@DaveC Just read your Den Bosch post above.
Apart from being well Jel, that sounds like a superb experience! And a dinner party story to boot!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
The "I had a lovely ride today, thankyou" thread
(2685 posts)-
Posted 8 years ago #
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@SRD Sorreee! :-)
tbh mine were very excited to go (any fast-food chain that doesn't have coffee as its main product is a bit of a novelty for them), and very pleased to be there, but seemed quite content that they weren't going to be going ever again. I don't think it was perhaps quite as amazing as they had expected...
(We did go to Decathlon too - I got two base layers for £6 each, they each got an £8 fleecy top and we looked at bikes. I was very taken with a £1k carbon bike. The range of kids' bikes was disappointing, and in particular we didn't see the child-sized Triban like Mini-SRD has and which I was keen to inspect)
Posted 8 years ago # -
@Bikeablilty thank you.
(Boyfriend of Fimm and I are always talking about doing more and longer cycles. That looks like a good one and makes use of the train!)Posted 8 years ago # -
Alford CX on Saturday just gone. Brilliant little course, snaking 1.7km in a compact space, with some great changes in surface, and some interesting 'features' (mainly sharp but rideable inclines, a long off-camber section, an up-and-over ramp-bridge, and a tank...).
There was a 'beginners and sandbaggers' race, which I eschewed having done quite a few now, but that meant I was in with the 'experienced and racing snakes', and quite properly came dead last (my distance / pace would have seen me top half / top 20 in the first race, so I'm clinging to that).
Utterly wrecked by the end, but most distance I've covered in a cross race (helped by a fast, mainly dry if a lot grassy course). I'm glad we went to stay with me mam for the night afterwards, meaning a one hour drive 'home' rather than 3.
And met another CCEr, whose username I did know, and have now completely forgotten. But hello Davey! (and I've got pics!).
Posted 8 years ago # -
I winched myself up the Crête du Semnoz on a borrowed full suss mountain bike. Not sure the climb counted as lovely as I got lost and the locals were pretty local but the descent by forest roads certainly was lovely. (For the avoidance of CCE pedantry, that's 'forest roads' and not 'Forest Road'.)
The technology really has come on since I last used a bike with rear suspension some ten years ago.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"(For the avoidance of CCE pedantry, that's 'forest roads' and not 'Forest Road'.)"
Or, indeed, Forrest Road.... :P
Posted 8 years ago # -
Worked from home this morning but had to go into the office for an afternoon meeting.
Decided to wear my shirt and tie and Go Dutch on the bike we have set up like an opafiets for the babyseat.
Huge difference bimbling sedately and uprightly along the NEPN compared to the usual jousting with traffic on the main road. Hard to compare the 2 experiences really. Got there a lot slower but a lot more zen.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I had a nice ride tonight....except, for some reason Aberlady stank of vomit??! On the way through I thought the car in front of me had a really nasty smelling exhaust but the smell was there on the way back too??!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Muck spreading? Can also smell of bubble gum or the fertiliser factory at Avon bridge which smells of fish and chips
Posted 8 years ago # -
Got there a lot slower but a lot more zen
Should we consider zazen as the discipline and art of non-thinking, i find it more harmonious to the buddha-nature while making progress on the Queensferry Road dual carriageway than the random disarray of the NEPN
That said, i'm a Soto man, not Rinzai
Posted 8 years ago # -
Also worth considering the four heavenly abodes of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity
Posted 8 years ago # -
I'd extend Gembo a bit... love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness.
A UK lovely ride will require/elicit all of the above. Possibly a Dutch lovely ride might require less of at least one of these...
Robert
Posted 8 years ago # -
I hauled my ageing carcasse round the Ouche valley the other day on the brother-out-law's rather fine Decathlon road bike. Stopped here for lunch after a detour through La Montagne for the obligatory ridiculous selfie. Back on the canal de Bourgogne. Lovely.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@Wilmington's Cow
Truly lawyerly level of pedantry there. Outstanding.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Rode Honister, Newlands, Whinlatter and Honister the other way yesterday. Lovely weather, not too hot like today but not too much wind either. Sadly cake wasn't enjoyed until after the end of the ride.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Beautiful, beautiful ride in on my "long commute" this morning, especially the bit just after Balerno. The light was fantastic and the colours just lovely. Decided not to even try to take a photo as I was sure my phone would not do it justice.
