Cycling

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Northerner said:
Caught a glimpse of you coming down one of the hills Matt 😱 :D

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I managed a bit further on my run on Sunday, 3.35 miles @ 10:01/mile 🙂
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Ha, that was brill. Froomey descending on the Col de Peyresourde. Must have been a bit erm, painful 😱 resting on the top tube like that and he wasn't just freewheeling, he was pedalling like mad in that position. Because of his height and build (tall and thin) he looked a little ungainly but got the result. :D That's what I'd look like if I tried it and didn't fall off. :D

Your niece is putting some serious miles in - on Sunday she did 160 miles!! 😱 She set off at 6am and elapsed time was 14hrs 21 minutes - so nearly 8.20pm return with a moving time of just over 11 hours and elevation gain of 15200 feet! 😱 Incredible!! Makes my jaunts look like a ride in the park. 🙄

Well done on the run and glad the foot is holding up. 🙂
 
Matt Cycle said:
Ha, that was brill. Froomey descending on the Col de Peyresourde. Must have been a bit erm, painful 😱 resting on the top tube like that and he wasn't just freewheeling, he was pedalling like mad in that position. Because of his height and build (tall and thin) he looked a little ungainly but got the result. :D That's what I'd look like if I tried it and didn't fall off. :D

Your niece is putting some serious miles in - on Sunday she did 160 miles!! 😱 She set off at 6am and elapsed time was 14hrs 21 minutes - so nearly 8.20pm return with a moving time of just over 11 hours and elevation gain of 15200 feet! 😱 Incredible!! Makes my jaunts look like a ride in the park. 🙄

Well done on the run and glad the foot is holding up. 🙂
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Froome was doing 90kph down a very steep, very winding road 😱

Yes, niece is definitely a loony - just a few years ago she was a total couch potato, the transformation and her achievements are awesome! 😱 🙂 Obviously, she gets it from me.... :D
 
Cloudy this morning but it really brightened up - sunny and warm and so I took a ride this afternoon back out into the Cheshire money belt - Alderley Edge, Wilmslow and surroundings. I felt a bit queasy about half way round - not sure if it was the warmer weather or me just feeling under the weather. (May be too much information but I'll say it anyway. 😉 ) Had some newish bibshorts on as well and that didn't help - will be relegated to shorter rides from now on due to erm padding issues not agreeing with the shape of my behind 😱 - sudocrem to the rescue. 🙂 So although it's always good to get out in hindsight a shorter ride would have been better.

Strava has it 64.0 miles at an average speed of 14.8 mph and elevation gain of just under 2200 feet.

I've got another libre on at the moment so levels started at 10 mmol/l then rose over the first 15-20 miles to 12 mmol/l before dropping into the 4's at around 30 miles it then climbed back up into the 7's and 8's before dipping again then rising again and finishing on 10.6 mmol/l o_O. Had my energy/protein drink (powder mixed in water) on the way round and two slices of malt loaf. So not a disaster but not brilliant. Corrected now and it's at 5.6 mmol/l.

The weather is looking good for next week, particularly Tuesday (maybe too warm 😱). I'm at work so it can rain for all I care. 😉:D:D (Only joking). :D

Canal near Macclesfield
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Libre sensor (quite awkward taking a photo whilst trying to twist your arm 🙄 )
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Almost worked - Jodrell Bank telescope just over my right shoulder (the strap from the helmet is blocking it 🙄 )
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Top of the climb near Rudyard
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Here's what the Garmin said
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Took part in Sky Ride in Leeds today. After a lap of extremely cautious and very slow riding to avoid kids going in random directions, I decided to return to the much easier to negotiate open-to- all-traffic streets of west Leeds and found a new route along Leeds Liverpool Canal and chatted with a few dog walkers - one may come to free orienteering sessions next weekend. Using my new folding bike, intended for bike rides involving trains and / or buses, to try it out. Needed to adjust angle of saddle when I got home. It's pretty lightweight, which is a good feature when carrying up steps.
 
