Today's Ride

[dorset boy]

Spring is here

 

[widowmaker]

8 mile dusk ride, along the Blandford Trailway, not embarrassed to say the legs were gone from Sundays ride.

Used the granny gear for the first time in a few years

 

[Frankenorange]

8 mile dusk ride, along the Blandford Trailway, not embarrassed to say the legs were gone from Sundays ride.

Used the granny gear for the first time in a few years
View attachment 946196

That church is handy for 2 reasons. 1 if you feel the need to pray and the other is there is an outside tap which, if memory serves correctly, is to the right of the door in your pic.
I have seen locals filling up water bottle there and guzzling away, but maybe it is just water for washing hands etc unless you have water cleaning stuff. Anyway....good to know of.

 

[Betsy]

Kudos.. granny gear is the most exhausting of all!

*If it's got pressure.. it'll be mains water, it'll be fine

*Caveat.. from the perspective of someone who's not averse to filling his water bottle from the source flowing down Grinds Brook.. it's a tad peaty but hey, if that's prized by whisky connoisseurs then who am i to complain..

 

[bikeworkshop]

Oh, the water...
Get it myself from the mountain stream

(Title of song tastefully omitted)

 

[moonlite]

As spring arrives for you lot, we are slipping gracefully into autumn -- today was chilly to start but by 11am it was 20C and absolutely cloudless, giving rise to the distinctive conditions we get around here at these times: warm sunshine, cold breeze.

I took advantage of Mrs Moon being out of town to do a more challenging ride than normal -- a loop with about half on gravel through rolling farmlands, and half on mostly decent tarmac. It was great taking my time to spin along and take in the sights with very little traffic and only cattle to watch me go by.

I had forgotten that this route entails fording a reasonably major river, and given that it has rained a bit in the last week, it was deeper and faster than usual. Managed it alright by dint of engaging a low gear and steering steadily with no sudden moves. Even so, emerged with very wet feet.

Stopped to offer help to a young chap whose van had broken down on the dirt road in the middle of nowhere -- he was a solar installer and accustomed to travelling to remote farms to ply his trade. He laughed off my offer of a tiny tool roll with allen keys and tyre levers and assured me a colleague was on the way to rescue him.

Tooled home again in just over two hours. Lovely to be out in the middle of the day when the weather is good. Long may it last!

 

[bikeworkshop]

Next time can you picture the ford?
Place phone in tree limb,
self timer set, 20sec,
dash back grab bike
get into middle of river,
look cool and purposeful...

 

[moonlite]

Next time can you picture the ford?
Place phone in tree limb,
self timer set, 20sec,
dash back grab bike
get into middle of river,
look cool and purposeful...

I'll do my best but suspect the pic would be of me falling off into the torrent. (Which, come to think of it, would be quite a cool pic.)

 

[bikeworkshop]

Oh, the water...
Get it myself from the mountain stream

Poured away the tapwater.

 

[dorset boy]

View attachment 946398
Poured away the tapwater.

Is that Chocolate milkshake on the left