Today's Ride

[al-onestare]

A picture tells a thousand words...

Dank, dark, wet. Cool 10 degrees, slight 7-8 mph ESE breeze. Still, any day in the saddle is a good day

 

[sjcprojects]

It was definitely mudguard weather today, very misty and somewhat damp. On the other hand, there were very light winds, though, so I'm not complaining...

The second photo is of a stone carving that was once on an inn called the 'Trout and Grouse'.

 

[winjohn]

I've been waiting to find a White chainset for my Team Marin and finally one came up on eBay at a reasonable price. I have had in for a few weeks while I had other projects on the go but today I finally got round to fitting it and had to try it out.
Wow what a plush but direct ride, very nice indeed. The XT shifting was crisp and the Ritchey cantis gave great predictable stopping power.
I even learned something about la local legend Dickie Frost.



All systems are go!

 

[highlandsflyer]

A picture tells a thousand words...

Dank, dark, wet. Cool 10 degrees, slight 7-8 mph ESE breeze. Still, any day in the saddle is a good day

I remember those roads when I was young in my uncle's Land Rover. Much sketchier in the bed of my aunt's mini. Quite like that weather, when its quiet and the only sounds are from the shore.

 

[moonlite]

The issue with my iPhone taking blurry photos continues (I'm sure it's the 'indestructible' case I have it in) so I don't have any images to share of recent rides. Suffice to say, summer is coming in rather hesitantly while I try to get some miles into the creaky old legs.

Last Saturday was sunny, clear, about 20C but with a strange chilly wind -- ended up riding with shorts, thermal vest, cycling jersey, and toe covers. Explored some of the dirt roads around the base of the mountains to the east of town and had a real blast -- but coming home involved about 10km on the highway, which was less fun. I did encounter two charity walkers with their goods and chattels in a wheely cart which made for a good quick chat, though. 38km, 400m climbing.

Today was very hot early on and 30C by the time I set off at 11:30; started with an absolute blast along a similar route to Saturday, but turned off on a different dirt road and headed toward the coast for a while before circling back. Once headed homeward, I noticed the wind rising rapidly -- hot and dry, not the strange cold wind of a few days ago -- and battled home in a total blood-sugar 'bonk'. 38km, 328m climbing.

Both of these routes took me through farmland and forest where there was virtually no traffic at all -- I probably encountered 3 vehicles the entire ride. Even if it is perenially windy here, it's good not to lose sight of the many virtues of the rides around here.