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Weekend Round-up 24th/25th March

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:33 am
by craigdabrown
My usual personal propensity for preposterous punctuality (I'm a bit p'd off with myself) was my downfall on Saturday. Set off, normal time, for the Square. Got to Lendal Bridge and realised that I’d forgotten my rear light so decided to go back home for it. Made it to the Square for 10:02 but the Thixendale Spirographers had already departed, understandably assuming that when I wasn’t at the Square for 10am then I must not be coming along.

IanW then arrived, having cycled in from Stillington, and we decided to do the Spirograph anyway. Just after Stockton, we were joined by Dr. Joe but he’d done a big ride on the Thursday, was still feeling it in his legs and so we were back to a duo as we climbed Kirby Underdale and onto Thixendale.

All went well until we took a wrong turn just before lunch and climbed out past the Robert Fuller gallery instead of one of the other climbs. This got us out of synch with the natural flow of ascents and descents but we pressed on, did the correct climb and arrived at the cafe in Fridaythorpe to find the other riders, a really good mix from the A and K Groups, still in situ. They’d had a couple of punctures and were tackling the route in a slightly different order to us.

As Ian and I were on a different schedule to the other guys, we set off on our own after lunch to tackle the muddiest climb. On reaching the summit, Ian decided he’d had enough of Thixendale for one day, so we agreed that I’d cycle back down to do the final climb and we’d meet up around Leavening before going our separate ways.

In the end, I think I did all the Thixendale climbs but missed one descent and the additional Birdsall stretch, so not quite the full mileage or elevation. About 80 miles, including my false start, and really nice to be out as the weather was mild-ish, dry and there was no wind to speak. Road conditions were pretty dire though with lots of mud and plenty of potholes. We seem to have been allowed either good weather or good road conditions on the Saturday rides this winter. Thanks to Ian for agreeing to join me and putting up with my terrible navigation, I think the Spirograph sends Garmins into meltdown.

Re: Weekend Round-up 24th/25th March

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 10:40 am
by Dr Dave
I rode with the combined Inters/K ride group on their Spirograph attempt. Unfortunately the muddy lanes induced a puncture-fest with I think 8 punctures including Ian H who suffered terminal tyre damage and had to abort. What with all the stopping and starting I managed to get detached from the group 2/3rd of the way around :oops: :oops: so plodded on until stumbling upon both a solo Dr Joe and the remnants of the bunch leaving Thixendale village for the Aldro climb.
By this time, with all the delays, most folk had had enough and headed back via Leavening but having got so far and with Joe also having only one further climb to do we completed the ride together, accompanied by Neil S who doggedly rode with us until he branched off to Strensall at Stanford Bridge. One added 'attraction' was getting held up by a combined group of Police and Hunt Saboteurs before Buttercrambe! :shock:
Clearly Dr Joe's FTP sessions are paying dividends as he then proceeded to motor home with me flailing about trying to hold his wheel on the flat sections - many thanks for the tow Joe :)
The usual 95 miles/6k feet climbed and enjoyed it in a slightly masochistic way - a shame the shitty roads wreaked such havoc and I guess luck was on my side as I didn't flat (although Conti 4 seasons are pretty puncture resistant...)

Re: Weekend Round-up 24th/25th March

PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 7:37 pm
by Steen Berg
Six of us out on Sunday for a hilly challenge in the Hambleton Hills. Which was four more than I was expecting given the Spiro on Saturday. So thanks to James Andy G Joseph Ed and Bob for turning up.

We had wonderful weather on Sunday. Even so I think Joseph was taking it a little far with a short sleeved top and no gloves from start to finish. All very good climbers so I had very little company at the back of the ride this week. At one point things started to look up as I was catching Andy G on the 3rd climb of the day. Until it became clear that the only reason I was anywhere near him was because his bottom bracket was failing. Turning the cranks had become an effort on the flat never mind up hill. So just before Hawnby Andy took a right for home and we carried on with our ride. Quick service good food and brilliant value at the glider club cafe at the top of White Horse Bank. With six banks done. Four more in the afternoon and back in York for just before 5pm with 154km to the good.

Next week a flatter slightly longer ride to the southern extreme of Yorkshire. The marketing Department will give details later.

