Not a Titanic Ride!
 

A beautiful, sunny day in mid-April just had to be enjoyed by bicycle. I put my Xootr Swift into my car and drove the 20 miles to the Solway coast (England) and a seaside town of Silloth. It is a Victorian town of cobbled streets and a wide stretch of grass (known as The Green) which stands right on the shore of the Solway Firth. On a clear day the hills of Scotland seem close enough to touch as they are only about 3 to 4 miles away. This day was hazy so only the faintest outline of the hills could be seen.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000680.jpg

After unloading the Swift, I rode the 12 miles or so down the coast to the town of Maryport and had a picnic lunch by the marina. The road hugs the shoreline for much of the way and passes several holiday caravan sites. Maryport was the home of Thomas Henry Ismay who owned the White Star shipping line, which owned the Titanic. The picture of my bike at the marina was taken only a couple of hundred yards from Thomas Ismay's house.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000679.jpg

After a leisurely lunch and a chat to a local man who was intrigued by my bike, I made the return journey to Silloth - stopping only to take photo's and collect a couple of golf balls that had strayed onto the road from the golf links that hug the shore. Not a huge ride - about 25 miles - but great scenery, sunshine and exercise!

The Howgill Ride
 

I'm not sure if my latest 28 mile ride can be classed as a "pootle" because it was hard work! I have been thinking about the ride for a couple of years and finally got the chance to do it. I drove south down the M6 motorway from my home in Carlisle (UK) to the village of Orton (approx 30 miles). The M6 motorway runs from Birmingham to to the Scottish border (about 200 miles) and slips past Carlisle. Orton lies in the fells to the east of the road and has a great chocolate factory/shop! I parked the car in Orton and unloaded my Xootr Swift folder before riding down to the village of Tebay - a former major railway junction. Tebay has the M6 and the main West Coast rail line (Glasgow to London) running past it.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000683.jpg

The front (top) bridge is the M6 flyover. The arched bridge carries the rail line and the small stone bridge crosses the River Lune to allow access to a farm. I cycled under the motorway and railway to join a single track road along the side of the Howgill Fells to the town of Sedbergh. From the narrow road I could look to my right and see the motorway and rail line and hear the traffic as it sped north and south. The sun came out and the road began to climb and climb!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000691.jpg

Above photo is looking back to the motorway with the River Lune cutting through the valley floor. This was a harder ride than I expected as the climbing was steep in places and not of a constant gradient. Seasoned tourists would scamper over the road without any problem but I had to select "crawler gear" and even walk some of the climbs. The hills were not high but the constant up and down of the road made my legs ache!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000690.jpg

The occassional farm vehicle and wayward sheep caused me to pull off the road now and again but I was grateful for the rest!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000697.jpg

I enevtually arrived at Sedbergh and enjoyed a pic-nic lunch in the sun. This included a home made fruit pie purchased from an open air market stall. The return journey was a bit of a shock as I had to climb hills I didn't remember freewheeling down on the outward journey!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/P1000710.jpg

It was hard work riding back to the car but well worth the effort.

I live in a very beautiful part of the world!

you sure do. that's a nice view/place. it's worth every sweat.......

vic

Spectacular!

does my daily commute to work classify as a pootle?
You be the judge! This is the view from my balcony, and the bike path that takes me to work:
I wanted to put comments under each photo, but cant figure out how to do that here!
Anyway, the ride takes me through the Casuarina coastal reserve, with some cokatoos and corollas
at the end i arrive at the University campus and lock my bike where i can see it from my office window, althoug as soon as my new UGADA Tikit arrives, I will be bringing it in with me :)

Nice route! Don't you have ANY traffic to deal with? :mad: *jealous*

How did you get your Airnimal? And the Tikit? Both local reps/dealers?

jeje, the only traffic I deal with is crossing the street from my apt to the bike path...
the airnimal I got in Oxford, UK. It has traveled with me to the US, Mexico and Australia.
The Tikit I purchased from Bike Friday directly, and it was shipped to Alaska..... it is arriving with my GF who is traveling here from there next week :).
There are no dealers of folding bikes in the NT....

NT... I assumed you were south of Perth due to the Casuarina ref...

That's a stunning landscape to pootle around!

so i am assuming you're originally from the bay area. yes as they say it 'left the heart in sf'. it's really an awesome city. couldn't compare it to any city. it has it's own character. but lately weather has been so dump and cold so i haven't been able to ride my bike. hope to see you pootling here soon....

thanks,
vic

No, I was born in DC and raised in Northern Virginia. But I do get out to Northern CA often - relatives in San Jose, and frequent professional conferences. Next visit will be Monterey in late June, probably with a run up to San Jose and maybe to Oakland. I'm also trying to get to go to San Francisco in October. I may pack the Tokyo on one or both trips - we'll see.