Copepod said:
Took part in Sky Ride in Leeds today. After a lap of extremely cautious and very slow riding to avoid kids going in random directions, I decided to return to the much easier to negotiate open-to- all-traffic streets of west Leeds and found a new route along Leeds Liverpool Canal and chatted with a few dog walkers - one may come to free orienteering sessions next weekend. Using my new folding bike, intended for bike rides involving trains and / or buses, to try it out. Needed to adjust angle of saddle when I got home. It's pretty lightweight, which is a good feature when carrying up steps.
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Excellent. Sky Ride big bike events are great for getting people involved in cycling in their town or city centre on traffic free roads. The downside as you point out is the somewhat chaotic nature of them. I haven't done one myself although I signed up to the do the Sheffield one 3 or 4 years ago - I thought I would tie it in with a visit to my Mum. Unfortunately it was torrential rain on the day so I gave it a miss. Sky do lots of other guided rides and social rides for all ages and abilities including Sky Breeze for women only.

http://www.goskyride.com/

Folding bikes are perfect for those things you say. There are so many on the market now - although Bromptons are still considered the best.
 
I think they're great, especially for beginner / inexperienced cyclists. Not so much for the motor traffic free roads, as for the stands by local authority and cycling organistions. The area where cyclists could sit in a HGV cab to (or not see!) what a truck driver sees was particularly good.
I actually bought a Carrera (Halford's own brand) folding bike, which cost £300. There was 15% off, following May Bank Holiday weekend, and because it was late reaching me, due to being incorrectly labelled in storeroom of shop from which I was due to Click & Collect, the manager knocked off another £50, without me even asking 🙂 I upgraded with a £6.99 gel padded city saddle from Lidl! It got a a good check with a combined train / bike commute, involving 3 cities / towns on Thursday. I'll be back to my normal commuting bike tomorrow, but will take folding bike for a week's house / pet / livestock minding / coastal surveys in Norfolk in August.
 
Wish I could ride a bike! 🙂 Mind you, I wouldn't be doing the sort of ride my niece is doing - she did a 12 hour 200+ mile ride at the weekend! 😱 😱 😱 🙂
 
Northerner said:
Wish I could ride a bike! 🙂 Mind you, I wouldn't be doing the sort of ride my niece is doing - she did a 12 hour 200+ mile ride at the weekend! 😱 😱 😱 🙂
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Never to late to learn, Northerner. Bike weeks often include bike try sessions in car parks, so you can try various types, including recumbants, tricycles etc. Worth asking your local council cycling or "active transport" officer or local cycling campaign or Cycling UK (new name for CTC Cyclists' Touring Club) or British Cycling for opportunities for adult learners.
 
Northerner said:
Wish I could ride a bike! 🙂 Mind you, I wouldn't be doing the sort of ride my niece is doing - she did a 12 hour 200+ mile ride at the weekend! 😱 😱 😱 🙂
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Just seen that - 202 miles - wow!! 16 hours 40 minutes elapsed time and 12 hours 21 minutes moving time. 😱 There's photos of them next to the beach at sunny Brid eating ice creams. 🙂

I hope they used plenty of sunscreen - as usual I covered myself in factor 50 yesterday and ended up with a nice, very light brown tan - arms, legs and face. However, I missed the area just around the Libre sensor (on photo above) as I didn't want to knock it and thought my sleeve would be covering it up anyway. On the drops with arms stretched out the area is uncovered and I've now got a pinky, red sunburnt bit just around the sensor. 🙄 Lesson learned. 🙂

You should definitely give it a go and learn to ride. There is no comparison with learning to drive a car - it's so much easier. Mode of transport, keeping fit, simply exploring, short rides or long rides, social rides or on your own - it can be so many things and with no environmental impact. You don't even have to go on the roads that much as there are urban trails, canal tow paths etc. I like going out just for the enjoyment of riding although Strava has made me a bit more competitive. :D You don't get the impact on your legs that you do with running either. I live at the top of a hill and I admit it was a challenge on my old hybrid getting the shopping when it included 2.5 kg bags of potatoes, 4 pints of milk and other weighty items carrying them in a rucksack - you can get panniers as well though. :D Agree with Copepod - Cycling UK have lots of tips and advice for adult learners or just google it. A hybrid style bike is a great compromise - upright position and slightly wider tyres - suitable for on road riding or trails, canal paths etc.
 
