Today's Ride

This is turning into a bitch about the weather which is ridiculous considering it's the UK; it's always unpredictable. That said, has spring turned up yet? It's fucking June next week!

Another week and half of insane wind, horizontal "showers" and temperatures barely scraping 10 degrees meant soggy runs and no rides, until yesterday early evening with a quick 45 minute spin before I walked the dog. The sun was desperately trying to break through and when it did, you could feel the heat....for all of 10 seconds 🤣

iH7PmQ.jpg


With a clear, still morning on the cards today, there was no stopping me on a sold 2 hour loop around the southern tip of the county; Sennen, St Buryan, Lamorna (and that hill), Paul (he's good, thanks for asking), Lower Drift, Sancreed and home. Started a chilly 7, rising to about 10/11 with partial sunny skies. Still needed the thin jacket but it was nice to get a sweat on for once.

ouCgXe.jpg


I do like this spot at Sancreed, taking in the 180 degree view of where I've come from, including Lamorna on the far left, that small "nick" on the horizon. Of course tomorrow is back to the cold and drizzle but hope is around the corner...I've seen numbers that go up to <gasp> 18 degrees :eek::eek:🤣
 
Today's highlight.
This afternoon.
Riverbank of the Don.

I'm disturbed from my reverie by an obstacle ahead. Could this be a tweaker I see before me, or just an old fashioned zombie? A gaunt and hollow shell, alone and oblivious to my arrival. The haunted faraway look in his sunken eyes blinked away as a brief flicker of something passes over his face. I ask if he is OK, but receive no response. Then a grunt, and some unintelligible mutter spills out from behind the tombstones in his mouth. I didn't quite catch what it was, but something about it being close to midnight. This has lots of potential for a bad situation. It would be much safer if I just got the **** out of Dodge. From somewhere in the distance I hear Vincent Price's cackle being carried on the breeze.
This could be the end. I leave.
The End.
Screenshot_20210527-204822_Gallery.jpg

In 9°c
Out, a balmy 18°c.
Beautiful day
 
Last edited:
24%. That's right 24% - the likelihood of rain today. Good. I left my waterproof jacket at home as a risk worth taking. It pissed down this afternoon. Bloody marvellous.
11°c this morning
18°c this afternoon.

Screenshot_20210528-184035_Gallery.jpg The view across the River Don towards Old Denaby. Local legend has it there are tunnels that run from the vicinity of the hill in the background to Conisbrough Castle about 2 miles away.

That's me done for the week. Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend. Screenshot_20210528-184021_Gallery.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20210528-184021_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20210528-184021_Gallery.jpg
    232.8 KB · Views: 2
Went out for a quick ride on my newly rebuilt retro mountain bike. Was only going to do half a mile or so on road, but I was enjoying myself so I went for a quick thrash in the local park. It's been a while since I've ridden a bike that wasn't fixed wheel, so I kept forgetting that I was allowed to stop pedalling, and I hesitated slightly each time before freewheeling, subconsciously expecting to receive an abrupt reminder to carry on pedalling. Having 21 gears and nobbly tyres was also a novelty. I haven't ridden a mountain bike for a very long time, and I was amazed at the steep inclines I could tackle. No mud today though. I need to keep it clean until I've taken a few pictures with it gleaming. Transmission was smooth, and shifts were crisp, but the chain and cassette were new, so I would've been disappointed if it wasn't. Only bad thing was that my knee was hurting when I got home. Just as well I didn't join the Peaks ride, as it's obvious my knee hasn't fully recovered from the ride I did earlier in the week.
 
Not a particularly long ride today - just under 24 miles - but a hugely satisfying one. I decided to head towards Wye and find the hlaew (ancient burial mound), from the time of the Jutes, that I had been looking for four weeks ago. This time, however, I went armed with precise map coordinates.

On the way there; beams of sunlight through the cloud:
PXL_20210530_163259072.jpg

A snapshot from the trail:
PXL_20210530_163541998.jpg

The trail ends near the village of Godmersham, and then it was a road ride for perhaps four miles, including a lengthy uphill stretch. Eventually, there's a chalky path at the side of a little used road, and a brief walk of no more than 100m took me to the hlaew. It might look just like a mound of earth - and it is a mound of earth - but roughly fourteen hundred years ago people were buried there, with ceremony. I spent a little time pondering their lives, lifeworlds and their reality; doubtless different but, equally, self and other is a fleeting illusion.
PXL_20210530_171351890.jpg
PXL_20210530_171457292.jpg
PXL_20210530_171436239.jpg

I gave my best wishes to the departed and then departed myself, further up the hill, to this:
PXL_20210530_172218126.jpg
PXL_20210530_172723217.jpg
PXL_20210530_172712701.jpg
PXL_20210530_172621270.PANO.jpg
After admiring the view for a while, I hightailed it home for dinner.
 
Last edited:
Looks like we've skipped spring and gone head-long into summer - that's fine with me 🤣

Comfortable 11 degrees, rising to about 13/14 in the sun, a little chilly in the sheltered valleys, blue skies and golden sunshine all along the way. A beautiful morning ride, nice and quiet with all those troublesome holiday-makers back in city 😉

I mixed up a route taking in Gear Hill before shooting right (a great blast down) towards and then up to Madron on the B3312. I prefer going up it this side than the other way. A solid 20 miles with lots of climbing, here's a quick peak back towards Pendeen lighthouse.

GI6Vh8.jpg


Next week the G7 come to town St. Ives so I'll check that out to see if I can spot any Russian spies.
 
Back
Top