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Forecast for Saturday is cold and dry with the possibility of a bit of crispness due to sub-zero temperatures the night before.

Plan is to do the "southerly" route. Like last week's jaunt it's flat, roads should be ice-free, and the groups should be able to stick together.

For those of you racing - and if you're out there every Saturday morning you really should be bunging some entries in now - your season-openers will either be Croft, the Neil White up at Stokesley, Seacroft Wheelers or the Barton Wheelers Aussie Pursuit. All are substantially flat. Taking Seacroft Wheelers as an example, most 3rd/4th or TLI races there tend to average about 25mph. So, last Saturday's ride had everyone happily working as a group at about 20mph; it would be good over the next few weeks to gradually nudge that up so by March everyone's equally happy at 25mph. Should be do-able - that's how training works.

I'm planning these rides on the basis that you're using your remaining training time each week, whether on the road or the turbo, to do different stuff. To still be in the bunch coming round the final corner you'll need the 25mph steady stuff, but you'll also need to work above your threshold for shorter (say up to five minutes) periods and you'll need to be able to sprint out of corners. All of which you can work on alone.

See you out there on Saturday! As per last week, please check the route so you can find your way back solo if required - we'll go:- York - Elvington - Bubwith - Howden - Newsholme - Bubwith - North Duffield - Skipwith - Wheldrake - Escrick - Stillingfleet - York.

Good oh, I shall take advantage of the route for a lie in and meet up with you on the road.

Sorry guys won't be out this Saturday. Nothing to do with either (sabotaged ) mudguards or blowing up so spectacularly as I did last week

Looking forward to next Saturday already

John

A goooooood training ride this morning. About a dozen in the square at nine, despite temperature reading a big fat zero on the handlebars. Consensus was to stick as one group (so we could huddle for warmth) and so we set off on the southerly route, ending Broomwagon's daring solo breakaway shortly before Elvington.

With the exception of a lot of potholes (I'm sure it wasn't this bad last time we rode this way) there wasn't a lot to report for the bulk of the ride apart from some very tidy paceline riding, exactly as per plan just a touch quicker than last week - take Howden out of the ride log and the middle 90mins was pretty much bang on 21mph average.

Full marks again to young Toby, who was still doing his share of the work until it got too much after Skipwith. I dropped back to make sure he knew his way home, and by the time I bid him farewell I could just see the bunch at the far end of the straight bits. That's how it stayed as far as Stillingfleet; as an indication of how efficient a tight group can be, I was doing 25W more than when I was in the bunch and 2mph less...

Apologies to the couple of other fellas who dropped out the back along the way. How was it for everyone else? And how about those absent due to attendance at Croft??

Footnote:- Had to smile as I pulled up at the Blossom Street traffic lights. A hen party was negotiating the tricky bits of street furniture into Micklegate, all high heels and sleeveless tops, with the large areas of visible skin bright pink. It was two degrees - I was wearing winter baselayer, two fleece tops and a windproof, and I could still only just feel my feet....

Looks like I missed a good ride.... central heating boiler played up this morning taking priorty. Will miss next week also due to the reliability the day after.

Hi
Sounds like you had fun this morning.I got 70 steady miles in around Ripon and it was cooold.Saw Craig out and followed him round for an hour or so then came home via Tockwith and Whixley just starting to warm up when i got home and my feet were cold.Good ride on some new roads for me.
ps we had a agreement about the following!!!!

I really enjoyed today's ride. Good, disciplined riding as Phil says and almost felt like the first shoots of Spring, despite the early cold. I sat up just before Escrick as my calf went tight but still had nearly 19 ave door to door, which is the quickest this year. Still had something in the tank too...although another lap might have been pushing it.

The potholes were something else though, reminiscent of Port Stanley airfield in the early 80's.

Thanks guys!

Those flipping potholes, if we'd have fallen in those we'd have needed climbing ropes and crampons to get out.

I felt quite good to start with and confident as this was the flat route, but the old legs seemed to need a harder gear than I'd use if I was going well, so I expected trouble later...still the level of conversation was on a level with Trappist monks at refectory so I assumed everyone else was pretty committed too.

Sure enough the expected trouble surfaced on that slight drag out of Wheldrake and my internal switch clicked firmly over to survival mode, and it was time to sit on the back trying to recover enough for the occasional ride through. Cam and another guy were going v well and their easy spinning legs were beginning to turn the screw. So by Naburn the chicken side of my personally was getting increasingly assertive so I bailed out for a short cut home and an early bath.

Can't help being a tad disappointed that on the flat route I couldn't ride through for the whole ride and what with freezing temperatures and crevasses in the road I hated it.....did I heck! Bloody great fun!

Footnote: sounds like Phil found a way of artificially elevating his heart rate to help him finish the ride.

Sounds like a great ride, I chickened out of the training ride this week as I'm a bit of a wimp ; instead opting for a more steady 4.5 hours in the saddle by myself.
I wish I'd manned up and joined you after reading all the great reviews! I shall hopefully resurface next saturday for a bit more punishment in the square at 9

Me too. Really didn't fancy rolling out before 9 in -2 so went for a Cold Wold hily loop in the afternoon instead - Pock, Fridaythorpe, Huggate, Dalton, Warter and back home. Surprised to find fresh snow on the ground in the wolds, but thankfully no ice on the roads. Given the settled snow it must have been zero degrees up there anyway, so... never mind!
tom

Did the training ride on Saturday. Cold but good.

It was a good group and went well. When we got got to around Thorganby/Wheldrake the effort went up and Wheldrake to Escrick was just hanging on to the front group. Got back to a few ride through's towards Naburn, good workout.

Well done Jess, I always enjoy racing at Croft and really good to see that IanH's on the road again.

In 40 years of driving I have not seen the roads in such a bad condition before.

Dave