Topic Title

Anyone out at the weekend riding, racing, training?

I had a 2 hour track session at Manchester Velodrome picked up a few battle scares in the process.

How was the time trialing and mountain biking?

I had a "character building" ride on Sunday. I didn't get out till 3 so headed of to Spofforth. I saw a Red Kite just outside Spofforth, which was a highlight of the ride. I then started the climb up towards Pannal when it started blizzarding. Deciding that if going up was this unpleasant, going down was going to be very, very nasty indeed, I turned tail and rode home.

Despite riding hard all the way back to keep warm I could barely hold the bars enough to get out of the saddle by the time I got back!

Battle scars? There's got to be a tale there.

I rode the Nelson Wh 50 (Circuit of the Dales) TT. Always good value for money this one. An event of ancient lineage on a right handed circuit from Ingleton around the 3 Peaks area. There's two long climbs of Garsdale and Newby Head plus lots of minor bumps totalling 900+m of climbing. That said, the course itself, while a challenge, is not as hard as it sounds. The big battle is usually with the elements. The last 14 miles over Newby Head into the usual (but not this time) SW wind will take an hour. I collapsed over the line in 2-27, some 24 minutes slower than the winner in 38th place of 98 entries. Over my half a dozen rides in this event this was my slowest, but shouldn't be over analytical about it as the conditions were strange indeed. The northerly wind swirled around in the valleys and it was cold; -4oC on Newby Head, apparently, and never above freezing. Inspiring scenery with snow on the surrounding fells and fields, blue skies and dry and salty roads. Really enjoyed it, best day out this year. No other Clifton starters unfort.

Oh yes, and top tip if anyone else wants to ride next year - its actually 50.7 miles. This is more important as it sounds as that last 0.7 is all up hill!

Rob,
Well done that was a good result;you didn't mention that its always a good quality field and a fair number of people think of it as the hardest T/T you can do.

4 of us turned up for the Sunday run myself,Nick,Nigel and Willy who turned back early as he had been out on Saturday and had lots of stuff to get done.
We did a loop round Kirby Malzard and had a light dusting of snow, stopped at Knaresborough for something warming and got back home before the sleet. I am still full of cold so it seemed a good idea and no one complained or took the longer loop option of Jordens.

Helen

12 MTBers headed to Edale in the Peaks for a weekend organised by Steph.

We loaded up Friday tea time to do the 90 minute, or so, dash to the Hostel in time for dinner at the local.

Saturday morning was 'bracing' as we set off for a loop taking in Jacob's Ladder and Mam Tor. Snow and hail showers kept us moving until the top of Jacob's ladder, although nobody took up Steph's offer of 'a trillion pounds' if they rode all the way up it. Some of us had a good try though. After lunch in Hayfield it brightened up a bit and more stiff climbs and great downhills made sure we didn't get cold. The lifting clouds gave way to spectacular views across the Peaks too.

After a thin covering of snow overnight, Sunday started with clear blue skies but even colder. The ride took in a large loop around Ladybower Reservoir but was equally technical and hilly. By the afternoon the blue skies were gone and thick snow set in for the rest of the day.

All in all, a great weeknd of biking and socialising. Thanks Steph!

There were plenty down for the Saturday social ride - Howard took a fairly large group, Kevin and Arthur went together and that left four of us - me, Claire, Bernard and Willy to wind our way to Shiptonthorpe via Kirby Underdale/Huggate/Warter/Nunburnholme.

The weather more or less held with just a few sleety showers and I clocked 72 miles door-to-door. Really enjoyable ride.

Cath saw you out on Saturday near Nunburnholme!

Battle scares were the result of falling off on the track banking. Despite being told that speed is your friend on the track especially on the banking one of our group decided to find out how slow you can ride, the outcome I was third in a line of riders who clapsed like a line of domino's removing the skin from my forearm, pedal to the groin and a shoulder to the ground oouch!

I missed the Saturday ride due to other commitments, so Sunday I rode out to Thorpe Willoughby to have a look round the course of next Sunday's vets race and how to get to the race HQ , It was nice and Sunny when I set off but that soon changed.

I spent most of the weekend working, grumpily, with a bag of frozen peas wedged against a seized-up shoulder and neck that was awaiting further osteopathic attention. I'd entered Stokesley 2/3/4 event on Sunday so had to cancel that; at least it made me smile when I rang the organiser and he said "d'you get pins and needles in your middle finger? I get that. Can I give you a ring back about it sometime?"

How did you get on, Muzzy?

Having headed back up north for the weekend, came off my bike in the ice on the Silverhills MH4 TT course at Lamesley bank, near Gateshead, bending my rear stay right in and making the bike unrideable.

A great start to the day!

Managed 2 of the 7 laps in the Phil Russell Mem RR at Stokesley. Sitting near the back of the bunch is a bad habit and I came unstuck when a crash on the left hand side of the road on the fastest and least technical part of the course came across the road to meet me. The sound of carbon fibre on tarmac is quite tuneful but thankfully I just managed to pull the anchors on in time to avoid the carnage. However I was only just getting over the dizziness of surviving the opening lap which had seen about a third of the field get dropped and so never regained the bunch. If this had happened on the 5th lap I may have continued but road racing isn't about riding round. Saved myself and had a hard ride round the Bulmer circuit tonight. Good views of snow on the wolds and two pheasants trying to kill one another at Ganthorpe were the highlights.....

Such was the unexpected pleasantness of Sunday AM and immediate weather forecast after I'd done my morning taxi driving for the family worker, I ventured forth through Stearsby, Coxwold, White Horse Bank, Rievaulx, Helmsley and back via Castle Howard. No racing exploits to report but not stopping all the way round will do me for an achievement.

Cath - I did consider going up Wass Bank as well to see which was most difficult but decided to save that experiment for another day - up WHB was bad enough in the snow flurries without having to go down it as well.