Tell us about your weekend ride

My yesterday
http://ridehardridehome.co.uk/the-rider/races/criterium/ig-nocturne-support-race/

And I went for a little spin today. Casual 100miles. Legs gave out up the stairs when I got home.
http://app.strava.com/activities/59230445

Skinny, what category do you race in?

My report: blah blah blah "had my own little adventure"

Hippy's: nailed a double hundred - was chilly.

Only 3. Things have been dry with all the falling off the bike I've had.

your blog is great james
lol'd at your "casual" sunday

Did my own little fixed, 40km TT, on Friday. Such a cool road. undulates, and bends, all over the place.

Went to the woods again.

Saw a very ambitious dog, and Indra broke his shoulder.

your blog is great james
lol'd at your "casual" sunday

Thanks. And casual was a little flippant, though hippy does make my Sundays seem causal. To his double hundred.

Yesterday's ride was a good one: Mont Ventoux.

My wife and I stayed at Chambres D'Hotes Metafort in Methamis on Saturday night in the shadow of Ventoux. This is a beautiful guesthouse with genial hosts Isa and Phillippe. On Saturday night Isa served a four course menu degustation and Phillippe paired wine with the dishes. The better part of two bottles probably wasn't the best preparation.

After a deep sleep and a breakfast of bread, jam and coffee, I set out to cover the 12 km to Bedoin for the start of the climb. Some adjustment of the hire bike was needed on arrival in Bedoin (Trek Madone 6 / Ultegra Di2; would now recommend both), where I also had to buy bidons. Once done I set off, noting passage of the official start point at 10.21.

I new the first part of the climb was the simplest, so despite 'good sensations' I reined myself in and kept it gentle. With the peak visible to the left it was easy to remember the extent of the task in hand. Vineyards, the smell of lavender, and a stall selling cherries by the roadside gave this segment romance.

That was short lived, however, as I pushed into the forest and the roadside markers started reading over 9 percent. I have three memories of the haul to Chalet Reynard. Envisioning myself as Tony Martin (I don't know why); a period where I didn't see a marker between 15km to 11km when I started to worry; and a rider wearing flat shoes and carrying an Eastpak bag whom it took some 45 minutes to reel in and pass.

Despite these inauspicious signs I was feeling good at Chalet Reynard and decided to press on without a stop. I had managed my effort ok thus far and resolved to give it a hard push to the top. The first three km after Chalet Reynard have a shallower gradient and turning the gear felt easy. Thereafter a French club rider came up to me and we swapped turns at a good tempo. Into the last 500 metres, with footage of Armstrong versus Pantani flashing through the minds eye, I responded to a little dig from my companion and gave it full beans to the top. A glance down at the watch noted the time as 11.59, giving me an ascent time of 1 hour 38 minutes.

I spent the next five minutes trying to regain my breath and consuming an outrageously expensive coke, before realising it was about 5 degrees and deciding to get off the top before the rain came. The descent down to Malaucene was fun, fast and enjoyable after I lost altitude and gained warmth. There followed the hardest part of the day as I rode back to Methamis via Bedoin, with a nagging headwind sapping my dead legs.

More cycling and walking in Cumbria.

The best bits included ascents of Kirkstone Pass followed by descents into Ambleside, scrambling around Striding/ Swirrel edges, watching some mountain bikers smash it down from Hellvelyn and eating breakfast twice every morning.

This weekend gone I took a couple of days off work and headed to Sweden, to meet a friend of mine who lives out there. From Stockholm we got a ferry to Gotland, a large Swedish island in the middle of the Baltic. After camping one night by the shore in the main town of Visby (your right to camp anywhere you like in Sweden is very well known and enshrined in law), we got up early and rented bikes:

As you can see they were not exactly touring bikes but they performed admirably, and they were pretty hip with no derailleurs, gumwall tyres, retro quill stem and seatpost, porteur bars and baskets. The three hub gears worked out pretty well with one gear for road, one for off-road and one for off-road uphill.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2661996

Day 1 was absolutely beautiful. Sunny and 25 degrees by the balmy Baltic. We explored the coastline and found a little fishing village where we had freshly smoked salmon and mackerel for lunch, hiked up a nice little cliff and generally enjoyed ourselves very much.

In the evening we spotted a nice little place to put up our tent next to a beautifully still and warm lake, and made dinner over a camp fire, which was a magnificent feast of pulled pork with baked beans, jacket potates and barbecued stickbread, washed down with rum and cokes. At this stage we were feeling very good about the whole trip.

