Sorry was just Joe king
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
The "I had a lovely ride today, thankyou" thread
(2697 posts)-
Posted 8 years ago #
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This guy seemed to be enjoying his ride -
Posted 8 years ago # -
He's maybe had some of them hallucinogenic brambles that are doing the rounds and thinks he's on a plane.
Posted 8 years ago # -
As prompted by @IWRATS elsewhere, I've had a lovely ride over the past week.
Funded by my employer, and in support of the Prince's Trust, a couple of hundred colleagues and I rode from central London to Edinburgh. It was a complete and utter blast.
- Monday - London to Eydon (near Banbury). Central London in rush hour. Prosperous suburbs. Thatched cottages.
- Tuesday - Eydon to Stafford. English countryside. A green and pleasant land.Torrential rain in the evening.
- Wednesday - Stafford to Accrington. Lumpy narrow country lanes in the morning, covered in gravel from the rain the night before (and terrifying). Bowling across the Cheshire Plain. Pulling up into the Peak District.
- Thursday - Accrington to Carlisle via the Lake District. Kirkstone Pass in 28C heat was punishing.
- Friday - Carlisle to Edinburgh via Gretna, Broughton, Carnwath, Tarbrax, Livingston(!) and Ratho.
530 miles, give or take. 32,000ft of ascent. Weather generally brilliant, although bit of a headwind coming into Scotland. Incredibly well supported: pit stops with food/toilets/water/medics/mechanics every 35 miles or so. Motorbike mechanics en route. Broom wagon to collect any stragglers. Our own ambulance(s) complete with blue lights to rescue those who'd come a cropper. Professional chaperones riding with us to keep us right. My body and Decathlon bike both performed very well (no problems with the bike at all, not even a p*ncture, some superficial damage around the ischial tuberosities now diminishing.)
I basically have CCE to thank for this. When I took up cycle commuting a few years ago, I joined this forum and it helped me: choose a bike, choose another (folding) bike [even arranging a special non-PY meet to try out bikes], get involved with PoP, get involved with PoP again, get involved with PoP again, start a BUG at work, get a dynamo, cope with a strange person on the canal, find a companion for my daughter to ride Pedal for Scotland, find a home for my old tagalong, make me think that riding 50 miles wasn't unreasonable, get involved with Spokes, make me think that doing Ride to the Sun wasn't unreasonable, choose another bike, find a home for my old pedals, make me think that riding 500 miles wasn't unreasonable. Thanks folks!
The question is, what to do next? @Hankchief is whispering siren words about LEL2017, but (a) I think that's a bit of step up from what I've done so far and (b) now probably isn't the time to ask Mrs Greenroofer for more bike time...
Posted 8 years ago # -
@greenroofer, very well done. If you're going to get a divorce, you may as well do it in style...
Posted 8 years ago # -
@greenroofer picked the right week for it weather wise. Holiday today for some to give you more time not sitting on those bones?
Posted 8 years ago # -
Glorious morning and wasn't going to waste it by rushing to work. Took a very pleasant ride through Dalmeny Estate. Squirrels, seabirds and pheasants aplenty but not another human to be seen. Fantastic.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Dunblane to Dundee over two half days and one full day. An impressive route for scenery and one we've wanted to do / share by tandem. Five lochs - Loch Lubnaig, Loch Earn, Loch Tay, Loch Tummel & Loch Faskally. Best day was Monday where we were spotted by ARobComp. 50 miles with views including Ben Lawers, Schiehallion and Ben Vrackie.
https://www.plotaroute.com/routeprofile/292351
Killin to Kirkmichael via Loch Tummel by LaidBackBikes, on Flickr
Posted 8 years ago # -
Down to Innerleithen today which was fine if bit busy until Peebles then lovely. Las Granitos road back to Roslin which is a great climb and better descent. Cafe in I Innerleithen very good.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I can't claim any amazing views, mega distances or gnarly climbs, but today I went out for my first group ride since getting pregnant 2.5 years ago. Lovely group of friends and strangers. 13 miles or so, just to Davidson's Mains for lunch and back. But I felt great and had a nice time child-free. (Easycycle group, working up to getting back out with 20milers)
Posted 8 years ago # -
Coaxed Madame IWRATS out on a recreational tour of Loch Leven. Just right for her - twenty kilometres with no traffic, gorgeous smelling pine woods, friendly babies and honking hordes of greylag and pink-footed geese.
I saw a kingfisher but too late to tell her or indeed jdanielp.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Lovely ride out on Saturday (not quite as good as HankChief's). Combined bits of known roads in to a new route out to West Lothian, before meeting BoF at Craigie's for coffee. We sat in the sun for a long time before going back through Dalmeny Estate using a route I'd not done before.
Was passed by a big crowd from Ronde - I had fun trying to hold them off on the climb out of Kirkliston!Posted 8 years ago # -
Sunday - cancelled Spoke 50 miler (didnt find out until was stood outside Usher Hall).
Went to Aberdour, never been before it is lovely over there. Wish i'd known about it earlier.
Poor sandwich in The Cedar Inn, next time I'll go to the cafe next door (@ Number 16 i think), it looked lovely, sadly no outside seating, hence the Inn choice.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Cycling from West to East through the Hermitage on a sunny autumn day should really go on the list of things every resident of our city should do. It really is very beautiful.
What else would be on the list....an afternoon session with good friends in Kays certainly.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@greenroofer
Just spotted your London-Edinburgh write-up! Excellent, must be great to cycle with no worries at all other than your own ability to turn the cranks. A real treat and a privilege.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Nice ride out to Burntisland today to see my Mum, who's not long out of hospital. Lovely day, not too hot, not too cold. Great thing was the vast majority of the ride was off-road. No need to worry about motor vehicles, just Saturday strollers and dogs. Most folk were so nice and polite it really wasn't a problem.
