Today's Ride
- Thread starter FairfaxPat
- Start date
CassidyAce
Senior Retro Guru
Beautiful weather ^^^.
It was mainly cloudy but warm enough for shorts today, so I headed over the Crab and Winkle Way to Whitstable, then in a westerly direction along the Thanet Way to Seasalter. From there, it was back inland to the outskirts of Faversham.
The Isle of Sheppey as seen from the seafront at Seasalter.
And the bleak-looking landscape in the other direction:
The scenery got its act together as I approached Faversham, with a short off-road stretch and a river. And a wreck of a boat.
The sun decided to show itself as I started to head back:
To judge by the queues of cars on the Thanet Way, Tesco and Aldi were attracting more of a following than Jesus in this neck of the woods. However, I enjoyed a few minutes peace with my cake courtesy of the house of the latter in the village of Graveney.
It was mainly cloudy but warm enough for shorts today, so I headed over the Crab and Winkle Way to Whitstable, then in a westerly direction along the Thanet Way to Seasalter. From there, it was back inland to the outskirts of Faversham.
The Isle of Sheppey as seen from the seafront at Seasalter.
And the bleak-looking landscape in the other direction:
The scenery got its act together as I approached Faversham, with a short off-road stretch and a river. And a wreck of a boat.
The sun decided to show itself as I started to head back:
To judge by the queues of cars on the Thanet Way, Tesco and Aldi were attracting more of a following than Jesus in this neck of the woods. However, I enjoyed a few minutes peace with my cake courtesy of the house of the latter in the village of Graveney.
PeterPerfect
Senior Retro Guru
Looking good.
What are your thoughts on the Schwalbe Billy Bonkers ?
Very little choice these days in 26 tan/skin wall tyres.
CassidyAce
Senior Retro Guru
I was required elsewhere, so I had to rush that write-up.
Anyway, Billy Bonkers - all tyres involve compromises: in this case, they roll very well on tarmac, and they offer decent grip on road and gravelly/ dusty tracks. They are reasonably lightweight too, especially the folding ones. They were designed as a tyre for jump bikes, so you might expect all of that. For the type of riding I usually do - a mixture of road, gravel and light trails - they're excellent and I'm really happy with them. For me, they're better than, say, the Continental Race Kings I have used for the same sort of riding. On the other hand, if you're only riding in rougher conditions, there are better tyres and, equally, if you're only riding on roads, there are faster tyres. It's also a daft name for a tyre and they're perhaps a little too orange when new for some tastes.
If you buy a set and don't like them, I'd buy them from you.
Anyway, Billy Bonkers - all tyres involve compromises: in this case, they roll very well on tarmac, and they offer decent grip on road and gravelly/ dusty tracks. They are reasonably lightweight too, especially the folding ones. They were designed as a tyre for jump bikes, so you might expect all of that. For the type of riding I usually do - a mixture of road, gravel and light trails - they're excellent and I'm really happy with them. For me, they're better than, say, the Continental Race Kings I have used for the same sort of riding. On the other hand, if you're only riding in rougher conditions, there are better tyres and, equally, if you're only riding on roads, there are faster tyres. It's also a daft name for a tyre and they're perhaps a little too orange when new for some tastes.
If you buy a set and don't like them, I'd buy them from you.
Can someone tell me where the fu7k spring is? It's flippin' mid-May and it's barely hit 13 in the last month. Ridiculous.
With the garage full of building stuff it was impossible to get to the bikes until this weekend. So it was great - no super-great - to get back in the saddle this morning after 2 weeks of running. Echoing the first sentence, 9 degrees, rising to....oh who am I kidding? Blustery, up to 30mph in spots, random showers but at least the wind isn't from the north or east anymore.
It was an exploratory ride along to Pendeen taking in Levant and Geevor mines; I've run along most of the way so wanted to see how far it goes before it turns into footpath territory. Had a blast with one gear, semi-slicks and damp rock
No sign of raidan 
With the garage full of building stuff it was impossible to get to the bikes until this weekend. So it was great - no super-great - to get back in the saddle this morning after 2 weeks of running. Echoing the first sentence, 9 degrees, rising to....oh who am I kidding? Blustery, up to 30mph in spots, random showers but at least the wind isn't from the north or east anymore.
It was an exploratory ride along to Pendeen taking in Levant and Geevor mines; I've run along most of the way so wanted to see how far it goes before it turns into footpath territory. Had a blast with one gear, semi-slicks and damp rock
No sign of raidan
Can someone tell me where the fu7k spring is? It's flippin' mid-May and it's barely hit 13 in the last month. Ridiculous.
With the garage full of building stuff it was impossible to get to the bikes until this weekend. So it was great - no super-great - to get back in the saddle this morning after 2 weeks of running. Echoing the first sentence, 9 degrees, rising to....oh who am I kidding? Blustery, up to 30mph in spots, random showers but at least the wind isn't from the north or east anymore.
It was an exploratory ride along to Pendeen taking in Levant and Geevor mines; I've run along most of the way so wanted to see how far it goes before it turns into footpath territory. Had a blast with one gear, semi-slicks and damp rock
I heard London is beautiful this time of year
For me personally, the coast is great in all weathers, really missing it. Glad your back out on the bike now though and some great shots. Climbed at Pendeen a few times over the years
This morning the towpath and riverbank were out of the question: wet and muddy means slow. Can't spare a minute... Panicky charge to the office. Turned out I was early.
Getting ready to leave for home an ominous thunderhead gathered over the office. Should I stay or should I go now? Took the latter option and within a couple of minutes a deluge hit.
Then the sun came out. Warm and moist ride home.
Swinton boatyard in the background.
Blossom garlands along the towpath. Splashing along through deep puddles, sending a rooster tail of dirty water up my back.
14°c, with an 18mph SSE breeze. The rain held off until I'd cleaned my bike, and then there was hail.
Getting ready to leave for home an ominous thunderhead gathered over the office. Should I stay or should I go now? Took the latter option and within a couple of minutes a deluge hit.
Then the sun came out. Warm and moist ride home.
Swinton boatyard in the background.
Blossom garlands along the towpath. Splashing along through deep puddles, sending a rooster tail of dirty water up my back.
14°c, with an 18mph SSE breeze. The rain held off until I'd cleaned my bike, and then there was hail.
PeterPerfect
Senior Retro Guru
Rob McKenna and two teeth.
Took the 98. Best pace yet. Felt fast. This morning was a tremendously exciting ride in. After last night's thunderstorm it was still very wet. Lots of standing water. More road, less off.
I'm not getting on with the 99. It is little different from the 98 but feels stiffer and slower. The 44t big ring is like pedalling through treacle. 98 has a 42t. 9 speed busy, 8 speed settled.
Coming home I was chased by the stormclouds again. Got blitzed.
14°c and warm.
14 miles
Took the 98. Best pace yet. Felt fast. This morning was a tremendously exciting ride in. After last night's thunderstorm it was still very wet. Lots of standing water. More road, less off.
I'm not getting on with the 99. It is little different from the 98 but feels stiffer and slower. The 44t big ring is like pedalling through treacle. 98 has a 42t. 9 speed busy, 8 speed settled.
Coming home I was chased by the stormclouds again. Got blitzed.
14°c and warm.
14 miles
CassidyAce
Senior Retro Guru
I've found the same: 44t is just 2t more but those 2t make a surprisingly big difference. Mostly, it just feels like harder work, and more than 5% harder work somehow. Kills that sprightly feeling. And 9 speed: yes, too busy.
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