Weekend Roundup, 28th Feb/1st Mar

[Rob]

March certainly came in like a lion... and the half dozen of us out on Sunday decided against the exposed mountain road at Jordan's Moss.... and headed for the café in Masham. Thence a nice little circuit of Kirkby Malzeard and Fountains and back into York via Tockwith. Sitting drinking tea in the kitchen at 3pm, with a satisfying 83miles clocked.

Spring can't be far away now.

Bolton Abbey next week.

[Dr Dave]

A last minute change of plan saw me out with the 10am group on Saturday. 11 left the square - John B, Graham, Ian H, Stu, Kevin, Jon G, Pete S, Tony G, Greg, Self, and a new (to me at least) chap called Rob - bound for Brimham rocks and thence past Darley Mill to the Farm Shop cafe at Fewston.

Few dramas on the way out via Markington although Rob was clearly in a league of his own and effortlessly made the rest of us look like 18 stone couch-potatoes as soon as the road tilted upwards.

An excellent lunch-stop (albeit with a sl limited menu as they'd run out of pie and peas) at the Farm shop then home through a few short showers via Tockwith.

Nice to be home just after 4.

The long-range forecast is supposed to be good for next weekend so was thinking of Osmotherley via Hawnby...

[AndrewNotGraham]

I opted to ride solo this Sunday, rather than the usual club run. Bearing in mind a heavy midweek cold and still no serviceable rain jacket (still under repair at Endura), I agreed with BBC weather that west wasn't best. And figured I'd already built enough character for a while on last Sunday's slog home.

Decided to head instead to the Wolds, well known for its benign weather conditions. It was actually glorious up there, especially when zooming along with a 25mph tailwind. From Londesborough I headed north through Huggate and Thixendale to Malton, then tacked over to Helmsley. Disaster nearly struck when my chain snapped cresting Yearsley bank, but luckily I found a power link hiding in the bottom of my saddlebag.

Perhaps some good news for fellow Sunday riders: I've finally cured my bike's mystery creaking noise. It was coming from the contact between the seat clamp and the frame, and disappeared when I applied a bit of grease. Silence is golden!

[MikeR]

(Looks like Rob and I posted at the same time)
Four for the 08:45, Gerard, Dave C and Alex back from paternity leave. Slightly overcast but without the strong wind, initially, that had been threatened.

A dramatic start to the ride as we went through Haxby when Alex hit some oil and went sideways leaving Dave C nowhere to go other than to join him on the floor. A reminder to all to watch for oil and diesel on the roads mixed in with the grit and salt. Fortunately, the damage seemed to be to pride rather than bones as we carried on up to Sutton-on-the-Forest.

Alex started to feel slightly sore on the climbs from Arkendale to Knaresborough so decided to take a direct route back from Wetherby. We took Dr Dave's suggestion to pick up Jewitt Lane from Collingham to avoid Boston Spa - I hadn't noticed that this added an additional 200ft climb to the ride; however, this was a nice addition to a largely flat route. I tried to emulate Simon T's efforts from last week sitting on the front for most of the way from Ulleskelf through Cawood and back to York through Naburn. The tail wind, and Gerard doing a good turn at the front, helped us to get back to town not long after 12:30 with 70 miles on the clock.

Cracking ride and nice to see a couple of not so familiar faces. I am thinking of something hilly for next week provided we don't have blizzards.

[craigdabrown]

Good turnout for the Saturday rides at the weekend. Nine of us (Kevin, Mark, MarkB, Hannah, Arnie, Alison, DaveI, Tony and myself) choosing the “K” Ride and a trip to Knaresborough.

A few cyclists making their first Club appearance of the year and they still seemed to be in Summer mode as we set off at quite a pace. Successfully negotiated Overton without a single puncture and then a diversion at Newton-on-Ouse took us out via Tollerton and over Aldwark Bridge.

Some very pleasant country lanes to Aldborough and over the A1 to Stavely, a couple of climbs and we reached the cafe stop by the riverside at Karesborough. Bit of an unintentional split at that point, with some riders choosing one cafe and the rest deciding on the one opposite. Certainly quick service in the one we chose and the food was good.

Busy road out of Knaresborough, so Kevin set a fast pace, ominously saying that he felt better than he had done for about 6 months, through Little Ribston and onto Cowthorpe and we maintained that speed pretty much all the way back to York, with Hannah putting in a long stint at the front on hitting her local roads into Askham Bryan.

Not too hilly this week but I was definitely feeling it in my legs by the time I got home with another 60 miles under my belt. Thanks to everyone for another good ride although, with it still only being February, it was a bit disjointed at some points.

[Luke Patterson]

Spring is here!

This weekend I rode with the 10am group A ride. Decided to be brave and ditch the tights.

I have to say what a fantastic ride! Really nice bunch of guys, over 7k feet of elevation and a total of 101 miles clocked in.

Thanks a lot guys! Look forward to the next one!

[Dr Dave]

Glad you liked the ride Luke - although you've inadvertently posted in last weekend's round - up.
Can a mod move this to a 7th/8th thread?