper lame-o, no wonder the locals flock to Benidorm. Not only that but there appeared to be a raw sewage pipe smack bang in the middle of the beach, hmm inviting. Gave the remainder of my manky chips to the hoards of gulls, cycled along the front being repeatedly underwhelmed before deciding to get the feck out of dodge. Couple of wrong turns on route back, stopped for quality beers at The Hoop in Stock before heading back to Brentwood. 105 miles all in, not as flat as I thought it would be, 7 hours including stops, my first centuary of the year and my first on that bike. Today I feel like Forstemann looks. Southend is shit and so is my bike, they seemed destined to meet, I don't think they'll see each other again, but I love that bike just a little bit more, I'm still not going to wash it though.

^ this ride report is amazing.

Saturday was Nairobi --> Naivasha -> Nairobi with a few friends.

Having driven this route quite a few times- this is properly amazing.
You also went past my favorite place in the of Kenya- the IDP camp just outside Mai Mahu, and Longonot- which is just beautiful.

I can't imagine cycling up that road to get back to Nairobi...
Just amazingly cool. Good work.

^^^Rep for a brilliant ride report and ^^rep for having good taste in ride reports.

^^ Ta. I must admit I was a little apprehensive! Mostly about descending the escarpment because so many cars overtake trucks dangerously. But it was very quiet so I got lucky.

And yeah, we could see Longonot for most of the day, looming and mocking us with how it always seemed so near.

Ace report Blue fleet!

Ndeipi and Fleet repped. Great reads.

A quick widweek MTB blast

Sunshine and wind. Looks like its going to be a truly samey Manx summer.

http://app.strava.com/activities/55650140

Time to break out the summer rubber, and find some friends who work antisocial hours to ride with.

So finally I have something worthy of posting here.

DAY 1 - Epping Forest, Lee Valley Park, Grand Union Canal, Chilterns and Windsor Castle
http://connect.garmin.com/course/3662041

After a restless night sleep, I got up 5:30am to force feed, pack, dress and generally get my shit together before riding to my mates house.
It was a situation of chicken and egg for obtaining a new bike, I have been talking about getting a new bike for about a year, and so booking this ride, would require me to get one.

Getting on, realised my backpack comes up too far and hits me in the back of the helmet, causing it to come over my eyes. So great, I'm late already, through Central London on the A40 with no helmet. I get to Brick Lane fine, pick up the mate and head to the start of The London Revolution.

Whoever decided to start a bike ride on a site where the...

the ground surface consists of ‘industrial mix’ and contains some sharp elements that could lead to punctures. We recommend wheeling your bike around the event village in areas where there is no surface matting to reduce the risk of punctures.
...is a nutter. The industrial mix was actually pretty much ground up glass and compacted dirt. Interesting...

I spot a tall skinny bloke with a forum cap, but no idea about his ride. Hai! (^ not that guy)
We got our registration pack, stickered up and headed off.

We were a team of 4 girls, 4 guys and as expected, the guys headed off.
First rest stop there was flapjacks, bananas, crisps, gels and chocolate. I hate eating when I'm not hungry and it actually made me feel a bit sick but it has to be done. We girls regrouped and one headed off with her new buddy because we were apparently too slow. 8 became 3.

Lunch was at a pretty, private tennis club of some sort, I can't remember!
At this point it's a bit of a blur, I'd done a 100+ mile ride before, but I think I may have trained last time. This time, not the case. (broke #71)
Hitting the Chilterns was amazing, some of my favourite bits were there in the country lanes there with the animals.

I'm also still a novice on the limits of my body and what it takes to fuel it. So this ride was a great learning experience in that respect. Bananas, gels and electrolytes were my new best friends.
We pushed on and reached Windsor Racecourse together. Riding side by side with my friend Amy as we rolled into the finish of our first day was a highlight. This was what it was about, cycling with friends. Loved the little cheer squad of kids they had there.

We parked, got our bags and found our tents, said hi to my neighbours and recovery shake-d. Booked in to the free massage, showered, ate dinner of bangers and mash with hospital food style vegetables, then some gross vanilla cake with fake custard. Got the free massage which was AMAZING! Then moved to the entertainment tent to have a cider which tasted pretty damn good. We were wrecked and hit the sack, literally, a sleeping bag.

DAY 2 - North Downs, Box Hill, Crystal Palace, Herne Hill Velodrome, Tower Bridge
http://connect.Garmin.com/course/3662078
Seems my bladder doesn't like coldish nights sleeping in one man tents so decided to wake me every 2 hrs.
Sunrise on the racecourse was beautiful over the rows of 800 odd tents, an amazingly clear day was awaiting us.

We devoured a quick breakfast, said bye to one of our team who was only doing one day, kitted up and headed out.

First stop was at 20-something miles which was great, however, on arriving, we hear that the course has diversions due to road works which would add another 10 miles on top, that was coming up in the next leg. Lovely.

So this was the day of hills, Box hill being the most noteworthy. Glad to say I didn't walk it. It was beautiful and what an amazing day for it. I stopped at the top to take some pics (had to be done) where as the others continued unknown to me.

Not saying I am an expert in riding in groups, but the idea of doing a ride with friends is to be together, sharing the pain and the peloton. They just didn't get it so would take the lead, push it so the back would drop. I tried to lead by example, but was leap-frogged under the guise of "taking the wind", when it was really actually being competitive.
(#38, 67, 82, 86, 88 broken, but not by me)
I digress...So I decided to hang back, my climbing and descents were faster so caught here and there.
On route somewhere, I was sucking the wheel of a fellow Lady Wilier Rider (LWR), and came up and said to her as such, and volunteered to take the pain. We had took each other into stop 2.

Another stop, I met them at Herne Hill Velodrome for some laps and we hit the last stretch together.

We joined up with some nice people from Cornwall who were scared shitless of London traffic. Back in my element! They followed 4 London girls in though Central London, Tower Bridge, to the finish, one of them being LWR. This is where cycle training pays off, don't be a dick and respect the road rules.
We hit Lower Lea Crossing and having cycled it to get to the start, it's one last fucking hill I didn't need. "Fuck this shit!" I say to LWR who is in front and I hit it with everything I have left. Apologies for leaving the group in my dust! But #70. I power over the line, see the opportunity for a finishing jump over a speed bump, and do so. Most delighted with the jump actually! Shame there was no photo finish because that would have been amazing!

Post ride, I had a chat to LWR who I may have recruited to join us ladies, so, hopefully!!!

All in all, 300 kms not counting my ride there. An amazing experience, well organised ride, fantastic signage. Shit friends of friends to ride with...

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A whole lot of win^.