Greenway in Spring

in #hive-176853last year

Screenshot from 2023-05-20 17-43-11.png

It was a beautiful day for a longer e-bike ride, my first of the year. I bought my Specialized Turbo Levo HT just before lockdown, and it's still going strong, although Specialized did have to replace the battery.

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I don't know if that calorie count is accurate. I have read that cycling on an e-bike burns roughly 2/3 what you burn on unpowered bikes. But that's what Strava estimates. I would guess it was more like 450, personally.

I took it nice and easy, stopping to admire the flowers, and the views.

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I also had to slow down frequently for people and dogs, as everyone else was on the trail this afternoon, too.

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The may, or hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) was out everywhere, with its heavy perfume pervading the air. It reminded me of a line from Patrick Kavanagh's poem that became the lyrics for Raglan Road:

her own dark hair like clouds over fields of May

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I snapped a few photos as I was going round (it was just over 25 km) from the saddle:

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I feel lucky to live near this trail, because it is almost totally off-road and leads through some really lovely countryside. The above photo is Norton Common, not strictly part of the Greenway, but just coming up to NCR 12, which I usually pick up going south for a bit before getting back on the Greenway at another section to avoid the only section that is on roads. The trail-markers seem to say you can ride on the pavement, but the surface is pretty rough and there are a lot of side-roads to contend with, so it's not as much fun as cutting through the Common.

This guy lives in a livery yard that is bang on the trail, and you have to get off to walk through it because they've put up a complex chicane to force cyclists to slow down, which is understandable. Mr. Chestnut here was kicking the door to his box, and looking in a specific direction so maybe he hadn't been fed yet.

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The yard also appeared to have a resident floof, but it wasn't very interested in meeting me:

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Thanks for looking! I'll leave you with my favourite view, because it sums up everything I love about this ride, and this time of year.

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Nice trail. It has a well prepared surface by the look of it. Not like the trails I tend to ride 😄 can be a bit rough and full of tree roots!
Keep it up and enjoy the rest of the summer trails!
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The worst thing about it is the way all the gravel gets washed downhill in heavy rain, so there are screes of deep gravel at the bottom of fairly fast descents, just where there shouldn't be. A friend of mine wiped out on one of these and broke a collar bone last year. This is supposed to be a family trail, with no technical sections, suitable for hybrids, which is what he was on at the time 😐

That's too bad! I know I've had a few similar tumbles over the years but take it real easy now I'm in my mid sixties! 🙄 However I do like a challenge so I don't take the easy routes, it's quite hilly around there.

Yeah, I started mountain-biking in my forties, and got to the point where I could ride most blue trails in a bike park. But I'm much more cautious now (mid-fifties), especially now that the NHS is so overwhelmed -- @steevc kindly acted as ambulance when my friend got hurt because there would have been an eight-hour wait.

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I know that route well and have even run it a few times! Our horse was at that stables before his sad demise.

Lovely day for it. I really ought to get out on the bike more.

!LUV

R.I.P., Romeo!

Romeo India Pappa, Romeo

RIP,XGG

Going to dust off the bikes here funnily enough. Though tomorrow we’ve got a 7 mile loop to do on the kayaks along the backwaters of the Thames. Will Strava it!

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Absolutely lovely looking place. Lots of similar stuff around here. Blossom galore! I’ll do a post if I can.

Very nice, yes, you are very lucky to have that on your doorstep!

I also think 450 is more realistic. I used to ride from Biggleswade to St Neots to work. One way 22km on a non-e road bike with loads of luggage. I was at my fittest then and it took me 50 minutes on a good day with a burn of 600.

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