Todays ride

[ScotRoutes]

Making the most of the hot spell (due to end tomorrow) with an impromptu Lairig Ghru descent

[Trail-rat]

251.6km over glenshee to kirriemuir , arbroath then up the coast to stonehaven and across the slug back to home.

[JohnClimber]

#JennRide this weekend













All photos here https://www.flickr.com/photos/25655510@ ... 0433/page1

[ScotRoutes]

Still working on my VeloViewer Explorer score which is taking me to some out-of-the-way spots. I'm rather enjoying the sense of travelling through places I'd otherwise miss and enjoying the fresh views.

[macinblack]

200k up to Penistone and about mostly using the TPT and lesser known trails.

Thurgoland tunnel - From the middle - Freaky acoustics at that point.



TF this place was still open for a nibble.

[rando nomad]

FullSizeRender (8).jpg (203.89 KiB) Viewed 5367 times

First off road ride in awhile. Just a 1/2 hour at a new trail system near work. Not too technical, but not silly simple either. A great way to start the day.
Stu- berm fixed

[Bearbonesnorm]

That's one hell of a berm

[voodoo_simon]

Not posted in here for a while, so yesterday's ride was 145km mainly on the road taking in some gravel/fire roads. Great weather fuelled by coffee and 5 bottles of water!

[Trail-rat]

an endless thread of gravel up into the forest.



type 2 singletrack



there was an element of that moment in the middle of the big forest where we turned round and there was a bright light looking at us from deeper in side the forest - that we in theory should have ridden past but yet not seen it until now. it seemed to be moving - was it getting closer - what was it.....

ah feck it - too tired to care. Sleep wake up in the morning - the fog clears to reveal the wind turbine control center and a BFO halogen light on the side.



170km done and home by 11am. Job jobbed.


(ps one of these photos was taken on my phone....which was it.... new camera rocks :D )

[whitestone]

Still working on my VeloViewer Explorer score which is taking me to some out-of-the-way spots. I'm rather enjoying the sense of travelling through places I'd otherwise miss and enjoying the fresh views.

is that the one where your score is the number of contiguous OS grid squares visited, I.e. 3x3, 4x4, etc.?

[whitestone]

We went for a short trip from Ribblehead up on to Twistleton Scars for a bivy with a view. A bit breezy but once out of the wind it wasn't too bad.

Heading along from Ribblehead, Ingleborough in the background.


The sun was getting low.


Cath at the top of the climb up Twistleton Scar.


Setting up the tarp on a rather bumpy bit of ground but at least it was out of the northerly wind.


The stove needed extra wind protection!


The setting sun and a fine view of Heysham nuclear power stations


This is what 5am looks like in the Yorkshire Dales


Unfortunately by the time I woke again at 8am it had clouded over. We headed back to Ribblehead, this time in to the wind.

[Zippy]

Should have taken a boat in to work this morning - it was more wet than I've been in Wales

I'm also on 979 miles for May so far, so as long as I ride more than 21 miles after work today, that will be 1,000 miles in May cycled.

[Trail-rat]

logged 200k friday/saturday.

Rode out to ballater from aberdeen over the quieter spine roads between the north deeside road and the strathdon road , grabbed a fish and chips from the chipper and some beer from the co-op before continuing up to my bed for the night at loch muick. Loads of deer down by the river





woke up in the AM to pea souper. Spoke to the aberdeen mountain rescue for a bit at the carpark , they were setting up for an awareness day. - worth remember atm that although as an O&G worker im aware that the superpumas are currently grounded - unusually so are the SAR superpumas atm.



spot of breakie in ballater at the bean for coffee - since the bothy was showing no signs of opening anytime soon.

10:30 moved on to the bikestation where i met the guys from work for our annual ballater bike challenge - 40 miles back to duthie park on the deeside way.



saw this epic 96 marin nail trail lined up !



then we set off , Watched some fast cookies take off the front - did my "social bit" at the start then took off to catch them. We chainganged back to town and got to duthie park in 2:25mins including being very curteous to the dog walkers e3ven if they do appear to be the most completely unaware dog walkers ive ever met........you know dog on one side - person on the other side , lead inbetween and NO incline to move everything to the same side.

