danny - you're going too early - I have to drop the wife off at the train station at 9 - plus generally I bit bored of the Charnwood mud. You do realise you'll get mud on your new frame don't you? Who else has signed up?
My brother in law is up for a muddy ride tomorrow and he's roped in a bloke on his street as well who rides quite a lot, so should be good. Although we crap on a lot about the winter weather, you don't actually ride in pissing rain all that often when you think about it. I'll treat it as a novelty, it'll be a laugh sliding around all over the place, and there's always a hot shower and a bowl of soup at the end.
The rain should also keep the miserable bastards inside despite it being a Sunday morning.
I've ridden my bike once this year. 🙁 A commute to/from work.
Since New Year, it's been a combination of me being ill, the weather being shit and other weekend commitments. I'm going insane from not riding!
Wanted to commute last week, I was ill and then it snowed and was really icy. Not been out today as it's still icy.
Tomorrow looks minging but I need to ride so I'm doing Gisburn with richpips and minipips. I figure that off road will be muddy and gritty but at least it won't be icy or have insane drivers. And I can just jetwash the MTB on the way back. Got enough old kit that I don't mind wrecking some of it just to get out on the bike for a bit.
What the heck happened to the Metcheck forecast overnight, or did I imagine a completely dry Southampton forecast? Now predicted to rainy until lunch, bugger! So it's either do a ride in light rain before sunrise, which doesn't help alleviate my SAD wooly feeling so much (main reason I've not cycle commuted in winter since my crash), or wait another ~8 hours. 😕
Not too bad at the moment - some tennis (outdoors) to fit in first. Hope it lasts.. Happy riding everyone
A damp soggy morning in south Lanarkshire. Local trails were snowy and icy yesterday and rain and rapid overnight thaw will have left them a mess. Roads salty and wet. Think I'll take the kids for a swim....
was going to go ride this morning but cannot face the clean up... climbing later this afternoon...think I'll just go make some pancakes now
Take it back - its crap. Tennis off, watching Marr instead with nice hot coffee
I'm on bike cleaning duties after a very very sloppy afternoon at Stile Cop yesterday.
The dog doesn't even look enthusiastic about going outside!
never one for an early start, todays ride was planned for 1300
road or mtb?
zero motivation.
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Out the door at 5.30am, quick few hours then back home for bacon butties.
Clear trails and the bike washed itself. Great ride.
Going to have a gentle bimble over Hergest Ridge and surrounding, including a few bridleways with a mate about lunch time. Old 'rough ride' territory for anyone who did it in years gone by.
Did a quick 5 miles in Mortimer forest yesterday morning as we were all on a curfew. Nicely snowy on top, good dusting, loads of grip.
Raining hard here in Kent so thought I would try the rollers I bought 2 years ago and only used once. I'm normally good for a 3 hour road ride but was absolutely knackered after 25 minutes ( and I've discovered that rollers are scary things )...
A few laps of Cathkin with the kids - blew away the cobwebs 😀
Local Black Forest trundle, properly Blizzard like. The snow depth is a fair but greater than that snow blower.
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Great picture.
Any chance you could send some snow our way?
Much better than I expected in Yorkshire, so I got out for 70k on the road bike. Wet roads but nothing more than light drizzle coming from the skies and at one point I even spotted blue sky.
Had a filthy, nadgery, sloppy local ride with the wheels hardly ever pointing in the same direction or in the direction of travel. Brilliant fun, despite a lengthy clean up session post-ride.
Now watching the rugby with a pint. Roast lamb in the oven.
Went out at 06:30 for 125km loop. Rained for four and a half hours. Mudguards are great. Mavic H20 jacket is absolutely waterproof. Sealskinz gloves with silk liners managed three hours. Velotoze and overshoes with merino socks about the same. Not eating before leaving, and not eating during the ride left me a little weary, but not bonked.
Then the Garmin crashed when I pushed stop back outside the house 🙁 . Manual upload just isn't the same.
the sort of weather my spingleseed excels at, and 5 mins max with the dirtworker has it shiny and new.
And even if the swinley slop was to kill my drivetrain, I can buy a whole new one for about £20. Ha! my £6 rustproof BMX chain laughs at your fancy chamfers, Mr Shimano XT.
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Not quite as dreadful as forecast so a quick hour sliding around Greenham. Took nearly as long to clean the bikes afterwards but a victory over the weather.
Weather was not too bad here, did an easy 2hr social ride.
Legs were getting tired by the end after 2hrs singlespeeding in the snow yesterday.
For some reason Formby beach was quiet... 😆
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No rain in the FoD, the sun even came out for a bit.
In January last year I did a 75k mountain bike ride in similar conditions to today. Never again. Even with 3X mudguards.
Nice afternoon after about 2pm. By which time I'd settled in for an afternoon recovering from yesterdays ride. I did text round to see if anyone fancied going out for a ride but no one was willing to provide me with the moral backbone I so clearly lack.
Been out round Marple, Hayfield, Kinder and back today. It was proper wet, sloppy, misty and you could just hear your bike wearing with that amazing 'it'll ruin anything' Dark Peak paste.