Day 2, after happening upon a little hut selling saffron pancakes for breakfast, we got a small ferry to the island of Fårö, which is a lot wilder and more deserted than mainland Gotland and in some places pretty barren, but also with lovely pine forests and sandy beaches.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2662011

This was another awesome day, with the only negative being when we were attacked by gannets, who repeatedly dive-bombed us, making an awful racket and pecking at our heads. Thankfully they peeled away after a few minutes, presumably after we had got far enough away from their babies. We found another beautiful spot to camp, on the sea shore this time, and ate spaghetti with chorizo, pepper and chili.

The third day was more head-down and hurry home sort of affair, but still beautiful weather and nice views. We couldn't resist stopping once for a swim in another gorgeous lake, but we made up lots of the time we lost on that when an extremely fast grandma on a mountain bike joined us for a little bit and did an enormous turn on the front, into a horrible headwind.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2662017

We arrived back in Visby for celebratory Gotland beer and an exploration of the town, before setting up camp and then getting the ferry back to Stockholm very early the next morning.

The whole trip was awesome, and I'd really recommend Gotland. The roads are awesome, the scenery fantastic, and the drivers are rare and very considerate - they almost always pass you with all four wheels fully in the other lane of the road.

A few more images here, should anyone be interested: http://imageshack.us/g/1/10190530/

Yesterday's ride was a good one: Mont Ventoux.

My wife and I stayed ...

:-)

Some adjustment of the hire bike was needed on arrival in Bedoin (Trek Madone 6 / Ultegra Di2; would now recommend both), where I also had to buy bidons.

Oooh, fancy.

A glance down at the watch noted the time as 11.59, giving me an ascent time of 1 hour 38 minutes.

Good effort.

There followed the hardest part of the day as I rode back to Methamis via Bedoin, with a nagging headwind sapping my dead legs.

Sorry!

.

Can that be summarised into a Strava hyperlink?

what is this strava you speak of? Is it a conduit to a mans soul?

"like a swan that's just eaten a junkie's stash. "

I like the specificity of this analogy..

this weekend started at 630. Riding behind Derny on track for 3 activities.
Havent had so much track fun for months! Youth Omnium tommorrow with the next generation. busy times for us all.
enjoy your weekend rides.

40 sun-blessed miles this morning, with Benj of this parish and also my neighbour who has had 8 months off the bike trying to sort out a knee issue.

Got home 20 mins before the rain came.
Love it when that happens.

Ride write-up on the link above.

Kent route today looks lke a rabbit of the leash.

http://app.strava.com/activities/60534257

3hrs around RP seeing if I could shake something loose on a new bike. I couldn't. #musttryharder

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328273329

Short spin, dodging rain clouds today..

Mates from work going to ska festival in Bristol yesterday so said I would cycle to there from Chelt. They didn't believe me. Since I replaced by converted frame to a proper track iron I just can't get enough of riding it and since there are no big hills down the Severn valley I took that. Plus just got a fitted a Campag PIsta crankset bought offa 1000A

The difference to my precious Triomphes was huge, love the stiffness. Checked the forecast, saw that I would have an early window of rain-free weather if I got out at 9. Managed maybe about half eleven. And then the suffering started. I knew there would be wind, I knew it would be strong and I knew it would be in my face. The prevailing so'westerly blowing up the valley, fifty miles of it, and it was angry.

Then came the rain, lots of it, for about an hour or more. Rule 5 invoked. Throughout my legs felt good though, a couple of lumpy bits but nothing too bad, as I push a big gear. "It didn't help that the A38 is such a dull road, but the shortest and flattest way to get there. Reasonably bike friendly too, long sections of cycle lanes, although unnerving when pulled over to take a drink (really need some cages for the saddle) a massive tractor when past, huge tyres right in the cycle lane. I told myself he would have gone around me....

Sense of relief when getting to Bristol was palpable. Bemusement was rife as I ran into the naked bike ride. Lots of hippy flesh everywhere, mainly on terrible and terribly maintained bikes. I do wonder if the only time most of them actually ride a bike is for one of the naked bike rides.

Then to the music!

They were called Hell Death Fury, clearly wanting the angriest name they could think off. I liked them, a cross between the Specials and Suicidal Tendencies.

I know I waffling. About rule no. 9 though: hate riding in shite weather, but it certainly adds to the sense of accomplishment at the end. 55 miles all in, very tough miles too, longest fixed ride yet. 100k next

Kent lanes yesterday with the missus. Hildenborough to Shoreham was particularly good—will ride that bit again. We made it to the top of Crystal Palace before the rain started, when it absolutely pissed down.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1412668

Yesterday's ride was a good one: Mont Ventoux.

Sounds epic! Very jealous, pretty sure I wouldn't get very close to the top though

Rode to Support a peace full Cause

" Less Gas, More Ass"

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/storify-vancouver-bares-it-all-for-world-naked-bike-ride-1.1327311