Cold, though...
Posted 8 years ago # -
Impromptu decision to cycle to Glasgow today. Decided to go all the way on the canals on my regular commute Charge bike. I had never been further than ratho before and my expectations had been set of narrow tight quagmire paths. It was bloody gorgeous. Some narrow paths, and a few small muddy puddles in the woodier areas, but a lot of it was paved or hard packed though bumpy. The union canal had some truly spectacular bits with the Avon aqueduct, the spooky falkirk tunnel, and the falkirk wheel. It had some sensible new infrastructure at linlithgow, with new ramps being built to connect the high school and the sports centre to the canal. And the autumn tree colours everywhere. Even bigger surprise to me was the forth union canal. Large parts had wide tarmac paths, the canal itself was much wider than the union, and between falkirk and bishopriggs had many really great views. Confirming cultural stereotypes the people on the forth Clyde canal were much more gregarious and welcoming. Not a single grump about bells or no bells. The forth clyde had active locks with several boats. There were actually pretty high volume of barges on the go on both canals, maybe 20 in total.
Bliss was spoiled by having to cycle through Glasgow to velodrome, though noticed that actually roads were actually pretty quiet at 5pm compared to Edinburgh, but might have been because I was going against the flow.
Total journey about 60 miles with 50 on the canals. Took about 6 hours including break at the falkirk wheel.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"...though bumpy..."
The Polmont-Edinburgh section must be horrible for people going the other way. It's certainly a relief to get past it going west.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Yesterday - family ride along the newly improved section of the Speyside Way from Kincraig to Aviemore, about 6.5 miles. Essentially it follows the railway. Great hard packed path surface and some fantastic views in all directions. Some short steep bits regardless of direction - I had a passenger on the back and there were two slopes I failed to ascend for a simple lack of power, but it was only a few yards to push. The older kids loved it regardless. Next time - a longer ride to Boat of Garten and a steam train back...
Posted 8 years ago # -
@shuggiet, think it has been dry. I came back from the cowcaddens passport office on canal path once and it was a river almost as wet as the canal.
I think that my previous conclusion is that it is a good thing to do if dry. Also, if not windy or prevailing wind is from east then I think it sounds likes it is better to do it east west.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@shuggiet out of curiosity, you weren't going to some British Cycling training thing at the velodrome/Emirates were you? Boyfriend of Fimm was there for that purpose (he didn't cycle all the way from Edinburgh, just from Queen Street station).
Posted 8 years ago # -
Yes. I was at the British cycling coaching event. Think Bof was on different table so didn't get chance to requaint . Interesting course about chimps.
Posted 8 years ago # -
As we've met up with my parents for a few days and there are only sufficient spaces for three adults in the car with two children I have selflessly offered to propel myself to whichever tourist attractions we select, to prevent the need to use two cars. Today was Beamish, so I got to trundle along thirteen miles of the C2C/NCN7, albeit after going through Consett town centre on the way out and with a few of the wrong turns one expects onesself to make when following an NCN route from signposts and lamp-post flashes rather than a handlebar-mounted display. Apart from the near-crash with a speeding turnip on the twisty bit east of Leadgate
and a few overenthusiastic barriers and chicanes which would have annoyed me a little if I'd been on a coast-to-coast camping trip with chunky panniers or a trailer
and the leafy-slipperyness of the slope up to the Beamish exit
and a bit which was covered in freshly-chopped spiky tree fragments, though this was later revealed to not be on NCN7 as I'd been led the wrong way by an absence of signposts
it was all very nice.Posted 8 years ago # -
Shuggiet: "Interesting course about chimps."
Wait....wut?
Posted 8 years ago # -
Uberuce: British Cycling believe that Chimp Management is where it's at for helping their performance athletes.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Peters_(psychiatrist). The Chimp Paradox is probably not really relevant for the Lovely Ride thread, but might be worth a different thread.. 500k of his book sold, presumably a lot went to people who ride bikes.
