stapfam

Today was brilliant cycling weather- just wish I could have got out in it but the best I could manage was 250 miles in a car.

But the schools have broken up and Mum & Dad have taken the plunge and taken the kids on holiday. As I live on the coast- I think most opf London has come to my area. No pics I am afraid but I must have seen 20 or so cycling groups out today.

The only serious riders I saw were 3 groups of riders with all the right gear on- Massive great big panniers fitted and MOuntain bike gearing to get up our slopes. The rest were in groups of 5 or 6 on sensible grade Mountain bikes or hybrids. Obviously down on holiday and they bought the bikes with them. Did not see one single rider pushing a bike uphill so they must have had some degree of fitness with them.

All were riding sensibly- albeit sometimes slowly- and surprise surprise- I did not see one single car driver get annoyed with them. The only Bike causing a problem- in the singular- was one I caught at the start of a 12% hill. He wasn't causing the problem- but the car immediately behind him was. The driver would not overtake so one long line of cars travelling very slowly behind a bike. And when I finally caught a look at him as I passed- he was an Older rider -probably in his 60's. Probably a lot younger though but aged considerably after the cafe stop at the bottom of the hill. They do a good full breakfast there.

So if you are coming to the UK for a holiday- Bring your bike. Everyone seems to on one at present.

jdon

Thanks for sharing Stapfam. I used to spend a lot of time in the UK between Cambridge, Lowestoft and London. I love the country and the people. Cheers!

cyclinfool

I wish I could come and visit for vacation, but I am having too much fun here.

OldBrit

One of the reasons I left the UK 15yrs ago was because of the weather but now the tables seem to have turned and you guys are getting the sunshine while we in the NE of the US are getting all the rain; wettest July on record. Meantime the NW has had a heatwave!

One of the greatest things I recall about the UK is how fast the terrain changes. In the US you have to travel 1000 miles to see the diversity that you would see in 100 miles in the UK. It's like a continent has been squeezed into an island.

stapfam

Don't worry about abandoning us- you did it for the right reasons. Weather here is fickle and changing. Winters are getting wetter- or if dry- a lot colder. Summer lasts about 4 weeks sometime between april and june. Only 4 weeks at a time though and when it comes it is drought conditions.

July and August seem to be hot but not much sign of the sun- too much cloud cover and summer storms flood the landscape on a few occasions- or the towns- or the motorways.

And on that terrain. We don't have great big open plains- we don't have massive great big mountain ranges and we don't have deserts.

Everything seems to be around but smaller. I can go for 25 miles East or west and not have a slope greater than 2%. Or I can go North and get in 3,000ft of climbing in 20 miles- or South to the South Downs and have 100 miles of offroad and just keep doing 600 to 800 ft climbs at 12% with the occasional steep bit thrown in. And just think of the downhills to go with it.

You left for the right reasons.