Team MK Ride, Castle Ashby

This weeks ride was to Castle Ashby, just into Northamptonshire and only about 6 miles from my home.  However, club rides being what they are its never that simple.

Adrian the ride leader had planned a route out via Olney and then looping round  via Harrold, Bozeat and Grendon to the The Buttery at Castle Ashby courtyard for coffee and cake.  The return to Stony Stratford was via a very hilly route starting immediately with a climb up Whiston Hill and then over the top to Whiston village.  On from there via the climb to Cogenhoe ( Pronounced ‘Cookner’ ! ) Through to Little and Great Houghton and the climb there, on to Preston Deanery and Quinton and the short climb up to Salcey Forest and then back via Hanslope to Stony Stratford.  Plenty of ups and downs on that little bit too.

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I however elected not to have to get up and out so early and to ride towards group as they headed for Olney to save riding to the start and then back again.  It was much cooler day than my last ride when it was shorts and short sleeved shirt weather.  It was back to tights and long sleeved shirt.  I should however have dressed even warmer I think.  Everyone else seemed to have full finger gloves and not my half finger track mitts, jackets and shoe covers!  It was an inducement for me to ride harder though I guess, just to keep warm.

The Buttery is only very small inside and so twenty odd cyclists descending on it out of the blue filled it to overflowing.  Also in the process disturbing all the incumbent diners from their quite morning coffee and chat I am sure.  Under normal circumstances we would have sat outside in the sunshine if the weather had cooperated.

We did encounter the threatened light rain on the return ride.  I left the ride at Hanslope on the way back and headed home to Olney solo again.  Although I was now heading into the wind, the rain stopped and the sun came out for a while and it even began to feel a bit warm for a while.

All in all it was a good ride for me.  I felt a lot better than I expected to after another ten days off the bike apart from one short ride in the week.  I coped with the hills quite well I thought.

But…. having recently joined up to Strava and started to log my rides on there and ‘following’ a few people from the club It seems I am doing about a quarter of the miles a week that they are.  A bigger and better effort is obviously required on my behalf I think and I don’t really have any excuses not too given that I don’t have to go to work and have everyday available for riding.

Here is what my Strava page for the ride looks like.. click on this image for the  full Strava information for the various segments of the ride.  I don’t fully understand quite how it all works myself yet but I am getting there slowly with all the gizmo’s on it.

Click Image For Ride Data

Team MK Ride, Canons Ashby

Yesterday I went on the Team MK ride to Canons Ashby.  It was at the new earlier start time of 9am.  This was instigated to ease congestion around Cofferidge Close in Stony Stratford (See the header picture, taken some time ago before cycling became more popular).  At the later time there were a lot of pedestrians walking through the meeting point as they go from the car park and the small supermarket back out into the High Street for their Saturday morning shopping.  I think we were beginning to get in their way a bit with the recently increased popularity of bike riding generally and our club rides in particular.  This was a good thing causing a bad thing.

I think the majority of riders were aware of the new start time.  I know that every time I looked at club website recently there were reminders of the new start time.  However in this day and age there are still quite a few people who don’t have use of the internet or even if they do they don’t browse it as avidly as some might !  In fact I have since heard that at least a couple of people were surprised to find nobody there at 9:30.

I am guessing there were about 25′ish people on the ride which was well led at a steady pace by Paul.   If the ride is at a steady pace then it becomes a much easier ride.  Much better than rushing off and dropping people and then have to slow down or even stop and wait for them to catch up, only to speed off again as soon as they do and drop them again on the first slight incline.  It becomes a very staccato affair and not a relaxed ride at all.  The average speed is always around the same regardless of the style.  It all depends on the leader as to how the ride is conducted.

The ride was to the National Trust property at Canons Ashby Priory in Northamptonshire.  It is a pleasant ride through rolling Northamptonshire countryside, not a lot of flat roads but nothing too taxing either.It was a far more pleasant day compared to recent times.  It was still a bit cool to start with mainly due to the earlier start time.  However as the sun got up you could actually feel some warmth from it for a change.  It was just as well the weather was better as we were able to sit outside, there is more room there.  I think we would have pretty much filled up the interior.

‘The bikes parked at Canons Ashby’

(I think they are plant display stands rather bike racks !!)

The return ride completed the loop and it was a well controlled finish to the ride as well.  The usual break up towards the end as people try to get rid of any surplus energy they feel they might have didn’t happen and the group stayed together to the end.

Click this image for detailed ride stats

Northamptonshire Revolutions.. And A New Look

I am really getting the miles in now.  Another scheduled ride completed on schedule.  Another 40 miles ticked off on a route around the local part of Northamptonshire.

It was another one of my regular rides from my repertoire.  A good undulating route, nice scenery and quiet roads.  Nothing much to report about the ride itself. The ‘other rider’ count was still quite low, I saw four other riders so thats an average one per every 10 miles.  I’ll keep a check and see how how that ratio improves as the weather hopefully does.

