Clifton CC

What've you been up to then?
Am told there were good numbers in the Square on Saturday.

Standard issue clubrun today. Just self, Muzzy and Chris C. Elvington, Everingham, Sancton, Kiplingcotes, Middleton, Millington Cafe, direct route home. 70 miles, mixed terrain, back in York at 2. Hard to leave the open fire in the cafe.

The bit that's not standrad issue is the weather this year - what's going on? Has somebody switched off the gulf stream and not told us? Its a central European winter - should make the Brits good at the Spring Classics - maybe we could get the council to put pave on the Muur de Worstendale.

A typical billy-no-mates extended weekend here. I went down with proper fever'n'aching flu over Christmas - hit the bed the night before Christmas Eve and surfaced - shakily - the day after Boxing Day, and it's left me feeling awfully weary. Following a couple of gentle exploratories on the turbo I finally got out for four hours very steady on Friday, after which I felt like I'd been scoured inside and out thanks largely to temperatures between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius. As Rob says, what has happened to the weather? Did 2x20's on the turbo today as I didn't fancy dicing with death on icy roads. I'm starting to have fantasies about warm, wet and windy weather.

I've been out riding the bike this week 5 hours/75 miles last Sunday, two hours on fixed on Wednesday and another 2 1/2 hours this Saturday. I'll be in danger of being able to ride a bike at this rate. It won't last.

Lovely weather on Saturday. B***ock freezing cold, but sunny and clear. The sort of stuff that dreams are made of.

Looked at the forecast and chose Saturday too. Rode out through Bossall and Howsham up to Leavening and along the top to Pocklington and home. Chilly but beatiful - views down from Leavening brow over Malton to the moors were stunning. It was frustrating to see frozen puddles in the gutters again, which made me over-cautious especially on descents, but I didn't seem to hit any ice (yes Phil - bring back the grey damp blustery winter weather of old...) although I did pass a car cosying up to a tree near Gate Helmsley.

The cold got its revenge in an unexpected way. As I neared home I seemed to be going slower and slower. Paying for the excesses of Christmas? I stopped to check the bike and realised the wheels no longer span round. My mudguards don't have much clearance from the tyres so I'm used to picking up clods of mud which scrape against the guard on the way round and eventually wear off. But it seems layers of frozen mud had gradually built up on the guards themselves until it was fouling the tyres all the way round. It seemed impossible to dislodge so I struggled home and attacked with a brush and hose, eventually dislodging what seemed like a shovel-load of black gunk. A bit of accidental resistance training I guess.

And now it's raining so we can all look forward to more ice tomorrow...

6 riders formed 'Howard's Ride' on Saturday: Howard, Chris C, Dave C, Richard, Willhub and myself. We headed out to Leavening; on the way we were briefly joined by Andy who showed us a clean pair of heels up Leavening bank. We then dropped down to Thixendale which was lovely but chilly. I punctured on the way across to Sledmere and found it a b****r to change the tube with frozen fingers. This may have been responsible for us then shearing the valve stem thereby resulting in my needing to scrounge a second tube and further delaying us.

Willhub also punctured at the same place (sharp flints along there!) and was able to repair his at the same time so at least we didn't lose more time.

From there it was Duggleby, then Malton and along to Hovingham where we briefly met Kevin's group at the cafe. A leisurely stop with some mirth whilst feet and fingers thawed, and then a steady ride home down Terrington bank.

Well done to Richard for keeping it going - a few more weeks of the same and you'll be pulling on the front!

PS I've got a new tube waiting for the kind rider who loaned me one - Dave C??

There are cobbled climbs in Yorkshire...

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... _cross.asp
(British Cycling Report)

photoBen wrote:There are cobbled climbs in Yorkshire...

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... _cross.asp
(British Cycling Report)

But that's a 'cross event not a road race!

What a bunch of softies. It can be as dry, clear and as cold as it likes for me. Haven't you heard the expression - green winter a fat churchyard makes. Saturday on my bike was a beautiful day, my only mistake was not taking sunglasses - which contrasts with summer 08 where whenever I went out it tipped it down on me. Better a proper winter like this than one of those horrible dark, dank, damp ones. And besides it really impresses the kids when I get home and empty my water bottle and it's full of ice - that's how tough daddy is. Long may this proper winter continue and then we might get a proper summer too

I had to miss out on all the lovely but cold weather riding this weekend due to going down with a cold.

Probably riding nearly every day just after Christmas in the cold did not help while getting my total years milage to 6000 miles.

And as BroomWagon said it's quite amusing finding your drink bottle has frozen during the ride.