Today's Ride

today was bloody cold!! good excuse to try out the cheap chinese soft shell trousers........theyre spot on but we will see if they survive the washer haha. some parts locally were pleasantly nice going, not too gloopy but other trials were a sideways nightmare. also got to ride some spots i avoid in summer due to nettles etc so a pleasant run around scunthorpe on a modern and muddy bike listening to the beastie boys and enjoying the sun......while it lasted

mmmm, sand


industrial garden town


usually fast and grippy, not today. went up this sideways


the beard is strong, the hills are...............few and fare between


old slag heaps have turned into mini rivers of rain water. some crosser lads were out and would have loved the tow up but they didnt offer :(


not quite sheeps tor


new work to the bridleway behind my house. theyve only closed the one side so had a chance to see how much theyd cleared and leveled coming in from the rear. should be good when finished although im worried it will be tarmac. my youth will love it though and its supposed to be linking around 15-20 miles of off road access


got some TOIL to take this week so may get out during the week.....
 
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At least you could see! Up above the cloud line.

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Yesterday was the most frustrating ride I've had in a long time.

My planned route was a flat loop of about 20 km around packed gravel tracks, but it'd been raining for about 18 hours straight, the rivers had overflowed and there was a stiffish wind blowing. In dry and firm conditions it's a fast ride, but I knew this would be a bit tougher.

I waited for the rain to ease off a bit before I left the house, but I had barely got 300 meters before my wheels sunk deep into the ooze. I wasn't making any headway at all. That first section was unrideable so I dragged the Pace up to a flattish bit and tried again. Another couple of hundred meters and the same thing again - stuck deep, the bike stood up by itself in the mud and there was a bunch of crap trapped between the rims and the brakes and so again I dismounted and dragged the bike to firmer ground.

Then the squall hit. Strong forty miles an hour winds, limbs off the trees, horizontal rain and visibility down to bugger all. Despite wearing a good layer of clothing I was completely soaked to the skin. I waited for it to pass, disconnected the brakes to give me more clearance and tried again. This time I made it perhaps 50 meters before I realised how futile it was and gave up.

By the time I'd got back to the house I'd covered maybe a kilometer and I was cold, wet, and tired. I'm used to riding in the rain, but these Monsoon conditions were something else.
 
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Today-Monday-Up 800' or so to the West of town today. With a long zoom, Mt. Diablo, 25 miles away on the other side of the bay, came in great on today's shot. Even though we have had a number of recent storms, the ground just soaks it up, leaving great traction with no mud yet. Sunny and about 56 F. today...
 

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First ice, a stupid spill, some frozen leaves... half-eaten breakfast and then sunset at 3 PM.
 

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