The "Photos From Today's Ride" thread...
Discussion
h. 
A few from the Fred yesterday. The weather was fantastic, possibly too good if you were trying to ride it! Brilliant atmosphere, but a tough, tough route. For me, ever since I thought about entering it this year, Hardknott (and to a lesser extent Wrynose) have been praying on my mind, and those thoughts are nibbling away at you as you try to ride the first 90-odd miles within yourself. As you grind up Honister, and then Newlands, and you're not even half way, and the spectre of Hardknott in the distance. And then up Cold Fell with the music blaring and crowd coming in on you, and the cowbells, and you know you haven't got much left, there's still the thought of Hardknott. And the wind is getting up...
Rain during the night, but none on the day
Had to stop for a picture of this.
Going up to the top of Honister, the first tough climb of the day
Rolling over the top of Honister, the descents are tough too. If you're not on the brakes, or make a mistake, things go wrong very quickly
Looking back as riders come down Honister
Newlands Pass, after the steep bit at the start and before the steep bit at the end. This seems to characterise the climbs; very steep at the start to get away from the valley floor, then diagonally along the side of the hill before pitching up again to get over the peak. I'd had two sarnies at the feed stop just before here, wasn't the last time I felt sick yesterday.
Landmark sign at the start of the Hardknott climb. The first bit is like Bignor Hill which I had trained on. Bignor Hill is a fraction as long, and once over the 25% bit gets less steep. Hardknott doesn't!
Looking back down at the carnage caused by Hardknott. I had to walk, but that was difficult with cleats and pushing the bike and trying to keep out of the way of the folks still pedalling. Made my back hurt, which had been ok til then. And after the descent, on the plateau before Wrynose, the wind got up, and I had to use the small chainring to keep the pedals turning over.
Rain during the night, but none on the day
Had to stop for a picture of this.
Going up to the top of Honister, the first tough climb of the day
Rolling over the top of Honister, the descents are tough too. If you're not on the brakes, or make a mistake, things go wrong very quickly
Looking back as riders come down Honister
Newlands Pass, after the steep bit at the start and before the steep bit at the end. This seems to characterise the climbs; very steep at the start to get away from the valley floor, then diagonally along the side of the hill before pitching up again to get over the peak. I'd had two sarnies at the feed stop just before here, wasn't the last time I felt sick yesterday.
Landmark sign at the start of the Hardknott climb. The first bit is like Bignor Hill which I had trained on. Bignor Hill is a fraction as long, and once over the 25% bit gets less steep. Hardknott doesn't!
Looking back down at the carnage caused by Hardknott. I had to walk, but that was difficult with cleats and pushing the bike and trying to keep out of the way of the folks still pedalling. Made my back hurt, which had been ok til then. And after the descent, on the plateau before Wrynose, the wind got up, and I had to use the small chainring to keep the pedals turning over.
richardxjr said:
6.39am, Eastbourne
11hrs 56mins later Winchester, after 100miles & 11000ft SDW
With this in the middle
Train took a reassuringly long 3hrs & 2 changes to get me home again.
Bet I still didn't get spotted in me PH jersey though.
Wow, incredible distance and elevation, especially on a MTB. 11hrs 56mins later Winchester, after 100miles & 11000ft SDW
With this in the middle
Train took a reassuringly long 3hrs & 2 changes to get me home again.
Bet I still didn't get spotted in me PH jersey though.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 7th May 23:20
richardxjr said:
6.39am, Eastbourne
11hrs 56mins later Winchester, after 100miles & 11000ft SDW
With this in the middle
Train took a reassuringly long 3hrs & 2 changes to get me home again.
Bet I still didn't get spotted in me PH jersey though.
Chapeau! Doing it the wrong way, on the wrong bike, and you stopped at the wrong place in Amberley! (I find that cafe/restaurant too far up its own arse, just because you can sit beside the river. I prefer the pub on the other side...)11hrs 56mins later Winchester, after 100miles & 11000ft SDW
With this in the middle
Train took a reassuringly long 3hrs & 2 changes to get me home again.
