Went Malaysia again !
M
My TT tomorrow got cancelled so I did the full group ride today. It was a tiny bit fresh to start but almost ideal shortly after 
I met the guys at Elton Furze and we took the regular spurious route to Oundle. My strong mate showed up and behind him I managed the 3rd fastest time for the route, 44s faster than my lockdown solo effort for 23w and 29bpm less 
Are you still waiting on your new front wheel or was this your first ride with them?
Waiting to convert rear wheel to XDR freehub. The end cap is so tight I need to remove using a vise, and didnāt have time to run to the LBS for help. And front wheel is coming next week 
but I havenāt received confirmation yet.
This weekend ends a recovery week for me. However, as the summer has (sort of) arrived, so I thought Iād get out and get to a climb I hit two years ago and was unable to reach last year. Overall, itās 4.2mi of 12.5% with the first 1.8mi on pavement and 14% and the remainder on gravel, sometimes thick and completely exposed. In May 2020, that ride was 90mi with 11.1kā of climbing. In Oct 2021, I bailed on the final push to the climb due to weather (we didnāt really have a summer last year so Oct was my last ditch go for it) but still doing 59mi and 7.6kā of climbing.
Today, in the interest of time, I skipped much of my regular route to get to the region, which took off at least 30ā and a bunch of climbing as I traded trails (and the prerequisite ups and downs) for pavement and straight climbing to āskip ahead.ā All the while, I was focused on keeping the energy level low and taking it easy. Iāve done maybe two 4-5hrs rides this year and this was aiming to be about 80mi and under 9hr. However, the low clouds engulfing and covering the target area meant temps would be lower than I wanted in short sleeves. I was already going through warm sun and cool forest and entering cold and damp didnāt seem wise. Further, I needed to be coherent in the afternoon to get some work done. So, at about mile 24mi, I decided to turn and head for home and took a right instead of a left for what would have been another climb before the main climb (which would ultimately put me in a place for another climb). The end result was 50mi with 5.6kā of climbing.
Hereās a composite video with scenes that start at about mile 13. itās available in 4k HD, so if itās not high res for you, change your setting.
Some picturesā¦
First, the pre-ride clean and lube last night revealed a minor issue that so far isnāt noticeable so Iām ignoring it.
Still in my local areaā¦
The video starts before this scenic spot and continues after, but doesnāt include this section. I was prepared for a longer day.
Part of the trail beyond the above, which mtbāers love to descend. Funny how I never see anyone else climbing. It must just be a timing thingā¦ but, I did create a Strava segment for my usual way up here (which I didnāt follow today), which is 9mi at 4.8% of trail and some road, and Iām still the only person to have done it, which means I have the KOM
Nearing but not near the peak for the segment ā which is the highest point of this ride ā and after the aboveā¦
A now-obscured bunker.
This is the view of the bunker. Not visible is a tank ditch which Iāll ride over shortly after this. Opposite is a ridgeline I was on back around mile 12, coming up from the left via the face and then on the ridge to the right.
To the right of this (literally 3 oāclock from this direction) beyond a short rise is a shooting range. I rode past it and made sure it was closed up (next to it is a crossbow range, which was open, but thatās irrelevant). While riding up, there were some rifle shots but the flags werenāt up and the barrier for the trail wasnāt down. Hmm. At 4:05 of the video, Iām riding right at a shooting house (closed shutters) with the rifle targets 1500m or so behind me. (On my departure, I heard my local rifle range was operating.)
And hereās a pleasant lake-side picture under a blue sky.
It was a good day on the bike that didnāt wipe me out. Iāll get after the climb in the coming weeks.
@rkoswald nice looking ride.
Nokesville, VA, USA // TR Outside Workout: Dombai
2 1/2 hours of Z2.
Finally found a few steeper hills, but never needed the 36T cog. Super impressed with this range of gearing, especially since I was coming from āFlorida gearingā (50/34 front, 11/25 rear).
Fields of yellow and a rescue mission (two of his brethren were not as fortunate).
A buddy is visiting me in a couple of months and bringing his bike cuz weāre going riding. On his groadie heās bringing, he has 52/36 and 11-28 and is (was?) planning on just changing to a 32 up front. Iāve got 46/33 and 10-33 on my road bike and 40 and 10-52 on my gravel. I suggested he might consider an alternativeā¦
By the way, you & others ever see or use this site? https://ritzelrechner.de/ Itās pretty nice for looking at gearing options. For example, comparing his gearing (with 32) to my road bike gearing:
his 52/32 & 11-28: Bicycle Gear Calculator
And my 46/33 10-33: Bicycle Gear Calculator
Iām no expert but 52/32 might be too big a drop causing chain drops and bad shifting. I changed (or to be precise the local bike mechanic did) my 36t to a 34t and that worked sweet for Tenerife 350miles (42,400ft) in 6 consecutive days.
Big Gravel ride today!
There is a racing series, where local experts plan a Gravel Route between 150-250k, and everyone can ride it and score points on a leaderboard.
The series hasnāt started for this year, but since I donāt plan on participating, I just went at it today, since I was in the area.
The huge (miles in diameter) gravel pit was very spectacular!
What are those concrete (?) things in front of the silos?
@mountainrunner yes, love that site! Hereās a link comparing my old gearing to new. Same top end but drastically improved lower end for climbing.
The chimneys? Iām not sure what you are referring to.
- those are freshly plowed fields with dry soil.
German accuracy 
Woah!
I met some mates in a village west of Peterborough and took tracks/paths to the eastside. The sun was coming out so after I left them in Nassington (another village west of Peterborough) I looped round by Yarwell Mill. I like the cafe there. The service is a bit slow but itās a good selection fora tiny place, its in a good location and at all time you can be within a metre of your bike even at the counter 
I really should clean the bike but I am watching some wildlife programme.
I love watching wildlife programs!
70 mile mixed road + gravel race (for the fast guys) / ride (for me). First time I had to pin numbers to my shirt - I now understand why people complain about that.
I saw a bunch of flats on the first gravel descent section - not sure why so many - although a common theme seemed to be skinny tires. I guess some people racing were rolling the dice to try be faster on the road sections.
Itās starting to feel like summer 
Video was so cool, @mountainrunner! What a beautiful ride. Love the horse and dog combo. They looked totally relaxed about having the bike come by. Thanks for sharing that!