Tell us about your weekend ride

At first I was like:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/937998

But then I was all:

Meh. Next weekend...

The Shutt VR blog now features my report from a ride few weeks back.

http://www.shuttvr.com/blog/2012/02/three-friends-97-miles-15th-of-feb-12/

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/513173

Not the weekend I know but when you're not working every day is the weekend, well I should be looking for work but earlier this week I burst out of my cycling trousers in a clothes shredding moment Lou Ferrigno would be proud of. I'd have liked to think it was due to my awesome cycling thunder thighs but as it was in the arse region the cold hard truth is that I've eaten all the pies and not done a decent cycle ride since I was in Wales about 5 weeks ago.

So having this week got a new cassette, chain, pedals and cables for my geared steed I decided to head out for a ride before I have to start jumping off furniture in an attempt to get into my clothes. A quick look at a map and I realised I'd done hardly any exploring south of London apart from riding to Brighton and Portsmouth, so a quick trawl through the rides and races section and I came across a route down to Toys Hill which looked pretty good and quite hilly, just the ticket. So I scrawled out some directions on an envelope, well high tech, taped it to my stem and headed off with an AA road map as back up.

I managed to go wrong shortly after turning onto Skid Hill Lane, which is pretty much as soon as you get to the countryside, bloody useless townies, tsk. Not that surprising though as it became apparent some of the lanes I was looking for had no signs. I kept going anyway as I'm not a fan of retracing my steps, and getting lost is half the fun. After cycling past a very muddy field with loads of Shetland ponies which looked like normal ponies half sunk in the mud, I checked my notes and the next village I was looking for was called Chelsham, so I consulted the AA map to see how far off I was, only to find that it was not listed, so now I'm searching for a mystery unlisted village, a landlocked Atlantis FFS. Luckily Toys Hill was on the map so I Geoff Hooned along the A25 till I saw signs for Ide Hill and from there Toys Hill, and turned off onto the much nicer and quieter roads. Granny ringing it to the top the weather was really nice and what a great view for a photo opportunity, but my camera had a completely dead battery, fucksticks, so no pics I'm afraid. Oh well, at least I was back on route but I was blowing a bit by now.

I managed to keep to the envelope directions for the rest of the way, in your face garmin! I was impressed by the Ye Olde'ness off the pretty places I cycled through and it was barmy mild for February. There were lots of pheasants around too and those feckers are amongst the dumbest things alive so I was very wary of mincing one of those in my spokes on some of the downhills. The speed on the GPS thing on my phone is obviously off, I did not do 66mph or even close at any stage, my bike puter says I did manage 71.8kph down the descent at about 19 miles but the road surface was bloody awful, never mind my fillings I almost shock my teeth out going down there, eyes streaming and grinning like a pilled up gurner, I will always prefer going down to up, and how anyone can think otherwise is beyond me.

After Titsey there was a short climb on White Lane which was definately the steepest of the day, I had to pause half way up, pretending to look at my map as a car went past when in fact I was breathing so hard I think I was inhaling through my ear drums, but I got up there in the end. From the top it was a nice hoof back to the Smoke, I could see the Shard from miles away, it looms on the horizon like a proper mega city structure.

So all in all a great day out and I vow to do more exploring down that way this year. A few more rides like that and maybe that local charity shop won't get all my clothers after all. However I'm off out now to undo all the good work now by drinking some beer and wolfing a takeaway, which along with recent inactivity is where I've been going wrong, but fuck it, there aint no fun in salad.

The road surface on Titsey is there to test your character.

I would reccommend TNRC route 'Kent 1' if you want to explore little further east. You can always tag on some extra miles to it quite easily. [Or try my Christmas cracker route ;)]

Just read that last post ^^ and I'm in the same boat, recently unemployed so everyday is the weekend now!

Went out for a route around Essex, taking in parts or epping forest which I know already and also venturing a little further north than I have in the past. The route I had planned was 62m but in the end I had to cut it short, my legs were hurting, it was getting late and I knew that there was a climb right before the end which I didn't like.

It was a beautiful day though, sunny and dry which for this time of year seems to be a rare occurrence lately.

I got the train back from chingford into london which is always a treat.
[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/149950181[/ame]

Cheers Spybot, I've just trawled through and copied a load of TNRC routes which look great, also liked the look of the Ride of The Falling Leaves. I would have loved to have come on your Chrimbo Cracker ride but was'nt free, but have copied that route too, the long descent at the finish looks great.