Bet I still didn't get spotted in me PH jersey though.
Edited by richardxjr on Saturday 7th May 23:20
.... Although in my defence I'm an engineer so ever so slightly OCD about such things, that's my excuse anyway... 
|http://thumbsnap.com/GQiD17Wl[/url]
Drama! Excitement! Sadness! Hope!
No, not a trailer for yet more Hollywood dirge, but a simple evening ride in local woodland...
"In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a new hero emerges"
Gucci new hi-tech equipment in use
I'd ridden the same area earlier in the afternoon, and all was well. I spoke to the firefighters as they were packing up. No clues as to what started it, but the fire was reported quite quickly after it had started and was under control within 30 minutes of them getting the call. Aided, they said, by the MOD's good maintenance of fire roads and tracks between planted areas. Thankfully only a small triangular area was burned. The 'point' of the triangle and the two long sides were contained by sand and gravel roads so the fire only needed fighting on the base of the triangle.
All under control, the Iveco crew prepare to head off to a Hydrant for a re-fill.
Generations: The crew of the Land Rover were bemoaning the end of Defender production. Despite appearances, apparently the Land Rover is the more capable vehicle for fighting this sort of fire.
Homeward bound. Gratuitous low-level action shot...
Excitement over, I got back on my bike and promptly discovered these beauties...
...a patch of Strawberries growing wild in the woods. I shall be keeping a close eye on these, hopefully I'll manage to grab a taste when they are ripe.
One for 'silver940' of this parish. I believe he posted a daylight shot from this spot recently, either here or on Strava. Foreground highlighting was inadvertent and courtesy of my head torch.
My head torch also has a 'tactical' red light. I wonder what it would look like if I used that to highlight the bush?
Variation on a theme.
I'll stop now, lest I spam the thread too much and take up an entire page. Suffice to say it's that time of year again, when heathland and woodland dries out. Please be responsible, don't leave litter (especially glass bottles) and dispose of smoking materials responsibly. And report fires ASAP. This one was small, contained, and dealt with quickly but the response involved three appliances, six firefighters and it all costs in time, money, and the damage it does to our forests and trails...
No, not a trailer for yet more Hollywood dirge, but a simple evening ride in local woodland...
"In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a new hero emerges"
Gucci new hi-tech equipment in use
I'd ridden the same area earlier in the afternoon, and all was well. I spoke to the firefighters as they were packing up. No clues as to what started it, but the fire was reported quite quickly after it had started and was under control within 30 minutes of them getting the call. Aided, they said, by the MOD's good maintenance of fire roads and tracks between planted areas. Thankfully only a small triangular area was burned. The 'point' of the triangle and the two long sides were contained by sand and gravel roads so the fire only needed fighting on the base of the triangle.
All under control, the Iveco crew prepare to head off to a Hydrant for a re-fill.
Generations: The crew of the Land Rover were bemoaning the end of Defender production. Despite appearances, apparently the Land Rover is the more capable vehicle for fighting this sort of fire.
Homeward bound. Gratuitous low-level action shot...
Excitement over, I got back on my bike and promptly discovered these beauties...
...a patch of Strawberries growing wild in the woods. I shall be keeping a close eye on these, hopefully I'll manage to grab a taste when they are ripe.
One for 'silver940' of this parish. I believe he posted a daylight shot from this spot recently, either here or on Strava. Foreground highlighting was inadvertent and courtesy of my head torch.
My head torch also has a 'tactical' red light. I wonder what it would look like if I used that to highlight the bush?Variation on a theme.
I'll stop now, lest I spam the thread too much and take up an entire page. Suffice to say it's that time of year again, when heathland and woodland dries out. Please be responsible, don't leave litter (especially glass bottles) and dispose of smoking materials responsibly. And report fires ASAP. This one was small, contained, and dealt with quickly but the response involved three appliances, six firefighters and it all costs in time, money, and the damage it does to our forests and trails...
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