Steen

Re: Weekend Round-up 24th/25th March

PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 9:32 am
by James Milner
Many thanks to Steen for organizing Sunday's ride. A thoroughly enjoyable day out in beautiful weather and countryside to match. It was nice to do something different for a change and, having read about the problems the Saturday group had on the Spiro, it looks like I chose wisely!

Went out Monday with Dr Joe to Hebden Bridge to do a recce of the second half of the Ronde van Hebden Bridge as there are a few roads there I've never ridden before. Pleased to report that the banks are just as gnarly and the scenery just as good! If we get the weather like we had yesterday it should be a cracking day out!

Re: Weekend Round-up 24th/25th March

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 1:40 pm
by Graham R
Great ride Saturday although the legs said differently, I had done all but one of the climbs out of Thixendale but they all seemed hard and consequently spent as much effort catching up as climbing, a day for the punctures as mentioned me included just after the cafe stop, Dr Dave is off the christmas card list for saying Kirby Underdale did'nt count !! also just follow my back wheel i did just past the fountain in the square Lol. Ian H had issue with his tyres and wheel (I think I described it as a threepeny bit then changed to a pound coin for all those under a certain age) just after Fimber and was going to get picked up so i volunteered to ride with him to North Grimston where I left him (hopefully still not there) and made my way back through Langton, Howsham and Strensall, really enjoyed it despite poor legs, thanks for everyones encouragement and company again.

Re: Weekend Round-up 24th/25th March

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:24 pm
by DavidShort
Whilst the main Cliftonite focus was on the Spirograph this last week end Suzie and I had headed off for what is becoming our annual Belgian Spring Classics trip. We decided to go a week early this year taking in the E3 Harelbeke and Ghent Wevelgem instead of the Ronde van Vlaanderen which we have done in previous years. We set off from home last Monday, cycling with panniers to Hull, meeting touring and Belgium newbies en route at Pocklington. It was a most pleasant ride, 60 miles exactly in good weather and a friendly tail wind. After an overnight on the ferry we disembarked in Zeebrugge to cold wet and windy weather. Our newbie friends were without waterproofs!! They'll learn. Anyway the weather deteriorated and one of our friends picked up a puncture , as in a slashed tyre, on the canal path to Brugge so it was all stop just as it started sleeting. Being well schooled by Bernard, and from previous experience I always carry a spare tyre on long journeys so we soon had it all sorted but by this time our friends were cold, wet through and miserable so we opted to catch the train from Brugge to Oudernaarde where we were staying.

On the Friday it was the E3 race and with the climbs close to Oudernaarde so we didn't have to go far to see the racing and we swopped about between cobbled climbs to catch all the action. The weather vastly improved over the previous day.We took in the famous Koppenberg with our friends charging off hell for leather only to fall off when the Berg went seriously up. Suz and I, adopting a more tactical approach, winched our way up past our friends whose excuses were legend, wrong tyres, wrong gears, wrong sort of cobbles, etc etc. getting to the top without stopping or falling off.

On Saturday we had a wonderful ride to Geraardsberegen to take in the iconic Muur. The weather by this time was simply glorious and I think our friends were starting to dry out!

On Sunday it was the Ghent Wevelgem which started in the town of Deinze so we cycled there to watch the start before having a tour round to Ghent then returning to Oudernaarde on the canal path, returning in time to get to the Hotel bar with the big screen and watch the race in comfort.

On Monday it was time to return home but I had, overnight picked up a quickly developing cold/chest infection no doubt from one of our friends who had been coughing and barking all the time but assured us that he was over the infection period. The 60 mile ride back into a head wind was a challenge as I was feeling more ropey all the time but we made it to find half a dozen more cyclists returning back from their adventures watching the racing.

On the Tuesday morning I was feeling quite poorly so we biked to the train station and trained it back to York before cycling the last 20 miles home. Anyway, after a couple of days rest I'm bouncing back! Everything is on Strava if folk want to see where we were.

All in all a fantastic trip, every bit of it on dedicated cycle lanes which, apart from the pave, were in excellent condition. Courteous motorists, though in the main it was completely motor transport free. Great food, Belgian beer and like minded cyclists. I can strongly recommend taking in these classic races by bike. Next stop, Majorca on Monday, for 3 weeks :D