Tell us about your weekend ride

sounds like the course planner 'had a sense of humour'
read- not much to work with

**"I went to Newport and all I got was this lousy track rash"
**
I had my 1st taste of a Velodrome this evening with a beginners session at Newport.

I did alright at the 'racing' but took a big tumble in the last event. A rider had been sitting just behind me for 3 laps. He was getting ok drive out of the banking but loosing speed on each straight so I just tried to stay as steady as I possibly could thinking he was probably getting tired or desperate. He crashed into me at the end of the back straight. I don't know if wheels touched first but everything touched eventually. I went down (my back wheel was the 1st to go) sliding and rolling. I'm now sporting a bit less skin on my right arm, knees and arse and some long cut along my ribs (from his pedal I think). I'm glad I didn't wear my 'nice' bib shorts because they're looking a bit Hoogerland right now.

Massively enjoyed it though, and will be going again. Perhaps even regularly.

:D

set off earlydoors yesterday from NW8 to Richmond Pak to marshal our Firefleas annual event.. 137 kids with broad smiles and a look of determination set out from sheen gate car park in groups of 10 with vet leaders along the tamsin trail.. some even managed two laps of the 7.5 mile course.. a brilliant morning catching up with everyone.. headed home to road blocks around hyde park's (stupidly expensive half marathon) and hundreds outside marylebone registry office.. it was quite an eventful day all in..

http://en-gb.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150406582755630.407658.734500629&type=1
http://www.lewisohn.co.uk/firefleas11/index.html

Did London to Brighton for the first time on Saturday with a bunch of guys from Hospital Records (donations here if you want).
Mixed bag of abilities and bikes but we did it in about 5 hours, and I got up the Ditchling Beacon fixed on 70" without stopping. Well chuffed.

Here's my brother single speeding it over the crest of the Beacon. Bit late in posting this, but I didn't have my laptop in 1927.

Rode to town, bought some Mach 3 razor blades, some trousers, and a can of Bass shandy.

wot no mr porkys?

Went out to Canterbury... does anyway know a pleasant way of getting across the Medway and into Sittingbourne? Nice fast flat country lanes apart from that stretch.

After the A228 north of Cuxton there is a cycle path next to the M2 - did you use that? After that you can avoid Rochester by going south along Pilgrim's Way and weaving alongside the M20 and A249. It won't be flat, but Pilgrim's Way south of Rochester gives great views (better the other way but I was struggling with the camera on the bike at the time):

When I was planning a route through there last year, I discovered that there are few ways of crossing the medway. There used to be small bridges and ferry's dotted all along it but I guess they've all dissappeared as now you can just smash along the M2 or M20 in your car. :/

^^ Cheers dude. I crossed over High St straight into old Rochester then went north up to the A289 and east through Grange into Sittingbourne. There's a cycle path next to the dual carriageway - not exactly pictaresque though. Will check out your route if I'm heading that way again...

10 slippy, slidey, muddy and very very wet miles.
Unseasonably warm and a distinct lack of wind, odd but pleasurable.

Can't wait for winter to kick in.

At the risk of bucking the weekend bias, here's a ride I dared have today.

Been away from a bike for about a week so I had a few hours in some Nottinghamshire lanes earlier. I always like to head out to Cropwell Bishop; the observant amongst you will twig I took this photo there. As I was about to arrive I wished I was wearing my forum cap as I’d have stuck it on the sign and included it in the shot as if this were some claimed land of mine, but since I’ve got nothing on Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon I was glad I hadn’t. The village itself is pongy, rotten and best avoided, much like the cheese which makes it almost famous. Down with Stilton. Viva Parmesan.

I fancied something new so took an unknown turn, a warm sun spurring me on, as was that feeling you get to finally having a bike underneath you again. I rode until I found a spot I liked, which occured in a village called Hickling, I think. Well, it was glorious. A man fishing threw bread into a lake to tempt the fish with the seasoned action of one well used to escaping his wife. He was wrapped up well despite the weather, perhaps brushing up on his disguse from said wife. Who knows his story. I hope his was a good day. Earlier I'd ridden past another pub in a different village which was a contender for my custom, but I felt I could have bettered it somehow. I was glad I continued, as once in Hickling and opposite the man fishing/enjoying his repsite sat this joyous place, patiently waiting for me;

Now, who could resist such a place? Ignorance prevents it, but experience at a cost ensures it. My processed burger belonged back in the tin it no doubt came from, rather than on the naff square plate it was served on; this place puts effort into the crockery rather than the food, as sure a sign of priorities skewed in favour of an unachievable image that exists in the delusion of the landlord, rather than the gut of the punter. It doesn’t matter though as my pint of coke was as memorable as only a well deserved pint of coke often can be, and the barman took a shine to my Lou Reed t-shirt. I will return.

Afterwards I rode aimlessly, but happily. Did about 25 miles all told, as due to being lost I did a loop around Hickling, arriving again at where I'd left the pub following my mediocre lunch like those poor souls in The Blair Witch Project who find they're condemned to retrace their steps. For them there was no escape, but I did arrive back from where I'd begun. It was a really lovely ride, one of those that just takes care of itself, the freedom of two wheels etching themselves upon your weary soul.

I'm just back from the school disco.
Nancy was introduced to her first night time ride. 5 miles done.
Still smiling about the size of her shadow as she went to bed.

