2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Chargeride]

Stiff little fingers, thats going back.

Anyway riding tomorrow to an abandoned village that was lost to a flour mill explosion, the route might not be there, I can wangle it.

 

[RabH]

This morning it was very wet and very windy but the forecast was showing it clearing up as the morning progressed, thankfully they got it right apart from the wind! The upside of the wind was it dried the roads very quickly indeed and I actually got home with a clean bike for a change! The wind was from the SW and nudging 40mph at times, I decided to enjoy the tailwind so headed NE! I passed Hillend Loch and not surprisingly the water was very choppy!

I then headed for Shieldhill and was hoping to hit 50mph down the big descent to Glen Village but the wind was swirling a bit on the way down so I took it easy and still hit 44mph... I had a very nice view of the Ochil Hills on the way down!

I then made my way to Linlithgow and headed up the climb past the canal, I stopped for some photos of course!

The climb was into the wind at first but then the road turns to the east, its full of ups and downs like this!

I stopped at the top for this one looking back down the hill!

It was a very clear day so the Forth bridges were easy to spot today!

I then had this climb out of the valley!

The views form the top were pretty special!

The Pentland Hills to the SE!

I joined Burnhouse road for a short time but wasn't braving that descent today with a 40mph crosswind, instead I took the back road to Cairnpapple! Straight into the wind here but level 3 assist took care of that!

I would soon have some big climbs to contend with, maybe I should have asked the horses for some help!

I stopped a few times on the way up for photos, the views were just incredible today!

It was time to take on the corkscrew climb!

I had this view of the bridges from the top!

After all the climbing I was looking forward to some big descents now and they were all shielded from the wind so it was pure cycling heaven all the way down to the western side of Dechmont! I joined the cycle path to Bathgate from here but my timing was poor with the schools about to finish for the day so I had to use the main roads to avoid the chaos, I rejoined the path eventually and made my way to Whitburn! Then up the climb into Armadale and west on the back road to Blackridge directly into a 40mph headwind, I had lots of juice remaining in my second battery though so that sure helped! From Blackridge it was a battle against the wind all the way home! What a fantastic day despite the wind, tomorrow is looking very nice and we will have light winds for a change so I will be out again! I have things to do in the morning sadly but my afternoon will be free!

 

[Chargeride]

This is right next to the country lane without any guard at all.

 

[RabH]

Road cycling at its glorious best!

Today I had no route planned, my only plan was to cycle the best roads I could think of in my locale and I came up with a near perfect route! It was super hazy so I made the decision to keep my phone in my bag and just ride my bike with zero distractions! Just minutes after setting off I was hurtling down Bowhousebrae road (known as booze brae locally as its right next to a whisky distillery ) at almost 42mph, that set the tone for the day! As I mentioned yesterday the wind was no factor for a change and after my recent rides that was more than welcome!

My next road was Newhouse to Harthill, starting on the awesome cycle path that runs from Newhouse to Salsburgh! After Salsburgh its a big climb to almost 1000ft before the road plunges down into Harthill, I was nudging 40mph on the way down! From Harthill it was time for the big climb up to Longridge, this is followed by a huge descent down into the valley before the road ramps up again towards Breich! Near the top of the climb I took the back road to West Calder, passing through Loganlea and Addiewell!

From West Calder I started a 4 mile climb towards Harburn and turned off the main road before the village to take the back road towards Woolfords! At the end of the road I had another big fast descent down into the valley and straight into another climb, quickly followed by a long twisty and very enjoyable descent! I then turned on to the A704 and joined the A706 at the top of the climb towards Forth, a 3 mile climb this time! This road can be very busy at times but I was lucky today and got to enjoy a cracking 4 mile descent down into Wilsontown and Stobwood, this road is just sublime in this direction and always makes me smile!