Copepod said:
Never to late to learn, Northerner. Bike weeks often include bike try sessions in car parks, so you can try various types, including recumbants, tricycles etc. Worth asking your local council cycling or "active transport" officer or local cycling campaign or Cycling UK (new name for CTC Cyclists' Touring Club) or British Cycling for opportunities for adult learners.
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Its a lot less knee thumping Northy. I know you would enjoy. 😎
 
Stuff to do this morning so it was a quickish afternoon spin out to some of my regular haunts in Cheshire and back in time to watch Froomey on the Champs-Elysees picking up his third TdF title. Well done to him. 🙂 Weather was a bit overcast but reasonably mild although 2 or 3 showers passed over. The road dried almost as soon as the rain hit it. After last weeks issues with bibshorts I invested a bit more than I normally would during the week (not extortionate really but then I'm a bit of a skinflint) with some new DHB ones from Wiggle and gave them a run out today. Fantastic and definitely worth the extra cost.

Strava has given it as 56.5 miles at an average speed of 15.5 mph and elevation gain of just under 2000 feet.

Still got the Libre sensor on and bg's behaved themselves all morning in the 5's, 6's and 7's. However as soon as I got ready to go out they started to rise. When I left it was up to 8.2 mmol/l but within 8 miles this had risen to 11.8 mmol/l and at 12 miles it was up to 13.6 mmol/l. This must be a combination of adrenaline in anticipation of the ride and start of the ride itself and the associated glucose dump. Within another 7 miles it had dropped to 8.5 mmol/l and continued to hover around the 4's, 5's, 6's and 7's until I returned home. I had malt loaf, 3 gels and my energy/protein powdered drink I had made up. So apart from the initial rise in bg fairly pleased with those.

Amazing (no not the telescope you're probably sick of the sight of it but how quickly the maize in the field has grown 😉:D)
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Garmin stats
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Really enjoying your photos of the Cheshire countryside. I grew up in Macclesfield so I recognise a lot of those scenes!
 
Feeling like I should have cycled today, in recognition of Chris Froome's triumph, but will do so tomorrow. Today was taken up with packing up tent, leaving rare breeds farm in one park to set up orienteering session in another park, then back to original park, where a Living History fair wa taking place. Volunteered to distribute hot drinks to, and take photos of,18th century French cavalry horses and humans, historic costume maker, spinner, weaver, corn dolly maker, Anglo Saxon threshing, milling and bread making, runer reader, coin and jewellery maker, historic wooden furniture makers, ex RAF regiment servicemen teaching WWII kit use and survival skills and a WWII Soviet army hospital. So, lots of walking / running - and did parkrun, after walking about 700m from tent to start just outside farm gates yesterday morning.
 
Radders said:
Really enjoying your photos of the Cheshire countryside. I grew up in Macclesfield so I recognise a lot of those scenes!
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I live just over the border in Staffordshire but love riding in those parts of Cheshire. It's great for cycling - quiet (ish) leafy lanes and best of all fairly flat. :D I do however have to go uphill to get back home. 🙄 There couldn't be a much bigger contrast when I head in the opposite direction towards the Peak District - still fairly quiet but exposed moorland and hills. 😱
 
Copepod said:
Feeling like I should have cycled today, in recognition of Chris Froome's triumph, but will do so tomorrow. Today was taken up with packing up tent, leaving rare breeds farm in one park to set up orienteering session in another park, then back to original park, where a Living History fair wa taking place. Volunteered to distribute hot drinks to, and take photos of,18th century French cavalry horses and humans, historic costume maker, spinner, weaver, corn dolly maker, Anglo Saxon threshing, milling and bread making, runer reader, coin and jewellery maker, historic wooden furniture makers, ex RAF regiment servicemen teaching WWII kit use and survival skills and a WWII Soviet army hospital. So, lots of walking / running - and did parkrun, after walking about 700m from tent to start just outside farm gates yesterday morning.
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Wow, that's a lot going on - it sounds like you have been very busy. 🙂 The living history fairs are great. What is a runer reader?
 
Sorry, mistyped - should be rune reader. Someone who uses tokens with runes (letters) written on, to tell fortunes, make decisions etc.
 
Matt Cycle said:
I live just over the border in Staffordshire but love riding in those parts of Cheshire. It's great for cycling - quiet (ish) leafy lanes and best of all fairly flat. :D I do however have to go uphill to get back home. 🙄 There couldn't be a much bigger contrast when I head in the opposite direction towards the Peak District - still fairly quiet but exposed moorland and hills. 😱
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It was quiet(ish) 😱 Everyone knows now :D:D.
 
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