Topic Title

Just to confirm suggestions in last week's ride thread; weather forecast looks okay for Saturday so the training ride will be Out There, 9am start (yes I know it's the club dinner the night before, just HTFU) from the square.

Proposed route is the northerly one. Just to be on the safe side please just take a quick look at the map if required so you know where you're going and can get back alone if, for whatever reason, you find yourself watching the rest of the group vanish down the road. Route is:-

York - Walshford (via Tockwith and Cattal if there's no frost/ice, or straight down the main road to Wetherby if it's dodgy) - up the A168 to Boroughbridge - lap of the TLI circuit (Rt at final roundabout on exit north end of Boroughbridge, Rt to Milby, L at T-junction near bridge, L at Cundall, L at T-junction at top of hill, L just before Boroughbridge to get back on Milby road) - Rt at T-junction and over bridge - Brafferton - Easingwold - Crayke - Huby - Sutton-on-Forest - York.

As per last week we'll split into two groups and as per suggestion on last week's thread let's try to do as much of the ride as possible as a paceline but keep the speed steady and do-able for the group as a whole and for the duration of the ride. Paul commented that discipline/rhythm was an issue last week and that's fair enough - it does take practice. Starting Saturday

See you out there....

Another big group in the square this morning, with a few Club Dinner casualties being replaced by old faces making their first 2011 season appearance. Again split into two, with a certain amount of nervous shuffling around commitment to the allegedly "faster" or "slower" group. I headed out with the second group five minutes after the first lot were waved on their way (just about long enough for H to tell me he'd joined the LVRC and ask what the hell was this first race that he was poised to enter...) and we swiftly slotted into paceline formation on the way to Tockwith and were still rotating smoothly by the time we caught up with the first group halfway round the Milby TLI circuit. Riding was pretty neat - they'd all be safe in a race bunch.

Shortly after, sixteen-year-old Toby (a graduate from the club's Go-Ride programme and clearly a lad with plenty of promise) found the pace a bit much - and copped a puncture too - so most of the rest set off home and I piloted Toby back at a steadier (but still not slothful) pace. How'd the rest of you get on?

I headed out with the first group under the stewardship of Broomwagon and 5 others. Once out of town we settled into a disciplined 'paceline formation rotating anticlockwise' (a term I picked up today from H). We were joined by Tullio in Tockwith and continued the lively pace. I stepped out of line a bit on the A168 but was promptly knocked back into shape by Tullio. Mudguard troubles for John S saw us loose 10 minutes or so half way round the TLI circuit at which point we were joined by the chasing group. I split off at Sutton ont Forest reaching home with 58 miles on the clock at a 18.9 mph average and safe in the knowlege that I had most definately earned the bacon sandwich that my missus had knocked up in perfect time for my return. Well done to Toby who certainly pulled his weight...shame about the p******.

Enjoyed my second ever training ride today. I also headed out with group one, and we made really good time past Tockwith and up to the circuit where John had his unfortunate mudguard issues. We managed to keep the line rotating well pretty much all the way. Then joined the big group back through Easingwold and Huby, where I hit a pot hole that knocked my chain off and my water bottle onto the road. Because of this, I lost a minute or 2 on the bunch. Luckily John rode past just at the right time so I knew which direction to turn to get me back on track. I managed to pace myself back into the group 10/15mins later, which was very hard work for me. Followed the group back into York, and got home 40 mins later with ~73miles in the legs altogether. Hope everyone else got back alright.

In all it was a good workout, cheers guys.

Group two for me this week. Brisk but not super fast & once we were working together it was pretty smooth & good practice for group riding, though the switch to 'anticlockwise' took some concentration (not sure why!)

Was a bit less organised when we met up with the first group, in part due to numbers but also due to the loss of Phil (quite WHY we seem to be so cr@p at organising ourselves, I don't know! )

Anyway, despite the lack of hills, I'd forgotten how long it was, so I was pretty shattered towards the end & only just managed to hang on to the main group back through town. On the whole though, I had a blast - good ride, good company & actually felt like I was improving my riding too!

Here's my garmin stats for anyone interested

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/64530717

I thought it was the best training ride we have done this Winter. We kept the thru and off going all the way round and I think everyone could say that thay they had plenty of opportunities to work at the front. Got a little bit ragged when the 2 groups merged but overall I thought this is just the sort of thing we should be doing this time of year. I know pace wasn't the most important thing but we still clocked 19mph ave. at 60 odd miles by time we got back into York.

Nice to see some of the old regulars out again on Saturday.

For me it was the slow group, though as it turns out I can't remember the last time I rode in such a well drilled group, everyone rode in tight formation and was able to ride through (admittedly I think there were a couple of people there, who would have liked it a mph or two quicker, but for the rest of us I think it was about right). And besides, usually you get some numpty sat on the back doing nowt, throwing his water bottle at people and telling them the wrong way to go at every other junction which spoils it for everyone (ahem).

Indeed our progress was so good that by the Milby circuit, John must have been feeling sorry for the fasties and faked a puncture using his mudguard to make the necessary hissing noise. By the time we'd sussed out it was a ruse, John started insisting that mudguards shouldn't do that (they do in my book) and fiddled with it for a while so it hissed less. Eventually we managed to convince him that honestly, now it was just a bit of road dirt on the tyre rubbing on the guard and besides if the mudguard did cause a bit of drag that was all to the good as it would make John stronger in the long run. And we were off again just as the fasties made an appearance - more than coincidence that's what I say.

Anyway, with our help we soon got the fasties up to a proper speed , but soon after Toby (who for his first training ride certainly had speed and cool confidence riding in a fast moving well organised bunch) had a puncture. Phil, Nick and I stayed to help and then for a slightly steadier ride back with Toby. After a while, Phil insisted Nick and I get on our way, so we did a good job at archetypal bit and bit back to York. I can't pretend we'd have held off a chasing peloton but certainly got some of those good winter miles of which Darren is often heard quoth.

...each knoweth, that Darren, oft heard of good winter miles quoth, is no sloth. Have faith - go forth in 53*18! Legs' near-death is Clifton's growth. Thence home for bath, hot broth, and coffee, with or without froth.

Hope to join next week.