Today's Ride

[al-onestare]

Re:

Chilly 6 and staying at 6 to 08:00. Light cloud, spot of drizzle in isolated spots, light breeze.

Had a few early calls so had to be back sooner than I'd like, so spot on 20 miles taking in a new route out which leaves plenty of options to extend. Out to Sidcup and Bexley taking the closed A223 which was fun. Right next to the A2 I missed my turning and ended up on the outskirts of Dartford before getting back onto the B258 through Wilmington. At the top it felt like no-mans land (which this whole area feels like to me - hemmed in by 3 major roads - A2/M2, M25 and A20/M20). Onwards through Hextable to Swanley staying on the B-road and one of my favoured routes to Crockenhill before heading back for home.

No-mans land, Dec-2020: QEII bridge to the left and the M25, A2 turning into the M2 cutting it's way out towards the North Kent coast.

 

[mk one]

I bet its nice stood there, peace and quiet surrounded by all the commotion

Anyway, here has been clear all night again, this morning was clear blue skies and a warm sun.

So, i decided to go for a quick ride this morning, hoping to catch a few trails still frosted over. By the time i got to the first ones they had melted back to wet surface mud, the ground underneath was hard though which made for a slippy time. There were a few still frozen in the dark cold depths of the forest which were fun.

I felt good today after a couple of days resting up, i found myself just going with the flow and after sitting in the sun watching a combine harvester take the final crop down i ended up in Kings Clipstone, where the entrance to Sherwood Pines is, i skirted around there on some quiet trails and eventually popped onto the blue trail, which i decided to ride until it crossed the red and then head back on that. The section of blue is very quick running and perfect for a rigid, i found myself in top gear just enjoying the trail. I soon came back down to earth on the red, back to where i had started. On a rigid in bone dry conditions its a good workout trying keep you speed and have energy to hop over things, i had used all mine up though already, plus the frail was wet and cut up from the hoards of bikers out today. After that it was limp home mode, though still some great bits of trail through the woods on the way back.

A cold, warm, wet, dry, fast, and slow kinda day. Great fun.

 

[al-onestare]

Re:

It was - a very odd spot - tons of activity barely 2 miles away but absolutely still where I was stood.

Very chilly 2 degrees, dropping to about 0 in isolated spots. No breeze, very foggy in patches and misty throughout so I kept to well-lit suburban roads as much as I could before skirting onto the edge of the Downs later on. I took in some of the short, sharp climbs to warm myself up which worked until the downhills where I lost all feeling in my fingers and toes A solid, quick, 22 miles.

I'd not gone through Keston to the edge of Biggin Hill for a long time. I'd forgotten the stretch to Downe from there is really nice; undulating and quiet. In fact Downe was like a ghost town (village). Not a soul to be seen.

 

[rwm1962]

Not able to ride much at mo but try to commute the 14 mile round trip for my one day a week. Love the frosty mornings nights. Near miss with an owl on way home.

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

And there is photo of the month.

 

[reindeer]

Re:

+1 fantastic

 

[rwm1962]

 

[Jamiedyer]

OK this is generally a great thread but we now have another who thinks filling these threads with full stops will up their post count.
I'm afraid it wont as they are all about to get deleted and if there is one more then you will be banned for spamming. Better things to do with my Saturday night than delete post by post.

Jamie

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

Decided to head in the direction of Ashford along national cycle route 18 today. After a gloriously sunny day yesterday, it was all a bit bleak today: cold, damp, misty. Lots of walkers, though! And many getting out for fresh air, exercise, and the beauties of nature . . . But still glued to their phones! :facepalm: I stopped just short of Ashford in the end, the lure of lunch having a stronger pull on me than Ashford.

Approaching the village of Chartham with the River Stour on the left:


There's a great four mile stretch through woodland between Chartham and Godmersham, with farmland to either side, although this year the council covered the hard pack/muddy trail with gravel that looks suspiciously similar to cat litter:


And more:

Cold and a bit bleak between Wye and Ashford (although it's beautiful in spring and summer):

The village of Wye:

The long, straight road out of Wye heading back in the direction of Godmersham:

And St. Dunstan's in Canterbury (which is still very similar to the cover of Caravan's 1976 album Blind Dog at St. Dunstan's):

And, no, I don't know why the sign is advertising 'veganic veg' . . .

 

[mk one]

Nice, like the Caravan reference, slightly less dogs in that shot though . And the council have started covering tracks around here in hard packed gravel too, making a right mess

Sat looking out at the grey sky very unmotivated. However once out, as is usually the case, i had a great time.

It drizzled for a bit, then the sun came out, then drizzled some more before settling down. I could see some grim looking weather in the distance, but being no where near i only felt pity for a short spell before continuing on my ride. The temp was perfect, and no cold wind today.

I only went for a short loop but ended up extending it a bit, though all the link tracks are very muddy, partly from the rain but mostly from farmers who seem to have been driving down them all in their tractors churning everything up. Makes for hard work, but that sensation you get when you pop out onto tarmac after putting in a lot of effort off-road and carry on putting in the same effort, you end up flying

Quite a lot of people out today, either walking themselves, their dogs or just bumbling bored. Hardwick, though the main house is closed, was quite busy.

Nice ride on a nice day.