NEPN to Barnton; Then the wonderful path from Cramond Brig to Dalmeny*; Through the new mono block path at Dalmeny**; Across a slightly blowy FRB; Round the gravelly bits at Inverkeithing where shared use path was/will be again; Up the wee hill then Fife coast path/NCN 75 all the way to Burntisland.
I know the route to Aberdour fairly well, but not the path past Silver Sands towards Burntisland. Fairly challenging at points, verging on MTB or Cross bike territory, but manageable on the old Raleigh tourer I was riding. The tight wee tunnels under the railway line are something else! Hardly room to walk in them, never mind ride a bike.
Incredibly scenic route, and will definitely explore further along NCN 75. It has the usual Sustrans route pluses and minuses, but on a nice, dry day it's great cycling. Definitely not for a road bike though...
* - Really if there's one thing the current council administration deserve praise for in terms of cycling, it's the upgrade of this path. I'd forgotten how good it is. Okay a few narrow bits, but otherwise fantastic.
** - Which apart from the ridiculously OTT chicanes is a big improvement on the old narrow path. Indeed once you're on the rest of the route to the FRB, you realise how terrible those other paths really are in comparison.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Sorry, above was meant to read NCN route 76, of course.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Lovely mornng over to fauldhouse then harthill, blackridge, avonbridge, torphicen uphall Balerno.
No bad time considering not just the long whang that is closed but also part of the route I chose as detour through harburn and then even the back road out of addiewell but we ignored that one and dismounted at the small hole.
Posted 8 years ago # -
When I mentioned to my boss that Mrs Greenroofer and the little Greenroofers were away for the week and that I was home alone, he said 'you must take a day off and go for a bike ride' (I have a bit of a reputation at work for being a 'keen cyclist'). His boss said the same, and actually came and checked up on me on Wednesday saying 'Why are you here? I thought you were going to be going for a bike ride?'. I really had no alternative but to do as they told me (well, that's what I'm going to tell Mrs G when she gets back).
So I've spent today visiting some friends in Coldstream, and given that I was there, it seemed rude not to visit England, and given that the round trip was about 115 miles, it seemed silly not to put some wiggles in to make it up to 200km (my first one)
The journey south was via Dalkeith, Gifford, Longformacus and Duns to Coldstream and across the Tweed, and the journey back was a bit further east, along lots of narrow country lanes near Torness to East Linton and then west on the A199. It was perfect cycling weather: completely calm, mostly dry and a nice temperature. Once out of Dalkeith there was very little traffic, and lots of very nice roads. I have mixed feelings about all the deans I crossed in East Lothian: there was a certain amount of up-and-down in each one that I could have done without by that point, but they were very pretty.
The only low(er) points were (1) that one Achilles tendon started hurting, which it's never done before, and (2) some of the roads in East Lothian were being dug up for electricity cabling and were officially closed, which was a bit disconcerting. In every case the gentlemen digging up the road were very kind and stopped their digging to let me come by. The digging had made the roads incredibly muddy, and my bike is absolutely filthy. I'll need to wash of the evidence before Mrs G gets back.
Very nice day out and, to steal a word that @wingpig coined, it feels quite 'achievementy'.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Well done @greenroofer sounds Braw, I would bite the bullet and just tell Mrs Greenroofer
Posted 8 years ago # -
That sounded a great ride Greenroofer, well done. Have done bits of it but not the coast bit.
You'll be able to keep your cycle wanderlust at bay for a day or two at least!Posted 8 years ago # -
Ooh, that route sounds nice. I'll hopefully reappropriate bits if if at some point.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Definitely achievementy - thats a ride and a half! Respect offered. I'm still trying to convince myself that the 89 mile Tour de Lauder is doable by April with training.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Tour de Lauder clashes with pedal on Parliament. Alas last year I paid my entry before remembering thus. Money goes to good cause though.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Good one @Greenroofer. You're right - the country roads are pretty muddy atm ('guards help). I find that stretching can help keep Achilles niggles under control.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Lovely long weekend up in Aviemore mostly walking but did get a short ride along the Old Logging Way to Glenmore. It was really busy with people of all ages, including a family with tandem piloted by mum/small child stoker followed closely by dad with smaller child on kiddy seat. Also another family with very small child asleep in a trailer.
Almost as if safe segregated paths attract people to use them.
Enjoyed what can only be described as a proper hoolie in the Old Bridge Inn on Friday night with live band Fras who were excellent.
Need to get up there more often and do some proper exploring by bike.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Nice ride in to work yesterday morning before the rain started.
Crap ride home thanks to a puncture and a failed replacement tube meaning the last few miles were done on foot.
Ride home was also notable to a younger lad on a fixie who seemed keen to keep ahead of the few other cyclists at that time of day by going through any red light he could find along by Chambers Street and South Clerk Street.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Rainy ride in and pouring on the way hom yesterday. But today made up for it with red sky over teh Forth Bridge while riding in. Warming up as I progressed.
Its that time of year where getting the layers right is tricky. Too little and you freeze but too much and you get soaked in sweat.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"Its that time of year where getting the layers right is tricky. Too little and you freeze but too much and you get soaked in sweat. "
And often at the same time. Freezing fingers and sweating body. In fact today I think most of my hand was overheating whilst the fingers were painfully cold. Hands and feet are not well designed for cold weather cyclingPosted 8 years ago # -
I agree, cold hands at the start but I did not notice after 15 mins. I carry Extremeties Tough Bags (Gore Tex mitts) in my bag in winter, which reminds me I need to dig them out. They help against the chill and also are waterproof, yet roll up very small when not used.
Posted 8 years ago #
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