Weekend Round-up 30/31 Jan

[Dr Dave]

The first 'H' ride of 2010 went ahead without it's beloved leader!

Myself, Mark, and Ian congregated at a cold Exhibition Sq. Dave C phoned in to ask what was happening as he'd found the roads icy with a smattering of fresh snow and was wondering if he'd be the only one daft enough to venture out! However the forecast was fair and we reassured him that some felow loons were intending to ride.

The original intention of having a route via Hutton-le-Hole to Pickering was abandoned and instead we headed west thinking to avoid the worst of the ice. This proved to be sound thinking and as the morning developed the sun shone from a cloudless sky and the roads began to thaw.
Route details:




Altogether 82 miles at a decent lick. By the end I was relieved to be home, legs and back aching - my body seems to have lost it's ability to soak up the miles during the enforced off road spell.

Thanks to all for the company. Not sure what's happening next week with the Reliability being on Sunday. Any other 'H' riders planning on being out on Sat?

[m-k-lewis@msn.com]

Couldn't get out with the club due to being on child care duty until 1230h on Sunday.

Decided to take the mtb out for a spin with some friends. It looked like a lovely day - no ice at all - so we headed off to Sutton bike for a little loop through Boltby Forrest.

Slight mistake! We should have realised something wasn't quite right by all the sarchastic comments we received from the walkers coming the other way along Sutton Bank Ridge. We thought the little bit of snow that there was would have melted further along the track!

Anyway to cut a long story short, suffice to say that I don't have the Garmin Stats of Dr Dave, but we set off at 1330h, got back at 1630h and had covered 11miles!

Great fun though!!

Mark

[Rob]

Sunday clubrun for me. Just 6 of us (Heather, Nigel, Tim, sean L, Andrew (new to York from Swindon) and self, but turned into the best clubrun of the winter. Stuck to well gritted roads on the way out through Langton, Duggleby and West Lutton. Blue skies, biting cold air, snowy fields. Beautiful. Good feed in the cafe at Brid. The route bck was by much more minor lanes through Kilham and Langtoft which turned out to be packed snow. Tricky at first, but we all soon got the hang of riding over it. But it was hard work and took a lot of concentration - 10 miles in well over an hour. Back onto the B road at Langtoft, then on at a good lick through Sledmere and Fimber. Dropped into Thixendale in the late afternoon light, very picturesque with smoke from the open fires hanging in the valley. Stiff climb out then the highlight of the day for me - the view from Acklam mast over the Vale of York, sun setting over the Dales, the riders in front - silouettes with twinkling LEDs.

100miles with the temperature rarely above zero and some real challenges along the way - the word epic is often over used, but apprpriate here.

And finally - Andrew rode in from Tadcaster and rode home to Taddy at the end - prob around 130miles - who says they're soft down south!?

[morri]

And finally - Andrew rode in from Tadcaster and rode home to Taddy at the end - prob around 130miles - who says they're soft down south!?

118 miles according to my cycle computer. Furthest I've ever been in January. In retrospect, probably too far, but it would have been a shame to turn round within ten miles of the coast without actually seeing the sea.

Thanks for letting me join your ride, and giving me and my new bike a baptism of ice. After finally dropping off the back on the eastern edge of York, I made my way back home, grateful to be able to go at my own pace, but with my fingers freezing and my chain squeeking thanks to the snow having stripped it of every last drop of lubricant. But I feel so much better this morning, having pushed myself to my limits, really for the first time since my last rides with my old club.

[barberj]

Me and Paul Scott went over to Castle Howard on Saturday morning with our mountain bikes. We had planned on doing the road training but did not like the look of the roads. It was perfect weather for the area as the frost meant we could ride paths that would have normally bogged us down and the views were excellent. We even managed to see a good selection of wildlife: two hares really close up which had been startled into running towards us by a horse and rider, two baby deer running through the woods and Paul spotted a fox against the white backdrop, before ot dropped behind a ridge.

[paulM]

Just the two of us for the Sunday training ride - Chris Cuckson being the significant other. Stuck to the planned ride - Helperby / Ascenby / South Otteringham - uneventful main roads into a slight headwind. We then took a right onto lanes just before Northallerton eventually turning for home at Knayton just over the A19. There was a slight covering of snow here and although the roads were perfectly dry there were a few patches of ice where water had been standing, but it was obvious and not much of a problem. Back to York via Kilburn, Coxwold and Crayke. A great day with some crystal clear views. The average wasn't much to shout about but I managed just short of 70 miles in 4 hours so I was happy with that.

[ClaireG]

Cath & I joined the Sat 9am Training ride this w/e. A good route chosen by Phil where we mainly managed to avoid the white stuff and yet still relatively traffic-avoiding roads.

For me personally it was exciting stuff. A long time since riding 60-odd miles at av 17.5mph (our route was flat!). I was unsure of the group speed and distance at first and hung onto the back of the group not taking any turns (how to make yourself popular eh?). However, benefitting from this 'free' ride, I gained the confidence to join the others with a few stints on the front in the 2nd half (the tailwind bit!).

Thanks to Phil for organising this Saturday training ride, it's a shame the group couldn't start straight after Xmas and keeps getting interrrupted by the weather. It is a very economical use of time, if not the social ride I'm used to. Horses (or in my case, old diesels) for courses........

See you Sunday for the Reliabilty ride.
ClaireG