Then it was time for the climb up to Braehead, quickly followed by another cracking descent towards Carnwath! I turned west part way down the descent, on to the back road to Yieldshields which is one of my favourite roads with little to no traffic! Its full of ups and downs and twists and turns and just makes you smile from ear to ear, it really is amazing and its no surprise I use it very frequently! I stopped for a break and a snack next to a narrow back road that leads to Springfield Reservoir, which is used a fishery! Its a no through road so basically it just takes you to the reservoir (and a farm) and you have to come back the same way!

I decided to go have a look, I made my way up the big climb and there was a sign for the fishery at the top! I took one look at the road into the reservoir and about turned immediately, it was full of big potholes and certainly not suited to a road bike! You would need a 4x4 off road vehicle to go fishing there...I enjoyed the descent back to the road though and made my way up the big climb to Yieldshields, then it was another nice descent down into Carluke! From there I took the road to Braidwood which was mostly downhill, then I decided to head down the big descent which leads to the Clyde Valley! I wasn't going all the way down today though!

Part way down I joined the road to Carluke and took the back road to Law Village, the first part is all downhill and just amazing! Then it was the big climb up through Law Village and at the end of the road I joined the A73 for a short time, passing through Bogside where I took the back road to Morningside! I enjoyed 2 big descents into the village before taking the big climb up the back road to Allanton! Then it was another descent down into Bonkle where I headed up the big climb to Hareshaw, only to be thwarted by a road closure! This was the road that was flooded recently so I'm guessing they were working on the drainage!

So I had to about turn and I decided to make my way down to Cleland, another lovely big descent to enjoy before another climb up to Newhouse with 65 miles in the bag! Just 3 miles to home now with some nice big descents before the final big climbs to home! I thought about circling my town to make it a 70 miler but decided against it as the roads were getting busy now as people were heading home from work! This was probably my most enjoyable ride this year so far, just amazing roads on a truly fantastic bike!

This profile image tells the story of a truly amazing ride on fully dry roads, it was a beautiful day with sun all the way!

 

[Chargeride]

Bogside

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I thought about circling my town to make it a 70 miler but decided against it as the roads were getting busy now as people were heading home from work!

I have the same compulsion. Just can't let a distance ending in an 8 or 9 stand. Luckily, I can top off with quiet 1-mile laps around the neighborhood.

This was probably my most enjoyable ride this year so far, just amazing roads on a truly fantastic bike!

Love it when those perfect rides just come together. Nice to ride a bike you admire. Feel that way about my Specialized SL 1. Still get the N+1 itch now and then, but it passes. I already have the bike I want.

 

[Chargeride]

New Derailleur fitted, getting some seriously huge bangs and cog skips in the highest gears.
Im stopping on the ride and adjusting, eventually spotted the issue, the chain is climbing off the chainwheel in the 10/11/12, but fine below that.
Coincidence leads me to presume the chain was damaged during the ripoff process.
New chain means new cog set.

 

[stompandgo]

Maybe the chainring as well.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

New Derailleur fitted, getting some seriously huge bangs and cog skips in the highest gears.

The cassette needs to be either overhauled (if serviceable) or replaced. (The overhaul means dismantling the cassette and only replacing the smallest cogs. Your cassette might be serviceable or not).

Im stopping on the ride and adjusting, eventually spotted the issue, the chain is climbing off the chainwheel in the 10/11/12, but fine below that.

• The derailleur is not adjusted. There are H and L screws to limit the chain outer movements.
• Isn't the derailleur hanger bent?
• Is the derailleur indexing adjusted by the barrel adjuster at the shifter?

I always recommend leaving the work to the bike mechanic if you are not experienced with these matters.

 

[Chargeride]

Thanks Dad.
The bang is the chain trying to climb off the chainwheel, the lower gears keep the chain tighter, ive just straightened the hanger with the proper tool.

 

[Chargeride]

The ride to the blast damaged abandoned village started in a little close, there was an undefined muddy trail to the lake out the back.

This was a beautiful spot on a warm sunny day.

