Tell us about your weekend ride

My post ^ was crap.
Lovely being up on the ridge then riding back gazing over to the needles white chalk cliffs, remembering climbing them last sunday.
The views across the bay superb as I blatted it flat chat through studland at thirty mph back to the ferry.
Hope that does justice to the Op

Lovely windy 50 miles ride with the Kingston wheelers.
A bit more poor driving due to a sportive. I am guessing the locals were not to pleased. Also an increase of shire cycling due to the sportive . Cycling 4 abreast on narrow roads with loads of blind corners is not the best idea!
Apart from that it was fun!

I was up North for the weekend and couldn't bear to not get some miles in, so stowed my bike in the car, planning to be brave, cycle and meet Betty at BikeHaus. It was also a test to see how I cope with unfamiliar territory.

I packed my wet weather gear but I really should have checked the weather before leaving because it was far worse than I envisaged. I should have also planned my route a bit better.

Betty had warned me about how poor the road surfaces were, and she was right, they were terrible. Dropped manhole covers at almost every 50 yards along with hundreds of potholes. If you've cycled through East Ham, the road surface was a million times worse than that.

My cousin had advised me that the journey would be relatively flat - no hills, so I was quietly confident that the 11+ miles on almost straight strange roads would be achievable for me.

I set off and the first two miles were mainly a slight downhill and I started to get a sinking feeling about a 2 mile uphill struggle on the last leg of my return journey. Things were going well but then I found myself on a triple carriageway and wondered if I'd taken the wrong turn and was heading onto the motorway. I was reassured by the familiar sight of an ASL at the next set of traffic lights.

The rain came down and left so much surface water, along with muck on the road, that I did a skid and fell off my bike. I also got stupidly lost and seemed to have gone around in a square. Betty came to my rescue and met me at the nearest pub where we had a joyous evening of food and beverages. (She looks amazingly well and I realised just how much I've missed her over the past year or so).

For the return journey, Betty guided me to the nearest overground train station so I could get back to Manchester Piccadilly and I was seriously contemplating cycling the final 4 miles at the other end, because there is a stupid rule that you can't take bikes on the Metro. But the roads really had too much surface water and it was still raining, plus with the thought of that final 2 mile incline, I bottled it and got a taxi back.

Around 16 miles in all. Not as many as wanted but I feel I have a few extra learning experiences under my belt. The biggest learning experience is that if I want to cycle where I haven't got a clue where I'm going, I need to rely on a Garmin, not blind faith.

https://www.strava.com/activities/139562928

more miles than me Shoosh! top work, and +1 on manchester roads,

#bigtyresforareason

Good work Shoosh. I went to meet friends after I dropped you off then made my way home in the torrential downpour. The result being I now only have one pair of dry cycling shoes which are my track shoes. I am totally hating this weather & the resulting soggy feet/shoes & attempting to dry them out in the airing cupboard.

Not much cycling this weekend which is probably good news for my poor legs that are having weird spasms of pain. Less cycling, more beer & socialising...a good weekend overall.

I went to Belgium with some of the forum's finest. Many wet cobbles. Much use of Belgium's much vaunted bike routes which turned out to be following tractor treads through extremely muddy fields. Lots of beer. Lots of headwind. Brief stop today at Zandvoorde British Cemetery (first world war graves) where I tried valiantly to not let the others see me cry while looking at the memorials. Such a sad place.

Then I injured myself by stepping off a low curb in Kortrijk, turning my ankle over and acquiring a golf ball sized lump on my ankle to teach me a lesson in looking where the hell I'm going after drinking Tripel Karmeliet ("the best beer in Belgium").

"Bicycle route":

A different "bicycle route":

Zandvoorde British cemetary:

Tripel Karmeliet:

Lovely windy 50 miles ride with the Kingston wheelers.
A bit more poor driving due to a sportive. I am guessing the locals were not to pleased. Also an increase of shire cycling due to the sportive . Cycling 4 abreast on narrow roads with loads of blind corners is not the best idea!
Apart from that it was fun!

I ride with KW every now and then - are you a regular? Who were you out with yesterday?

FT London sportive yesterday, much wind but good fun. Somehow managed to lose a screw from my right cleat, causing panic when trying to uncleat in London traffic.

Greeting fellow wheeler
I try to go every other Sunday.
We went out to Tanhurst farm. It was led by David.
Killer heads winds out and killer sideway winds on the way in.
But a very good ride

I finally switched components from my old road bike frame to my new-to-me frame that fit. It had been in a half and half state for like 3 years while I half-heartedly looked for a fork for the new one. I gave up and added a couple of spacers and used the old one. Mismatched fork ftw.

I rode a 40 mile loop up north to a lake. Similar to bothwell, I trusted google maps to give me a cycling route which led to weird forest paths in the rain for a third of the ride. Riding a freewheel and gears again was funny. Lots of 'braking' that just engaged the freewheel. Also full lycra which I had never done before.

