A day in the country with my two new toys

[somtamslap]

Hampshire in southern England is truly a beautiful county, with quiet rolling lanes - perfect for cycling, and swirling expanses of colourful fields - fantastic for photography. Quite handy then that I was there today with my two new toys; a new bicycle - Cannondale aluminium frame with full Shimano 105 groupset (for anyone that gives a shit), and a Canon 600d - with 18-55 and 55-250mm lenses (for anyone that gives a, erm, shit?).

I took in some 80 or so kilometres of countryside - I say kilometres because it appears more impressive than miles - and, although it was somewhat overcast this afternoon I still had a nice ride, if a little undulating, and took some reasonable pictures.

Enjoy!



Giant splashes of saffron - or rape plantations - decorated the route





Pheasant. Out of season now but that husky caw can still be heard a lot.





The ascending trajectory of these lanes was a trend.





The 105 derailleurs offered up a smooth change



That Garmin is easily the best cycling accessory I've ever bought



These fields have been sculpted ready for a new crop - a real work of art



Right, I'm off for a well-earned beverage or seven and a large doner kebab with chips.

Toodle pip.

[Stinky]

Can you still ride up the Itchen navigation, it used to be quite spectacular but Ive not done it for some years.

[Chittychangchang]

Nice ride, surely deserving of some mountain pics.

Broken any speed limits on it yet?

I took a speed camera in a 30mph zone the other day at 38mph for the crack on my road bike.

The irony is I got a speeding summons in the post last week for driving 40mph in a 30 mph zone and am now awaiting my driver awareness course instead of the 3 points and fine, b'stards.

[palexxxx]

You forgot to include some pics of you on the ride.

Luckily I was there and saw you passing by.

[Pragmatic]

That Garmin is easily the best cycling accessory I've ever bought

Is it GPS or a computer? Garmin, you must be loaded?

[nidhogg]

That Garmin is easily the best cycling accessory I've ever bought

Is it GPS or a computer? Garmin, you must be loaded?

New bike, nikon 600d - whats slap doing there? bank jobs?

[Pragmatic]

New bike, nikon 600d - whats slap doing there? bank jobs?

And the bike has top notch tyres fitted. He must have been in on that safety deposit heist a few weeks back.

[thaimeme]

Nice work, Slap...

Giving some of the more ardent photographers here a run for their money!!

Cheers.

[palexxxx]

Giant splashes of saffron - or rape plantations - decorated the route

In Australia we call that stuff Canola.

[nidhogg]

New bike, nikon 600d - whats slap doing there? bank jobs?

And the bike has top notch tyres fitted. He must have been in on that safety deposit heist a few weeks back.

Think you may be right.

Slap, me and pragmatic want a cut for our silence. Otherwise we will grass to the rozzers. That flash bike was a dead give away.

[Simon43]

Some really good photos there Slap, and it brings back memories of cycling in the Chilterns when I lived in the UK.

But nowadays, I would be concerned at being mugged by Albanian gypsies hiding in the rape fields...

[ltnt]

Really better than the average pic.'s there Slap. Almost makes you think about having a visit. Nice bike, hows the Aluminum holding up? One's I've rode flexed a bit more than the Titanium or carbon fiber...cost? 1,000 pounds?

Sorry can't green ya, but definitely you've earned a few here.

[somtamslap]

Itchen navigation

I didn't get down that far, but yes, I love riding next to water - so much so that I'm planning to ride the Liverpool-Leeds canal at some point. But I'm planning/training for a Land's End to John o' Groats at the mo. 880 miles in 10 days, unless I decide to do the whole thing off road in which case it'll be closer to 1200 miles.

Nice ride, surely deserving of some mountain pics.

Cheers Chitster. Gotta head across to Devon for the mountains. I like cycling in Devon about as much I like drinking non-alcoholic lager.

Luckily I was there and saw you passing by.