The terrain was much hillier than I expected

Everywhere you look reminds you of the XP background.

Very upmarket and very horsey

This is the overflow I posted, seems strangely un protected

The bridleways go through the grounds of stately homes

And local farms that are basically little hamlets

Cyclists have a union?

I love having fast access to places that would require a long walk

Right near the abandoned village of Bosley

A bridleway actually covered in horseshoe prints

The reamains are fully open, its now become alocal fly tipping centre, all the furniture is still in the rooms, after the blast they just grabbed valuables and were never let back in

A couple of local stoners pointed me to the abandoned 'mansion'.

Its amazingly undamaged considering its been open to squatters for ten years, only mildly concerning items on the bed.

Went back along the canal, all the locks were leaking due to very high water levels.

I guess this refers to the Michael Caine 60s movie.

Gloriously gnarly trees, a solo night ride past these would be stimulating

Everton are playing weekday games at the new stadium and they block the entire area..during rush hour...it took me two hours to do 1 mile, this is the queue for the chippie, must be 200 people in it.
People are foaming at the mouth on Facebook, its taking them hours to get home and the queues are bombarded by beggars from the local homeless shelter.
Ive never been a football match and it was quite the experience to watch the crowds pouring down the roads and through the cars, every possible mix of humanity.
People being carried, all kinds of wheelchairs and motobility scooters, old 90 degree bent over men, hipsters ,scallywags, posh people, walking in front of the traffic ignoring the car
horns, it was like a pilgrimage to the holy land.
Im such a sad loner, I usually run away from stuff like this, but I was stuck there..these people are the opposite of me.
The thought of joining a 200 strong queue for chips.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

And local farms that are basically little hamlets

This somehow reminds me of a certain hamlet in Sudovia where all the gravel racers had to ride through a similar farm as the public road was dividing the farm in two

This is the overflow I posted, seems strangely un protected

That looked a way more dramatic in your previous post!

an abandoned village that was lost to a flour mill explosion

Which reminds me of my primary school times when I was very interested in chemistry since the 7th grade. There was a book series for juvenile chemistry enthusiasts like myself. One of the experiments described was a micro -- totally controlled -- explosion of flour dispersed in the air. I can attest the experiment was totally safe if conducted properly. Well, not everyone was bright enough to understand the scaling the process up One of my classmates heard from me that flour dust explodes, got excited and went on making a large scale experiment himself. He closed himself in the parents' kitchen, sprayed the flour in the air and ignited it.

He found himself stunned, black, stupefied and temporarily deaf. What saved him was a glass pane in the kitchen door that acted as a safety rupture disk directing the blast outside... (I can still remember the name of the guy).

 

[RabH]

I have the same compulsion. Just can't let a distance ending in an 8 or 9 stand. Luckily, I can top off with quiet 1-mile laps around the neighborhood.


Love it when those perfect rides just come together. Nice to ride a bike you admire. Feel that way about my Specialized SL 1. Still get the N+1 itch now and then, but it passes. I already have the bike I want.

I'm usually the same but I didn't want to push my luck yesterday and get mowed down by some moron in a rush to get home...

I found my perfect bike almost 8 years ago, I really don't know what I will do when it finally packs in! I will keep enjoying it until that day comes though, I still remember the day it arrived in 2018 when I was lifting it out of the packaging and got a bit of a shock at how heavy it was... I really thought I had made a big mistake, of course I was comparing it to my carbon racer that weighed virtually nothing! 5 months later I was riding to St Andrews from my front door with a single battery, yes I made the right decision!

Stats from that amazing day!

I hope you have many years of fun riding your SL!

 

[Chargeride]

This somehow reminds me of a certain hamlet in Sudovia where all the gravel racers had to ride through a similar farm as the public road was dividing the farm in two


That looked a way more dramatic in your previous post!