Go Nancy!
Theory that hostelry does indeed look like a place of character

enjoyed a sun drenched 2 hours on the local track this morning, ten or so in group for some fast activities and good training, and afterwards down to the sea to meet the girl astanga class then ride back this way long on seafront, pretty much the best day of my life so far actually. riding over there soon to be with her for the night.
Oh yeah, I organised the first women specific track cycling day at Bomo (reschedule due to weather) which is tommorrow, gonna be ace day and gf is coming so looking forward to that too. love our track- and no retarded traffic!
Bmth cycling.mp4 - YouTube

^ soppy! glad you're having a good'un. this weekend for me is all about bc l2 bmx course. my skillz are seriously lacking, but small improvements & lots to look for in others with more potential.

http://www.strava.com/rides/newport-telford-and-wrekin-united-kingdom-1980512

First ride of any real distance on the new road bike. Overall great fun, especially the descents, definitely getting used to this whole gears thing now. Did get lost a bit due to trusting what google maps claims to be a road - at one point i ended up on a back road that claimed to be unsuitable for motor vehicles, seemed alright just a bit of a shit road surface until half way down, at which point the surface turned into rubble on a very steep downhill!

(side note - is there any way of embedding strava rides on the forum yet? I tried but failed miserably!)

http://app.strava.com/rides/1992769

A lot of you guys are dropping into Kent so it seems, need more people to ride with

50 miles of Kentish Lanes for me Sunday too.

^^ Cheers dude. I crossed over High St straight into old Rochester then went north up to the A289 and east through Grange into Sittingbourne. There's a cycle path next to the dual carriageway - not exactly pictaresque though. Will check out your route if I'm heading that way again...

Pretty much the same was I do it. It's only really sketchy on the couple of miles of dual carriageway, otherwise a nice route and much flatter than the Pilgrims Way alternative.

Unwelded son from COD on sunday and went on last minute mountain bike expedition round South Oxfordshire (red kites, Christmas Common, Stonor, Fawley, Bix, Henley etc). Great weather, fantastic trails, great descents and crap map reading. Son went from miserable monosyllabic whinging thing (Why do you make me do this I hate bikes this is so shit etc etc) to grinning thing in the space it takes to say *'this is really steep and rough so.... slow down, watch out you'll kill yourself my god have you no brain' *

I did my second Seagull Century ride on my 1984 Pinarello fixed gear over the weekend. This might be a good excuse for some of you chaps to jump the pond and join us next October. You can fly into D.C., see the sights, and then go to the Eastern Shore on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay to do the ride. It is basically flat, has great roads, lots of support, and 6,500 friends to ride with. A wonderful way to get in your first FG century! The local crabs are unbelieveable. Remember. LOOK LEFT! Check out my blog for the story: www.jwanermanbikeblog.blogspot.com

no way man,
my U.S family live in GLEN BURNIE.
have spend some nice times digging clams and messing about in the Chesapeake.
will have a read of that blog- weekend ride goes worldwide

update- " tons of crabs and beer" hahha Im liking it dude

85 mile relaxed fixed ride to dungeness. The ride started in freezing foggy conditions, and definitely wished i hadn't forgotten my gloves.

slowly as the hours rolled on it started to warm up in to the warm day we had promised.

Then got to dungeness and got this train for a few miles

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/122206943
missed 10 miles off the route as i forgot to turn the garmin back on after the pub stop

Hah, 'relaxed' isn't the word I'd use! And it was more than 85 miles...

When I originally planned the Bradwell-on-Sea ride I was going to make it a series of rides to nuclear power stations called "(Watt) Hour(s) of Power", or something cheesy like that. The thinking behind it was that nuclear power stations tend to be in bleak places, away from population centres, and by the sea. And I like riding to those kind of places...

But then the idea of doing a few rides into 'interesting' places in Essex came up instead, so the Bradwell-on-Sea ride ended up getting rolled into that. It was always the first of a series of rides (in my mind) to nuclear power stations though, so when Bradwell was done Dungeness (with its 'B' reactor still very much used) was the obvious next target.

Spybot kindly supplied a route down into Kent which covered the first 50 miles, then I filled in the rest. We were meant to reccie it the other weekend but I was full of cold so had to pull out at the last minute. The cold had kind of been dragging on last week so laner kindly loaded the route onto his Garmin and spybot handled the chap nav, so I did sod all navigating yesterday. #badcyclist

It was a good ride though. Some beautiful lanes on the way down - a lovely twisty one through a wood with a mini hairpin and a super rough surface called Alder Lane, and Knock Hill (the descent down onto the flat bit before Rye) was great - fast, smooth and twisty with great views.

We spent too long dawdling in the morning and over lunch really, so the second half after the pub stop was none stop, except for a very quick wee stop. This meant we had to push on to make the final train on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch from Dungeness at 4.40. You could see the nuclear power station from about 15 miles away, and most of this section was riding into the wind on the drops, fighting to get closer to our final, seemingly distant destination:

Until finally it got closer:

And we loaded our bikes onto the train for New Romney:

We then had to push on from New Romney to Appledore to get the train back, which was another 10 miles laner forgot about :)

I'd done 110 miles by the end of the day, and with the hills down through Kent and the wind as we got nearer to the sea it was a pretty good workout. So fun, but I'd not call it relaxed!

Next stop Sizewell B, I think.

hah! a spybot sized train. very good.