Topic Title

Next season starts here! 9am outside the Art Gallery. If you're all out on your winter bikes for the first time make sure the *****ing things are screwed together properly. Please read the posting on the "Saturday Training Rides" thread if you haven't already done so.

Since it looks like being showery but thoroughly above freezing, lets do the westerly route - a bit lumpy in places but the next race is a long way off (unless you're doing 'cross) so let's keep it steady. For newcomers, the route is:-

York - Appleton Roebuck - Tadcaster - Bramham - Thorner - carefully across the A64 - Scholes - Barwick-in-Elmet - Aberford - Sherburn - Cawood - York.

Should be there.

Good ride in the first group, all kept together (I think) and a nice steady pace (most of the time... apologies... )

And for those who want a laugh... and the evidence...



Yep... I would have been more likely to eat the bike than ride it back then...

Hmm...I think i may need to be quite a bit fitter before attempting the training ride again. Although i was surprised to see the group (2nd group) so strung out by bishopwood, and then it wasn't just me sitting out turns on the front.

Was it just my abismal fitness or was that ride a bit feisty for so early in November...don't remember it being that hard last year...or maybe i'm just getting old?

Fiona - the answer lies within this post

Eight of us in the "steadier" group once we'd collected Melly en route near Acaster, including Tony and two eight-fortyfivers and a visiting Canadian who joined us. Despite the varied expectations, it stuck together reasonably well until a couple of the tag-alongs started suffering on the hilly bits and I left Tony to shepherd them round (sorry mate!). Fiona joined us near Thorner and steady progress was made despite a few attempts on our lives through Scholes (example:- woman gets out of car right in front of us, and then whines when we nearly flatten her because of a b****y great lorry coming the other way). We lost one fella with a puncture and Fiona peeled off after Bishopwood, so four of us worked together on the final run-in.

The scores on the doors were an out-of-town average of 18.8mph and Normalised Power of 204W. That's more than we were doing on that same ride this time last year - although considerably less than in (say) February. So yes, it was at the brisk end of steady, especially with a small group.

Having said that, full marks to all - nice tidy riding and short turns on the front, plenty of shouting out hazards. A good group ride.

Good solid ride with one or two flurries in Group 1 with an average speed from the Square of 19.8 mph. All together throughout

Good ride in the first group, all kept together (I think) and a nice steady pace (most of the time... apologies... )

And for those who want a laugh... and the evidence...



Yep... I would have been more likely to eat the bike than ride it back then...

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

There's hope for the rest of us!

Well done!

Great to be back where I 1st started with clifton.was really enjoying the tidy formation of the 2nd group.jumping to the front on the climbs then the headwind eventually took it's toll on me.many thanks to Andy T for the gel.well done to the visiting Canadian and good to see Fiona out..keep at it.