Rode back from The Shooting Cabins with just a front brake, I took the rear pads out as they were noisy and there was nowt on them. Decided it was best to just leave them out. Made descending into Rowarth and the Golf Course/ Strines Station fun at times
Still finished with a smile dispite being soaked through, caked in wet gritty paste and cold footed,
I hate washing the bike at this time of year. It requires the full 17 litres in a Mobi Jet Washer and takes 10 minutes, when all I want to do at the at point is get my shitty wet clothes changed, have something to eat and have a shower. I hate getting an energy bar out of my pocket when my gloves and clothes are covered in mud. I hate drinking from a flask or camelbak pipe thats covered in mud and my gloves are covered in mud. I really really hate it.
I hate having to lift a filthy shitty bike over a fence or gate.
I'm even turning down some of the off-road descents in favor of tarmac, if I know they're going to be really shitty.
I'm disappointed with my 3X Mud Guards.
I've not cleaned my bike since before Christmas 😳 just chuck in in the garage, knock enough off so the drivetrain turns and head out again. I know I'll end up having to replace everything in hte drivetrain in spring but riding every other day I can't face it!
Good ride here today though, mild, calm, even if hte trails are like a cx course with hub deep mud in places
^^^There's a lot of hate going on up there^^^ 😆
I must admit,after last Sundays quagmire I've no intention of going back to Rivi until the mud freezes or dries out..
No rain in S Wales in the end. 122k lumpy ride - quiet back roads and sustrans tracks/NCRs.
Well Gisburn Forest was very very wet as expected but it was so wet that it more or less cleaned the bike - just that fine gritty spray. My rear brake seemed to be going towards the end of it though so once I find some motivation I'll go and inspect it.
Great to get out though and even funnier watching minipips fall in the river crossing. (he was fine)
Brrr, bit chilly for falling in rivers at this time of year!
I'm with @ferrals, no danger i'm cleaning bike 4x a week so it stays dirty.
Been through 4 sets of brake pads this weekend 😯 .
The hub-deep ice puddles on the trails around Peaslake took the ones on the mountain bike right down the the backing,resulting in what is, in my opinion, the worst sound in the world. Gritty metal on metal. *shudder*
Then a set of new Dura ace pads have nearly gone from the muddy lanes today. Orrible.
Bustaspoke^^^There's a lot of hate going on up there^^^
I must admit,after last Sundays quagmire I've no intention of going back to Rivi until the mud freezes or dries out..
It was just one big river this morning, no mud just water.
20 km round woburn today, some bits were fine, some bits were bad, especially where the big felling machines have been turning fireroads into 1 metre deep trenches of mud and filthy water, does make it hard going, .
10 mins with the hose bike and kit fine, gravity dropper will need a clean out and regrease though.
Flaperon:
Where was that photo taken
Upper reaches of Dowber Gill & above the old mine, Kettlewell
Drizzly in Mid Wales on the Tywi track and then later on at Cwmyrhaeadr.
Five of us set out from north bovey this morning, and as so often happens when
you man up and get out had a great little ride
Brutal headwind on the climb to hambledown, but conditions under wheel better
than expected, two hooning slippery descents followed, riding on dartmoor in
january a result, guys were buzzing, beer post ride tastes sooo much better.
As a footnote to the single track massive, unfortunately the ring of bells pub in
north bovey which burnt down a year ago, will not reopen until this oct, the
best place for a post dartmoor ride beer, or the rugglestone at widdecombe 😀
Yep as crazy-legs said, wet.
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Made it over to The Roaches for a walk.
Pissed it down solidly - there are some amazing views there apparently but we saw nothing as fog pretty thick - some slushy snow laying about too. That coupled with a biting wind meant we did half the walk we planned...still nice to be out though. Got to some tea rooms, took off 2 pairs of wet gloves, wet buff, Endura MT500 coat to find wet gilet and base layer so my bloody coat is leaking somewhere - down back of arms especially. Dry legs and feet courtesy of Berghaus and Scarpa though 🙂
Everything draped on rads when got home but at least it wasn't plastered in shitty mud 😉
Went out for 30 miles along lanes on hardtail in morning. Enjoyed first half but it then became apparent that thick sealskins socks and summer shoes don't keep your feet warm & not a even the slightest trace of snow or ice here.
I haven't tried getting them seriously wet yet, but the Freerider EPS's I went crazy on as I'd ended up with only summer shoes after my Teva's finally died have been great so far. Toasty toes with regular merino socks with no overheating or sweatiness. If they keep the wet out as well as it looks like thy have any right to, I'll be a completely satisfied punter with them.
Had a very wet but good fun blast in the local woods in the end, which is madness as I haven't been out on the bike for a few months.
I cleaned the bike with a watering can as the mud was so wet it just slid off, lovely stuff.
The evening spent drinking wine and whisky felt all the better for it as well.
OP here - will I be a pussy if I don't get out this weekend?
I'm doing a 72 mile sportive in 3 weeks and I really need to get out every weekend in between to get some miles in...can only do tomorrow morning - it's gonna be 2 degrees and might be snowing...I'm sure I'll be fine when I'm out but it's stepping outside for the first time....makes me cold just thinking about it. Brrrrrrrr!!!
I felt like more of a loon than normal, forcing myself out the door just before 1500 earlier, somehow clocking up ~11 miles through loops around the block and a few different circuit routes than climb a Harefield semi-evil hill.
It's freezing out there and that bitter northerly wind, making the climbing harder work, even had a small snow shower towards the end! In fairness though, once I did my warm-up loops, I was absolutely fine, until I did my warm-down loops.
But compared to what is coming our way this evening and appears to linger into next week, that was a walk in the park...
I may actually get to fit my new 45NRTH Gravdal, studded winter tyres! 😯