Which reminds me of my primary school times when I was very interested in chemistry since the 7th grade. There was a book series for juvenile chemistry enthusiasts like myself. One of the experiments described was a micro -- totally controlled -- explosion of flour dispersed in the air. I can attest the experiment was totally safe if conducted properly. Well, not everyone was bright enough to understand the scaling the process up One of my classmates heard from me that flour dust explodes, got excited and went on making a large scale experiment himself. He closed himself in the parents' kitchen, sprayed the flour in the air and ignited it.

He found himself stunned, black, stupefied and temporarily deaf. What saved him was a glass pane in the kitchen door that acted as a safety rupture disk directing the blast outside... (I can still remember the name of the guy).

My great uncle was killed in a flour explosion at Bibbys in Liverpool in 1930, I read that one of the men killed at Bosley was never found.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Short local ride yesterday, escaping outside to greet the sun after 2 months of darkness and rain.

An offering to the ancient gods left in the middle of this stone circle, deep in the silent woods. A rose and some hawthorn berries. Perhaps it was to politely ask them to stop it fecking raining. If so, it worked.

Lovely sunset. Have hope lads, Spring is on its way, the Winter gods are retreating.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Short local ride yesterday, escaping outside to greet the sun after 2 months of darkness and rain. View attachment 206837
View attachment 206838
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An offering to the ancient gods left in the middle of this stone circle, deep in the silent woods. A rose and some hawthorn berries. Perhaps it was to politely ask them to stop it fecking raining. If so, it worked.
View attachment 206843

View attachment 206844
View attachment 206845
View attachment 206846
Lovely sunset. Have hope lads, Spring is on its way, the Winter gods are retreating.

Beautiful! What part of England again?

Two months of darkness and rain is a lot endure. Got a taste of that in our time around San Francisco — only more like 1 month at a time in winter there. Definitely wears on you. Here in SW SoCal, we get a lot of gloom from the marine layer — especially in April-July —but never more than 2-3 days of rain in a row, and then only a few times per winter.

Wonder if your battery would charge if you left your bike at the center of the stone circle for a while?

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Beautiful! What part of England again?

Two months of darkness and rain is a lot endure. Got a taste of that in our time around San Francisco — only more like 1 month at a time in winter there. Definitely wears on you. Here in SW SoCal, we get a lot of gloom from the marine layer — especially in April-July —but never more than 2-3 days of rain in a row, and then only a few times per winter.

Devon, south west England - directly in line with the Gulf Stream and all the Atlantic storms rolling in and this winter it was like every 3 days. On the other hand we don't get freezing-unable to ride-snow bound winters.

Wonder if your battery would charge if you left your bike at the center of the stone circle for a while?

Haha. Worth a try.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

I'm usually the same but I didn't want to push my luck yesterday and get mowed down by some moron in a rush to get home...

I found my perfect bike almost 8 years ago, I really don't know what I will do when it finally packs in! I will keep enjoying it until that day comes though, I still remember the day it arrived in 2018 when I was lifting it out of the packaging and got a bit of a shock at how heavy it was... I really thought I had made a big mistake, of course I was comparing it to my carbon racer that weighed virtually nothing! 5 months later I was riding to St Andrews from my front door with a single battery, yes I made the right decision!

Stats from that amazing day!

View attachment 206832

I hope you have many years of fun riding your SL!

Rab, listening to the rain drum down outside, waiting and waiting for a break in the clouds so he can nip outside and grab a quick imperial century...

 

[Base]

Been a while to be on this forum... Rather bussy times working from the home office.

Teams meeting was skipped around lunch time so escaped for a lunchride with the almost summer like weather.

View attachment 1000008335.png

 

[Chargeride]

More info on me being stuck in traffic because of the football game, it seems that part of the stadium deal involves government workers getting match days off work!!!!??
Seems it hasnt finalised yet, but soon they will be offered the days off.
Also theres a huge decrease anyway with people working from home.

Football before work, the world is changing