Tell us about your weekend ride

Aero-fucking-bars. It's been about 5 years. Happy to report I remembered how. Just like riding a bike really.

It wasn’t a cycling holiday, it was a trip to Tuscany with a bike in the car.

   More or less by chance, from the northern Italian town of Cuneo we took the road leading to the Colle della Maddelena towards France and home. I did not finally decide to ride until a coffee stop in the tiny village of Sambuco (3697 feet)  when I pointed out to my other half that since the day was Sunday it was my normal day for going for a ride. It would have been criminal to drive all the way up with a bike in the car waiting and crying out to be ridden.
So there was no preparation for this ride, no careful eating, no massage, abstention from alcohol and no bottle of magic potion.

  The road at that point climbed gently, and with a tailwind I made rapid progress. By English standards the surface was good and the traffic light as I rode up a pleasant valley with a fast flowing river close to me and mountains rising on either side. The gradient here is not more than about one in twenty, but it is persistent with occasional steeper sections. With over 2800 feet of climbing there have to be some hard bits: the odd hairpin, but also some straight sections where the gradient increases imperceptibly so that a rider may begin to feel he is weakening.
  The real climb begins after the small town of Argentera (5524 feet). The vegetation becomes sparse, there is a tunnel to negotiate, bits of old and abandoned road can be seen, often sprinkled with fallen rocks. The hairpins begin to be numbered. I have a faint memory from a previous trip that there are eighteen numbered turns, but this proves to be disappointingly false since there turn out to be twenty, with still a little climbing to do after that.
  The mountain forms a wall at the end of the valley and the zig-zags just climb up the side of the obstacle. A few of the corners are steep, but not impossibly so.

Soon after the start of this section there is a roadside plaque commemorating Coppi’s great ride in the seventeenth stage of the of the 1949 Giro, Cuneo to Pinerolo.  The plaque marks the point where he broke away to ride alone for 120 miles over another four major climbs to win the stage by nearly twelve minutes from his rival Bartali. The third placed rider, Alfredo Martini, said to be the first of the mortal men, was twenty minutes down.

Although it was a pleasant summer Sunday afternoon there were no other cyclists on the Italian side, and only a few on the descent on the French side – perhaps they’d got up earlier than us. The summit is at 6,548 feet, and the fourteen miles had taken me an hour and forty five minutes, but at least I felt fairly healthy. I might have gone a bit harder to start with if I’d been more confident.

For those interested in equipment, I rode an old 531 frame with 43/53 chainrings and a block with 14,16,18,20,22 & 24 tooth sprockets. I did use the 24, not very much but it was more use than the outer chainring.

As I rode I was conscious that I am lucky to be able to be able to ride on those roads at my advanced age even though it may be slow, but how I wish I’d tried to do it in earnest when I was in my twenties.

I should mention this ride was done on the 5th September. I've been too busy to post until now.

and long may it continue, thanks for that. Always like to read soloists accounts.

Hackney to Ipswich. Nice weather and surprisingly empty roads. Done it on my Mash rather than my Surly which certainly made the ride a little more 'interesting.'

Hackney to Ipswich. Nice weather and surprisingly empty roads. Done it on my Mash rather than my Surly which certainly made the ride a little more 'interesting.'

What route did you take?

I cycled from Oxford to Marlow with ali0sha and ewammacdonald where we met the Red Kite riders and headed back up towards Watlington with them, had a couple of drinks at a pub that refused to serve us food, then peeled off back towards Oxford, whilst everyone else Headed for Henley and home. 55 miles with some good company and a few hills: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/183018

Sounds a far better ride than my day^^ grins all round as far as I can make out.
and birds.

We were in Frome, which I have to say had plenty charms not least the welcoming locals and friendly good coffee shops. the hill sprint on cobbles was a laugh- carnival atmosphere, did 32 secs (fastest was like 24 secs) so pretty long way to go for less than a minutes ride, but like I said extremes the joys of life.
well done to the one gear grinders, sliding it in the rain.

Purfleet Essex to Docklands for the Tour Final Stage....
Good day but spent too much money like ya do!!!!!

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Tried out pedalcar racing this afternoon. Quite a bit of high paced silliness and now my legs hurt. Apparently that will happen if you race recumbent without any practice.

Lots of fun.

I did a short loop this afternoon. The weather was almost perfect, shame about the wind that always seems to be coming straight at you: [ame]http://ridewithgps.com/routes/187796[/ame][
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](http://ridewithgps.com/trips/110601
)

169km loop of the hills around Andalusia on closed roads including a 300 strong peloton, police outriders and a tasty 25% gradient going up through arcos de la frontera

gotta love them village names, Horton, cum- Studley...fantastic day today,
been messing about in Wareham forest on the singlespeed, 2 day forest event,
same tommorrow. hankering after a Tyneham grind...

169km loop of the hills around Andalusia on closed roads including a 300 strong peloton, police outriders and a tasty 25% gradient going up through arcos de la frontera

sounds ace, go anywhere near El Chorro, Antequera, ??

What's going on here?

fixed

Good photo, what was the event? Sounds like a good ride, too!

What's going on here?

There was some swimming and then running involved also.
sorry :(

What's going on here?

Try the brakes, rather than putting your foot down?

Try the brakes, rather than putting your foot down?

From the looks of my worn down left heel, its like im running with the breaks on.
explains why im so slow and hurt so much afterwards.

Any sports physos out there know what my left foot is up too?

Went out for a gusty 40 miler around Kent this morning on my trusty old Olmo (first ride on it for four months) and got driven at head on by a twat in a 53-plate burgandy Skoda estate. You, Sir, are a fucking prick.

First did Hackney Cyclists' annual Bike the Bounds of Hackney ride (around 20 miles, although slightly less at the moment as the bit of Hackney in the Olympic zone is impenetrable), then on to Richmond Park for the Veteran Cyclists' Club Matchlit Ride. Brilliant evening for it, and from first to last a wonderful day.

Well, was just about to set off for a nice Sun afternoon constitutional around the hills, and it's started to absolutely piss it down. Soddingbollixingtypical. :-(

sounds good Oliver, they do that beating of the bounds in lots of rural England, more on foot though.
wheres ya hills Big twin??
and wheres ya jacket?

sounds good Oliver, they do that beating of the bounds in lots of rural England, more on foot though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfhztkVTTdA

sounds good Oliver, they do that beating of the bounds in lots of rural England, more on foot though.
wheres ya hills Big twin??
and wheres ya jacket?

Dem Surrey hillz innit thou.

Bored of riding in the rain over the past few days - was nice this morning, if a bit "fresh" - then it pisses down; just typical, that's all.