Good ride-day

Good Friday worked out to be great! Today we have been blessed with weather that made for some awesome cycling. It also happened to be Chris’ 30th birthday and what better way to celebrate than a loop through north Dorset.

After recently both rebuilding our Ribble’s over winter we were keen to see how our fitness had changed in the off season.

We took in some great climbs, the best being up to the top of Bulbarrow. The view is fantastic  from up there, with a nice descent earned off the back!

Earlier in the route we descended through the picturesque village of Milton Abbas, and climbed up, round and over the back of Bryanston school. Some very scenic crank turns! Well worth working into a ride.

By the end of the 42 miles we had climbed 3000ft, not bad for the first big ride of the year.

An average of 15mph we were more than happy with. Especially seeing as Chris had a near miss with a severe speed wobble that we tracked down to a loose rear wheel bearing preload. After then we tamed down our speed on descents

A note to my new saddle again, the longest I have ridden the Aliante VSX, no pain whatsoever. Brilliant.

North Dorset is easily my most favourite place to ride out of Bournemouth. The climbs are great and reward you with amazing views. The coffee stops aren’t bad either, we stopped in at the Yellow Bicycle Cafe in Blandford on the way back in. Although the cafe was nice, staff friendly, and coffee and cake good, I couldnt help but feel the cycle connection was a bit of a fad/marketing add on. Also despite having a lamp post outside, and more than likely a large number of cycling clientele, the cafe didn’t have any locks to lend out! A bit of the norm in most true cycle cafes now. That aside we risked it anyway.

A great day for cycling and a great location. Oh and great company obviously! It’s why I love riding bikes.