[ScotRoutes]

One from yesterday morning


The HTR folk might recognise it if they'd had time to look behind them

[JohnClimber]

Not today, not even this month, but my excuse is that I only found it on line today

Taken during the #JennRide when Paul, Cath and I photo bombed a wedding photo shoot.



I#m still trying to contact the photographer for the high res copy and the other he took of us shooting past

[burty]

what was the name of the site you found it on john ,
it looks good

[Dave Barter]

Today I rode the Ridgeway Double. I was aiming for Steve Large's time but after doing one length of the Ridgeway it was clear that I did not have a hope. The return leg was eventful as passing storms had ruined sections of the Ridgeway which had been pristine on the way out. I reset my ambition to under 16 hours and made it by 21 seconds. It's a great route and I'm surprised so few have had a go. I'm currently in a right state, possibly due to the ride but more likely down to old age.

[JohnClimber]

what was the name of the site you found it on john ,
it looks good

http://steveholcroft.com/
and on his facebook site.
I've dropped him messages and left a phone message but he's not come back to me

Also
Warning you wont get the next 4 minutes of your life back

https://youtu.be/CFOXAjtBkFQ

[RIP]

Oooer. In the woods. 22.40. Bike. Full moon. And there's werewolves howlin'. Maybe a bike pump is a better weapon than i thought it was. At least i hope it is.....

[RIP]

Might be aboutto make the last mistake I ever make. If I don't post tomorrow it will have been! Pickers just assured me that I'm the scariest thing out there. What was it, "if it's not there in the daytime it's not there at night time". OK, on the way back from the woods down the canal and the drink is talking. Temp claims 17c. Nothing on tomorrow and nothing worth stealing here - old Dawes, can hide the phone I think.Rucsac pillow. Taken some piucs but can't work out how to post. Well here we go.. I do it for the something or other. experiment. and the moon is indeedquite beautiful... "Reg"

[RIP]

Despatch from trenches. Light. Bit wrecked. And bit wretched too. But not retched. And main thing no slugs. Off home. R.

[RIP]

Sorry about those ravings but it was a surreal night. Have a few too many (as was plain) and anything can happen (every bevvy leads to a bivi!). Rode to Ivinghoe and consumed intemperately in the Rose and Crown, departing late. Back along the spooky bridleway below Ivinghoe Beacon:



and along the canal:



Abandoned hastily by the previous meal of the werewolves? (although they seemed to have had time to lock it before disappearing between the slavering jaws by the look of it):



Not too far from home but still pretty remote, still very warm, nearly midnight, and despite the lycanthropic threat foolishly decided to try a basic bivi experience. Day off today so good a time as any. Had a fleece and jacket so wore those. Nip over the fence, backpack for "pillow" and very thick grass with added hay for "bed" didn't make for a luxurious crashpad and it was a fitful night's "sleep". Mercifully short in fact because of course it got light at 5. Decided to plod on home and spent the next 4 hours in a proper bed.



Bit of a sobering experience in more ways than one, as my "bivi kit" consisted of, I think, backpack, helmet/jacket/sandals(!)/fleece/shorts/base-layer, headlight/battery, phone, doorkey, visa card, pump, puncture kit, 1st aid kit, multitool, pencil/paper, tiny bikelock, small bottle of water, er and that's it. So much for all those tarps, bags, stoves, whatnot, sojourning in the loft.

Still, it was a lovely moon. Oh, and just realised this is now on wrong thread : 6/7 ;-).

"Reg"

[Mariner]

What is the significance - if any - of the gold bike without a saddle?

[Pickers]

Reg, reading the text you sent last night, I'd say sobering is very much what was needed!
At least it was drier than the night at Eyam, we really can drop and sleep almost anywhere. Excellent.

[RIP]

"significance" - there was a very deep one at the time but I'm struggling to remember it now I've got my brain (mostly) back ;-). Perhaps the lack of a saddle is alluding to those things that are missing in our lives? "We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers." - somebody's borrowed the saddle? "It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers" - where's the saddle gone? Good question to which we currently have no answer.

"Reg"

(bit baffled by some of the post counts, my three ravings have the same number, which is now 109 but was originally 108)