I am closing in on the monthly mileage target and hopefully will catch it up before the end of the month.  I plan another 40 miles on Thursday and I think around 48 on the Team MK ride I am leading on Saturday and then still a week to go.

My photo every ride plan almost came a cropper today. I use my iPhone to take photos when I am out on the bike and it showed a healthy 36% charge when I set out so I hadn’t bothered to charge it up.  I seldom if ever get or make calls when I am out.  I was only going to be taking one or two photos at most. When passing by Castle Ashby Manor, about 30 minutes from my house I paused for a photo opportunity.  I turned on the camera and Phuttt! it just switched itself off and I couldn’t turn it back on.   However I wasnt too concerned as I thought I might be able to ‘borrow’ a stock photo from Wikipedia.. which I did, in fact two.. as it looks now and as it did to the eye of an artist almost 200 years ago.

Now

Castle Ashby House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then..

English: Castle Ashby from Jones’ Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen (1819). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I guess the ‘Then’ pic is a different view altogether from a different angle..  It is still the seat of a nobleman though, the Marquess of Northampton I believe?

PS: You will notice another new look here. I liked the look of this one, a bit different from the usual I thought.   It performs all the functions I require for now and in the future whenever I get around to sorting out the other facilities available.  That is until I start browsing through the available themes in a month or so.. !!!

TMK Ride to Salcey Forest… NOT !!!!

OK, so last Saturdays designated destination for the Team MK ride was Salcey Forest.  Rides over this side of Milton Keynes usually mean that I bike over to Stony Stratford for the start of the ride and then drop off close to Olney on the way back.

I therefore biked over to Stony Stratford and the group gathered and we set off on our ride.  All the conversations I had, had been about the ride to Salcey.  So far so good !  We usually take quite a convoluted route to our coffee stop as to go there direct in most cases would mean hardly any ride at all.  Therefore the fact we were headed north west out of Stony Stratford instead of the north east direction that is towards Salcey rang no alarm bells at all.

However after about four or five miles we took a left turn when I was expecting maybe a right turn began to make me wonder.  I rode up alongside the ride organiser who happened to be with us that day and enquired what route we were taking to Salcey.. the reply being, ‘We are not going to Salcey, we are going to Winslow’ !!  It had been an on the spot decision by a couple of them after the planned ride leader didn’t arrive due to a recent heart operation..

Now to ride to the start and then the ride to Winslow and bike home again afterwards would have meant a total ride of about 75-80 miles for me.  Given my lack of recent riding, due to the reasons stated in the previous post this was not on the cards for me.  I therefore made a turn off to the right just after Wicken and set forth on my solo ‘club ride’.

Click Image For Detailed Ride Stats

It was a pleasant enough ride and I made the route up as I went along.  This took me up towards Silverstone and the motor racing circuit and then turning off towards Towcester and the horse racing course.  After that I went past the Canal museum at Stoke Bruerne locks on the Grand Union Canal.  From there I was soon almost at the original destination of the cafe at Salcey Forest but I resisted temptation and came back via Hanslope into Olney, a ride of a shade under 40 miles and no stopping.

Hard Riding

It was the first dry day since last Saturdays ride and quite a bit warmer too, but still not warm at all if you know what I mean?  I took myself out on what I knew would be a hard ride as I selected a hilly route.  Although its not that hilly around here it was about as many hills as I could fit in on one thirty mile plus ride., almost 33 actually.  The strong south west wind of 20mph plus also added to the toughness and there seemed to be more headwind than tailwind or was that just my imagination??

Click Map For Detailed Ride Stats

I ventured just over the county border and into Northamptonshire for the bulk of the ride.  That might sound like a long way but its not really.  Olney, my home town is right in the top right hand corner of Buckinghamshire and just a couple of miles up the road at a place called ‘Three Shires Wood’ is the border of Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, hence the three shires in the title.

Castle Ashby House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I rode out via Castle Ashby to Cogenhoe, then across to Great Houghton and Preston Deanery to Hartwell.  From there I went to Ashton and returned home via Hanslope, Gayhurst and Ravenstone.

All in all a good workout.  It has remained pretty much a dry day apart from a very brief shower, the forecast rain didn’t materialise this afternoon.  Hopefully I will get another ride in before Saturdays Team MK ride, weather permitting.

This Weeks Rides..

Its not been a bad week for bike rides this week.  I have managed two so far and both were substantial ones.  I also did an hour on the exercise bike indoors on Tuesday.  I still have queries about my fitness but maybe that’s just because I always seem to push myself and maybe I need to get out on a club ride and measure myself against others.  Its been a while since I did that so perhaps I will make the effort on Saturday.

On Monday I did a 53 mile ride on one a hilly ride in to Bedfordshire, a ride I have done before and enjoyed, in a sadistic kind of way that cyclists do.  The weather was good and a little warmer, so not so much clothing required, reduced by one layer from earlier rides.  My ride stats were slightly better than my previous ride on this route.