@Sandy, I reckon there's lots of us unemployed folk on here, probably more by the day. Maybe we should start the Weekday Unemployed Ride Club (WURC) for weekday rides to make those people at work jealous, sort of like:
Sleep in till 10
Ride out at 11 missing worst of traffic
If pub lunch too rich park picnic or foraging/scrumping/looting for berries and tramp beers in the sunshine. (cos its always sunny when you're at work)
Don't answer any phone calls from 'private number' or 'parents'
Potter back to town and the reality of being skint.
Love the sound of all of them apart form the last one obviously.

Weekday Unemployed Ride Club (WURC)

Repped for that.

From the ride yesterday north of Copenhagen :)
http://db.tt/bpx1JZxi
http://db.tt/kU4qUhvS
http://db.tt/WCtF2W7L
http://db.tt/7A808BaK
http://db.tt/x4YauGdC
http://db.tt/fJj6ly8n
http://db.tt/n0a2Brcu
http://db.tt/Hm4ZhR8Y

i was going to ride the 100 km from my place to the rentals in newbury - after 20 km into a headwind i punctured, ripped open a large burn blister on my hand putting the tyre back on the rim,and thought fuck this and got the train.

I discovered a new way to climb a some familiar hills today.

Fossil Bank climb in the Malvern Hills. Totally stunning, sunny views today whilst you spinning away with club mates.

:)

cold but sunny ride round manchester, stockport, cheshire area today.
Particularly shitty road surfaces!
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/hsRIy_PgF9o

Nice to get the dynatech out in the dry though.

Earlier I rode to Belvoir Castle. It was closed.

Beautiful day though, and being up on high made for some astounding views. The run-in was memorable too, a great sweeping road which was a great reward.

On the return I followed a different route and fell for the charms of a pub in a very pretty village called Redmile, so I popped in for a pint of Spitfire. Feeling hungry I chose to order a burger, which was advertised as coming with local Colston Bassett Stilton. I don't like Stilton, so I asked for it to be swapped with Cheddar, which I noticed elsewhere on the menu. The waitress told me this wouldn't be possible. Now, I refused to believe the patty and Stilton had been genetically spliced so that removal was literally impossible, so I challenged this notion by asking why.

She replied that the kitchen are very specific about these things. Really, such piffle. I can't stand it. A reminder that I was the customer and that the kitchen should give me what I like, within reason, was enough for them to shift their attitude. Pointless anti-hospitality. It wasn't difficult for them to accommodate my needs, but sometimes you can only get what you want by digging your heels in. Satisfied, I ordered another pint of Spitfire and sat outside in the sun. Eventually my reward arrived, a burger with an extra bowl of chips, served on a slate - a fad which was exhausted 5 years ago, but time moves slowly around here.

At least I got my Cheddar though, which was good and congealed. This burger though was advertised as a 'Gourmet' burger - I scoured the menu but couldn't find the commoners version, so had to make do; perhaps the chef whispered some pidgin-French as he flipped it, because I'm damned if I could find anything about it worth the moniker. Perhaps it was the ciabatta it was served on.

A mile down the road as I left I realised my insistence on Cheddar had come at the expense of the advertised bacon, as there was none to be found. That'll teach me.

Many miles of off roading around Dartmoor this weekend, had a bit of all seasons, including some horrendous rain and head winds between Ivybridge and Combe. (and some well earned beers)

Amazing scenery and some fantastic routes.

Dartmoor 10/10 for MTB.

A well earned roll today to break the monotony of weeks of work. A false start as the rear mech belonging to one of our number leapt into his rear wheel within a yard of our outing. Our mirth at his immediate 1mph tumble was tempered by the apparent write off of a larvely bit of Campag kit. A bit of spannering and determination later and off we went.

Highlights: The swelling of our posse at 16mph by a group of running deer, keeping pace a mere 10 yards to our right as we departed Epping Forest. Properly magical they were. Had there been a pot hole or other obstacle I'd have happily plowed into it. Couldn't take my eyes off them. Awesome!

As we became variously knackered some turned back and two added a couple of hilly miles turning the return into a sweaty slo mo pursuit. Good fun, but I'm paying for it now!

Lovely day shared with some fabulous beasts (not to mention the deer).

70 miles of Kentish Killer today in 4hours 20 ish.

Was pretty pleased with the time given I've not ridden properly in 3 weeks due to shitty weather. Was a top ride, I arrogantly was thinking it wasn't that 'killer' but then they threw two seriously brutal hills in in the last 5 miles or so which nearly made me weep.

