Today's Bike Ride

[Travs]

I've had mixed experience cycling along canals.... perhaps 8 years ago i decided to follow the canal from Coventry to Rugby. My only experience having been running along the Cov Canal.

For a few miles it was lovely on the towpath. Then the towpath just stopped and was basically a trod in the grass. Not ideal on my dad's road-bike which was too small for me anyway.

I did fall off at one point, and it was only the thickness of the vegetation which prevented me from ending up in the water.

By the time i got to Rugby i'd had enough and cycled to the station, and lumped the bike onto the first train home.

[Graham Breeze]

I've had mixed experience cycling along canals.... perhaps 8 years ago i decided to follow the canal from Coventry to Rugby. My only experience having been running along the Cov Canal.

For a few miles it was lovely on the towpath. Then the towpath just stopped and was basically a trod in the grass. Not ideal on my dad's road-bike which was too small for me anyway.

I did fall off at one point, and it was only the thickness of the vegetation which prevented me from ending up in the water.

By the time i got to Rugby i'd had enough and cycled to the station, and lumped the bike onto the first train home.

Yep.

I have done the full Leeds-Liverpool canal (in both directions) and one does need to focus on the highlights - which are few and far between. There is one section where, as you describe, the narrow grass path slopes down to the water so on greasy grass and a moment's inattention...

[Graham Breeze]

You do an impression of Alejandro Valverde disappearing over the edge?

Gutted to see AV crash out of the Vuelta; worse still it's been reported that he's fractured his right clavicle. It'll be a duller race without him

Absolutely.

And the older he gets the less we hear of his "chequered history" from mediocre commentators who now recognise he is a real star.

[anthonykay]

There is a good network of bridleways in the countryside to the north of Loughborough, and since the recent dry weather means that conditions were going to be good underwheel, I decided to re-acquaint myself with some of them. After a bit more than a mile of bridleway riding, I came to a gate with a notice:

FARM LIVESTOCK. KEEP GATE SHUT.

The instruction was being obeyed: the farm livestock was keeping the gate shut. To be more specific, a bloke with a ring in his nose had parked himself on the other side of the gate, such that it couldn't possibly be opened, while his lady friends in the field got on with their lunch. Given the contrast between my mass of 60-something kg and his mass of several hundred kg, I decided that there would not be much point in trying to argue about "Public Right of Way". So I retreated, and after a diversion of about 3 miles arrived at a point about 500 metres from that firmly shut gate.

This wasn't the last incident involving a gate on my ride. The blood on my left brake lever is from a cut in a finger sustained in a battle with a stubborn, rusty gate latch.

[Gambatte]

103km 119m to Glückstadt and back

[Graham Breeze]

Diverted by the Black Combe Dash English Champs. counter last weekend I returned to the bike this week with a 42 miles (2800 feet) and 25 miles (2000 feet) pootle around the usual places contemplating the news that the new 12 speed electric Dura - Ace R9200 has been released at £4350 with power meter.

Cycling's comic, having only allocated 4 pages to this news, promises 10 pages next week in which it will ask if Dura - Ace is "too expensive for ordinary riders?"

I would have thought 10 words would suffice to address this key issue of our time - but then I ride cheap old Campagnolo.

I bought some SIS gels this week and with them came a "free" Ineos Grenadier bidon. I noticed that the valve doesn't work properly so the bidon is useless. In the context of the Vuelta - perhaps a subtle metaphor for the Ineos team?

[Travs]

Tour Of Britain goes through the Lake District tomorrow. I don't know exact route, but stage starts in Carlisle, down into the Lake District, along side of Ullswater, Pooley Bridge, Tirril, Penrith, then uP over Hartside to Alston, before finishing in Gateshead.

[Llani Boy]

Thanks also for reminding me of Ineos's lack of Vuelta success; although not quite over yet, it looks I'll be finishing second behind the Welsh maestro in the 'predict the grand tour winner' competition.

I might have got the winner but my second and third were well wide of the mark!

[mr brightside]

Anyone heard about the drought in 9spd parts? The foundries in PRC that make the high carbon steel shut down for corona, so now the supply chain has no plate to punch chain links out of. Levers aswell, i've heard, are in short supply. That said, i won't have any problems, due mainly to the fact that this terrible situation will have no effect whatsoever on the supply of 7400 and 7800 Dura Ace bits.

[PeteS]

Tour Of Britain goes through the Lake District tomorrow. I don't know exact route, but stage starts in Carlisle, down into the Lake District, along side of Ullswater, Pooley Bridge, Tirril, Penrith, then uP over Hartside to Alston, before finishing in Gateshead.

I was up in the Lakes earlier than expected so caught the sprint at Penrith.
Took a few pictures - got a good one of Cav.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/shakeyp/2j4E7e