Tell us about your weekend ride

Got out on my bike for the first time for quite a while last weekend. Me and FatJoe did this route:

[ame="http://ridewithgps.com/routes/464449"]http://ridewithgps.com/routes/464449[/ame
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I was riding geared and FatJoe was on fixed (lowish ratio). We took around 2.5 hours and had some stops to recoup. I think we managed an average of around 13mph.

I went out today on my own on the geared bike and did it in 1 hour 13 mins with an average of 17.24mph. Quite pleased with myself but I was knackered aftrwards, even though it was only a 21mile route. It's pretty hilly as far as my rides normally go.

I headed home this weekend to get some miles in. Last weekend there was a sportive in Leicestershire which I missed, so I decided to adopt the route as my own.

[ame]http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=hklmsccfetmdvawd[/ame
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Rolled the first 20-ish miles with my dad, which lowered the pace a bit but really put a smile on my face. He rides 3-4 times a week, but usually only about 10 or maybe 15 miles. It was awesome to tempt him out for a longer ride.

The rest was fairly easy going, but psychologically difficult. I started the ride at the 42mile point on the attached map, because that's where I live, so heading out for the loop around markfield was tough - knowing that I was within 3 miles of home, but had many hills and miles left.

Finished in 4 hours 45 mins which I was pleased with, given the slow start and then stopping to read my map at almost every junction. I had a pint of my homebrewed beer as a treat when I finished. It was flippin' delicious.

:-)

Did anyone else get rained on South of London? I was in a group heading to Hastings and near Heathfield when heavens opened.. we spent an hour in a bus shelter then pub waiting it out. Lovely after. #raphaaudaxer

[ame]http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1149123[/ame
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Highlight was reaching 75 kph on the first downhill.

^^ Looks good Rich, nice and hilly. My weekend ride was popping out between the showers on Saturday, probably did about 4 miles :(

I headed home this weekend to get some miles in. Last weekend there was a sportive in Leicestershire which I missed, so I decided to adopt the route as my own.

Rolled the first 20-ish miles with my dad, which lowered the pace a bit but really put a smile on my face. He rides 3-4 times a week, but usually only about 10 or maybe 15 miles. It was awesome to tempt him out for a longer ride.

The rest was fairly easy going, but psychologically difficult. I started the ride at the 42mile point on the attached map, because that's where I live, so heading out for the loop around markfield was tough - knowing that I was within 3 miles of home, but had many hills and miles left.

Finished in 4 hours 45 mins which I was pleased with, given the slow start and then stopping to read my map at almost every junction. I had a pint of my homebrewed beer as a treat when I finished. It was flippin' delicious.

:-)

Cupcakes, I'm looking forward to meeting you in a week to sort out those levers and now just found out you're from pretty much where I'm from! I come from South Leicester and like to have the occasional ride around Loughborough area.
I joined my dad in a 'churches ride' last year, which I'll be hoping to do again this sept, in which you cycle to as many churches as you can within one day to raise money for your church. We did around 60 miles going from Ashby-de-la-Zouch across to Loughborough and back round again. I think we visited 45 churches in that time and had tea and cake at most of them!
I shall be trying to get my dad out for a ride this week when I'm back in Leicester as it is very enjoyable as a father/son sport.

heading out to portsmouth on saturday, tidy squad of five riders.. 91miles of tarmac..

Wanted to get out early and do a solo century in 5 hours today. The going was annoyingly stop-starty on the way out of town, followed by random fucking roadworks in the middle of nowhere and shit, so I could tell early on the 20mph average wasn't going to happen. It was quite blowy out there too in some places.

Didn't plan a route. Headed out to Epping Forest, ambled round a bit, dropped down through Theydon and then round some lanes till I joined the A113 (?) and followed it to Ongar; then Rodings, Dunmow (quick detour past my old house, with a suitable air of sombreness); then along what used to be the A120, through Takely, and down into Bishops Stortford (decided against dropping in unannounced on my Auntie Joan, as there's no such thing as a quick stop at her place); up a short sharp hill in a massive gear, and across to Much Hadham; back through Hunsdon to Roydon, then dropped down towards the River Lea, and joined the Crooked Mile to Waltham Abbey; then up Daws Hill in what was by then a difficult gear, and got the train at Chingford.

76 miles in 3h58, so 19.2mph average. Was getting hot towards the end, and I'm fucking covered in thunderbugs. Good to be out there empathazing with hippy, sort of.

I did this yesterday and in the early hours of the morning today:

http://www.bikemap.net/route/804330

A friend of mine had decided to get married out there in the sticks. It was 'only' 50k but I'd never gone over a col like that of the Große Feldberg before. It pales in comparison to Alpine passes but it was a suitable introduction, especially as the climbing started from about 30k out. I got some cramps going up and lost a lot of time, with the result that I was late for the actual wedding, but still had a great party. It rained most of the time on the ride out, sometimes quite hard. I also got misdirected in Wiesbaden and ended up doing a few extra hills I needn't have done (detours not shown on ride map). Just to tag it, I briefly went up to the summit of the Feldberg--it was only a short climb from where I was passing, anyway.

