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After the appallingness of last Saturday I thought I'd post this early to kick off a more positive vibe...

I'd been pondering ways of bridging that last few mph and getting a bit of extra speed in our legs in the last few weeks before season's start, when Tom came up with a suggestion that looks like it would do nicely:- Ride out steady as a group to the Bishopwood circuit (just beyond Cawood), then split into groups depending on numbers. Do six laps of the circuit - about 30 miles - as close to race pace as we can manage while still working within the groups. Keep it tidy as you have done over the past few weeks and keep it safe. Regroup for a steady ride back together.

Metcheck reckons nine degrees and showers, and although it's obviously a way off yet, that's an uplifting thought after two degrees and snow!

Sounds a very good idea and I would be up for this. After perusing the 'Hull Thursday' website recently I noticed that they have also been doing this sort of thing recently - splitting into groups and doing laps of the Sproatley circuit....Will be good practice for the Seacroft Wheelers RR which hopefully a good few of us will be doing

Sounds like it might be getting a bit fast for me... however I will come along and see how long I can hang on for

I think I'll give it a miss. I can just about get my head around racing Bishopwood, but I don't fancy 6 laps training in february, not when there are so many great quiet lanes to ride.

Have fun.

Hoping to be out this Saturday. May be a bit off the pace having missed a couple of weeks but need to keep progress going in case race entries get accepted

I'll go with the flow. Don't think my fitness is good enough but I can just sit up when I've had enough - it will be good training all the same.

I'd be quite happy whatever we did, if only the weather is drier and warmer than it's been since...er....October.

Just to add a bit of reassurance and clarification:- purpose of the Saturday training ride is as a group training ride. I'm assuming you're doing individual stuff, er, individually - whether on the turbo or Out There in the brief snow-free interludes. So we're not doing a lot of hills, sprints, or exploring attractive backroads since you can do them on your own (or on the Sunday club run) but what you do get a chance to do on the training ride is work hard in a group of riders sharing a similar level of ability. If we keep it split into manageable size groups, and if people are realistic about where they are in their training, then everyone should get good value from it. If you're cheerfully riding off the front without breaking sweat then you don't need this, but for the rest of us - as a way of turning that basic endurance fitness into the just-a-bit-faster group riding we need for the season openers - it should do the trick.

Sounds good Phil.

I have a dodgy knee (Not sure why -running/horse related maybe) but I'll probably be there anyway. Until I get shelled out the back...


(gotta be better than last week!)

Happy to talk knees as I have two artificial ones and a second replacement beckoning later this year.......See you Saturday...Take care

I'll see you there dudes,, in my brand spanking new Clifton jersey.. I'll see how long I can hold on for

Sadly the weather forecast seems to have taken a last-minute nose-dive, but the plans remain the same. If you all pull back the curtains to see snow drifting past like last Saturday, then just use your initiative - if it's really c**p then there's no point in heading out in it, but if it's just a bit dull and damp then we'll get some fast miles in to keep warm.

Well, after overnight rain things were on the up this morning, such that a group of a dozen or so gathered in the square just as the first rays of sun were peeping from between steadily-moving clouds. We bundled up into a tidy bunch and made brisk progress down to Cawood (how much easier it felt than in last week's snow) where John had his obligatory puncture. That sorted, it was on to the start/finish line at Bishopwood and split into two (fairly arbitrary) groups.

I set off with the second group. Both groups split into smaller, shifting sub-groups and ours eventually settled as Cam, Cycleworks' 'crosser Wayne and me. We did the 33-odd miles at the (rather unimpressive-sounding) average of 21.3, but it was breezy and there were only three of us for more than half the ride, and it did require Normalised Power of 240W to do it. Cam was looking worryingly fast, and Rich did well breathing through every available orifice to hang on for half the distance.

We re-grouped at the end for the return ride, and it looked like there were some tired legs, so it seemed to do the job. Same again next week, on a different circuit?

Really enjoyed this morning but boy did I have to work hard to keep up! I was in the first group which managed to shed 3 riders on the first lap - luckily the pace eased fractionally after this but with Paul B and Tim calling the shots the remain 4 riders worked fairly well for a couple of laps before Toby slipped off the back. By the fifth lap I was only able to come through occasionally but was starting to harbour dreams of hanging on til the finish, however the climb on the last lap saw me slip inexorably off and it was then a case of digging in alone to ensure that I stayed a creditable distance behind and didn't get caught from behind.
As Phil perceptively notes the legs were tired on the run home, but overall I could feel reasonablly satisfied with the ride.. Thanks to Tim for the encouragement and supportive words.

really enjoyed today, found it mega useful in preperation for seacroft wheelers. thoroughy tiring but i cant imagine it bieng too much harder on race day with 10 times the amount of riders to hide behind than my group of 4 which i managed to hang on to for just over 3 laps of which i am very greatful for the advice and encouragement you gave me.
dropped off towards the end, just didnt have that last bit in the legs and thanks to (i think it was cam...bad with names sorry) for hanging back with me.

Enjoyed the training ride despite the fact that I did half of it on my own, good tt training, as Dr Dave mentions the pace eased off a bit but I just slipped of the back before that!, tried to get back on but not quiet. Good ride though.

Dave