So near, but yet...



M

Mikefule

Guest
I don't get to ride much these days, but I had a lovely ride tonight.
Pretty much one of my usual routes, but with a short section I'd not
ridden before (Joe: that's the path round the back of the park and
ride, near Clifton Bridge), and with one or two of the paths "improved"
over the winter with rolled grit:( .

Computer shows 16.03 miles (25.8 km), and 1:38.34. I make that 9.8mph
- so near but yet so far! (15.76 kph)

Given the varied terrain, and my general lack of riding fitness, I'm
pretty pleased with that. Top speed recorded as 13 mph. This on the
700c x 28mm tyre, with 110 mm cranks.

Saw two water voles - nearly ran one of them over as it scurried across
in front of me. Lovely sightings of herons, and (unusually for the
riverbank) bluetits. (Bluetits are the Chantelle of the ornithological
world: quite pretty, but rather common.)

Too busy to write it up in detail, but all the usual tosh: suspension
bridge, blah blah, harmonica bridge, blah blah, marina, nature
reserve... etc. :rolleyes:

One unusual incident: I was wearing my cycling top which has a front
zip that goes down to the navel. Hammering through the nature reserve
on broken ballast at about 11 mph, I hit a swarm of flies. Flies in my
eyes, flies splattering all over my sweaty chest - so, quick as a
flash, I zipped up my top to keep the flies out, and trapped my chest
hair in the zip.

Flat out on a skinny tyre with short cranks, on rough ground, eyes
hurting, can't see a thing, desperately trying to undo the zip and free
the hairs with a minimum of pain, with a three foot drop down through
spiky undergrowth into deep dirty water on each side of the path. How
I laughed*.

*Afterwards.


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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UniBrier wrote:
> <<Blue tits and chest hair>> Would have been a real attention-getter for
> a thread title.
>



Tut! Such ****! I would never write such a thing. Ladies read this,
you know.;) ;) ;)


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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Mikefule wrote:
> ...quick as a flash, I zipped up my top to keep the flies out, and
> trapped my chest hair in the zip.
>
> Flat out on a skinny tyre with short cranks, on rough ground, eyes
> hurting, can't see a thing, desperately trying to undo the zip and free
> the hairs with a minimum of pain, with a three foot drop down through
> spiky undergrowth into deep dirty water on each side of the path. How
> I laughed*.

That would be the Ashton-Pill path, yes?

That made me wince, and I don't even have chest hair. But I /am/
familiar with the path, and the thought of riding along there blind is
quite frightening. How slippery were the muddy bits today?

Anyway folks, here's an opportunity to replicate part of a Mikefule
ride in front of hundreds of wheel-wasters. The path features in most
of the ride options for Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride, which this year is
on 25 June:
http://tinyurl.com/lnlmb
leads to:
<http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk/ccm/content/Transport-Streets/Walking-Cycling/bristols-biggest-bike-ride.en;jsessionid=50ACAE8212E7E1EA27E3B8989B0ED900>

I've done it before by Coker:
http://tinyurl.com/otnk2

But this year will, as usual, be on my Street Machine towing at least
one of the kids.


--
Danny Colyer

http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
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Danny Colyer wrote:
> That would be the Ashton-Pill path, yes?...
> ...How slippery were the muddy bits today?
>



That was the path through Attenborough Nature Reserve, Attenborough,
Notts. The muddy bits were dry and firm. The loose ballast was broken
limestone used to fill the deeper craters.


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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irvinegr wrote:
> where u riding a 36"er?



<<This on the 700c x 28mm tyre, with 110 mm cranks.>>

No, the Coker seldom goes out these days. The 700c with the skinny
high pressure slick is just so much fun.:D


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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Mikefule wrote:
> That was the path through Attenborough Nature Reserve, Attenborough,
> Notts. The muddy bits were dry and firm. The loose ballast was broken
> limestone used to fill the deeper craters.

Hmmm. I must have been confused by the mention of "Clifton Bridge",
"suspension bridge" and "drop down through spiky undergrowth into deep
dirty water". I didn't think it was your usual stomping ground, but it
all sounds so much like the Ashton-Pill path, which passes beneath the
Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Two big differences, which I might have picked up on if I'd read your
OP more thoroughly, are that the drop into deep dirty water from the
path I know is a *lot* more than 3' and that the drop is only on one
side of the path.


--
Danny Colyer

http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
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joemarshall wrote:
> Clifton suspension bridge nottingham http://tinyurl.com/h999m

Well what do they wanna go giving two bridges the same name for? That
could confuse a stupid person.


--
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Mikefule wrote:
> I zipped up my top to keep the flies out, and trapped my chest hair in
> the zip.


Just be greatful that you weren't assaulted by flies whilst "watering
the plants" and you had to zip up your riding shorts in a hurry! :p
[image: http://www.homevideos.com/freezeframes12/somethingmary281.jpeg]


--
maestro8

Those are my principles. If you don't like those, I have others. --
Groucho Marx
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o ny gosh... ive seen that movie but i cant name it...


--
manon1wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by GizmoDuck
I yanked on my foot and straigtened it and stuck the bone back into the
skin.
Gild:
This is going to be in someone's signature before too very long.
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cathwood wrote:
>
> Just had a fun half hour free-mounting practice myself.
>



Who was it who said, "You're such a swot"?:D :p


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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joemarshall wrote:
> Clifton suspension bridge nottingham



I don't know of a Clifton suspension bridge in Nottingham,
Joe.:confused:

Clifton Bridge is the pair of road bridges where the A52 crosses the
Trent. Nottingham's answer to Spaghetti Junction.

The suspension bridge is a pedestrian bridge a mile or two down river,
near to Trent bridge.


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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Mikefule wrote:
> I don't know of a Clifton suspension bridge in Nottingham,
> Joe.:confused:
>
> Clifton Bridge is the pair of road bridges where the A52 crosses the
> Trent. Nottingham's answer to Spaghetti Junction.
>
> The suspension bridge is a pedestrian bridge a mile or two down river,
> near to Trent bridge.



You're right, I could have sworn Clifton Bridge was a suspension bridge
too in the middle bit, but it appears not to be, according to the
internet it's a 'box section cantilever bridge'.

Joe


--
joemarshall

my pics http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albuq44
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joemarshall wrote:
> You're right, I could have sworn Clifton Bridge was a suspension bridge
> too in the middle bit, but it appears not to be, according to the
> internet it's a 'box section cantilever bridge'.
>
> Joe



Interesting. I hadn't realised it was cantilevered.


--
Mikefule

Could you tell a wise man by the way he speaks or spells?
Is this more important than the stories that he tells,
And call a man a fool, if for wealth he doesn't strive?
Then mister you're a better man than I
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UniBrier wrote:
> I once rode my road bike through a Honey Bee swarm with pain ensuing.
> Would have preferred flies.



I did that once. Not exactly the most fun thing I've had happen to
me:eek: .


--
underdog

'I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody
tell you different' - Kurt Vonnegut
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