At any rate it was fun and for sure laughable distance wise for most of you but was a pretty good ride for me.

One of the many weird paths:

The bike at the end was not ruined despite the terrain. A bit muddy was all.

Once you get a bit north of Berlin you start running into fully racist NPD party posters. It is a little disconcerting.

Day 1-Sunday: Got a train with colleague Ernest and got to the Sikh Temple in Smethwick Birmingham to ride to the Temple in Luton as a recce for a charity bike ride in July. We met 3 Sikh guys who were riding with with us.

Instead of the usual route down the A5 the plan was to find a more scenic route and test it. Headed out from Smethwick at 1200. Rode out via Sollihul and Hockley and got to Royal Leamington Spa Temple for food at around 1400.

Struggled up a sharp hill at Ufton with lentils and potato curry weighing heavy in our bellies then sweet undulating countryside with amazing views past rapeseed fields

Ernest checking the route

Harpal and Ernest on Welsh Road East after Southham.

Harmi and Harpal near Preston Capes

We reached Towcester (pronounced Toaster) at around 1800 for a drink, evening meal and bed in The Saracens Head having ridden 90km

Day 2-Today: Left Towcester at 0930 along a stretch of the A5 then turned onto the more pleasant Watling Street at Old Stratford to Milton Keynes Temple for some tea and sweet things. (Shoes off/Head covered of course)

Self at the temple in Milton Keynes

Then found a sweet route along Galley Lane through Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable arriving about 1230 to the temple in Luton. Another 65km today. We got the train back from Luton.

All in all we rode 155km, Birmingham to Luton on a largely pleasant quiet route. Hardly got caught in the rain and had a tail wind a lot of the route. (I will post the route on the London-Birmingham route thread when I get it from the others who GPS'd it)

That temple is awesome. I used to work in the big Sainsbury's next to it.

The bowling alley right next to it is where Barry used to work, his Orange P7 was the first bike I ever lusted after, so I spent hours at that Sainsbury's saving up for my own, that's pretty much what cemented my love of cycling.

Barry got a girl pregnant and had to sell his P7 I think.

That sharp hill is a glacial escarpment. Fact.

csb ^
Thanks for your help on the Birmingham route thread Fox

Oh old stamping grounds.
The temple in Bedford is well worth a visit.
Superb.
Used to teach Bikeability from Beech hill primary Luton in 06-7
Csb

A friend of mine quit his job and decided to use the month between finishing his job and starting what's next to cycle around Britain. But skint, so on £5 per day – calling it the Poor de Britain.

long ride report that I won't bore you with by quoting

Hats has your friend a blog or strava? I keep teasing myself with the idea of a silly adventure like that. Would love to read/see about it.

Turns out my friend made a video of his trip.This is 1500 miles around Britain on £5 per day.
Poor De Britain - YouTube

(I can be spotted grimacing in the north yorkshire moors and wearing an impractical dress on the tyne bridge)

How did he manage to keep costs low? (food in particular)

Supermarket canned good usually work, I live on similar budget.

This is £5 a day, all in. He actually came in under budget at the end.

He slept on people's floors and did a bit of wild camping in Scotland, and ate either really cheap supermarket food, food that was bought for him by the friends he saw along the way or cheap meals out. I bought him some cheese, nuts and salad and hid them in his panniers as I was worried he might get a vitamin deficiency. One meal consisted of 4 yumyums (4 for a pound! up north, of course) so I don't think I was wrong to worry.

He needs different music for that video. It's misleading.

It's not the weekend, but I did 50 miles into Surrey and Kent this morning and was fortunate enough to see two crows warning off a (very large) buzzard just east of Lingfield. A truly amazing sight.

He needs different music for that video. It's misleading.

You could simply change the lyrics to "Tour d'Écosse, Tour d'Écosse". The only problem is that there is no Tour d'Écosse.

It's not the weekend, but I did 50 miles into Surrey and Kent this morning and was fortunate enough to see two crows warning off a (very large) buzzard just east of Lingfield. A truly amazing sight.

I will never forget watching a buzzard pick at a sheep carcass as I headed up Beddlestead a few years back.

It was very similar to this;

Crows attack Buzzard / Kraaien vallen Buizerd aan - YouTube

It's not the weekend, but I did 50 miles into Surrey and Kent this morning and was fortunate enough to see two crows warning off a (very large) buzzard just east of Lingfield. A truly amazing sight.

Was out West on Sunday and saw loads of Red Kites - one rode the crosswind above my head for half a kilometre. Beautiful birds.

I often see Kites in the mountains in Wales (there is a breeding centre in Rhayader) and I'm alway amazed how calm they are - they'll sit on fence posts 2m away from you without moving as you ride past. I also see lots of Sparrow Hawks, Owls and Buzzards there too.