Today's Ride

Re:

I did a loop of Greenham and Crookham again today, and the weather was absolutely stimulating. Only 8.5 deg C, but it felt warmer.

On the track that climbs up to the Common, I took a short nip into Newbury and Crookham Golf Course as I saw a fox dart in there ahead of me. I managed to get quite close for a picture:


Fox Crookham Golf 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

This is looking North back down into the Kennet Valley:


Crookham Golf Club 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Once on the Common, I found a little trail that I’ve not been on before, but the fall of Beech leaves hid the sloppy terrain underneath. I know what you mean Mark about Summer tyres, I must change these over!

Lovely autumn colours:


Crookham131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

It took me out through to the area where the Silos are. This is the triple wire fence that keeps people out now, but it was even more secure when the Missiles were here:


Greenham Silos 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

I took a blip through Bowdown Woods on the way home, which I have mentioned before, but this is the first time I’ve taken a picture of Bowdown House. It was taken over by the Air Ministry in 1942 to plan the invasion of North Africa:


Bowdown House 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Overall a lovely ride.

Pip

Re:

Couldn’t walk the lampshade so had to ride a bike.

Re:

I still haven’t quite got into the swing of riding Off Road in sloppy conditions, so I decided to take out the 1993 Kilauea that is set up for Road Riding. It reached 8 deg C, so very pleasant in the Sun.

I did a fair sized loop around the Kennet Valley, starting off with a blip up to Burys Bank, which runs parallel to the River, Canal and Railway – just out of sight over the brim of this field:

Burys Bank 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


I’ve never seen any Horse Drawn Vehicles along here, but the Cattle do roam across the road, hence the Cattle Grid!

Burys Bank Grid by Philip Mock, on Flickr


I dipped back down into the valley and took a look at Newbury Race Course, which I have never actually been to!

Looking West:

Newbury Race Course by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Looking South East:

Newbury Race Course_1 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Then across the River Kennet, which was in full flow, and up the other side of the Valley:

River Kennet 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


A climb up along Stoney Lane:

Stoney Lane by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Ending up at Ashmore Green along some very quiet narrow roads:

Ashmore Green 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Finally back down past Henwick Cottage to my place:

Henwick Cottage 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Pip

Some great pictures, grew up by the sea, really miss it.

Warm and sunny today.

Went out for a short ride which turned into a longer one as it was a lot milder out than it felt inside.

The weather was nice and quite warm in the sun, though down the lanes in the shade it was icy cold. The trails were mostly hard from ice but a few had thawed and were still slipey mud from all the recent rain. That also left some deep puddles, which seems there was ice on top of obviously meant i had to ride through them all, forgotten how fun little things like that are. Some of the puddles though were over my axles and crank, so it was a case of get some speed, pick a foot you wanted to get wet and hope you didnt have to pedal halfway through so the other could stay dry.

Great way to spend a few spare hours.

Warm today

The rain eased for a bit so went for a ride out. Soon as i did the sky cleared and had blue skies and sun. It was late afternoon so not much of it until the sun started going down, which was nice and lit the sky up.

The trails were wet and very slick, still havent changed tyres, but i had a slow pace today so not much of a problem. Had to avoid 1 trail on way back as it has a few sharp uphills and i would have struggled getting up, either riding or walking, so went the longer way round. Hardwick was nice against the sunset, shame my camera is unable to capture the real intense colours.

Wet, muddy, slippery, quiet, beautiful weather and colourful skies, a great ride!

Great photo.

Mild today

It was raining as usual but i could see brighter skies on the horizon so i went out for a quick ride and headed to the light.

It is still wet out on the trails and i spent most of the ride wet, and muddy. The camera battery ran out after 1 shot not that there was much to see really. Dogs, was the theme for todays ride, passing a few people with more than 5 dogs each, i assume they were theirs, there are a few dog walking companies around as of late. Suprisingly only one dog decided to turn and stand across the trail, looking the other way and pretending not to notice me, he was only small but my bunny hop skills are a bit rusty these days so squealed to a halt. Still didnt move mind

Glad i made the effort and enjoyed the ride and getting wet and muddy, unlike the only other mtb rider i passed who did not look amused under many layers of jackets, scarfs and hats under hats. I did for a second wonder if i was the crazy one, what with only wearing shorts and summer kit, that is until i spotted another muddy puddle to manual into, forgeting all about the grumpy eskimo i had just passed.

Warm today

Very hectic day today but managed to sneak out for a quick ride

The trails i went down today had just been driven up by a 4X4, and not well, so were extra muddy and the parts were the mumpty had got stuck were a nightmare as they had resorted to riding up the sides of the track making everything a right mess. It was so bad i had to leave the trail halfway and head down the lanes to miss the rest out. Not all bad as i got to ride a short trail i have not ridden much as it doesnt go anywhere really. It also meant i ended up coming a different way back, which was a nice change. I didnt really see anyone apart from a couple walking and one guy on his way home from work in full council waterproofs who overtook me and disappeared into the distance on his old steel steed.

An alright little ride in the end and when in the sun it was very warm, bordering on hot.

Mild today

Todays theme; Spray, both on the ground and in the air.

It was sunny this morning so went out for a quick ride, the air to start was cool so great for riding, it soon warmed though.

No plans today, just made choices whenever the trail split, very wet as usual so a lot of spray, and being the weekend a lot of dog walkers. The wooded sections were a bit of a struggle with summer tyres on but good for a laugh and to sharpen the reactions. Up on the hills was nice but around here a lot of the trails are sandy so that can be very hard work also.

A great morning ride.

A quick ride today trying out newly built RF turbine chainset