The pedal home last night was extended to get in the elusive 100 miles in a week commuting. Instead of coming off the cut at Selly Oak I stayed on there until Kings Norton and took Cycle Route 5 (well bits of it) to Longbridge where I then did the Lickey Hills loop to give me an extra 6 miles. That added to the night before puts me 9 miles up and on course to break the 100 mile barrier. That's if I pedal tomorrow of course which I hope to do.
I know JB and his pals are planning to do the whole of route 5 in the future, what I would say is that the route I pedalled is very intricate with lots of in and out bits and plenty of twists and turns. Also the surface wasn't that great on some of it. No problems for me and my MTB but I'm wondering about road bikes. Maybe the tracks will improve with the better weather. I have had a nose at the whole route through Brum, some of it goes through some pretty dodgy areas. I'm happy to advise anyone planning to do the route which bits I'd avoid and diversions I'd take.
The pedal in again this morning was totally fine, I took the route through the City Centre with no Jobys to report. I'll do the bog standard route home tonight, I need the hills to test me out. The last 2 nights have avoided my nemisis, that of Cock Hill. I'll be panting my way up there later.
The bits of Route 5 I pedalled last night below. If you decide to watch it play it with no sound on. My panting, snotting and general horrible noises seem particularly bad in this video!
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Ohhh the video wont play...it says "This video is a duplicate of a previously uploaded video"
ReplyDeleteThe plan for NCR5 is to do it on my Hybrid bike, it has wider treaded tyres (700c 28 Schwalbe Marathon Plus)
There is NO way I would consider going down unknown cycle paths on a road bike...even in mid summer!
Sorry mate, my cock up. Try that!
ReplyDeleteA hybrid is probably best...
Arp...it works now :-)
ReplyDeletePath doesn't look that bad......but indeed one I wouldn't take a decent road bike on.
There were some bits I didn't go on that I could see that looked pretty damn slippery and muddy.
ReplyDeleteThe path doesn't look too bad to be honest. Most of the country roads around here are a LOT worse. I will probably ride NCR5 on the fixie anyway. Like Johns, this bike also has Marathon+ tyres on (32mm).
ReplyDeleteThe main problem I could see were the dog walkers.
btw: I love the way you started panting everytime there was a little uphill - lol! You'll have to overlay some music on the next vid!
Just for the record I hate Marathon + tyres. They're horrible heavy things that make the bike feel like it's got wooden cart wheels.
ReplyDeleteI only use these tyres because they are pretty good in terms of puncture resistance.I mean have you ever tried puncturing a wooden cart wheel?
Red, just for the record, I pant because I'm fat and unfit! I did advise against playing with the sound on!
ReplyDeleteYou should hear me if it's a big uphill!
@Red...Yerp agree Marathon Plus are kin heavy..But I recon impossible to puncture and itl take years to wear them out :-)
ReplyDelete@Clive...Panting up hill is very normal....but I didn't see any hills on your vid :-)
Trick of the camera, it's like the Himalaya's on NCR 5!
ReplyDeleteWell the top part of NCR5 is all tarmac'd - I'll meet you all in Runcorn :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear the panting - anything like the video of the bus? No sound on this PC at work - prefer Ipod background music ;)
Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any info on the north Wales section of NCR 5
ReplyDeleteVery sad to see you were the only cyclist using that section of NCR5, is it always like that?
ReplyDeleteNCR5 round here varies from good tarmac roads to average concrete. Never seen many other cyclists on the short bit I use almost often, was a few more up towards Oxford though. Can do a proper reccy for you nearer the time should you want it John.
ReplyDeleteI puff and pant loads Clive, sound like a flipping train half the time!