Today's ROAD ride

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Scotland looks beautiful and from the photos there appears no traffic. I also live in a beautiful area, the Blue ridge mountains of western North Carolina in the US. Today I rode on the Blueridge parkway, a scenic highway that extends 470 miles through the several mountain ranges and two states. My ride started in the small town of Waynesville NC and climbed up the Parkway to the top of Waterrock knob at an elevation of 5800 ft. It was a 16 mile climb with an elevation gain of 3500 ft, the average gradient is about 5.5 %. Stopped at the top for a snack, and a quick photo, my wife wanted a photo for my 60 th birthday. Turned around for an amazing descent and home for a pint. Good day all around.
 

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A 16 mile climb... my son would be in heaven, he has to travel to Portugal for that kind of climbing, which he loves.

If you can tap that out on your 60th Birthday, then I am much encouraged, as I feel like I have been riding slower lately and I turned 57 in February, I shall "Endeavour to persevere".

Mull is a small island and usually is pretty quiet traffic wise most of the time, but especially on a Sunday. Around two thirds of the way round there is an amazing beach at Calgary, and once we had passed that, the amount of traffic increased quite a bit, as people were coming from and going to the beach. When I rode mid week, I hardly saw a car the whole day... wonderful.
 
Don't let a number limit you, I'm proud to be 60 and can still hold my own with the youngsters. My moto is keep moving or sit and rust. Get out and ride!
 
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A combination of many things means I have not got the miles in recently that I would have liked to, but today I found I had both the time and weather to get out, so off I went to Bristol Airport.

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If you look very carefully in the background, you will see the big stainless steel sculpture thing at the entrance roundybout.

The airport is on the highest point in the area, other than the Mendips, so it's a nice little climb to get up there, and of course what goes up.....

So along the A38 a short way to Redhill, where despite looking flat in the photo, I ran out of gears and tucked my way to 68 kph into a headwind. I think I have managed 72 before.

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There was a huuuuuge queue of traffic further along the A38, but not for me. :mrgreen: I rode past them all fussing and fuming up to the traffic lights at Churchill and turned off back onto quieter roads.

I ended up passing the Helicopter museum just outside W-s-M where there was supposed to be a big 'drones' event going on 'The first of its kind in the UK' they said on telly. I stopped for a quick slurp from my bottle, saw several tiny little quads buzz about and crash, and set off to finish the ride.

A very pleasant 50k, and only two close passes the whole ride, both from elderly men driving SUV's, a type of vehicle I neither like nor understand.
 
Cycled round Mull in March this year, it was traffic free good surfaces (mostly) and the scenery amazing. Lots of climbing in the north end of the island from Salen to Dervaig to Tobermory

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47p2":1me7xzjz said:
Cycled round Mull in March this year, it was traffic free good surfaces (mostly) and the scenery amazing. Lots of climbing in the north end of the island from Salen to Dervaig to Tobermory

Wonderful.

Where I stay is about half a mile on from the fishing boats, in Salen.

You were lucky with the weather, but if it's dry then March / April is a great time to be there.
 
Helsingborg to Tylosands via the Kattegatsleden and a climb over the Hallandsas.

145km.

I've not ridden a bike more than 15km this year. I've also only ridden about 6 times since easter.

I'm f@@ked.

Got to do another 150 ish tomorrow........
 

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