Well, that was lucky - a nice shot of the Slap in action. Anyway Pale - are you still on Siamese soil at present? One couldn't help but notice the sale of your motorsickles...

Is it GPS or a computer? Garmin, you must be loaded?

Both, and no, they don't cost a fortune. I implore you purchase one. It'll enhance your cycling experience a hundred fold...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Edge-...rds=garmin+500

That flash bike was a dead give away.

Yes, my first port of call after successfully procuring 60 million pounds was Halfords

But nowadays, I would be concerned at being mugged by Albanian gypsies hiding in the rape fields...

Yes, it's always lurking at the back of my mind, I must confess. I think Winchester's an Al Shabaab stronghold.

Nice bike, hows the Aluminum holding up

Surprisingly well considering the weight of its owner. But just as light as most entry level carbon frames.

[klong toey]

Its nice to see Blighty waking from its winter slumber,no more gray days.
Trees are in bud,bluebells carpet the woods with colour nice time to be out and about.
That just means its time to fly back to Thailand for us sometimes would be nice just to have another couple of weeks here to see the complete transformation.

[klong toey]

But today on the South coast its cloudy,raining and foggy.
Gert lets head to the airport and find some sun.

[Stinky]

Itchen navigation

I didn't get down that far, but yes, I love riding next to water - so much so that I'm planning to ride the Liverpool-Leeds canal at some point. But I'm planning/training for a Land's End to John o' Groats at the mo. 880 miles in 10 days, unless I decide to do the whole thing off road in which case it'll be closer to 1200 miles.

that's one humongous bar crawl mate, have fun

[Pragmatic]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pragmatic Is it GPS or a computer? Garmin, you must be loaded? Both, and no, they don't cost a fortune. I implore you purchase one.

I'll look, thanks.

It'll enhance your cycling experience a hundred fold...

So would a fcuking good dog deterrent.

[Pragmatic]

I looked at the link and nearly died. Nearly 125 Quid. I've got this one, HOUK Cycling Bike Bicycle Cycle Computer Odometer Speedometer Waterproof | eBay It's accurate enough for my needs. No GPS though. Times are hard.

[Neverna]

Did you come across any female pheasant pluckers in Hampshire, Slap?

[klong toey]

In Sussex we have pleasant pheasant pluckers .
Not sure what they are like in Hampshire.

[somtamslap]

Gert lets head to the airport and find some sun.

Sounds ideal.

Bastard!

that's one humongous bar crawl mate, have fun

I'm planning on camping and indeed shall require booze, if only to stave off the bogeyman.

So would a fcuking good dog deterrent.

Yes, that must be a total pain in the arse. It's bad enough on a motorbike.

No GPS though.

That's what I like about the Garmin - you can upload your ride to Strava and see where you went, which pubs (local shops) you stopped in, and any fields you ducked into for a dump.

Did you come across any female pheasant pluckers in Hampshire, Slap?

I didn't see anyone for about two hours. It was chuffing fantastic!

[klong toey]

Sounds ideal. Bastard!

Tuesday 12:30 Thai flight if you want some sun tag along.
Chang's are on me ice cold just the way you like it never ending bottle.

[somtamslap]

Chang's are on me

I'll hold you to that. I'll have a raging thirst for that hallowed brew by the time I return.

I'm currently existing on St Gervois stubbies from Sainsbury's.

[palexxxx]

Luckily I was there and saw you passing by.

Well, that was lucky - a nice shot of the Slap in action. Anyway Pale - are you still on Siamese soil at present? One couldn't help but notice the sale of your motorsickles...

Yes, I'm still in LOS but I don't know how long for. Plan is to return to Oz but don't know when.

[somtamslap]

Plan is to return to Oz but don't know when.

Good luck old chap. Contrary to popular belief there is life outside Muang Thai - albeit a tad cold and populated with pikeys. But one can make do.

A couple more years then I'm back in the thick of it.