Posted 8 years ago # -
NCN14 parallel to the Derwent to NT Gibside today, where cyclists get free admission and a free coffee if they buy a snack. Apart from a few absent viaducts resulting in steep leaf-covered dips down to road crossings and a few bits of upper-WoL-quality surfacing, a very nice ride. Lots of "cyclists slow down and show consideration to other path users" signs and lots of very polite dogwalkers. Lots of "morning" and "hello", as is expected without a city.
Posted 8 years ago # -
We bowled along to woolfords today as the record on the speed sign has been broken (now at 33mph) alas my lead out man was too slow so I only clocked 30mph in north wind. By time we hit the whang it Was straight easterly which was tough but no more brown fog, just sunshine
Posted 8 years ago # -
Spent the last week in Highland Perthshire, sans internet access for the most part.
Highlight was last Wednesday. I set off from Tummel Bridge about 10, the pea soup just starting to thin. By the outskirts of Pitlochry I was in glorious sunshine, and beyond the worst stretch of my route. It was a pretty enough and good surfaced stretch of road, but that Pitlochry - Queens View stretch gets fair busy!
Over the river Garry, I headed on to Blair Atholl and Bruar. The House of Bruar is a very nice place to stop for warm, clean toilets. And good Ice Cream.
From here on, the trip went from good to utterly fantastic.
I headed NW on the B847 through Calvine, Struan and Trinafour. The sun was shining, there was no wind to speak of, can't remember seeing a car, the most fantastic vistas of Schiehallion - GLORIOUS! Not to mention a really long enjoyable descent to the B846 taking me into Kinlochrannoch.
The Riverside Café very kindly filled my waterbottle before I continued out to Rannoch Station. Last time I was on that road I 'enjoyed' snow, wind, rain and hail, so this was a real treat.
The Rannoch Station Café is a superb feeding station. Soup is a hefty £5 but its a meal, not a snack. Worth the money.
That pit stop gave me enough to get back via the Loch Rannoch south road.
Schiehallion Road was closed, I think for logging. TBH, this was a relief, I was fair puggled by now, so the low road it was, back to Tummel Bridge. An easy 7 miles except for one brutally steep hairpin - I didn't moan though, after all, it wasn't Schiehalion!
A really tiring but hugely enjoyable ride. A tad over 70 miles, almost 3700 ft of climbing (mostly gradual)6.5 hours including a wee stop a Bruar, a wee stop at Kinlochrannoch, and a refuel at Rannoch Station.
I'll defo nip round that way again one day.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Took the kids to Aberlady this afternoon to see the geese arrive. Fabulous ride out and geese put on an amazing spectacle. Thought they would arrive as sun set, but most came well afterwards.
Ride back to Longniddry in total dark less fun. We were covered in lights & hiviz, of course.
Unlike last time we tried this, Abellio guard was decent about letting us on, if a bit overwhelmed. There were already 3 or 4 mountain bikes on, and another cyclist at our stop (arrived after us), plus our three bikes. But once we were in, he was decent about it. And even helped us off.
Have to say that Both out and back cars were excellently well behaved. Didn't overtake at bad moments, hung well back, sometimes for long patches. Never felt threatened at all.
Really impressed.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Went for a lovely ride up the Water of Leuth and through Green Cleuch. Out the other side of the hills the sun was going down so I thought I'd just go home on the road, until I spotted a sign off the A701 at Bilston for a path to Loanhead.
Had to go and snout it out of course, but very quickly enetered into some sort of parallel reality. Across a very bike-unfriendly bridge and down into a dell on the Bilston Burn and what do I find? A weird encampment of quite well built but clearly improvised tree houses, many with blue tarp roofs, one with a stainless steel chimney. Anyone know what they are? There was no one about to ask....
Followed the 'path' further and wound up in some sort of dystopian badland - what seemed to be a sickly wood of ailing birch trees planted on coal tailings and inhabited by Beckettian open air drinkers. Not theatening as such, but very odd. Not what you'd call family friendly.
Eventually found the Loanhead railway path and scooted home on the new link under the bypass, which was nice.
Posted 8 years ago #
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