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On Wednesday I went into Northamptonshire for 40 miles around another of my favourite routes around by Towcester racecourse and Pury End.  It’s slightly less hilly, more like rolling countryside than hills.  It was a pleasant enough ride marred only by a puncture about 10 miles from home.  It was a very rural road, little used and very narrow but because of the rains a piece of flint had obviously got washed onto the road and found its way into my tyre.  At least the puncture was easily traced as the flint was very easy to see !! on checking the tyre before replacing it after installing a new inner tube I found another puncture source.  A thorn had also pierced the outer and was protruding through the casing.  Just as well I checked because otherwise as soon as I pumped the tyre up it would have gone down again and I had not brought the usual two spare tubes with me!  So thats another tyre in the bin.  Fortunately I managed to locate and order another Schwalbe Lugano tyre yesterday afternoon.  I cant fault the tyre for the problem I had, not if you saw what I took out of it.  Nothing would have kept that out.  I suppose in retrospect another blogger might have stopped to take a picture of it before getting on with the repair but I am afraid I was too focussed on repair than taking pictures.

Click Image For Stats Detail

Just prior to getting my puncture I came upon this sign of the forthcoming spring, snowdrops in bloom, a harbinger of spring.   My joy that we were moving to a better time of year only lasted about half a mile though before I got that feeling of no air between my wheel rims and the road..

Snowdrops at Grafton Regis

More Snowdrops

A pleasant and positive note to finish on, knowing spring is hopefully not too far away,  Happy Days !!

Cafe Research…

I already referred to todays ride in the previous post but only briefly.. The reason that I gave myself for todays ride was to check out a couple of cafes as prospects for future ride destinations for team MK rides when I am leading.  We seem to have a set pattern of places we regularly go to, which is OK but it would be nice to try to add to the collection.

I had a couple of places in mind at Sywell.  One being at Sywell Country Park and the other at Sywell Airfield.   I knew both places had catering facilities but wasnt sure if they would welcome or could cope with around twenty cyclists showing up on a Saturday morning every once in a while.

Sywell Country Park was open but the cafe was closed.  I peered through the window and could see a good number of chairs stacked up inside and lots of tables as well so maybe they are a possibility.  I guess I will now have to phone them nd ask the question.  I know I could have done that in the first place but like I say, I needed a reason for the bike ride.

Sywell Airfield is a small ex wartime airfield, the outskirts of which are used by various businesses such as transport and storage companies, making use of the hangars initially but it seems to have expanded with extra buildings going up.  The airfield itself is mainly used by private pilots and is also the base for a stunt flying team and also a wing walking display team.  It is also the home to a small aviation museum.

Sywell Airfield from above

 

Sywell Airfield

Sywell Village and Sign

This visit also proved to be a wasted journey as the Hotel/Restaurant was closed also so another phone call required there as well.  One interesting observation though was in the outdoor area where some tables were a loudspeaker could be heard with the two way conversation between an approaching helicopter and the control tower.  I can see myself on a nice summers day sitting out in the sunshine enjoying some refreshment and listening in.

However that is greatly removed from todays experience as when I left there I saw from my Garmin the temperature was down to 1.0 degC, the coldest part of my ride today!

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Wednesday Team MK Ride, Delapre Abbey.

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My first proper outing with the new bike set up felt good from the start.  There were twelve of us set off on a pretty undulating route round the country roads and into Northampton.  Once into the outskirts of the town we went through a confusing combination of cycle tracks that didn’t always follow the roads.  So much so that once we got going on them I had no idea where I was and probably couldn’t find my way around them again!

Delapre Abbey

We eventually emerged into a park very close to the centre of Northampton having been sheltered from the bulk of the traffic.  We drove up the entrance road through the park to Delapre Abbey which housed the cafe and we went through into the walled garden.  It was pleasantly warm in the garden in the sunshine and sheltered from the wind.  The usual array of cakes tea and coffee was on offer and we took our fill while enjoying some pleasant conversation.

We came back via Salcey Forest and some of the guys decided to stop for another coffee but it was too soon after the previous stop for me.  So myself and another rider decided to head straight back to Stony Stratford.  That turned out to be quite some ride.   It was pretty fast I can tell you and when I realised who the rider was I knew from the outset it was not going to be an easy ride.  You will see from the ride stats that we averaged around 19mph for that last 10 miles.  Given that all of that was into a head wind and pretty hilly as well that took some doing.  We did ‘bit and bit’ as I used to call it but is now more fashionably known as ‘through and off ‘ whereby you keep swapping the lead at regular intervals to get shelter from the rider in front and recover somewhat.

I really enjoyed the experience and it was a good workout and the new position probably helped.  Now I have to tell you that the other riders name was Sue.  She is a regular on the club rides and rides with the B group on Saturdays.  A very strong rider, much younger than me (but most people are !!) and she is always riding off the front of the bunch on club rides pushing a big gear.   She isn’t a big lady by any means and just sits there and pushes the pedals around and very good at climbing too!  Whenever she gets to the front of the group the pace increases!  I asked her when we got back if she ever did any competitive riding but she said no, she did try it but didn’t enjoy it!  I thought it was waste of talent.