Road, Off Road, Group, Solo and a bit of running!

I probably say this a lot but...that was another great week of cycling (and a bit of running!)

During the week I've enjoyed a lot of walking with Mrs L and our splendid dogs. I also had a couple of runs. The last run I did this week was the best I have done in ages. 

My only bike ride in the week was also pretty good but I lost my data so I can't show anyone what I did. The reason is the WiFi dead spot in my side entrance. For the rest of the week I sat on the front wall until i could see the data sync! First World problems eh!!!

On Saturday morning we arranged to meet at the swimming pool again. Only two groups this week with the theory being that the weather forecast was poor and people have finally been able to get away on holiday. Our group picked up a 7th meeting Mark at Loddington. I think this was okay. We had a mixed ability so there was plenty of distance between riders most of the time.

The star rider of the group was clearly 17yr old Amy Bird. Way too quick for us old men and the sprints for village signs were often no contest. I got a couple of signs off her...yes you guessed it, with some downhill assistance.

It was good to see Mike back from his adventures on those big Tour de France hills.

Ian's aero shell fogged up at one stage.

This was quite a hilly route right from the start. We skimmed Leicestershire and Rutland at times going through The Langtons, Weston on Welland and Sutton Bassett.

All that silly racing for signs meant I was pretty tired by the time we made it to the tea rooms in Geddington. We caught up with group one there who looked a bit ruined. The explanation for this was that Graham on his Trek wonderbike had set a blistering pace! Calories were put back in with the magnificent croque monsieur they serve!

 

Having burnt all those extra kcal I was able to have some guilt free quality ales. Rothwell Wine Time has a great selection of German and Belgian ales. This was the pick of the bunch! 

I advertised a Sunday off road ride and selected more of a gravel ride at the request of Mark C who considered testing his shoulder. However overnight rain put people off so it was only me and Andy P today. Uncle Bob apparently had his bike in pieces or he would have joined us too!

Before I could set off I set the barbecue up to smoke a pork shoulder all day. This is my first go at this and I'm excited to see how it works out. I also hope I don't ruin a perfectly good joint of pork.

I met Andy on the market Square in Rothwell. I wasn't late for once (its 30 seconds from my house!)

We had a quick chat and decided to make the route more interesting. So first stop was Rushton and the bridleway to Pipewell. From there it was onto East Carlton Park and then the bridleway to Ashley (pictured.) With that overnight downpour you would think ploughed fields should be avoided. However this part of Northants drains quickly and the ground was dry and firm!

The view between East Carlton and Ashley is stunning! Then the descent of the hill is a great deal of fun.

In Ashley I've missed the bridleway I wanted a few times but with the help of Andy's OS subscription we found what will be a firm favourite for years to come!

Andy rode this hill. It was too much for me and I probably need a dinner plate rear cog!

Once over the hill there's another glorious descent!

The other side of that is a great section through to Wilbarston. It was quite overgrown in places though and my legs are still tingling from the stingers!!!

From Wilbarston we headed through Desborough airfield and then through to Arthingworth on more firm field tracks. At Arthingworth we were a bit wary of the cows but another rider assured us he'd passed through safely recently so we headed on towards the Brampton Valley Way.

The tunnel today was very busy with families walking and cycling. I'm sure the kids will feel they've been on quite the adventure. 

Andy and I picked up the bridleway to Harrington and back into Rothwell making this almost exactly 30 miles. We said our fairwells after the first ride in ages without mechanical issues of any kind. Big thanks to Andy for being great company and helping find that bridleway in Ashley. For me that was the final piece of the route that is now as good as it gets in Northants.

In other news I was reading on Instagram about my friend Damian's incredible long distance run. Have a read of his blog. This would make a challenging long bike ride. He RAN this Damian!!! 

Damian Carr Ridgeway ultramaraton

Okay thats it.

Happy Pedalling