I'm in Pacific Grove, next to Monterey. The local bike path is just under 15 miles long, most of it adjoining the coast at the south end of Monterey Bay. It's a beautiful Pacific coast ride which is easily extended further south on slow speed surface streets around the Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and Carmel shorelines all the way to Highway 1, where a short distance away is Point Lobos State Park. Big Sur is a another 12 challenging miles further south, but on a well-traveled highway with varying shoulder conditions. You could easily make a day of it from Monterey to Carmel (or even Point Lobos) and back. Unless you detour inland to climb some hills or continue south toward Big Sur, the route is relatively level.

Here are photos of the coast:

that would be nice to visit NorCal and it may be in time for the NorCal folder bike run that sesamecrunch might be organizing. if ever then we will see you here....BTW i got a used dahon boardwalk D6 and am thinking of upgrading this one for the folder run this summer. hopefully i can finish the upgrade soon. although i still have the tokyo, the dahon is becoming my regular commute folder now. on ocassion that space is an issue i usually take my tokyo. surprisingly i get more compliments with my tokyo than with my dahon. maybe because of it's mango yellow color.

see you then,
vic

is it by the 17-mile drive ? and are bikes allowed on the 17-mile drive ? been there so many times and love the place. such an awesome view. you got a nice bike ride there...

thanks,
vic

Here is a current 2008 Bike Map from the Transportation Agency of Monterey County:

http://www.tamcmonterey.org/programs..._north_web.pdf

You can also pick up a free copy in most Monterey area bike shops or buy a durable, waterproof version for $5.

The Monterey Peninsula is enlarged at left center box marked "1". The bike path I described is the purple dot portion from Monterey north through Sand city out to Marina, but in the opposite direction along the coast is a short 2.25 mile MUP section (orange line) from Monterey out to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. The blue line beyond Lovers Point is Ocean View Boulevard and Sunset Drive (slow auto traffic - tourists gawking at the views) which turns into Pebble Beach at 17 Mile Drive. Yes, many cyclists ride 17MD, including the local velo clubs (no $9 gate fee - cyclists pass through for free). Though the blue line turns inland at Steveston Drive, only because the official bike signage directs you this way, almost everyone continues along 17MD around Cypress Point to the Lodge and on south to Carmel because of the spectacular coastal scenery to been found along this stretch. There is no shoulder along the Cypress Point section, which is why the Pebble Beach Company would rather you take Steveston. Auto traffic is not really hazardous, though, as it is quite slow along this short stretch - you just have to watch out for cars pulling in and out of the several vista stops.

I forgot to mention I live up just up the street from Lovers Point. If anyone plans to be in the neighborhood, drop me a PM and see if we can ride together.

thanks chainstrainer for the info. will consider bike riding to 17md when we go there again...

sounds good. i will take your offer if ever i drop by monterey. it's one place that has a special place in me more so because of the scenic views.

Not so much a pootle, but on Friday I strapped a small DMC-FT1 digicam to my handlebars ( Moulton TSR-30 ) and made a short video of the last leg of my 11 mile cycle to work.
I wanted to record this as come October I will be moving across the pond and cycling on the wrong side of the road in Sonoma.

There is no anti-vibration other than the Moulton suspension which seems to smooth out all but the worst bits of road vibration Cycling to work on a Moulton (90MB)

My most recent pootles in London and Holland:

Singapore Day, London: riding around Kensington Gardens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gq3um_WXdo

Road Trip Europe Day 2: riding around Zoetermeer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOz1BosmM4

Road Trip Europe Day 3: Amsterdam!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3gziFExkEk

Few images from my recent explorations.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1241588054
A Dahon Vitesse near a local creek.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1241587976
I stumbled upon a NAMBA race. These little boats are fast!

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1241587990
Another view of the NAMBA competition.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1241588051
A BF NWT looking over the Bay Area marshlands. Dumberton bridge is visible in the background. This NWT got today a Brooks B17 (not shown).

Where did you take the first pic(the one with the waterfall and bridges)? I live in the Bay Area but do not recognize the setting. Looks like a nice ride.

This one was taken on Alameda Creek trail near lat 37.572410°, lng -121.971220°. This is very nice trail that starts at Fremont and goes all the way to the bay.

Kam

London Pootle: Kensington Gardens
 

Some photos from our morning ride in Kensington Gardens in London.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1242198885

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1242198885

More in the attachments below.