Loads of marshals around the route giving you confidence you've not got lost really helped, it was a very well organised and good natured event. Plus, a revelation at the feed stop when I chowed down my first ever Cliff Bar - really tasty (compared to any flapjack / choc bar, yet along a typically grim tasting energy bar), and am pretty sure it helped me power round then next 10 miles or so with extra vigour.

four pints at the jolly butchers in stokey when i got back and now i'm feeling great

bring on the spring.

...some fantastic routes.

Moar info about these please.

Moar info about these please.

I don't have a GPS to upload a route, had a good old fashioned map showing tracks and trails, and planned the rides the evening before. In a nutshell, starting in Ivybridge, NE onto the moors by Black Pool hill, through Corringdon wood and along past Avon Dam Reservoir etc etc

Stuck mostly to SE side of Dartmoor.

Very nice. I hope to get back there in March.

First proper run out for the "proper" bike today.

I met up for a quick coffee with the Brixton lot at Cafe St Germain, then went off on my own to Richmond Park to shake the bike down.

Turns out this was a great idea as I stopped four times just to adjust the saddle, and three times to dial in the indexing- I'd have been "that bloke" if I'd been on the club run.

45 miles, three laps of the park as it got increasingly warm, and by the end of it my bike was behaving perfectly.

I had fun.

As Strava no longer likes me here is a pretty picture of my ride:

I haven't got any graphs or Garmin connect info, but went out on my local club run today to find all of the riders bar one was at an event. Instead,
me and another veteran rider took out some beginners for a small 30 mile route. Maybe it was presence of the sun but it was a lovely change to
get out and chat with beginners where they looked at me as a pro.

Instead of having riders on the front turning the screw or trying to stay in their training bpm zones, it was nice to appreciate just being out and savoring the moment.
It was probably the fact that everybody was new to each other, but it was nice to chat openly to riders who haven't yet learnt the slight elitism
which you sometimes find between experienced riders.

Anyway lecture over, but that sun today was gorgeous.

Nice little jaunt out today. Last night there was some discussion about Bakewell so we decided it to make it today's destination. After a lazy morning we headed out not to long before lunch was due. Worked our way out of Sheffield and up through Eccleshall towards Fox House before dropping down through Froggat with a quick diversion through the village. Had lunch at Outside on the Calver cross roads and then headed through Hassop. Picked up the Monsal Trail and skirted around town on the old railway (This will feature in the Peak District ride I plan to lead in April). Had a quick look at the town hall and gardens where I'm getting married in summer before rolling out to Youlgreave and down Alport Dale. A quick run down the A6 to Rowsley and then past the Chatsworth Estate (cf; a bit classier than the one in Shameless) into Baslow and back over Owler Bar to come back home.

Quite a nice day although a little chillier than I would have liked. Took the road bike out and after a lot of time spent on the fixed it was nice to be able to get back into doing some proper descending. It's a skill I don't want to wane any more than it already has. Going to need it next weekend.

Got a friend in darley dale. Can picture that little lot SK sounds good time.
Gotta get up there and ride those tunnels they opened on the monsal sometime.that climb up to the pub at monsal head and a drink with the view is heaven on earth.
Been doing few miles fixed getting spin rate up for upcoming Tuesday track season.
This weekend all about enjoying seafront again so nice in sunshine.even just pootling.

I went from Dover to Brighton on my SS, following the NCN 2 most of the way. Man it was so beautiful.

I decided to miss out Beachy Head because it's a right bastard and anyway Fairlight Road has a little trifecta of nasty short hills. Lots of off-road, developed a squeak in my BB and my headset as well. Bike needs a tune-up from it. Would do it again in an instant.

Track statistics:
Distance: 149.8 km
Elevation gain: 1215 m
Elevation loss: -1165 m

Map by danieljsoul, on Flickr

Dover by danieljsoul, on Flickr

Untitled by danieljsoul, on Flickr

Hastings by danieljsoul, on Flickr

Near Pevensy by danieljsoul, on Flickr

Seaford descent by danieljsoul, on Flickr

The Pier by danieljsoul, on Flickr

50mile trip around the North Cornish lanes with 1825m of climbing. Navigationaly challenged and no way of knowing if the single track lanes are idyllic and scenic or nightmare potholed, centre grass strip all covered with 2" of cowshit so numerous detours, retraces etc. so not exactly a smooth rythm.

Stuck a large note in my bike shed.

*North Cornwall = MTB - do not take road bike!*

Cross bike would have been good....... and thus it starts

Took road bike up Lee River from Limehouse Cut to Stanstead Abbots
OK but wrong bike again
There should be signs!
Now I've got a gel pad for my saddle in town. Ouch.