The roads dried out during the day, but just as I wanted to get going again after midnight, the rain resumed. This time, I didn't go over the summit but took a different route, which was slightly flatter, and which I should have taken on the way up, too, but the initial plan for the route didn't work out, as the last bit of the route through the forest that I'd chosen initially turned out to be impassable. The fairly steep descents in pitch blackness and with cars blinding me were just about manageable by going slowly and gingerly. It was a lot of up and down through the little villages on the way, and by this point I was pretty tired, with a lot of food and drink in me, so rode quite slowly. Almost no traffic around, although Wiesbaden was still busy at 3am, and I saw a few people riding bikes.

A very interesting ride, with beautiful scenery around the Feldberg. Would do again, but hopefully a little fitter next time!

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/498041

Nice and steady, Knee getting better, finally.

a piffling 30 miles to Chelmsford. Was intending to ride back but I was attacked by some incredibly vicious hayfever and I was crying too much to see where I was going. I kept being asked if I was OK at Chelmsford station. stupid ride ruining pollen.

Wanted to get out early and do a solo century in 5 hours today. The going was annoyingly stop-starty on the way out of town, followed by random fucking roadworks in the middle of nowhere and shit, so I could tell early on the 20mph average wasn't going to happen. It was quite blowy out there too in some places.

Didn't plan a route. Headed out to Epping Forest, ambled round a bit, dropped down through Theydon and then round some lanes till I joined the A113 (?) and followed it to Ongar; then Rodings, Dunmow (quick detour past my old house, with a suitable air of sombreness); then along what used to be the A120, through Takely, and down into Bishops Stortford (decided against dropping in unannounced on my Auntie Joan, as there's no such thing as a quick stop at her place); up a short sharp hill in a massive gear, and across to Much Hadham; back through Hunsdon to Roydon, then dropped down towards the River Lea, and joined the Crooked Mile to Waltham Abbey; then up Daws Hill in what was by then a difficult gear, and got the train at Chingford.

76 miles in 3h58, so 19.2mph average. Was getting hot towards the end, and I'm fucking covered in thunderbugs. Good to be out there empathazing with hippy, sort of.

Hey BMMF, I'd be interested to see the route drawn up on a map and to see the elevation. That's around my area and I'm looking for going a little further afield but want to keep to quieter roads where poss. Do you live out in Herts as well?

Hello Bike Destroyer - no, I live in Old Street, but spent some formative hellish years in Gt Dunmow.

TBH, it wasn't a route that uses the kind of quiet lanes I usually go for, but they weren't too bad at that time (I left London at 7.15am, and was in Dunmow by 9.15am). I'll map it in a minute, so you can see the (lack of) elevation.

Depending on where you are, there are some quieter bits around Essex/Herts used by the TNRC sometimes - check the TNRC 2011 thread, post #14 for all the routes.

There's more constantly undulating stuff either around Epping Forest / Toot Hill in the south of Essex, or up near Thaxted to the north. My favourite stuff in Herts is over to the west, towards the Chilterns.

There are also endless networks of quiet 'agricultural' roads all across the band of Essex between Epping and Dunmow - you can go completely twighlight zone if you keep heading east or west off the A113/B184 (I think those are the right numbers, but essentially Chigwell to Dunmow).

Here.

check the TNRC 2011 thread, post #14 for all the routes.)

That is ace. I am going to do all of them.

I did a good ride from Stratford to somewhere between Amersham and Aylesbury the other week. Definitely want to do more riding around there.

85km in the sun, then a birthday picnic on the beach afterwards.

Great day in all.

@tricitybendix - you've got decent lights, haven't you? Come out with us next time (although I think Tim's planning some kind of off-road 'lite' route in Epping Forest, culminating with a campfire a week on Tuesday; but then again, isn't that your kind of thing too?).

Join ussssssssssssssssss :D

I can't possibly ride with other people. They will point and laugh at me for being slow.

Whatever. The Hemel route is amazingly quiet, both day and night; but most of our routes have been designed with that criterion in mind.

Roydon and Welwyn are the flattest.

(the new one that uses the Lea towpath is also pretty flat, but hard to navigate in parts, and it's too busy along there during peak daylight hours; and the Ingatestone one is flat, but hard to navigate, and no-one actually ever learnt the route, so it's always an exercise in randomness)

Richmond Park 20.5 MPH average for 3 laps. This made me very happy.

I went out for 2 hours right when you're always supposed to avoid the sun, and now I have a banging headache.

I've got a beer in the fridge that I'm not even contemplating opening. That's how bad it is.

I know most of that Ingatestone route.

I will keep up my rigorous training schedule (of 50% beer and 50% riding around Ilford) and will see if I am fit enough to join you guys in, say, 2013.

We don't go that fast. There have been experiments with 'racing', and it's proven to be out of keeping with the TNRC vibration. It's steady, we regroup after hills, and if there's a dash to the station, everyone dashes in small groups at different speeds. No-one gets dropped.

We do it to enjoy the relative tranquility of the road at night. I'm sure we've had riders along who are habitually much slower than you are; and many of us will struggle to ever attain your ascetic regime of 50% riding, 50% beer.

Richmond Park 20.5 MPH average for 3 laps. This made me very happy.

Does this mean you've broken the hour, and now have an incriminating gps log if the police start asking questions?

^58:45 cries rainbow tears of joy

When I said 3 laps I meant 4 of course officer.