Clifton CC

Well this week the Wednesday evening ride starts at the village of Lastingham, approximately 8 / 9 km NW of Pickering - OS grid ref SE729908 - between Cropton and Hutton le Hole. Parking on the wide grass verges at the northern end of High Street, Lastingham, past the Lastingham Grange Country House Hotel.

Meet at 6.45 for a 7pm start. If you might struggle for time let me know you're coming and we'll wait for you, within reason!

The ride will be mostly Moors riding, in the open, with terrain suitable for all. There are some technical sections to keep interest, both up and down, but not too steep or long and easily walkable for those less confident (not nearly as steep as the Sunday ride yesterday).

We'll start off with some nice singletrack, and go onto the moors before dropping into Rosedale for a short tarmac ride up the valley before climbing back onto the moors. We'll then ride along the old railway track (cinder / dirt), past Anna Cross, and return on a wide track, loose gradual descent back to the cars. This last section can be as fast as you want it to be!

The weather forecasts seem to vary between dry or showers, but will be mild.

N.B. Bring some lights ! Although the ride is in the open, the ambient light will be dependant on cloud cover. I expect to use lights on the last gradual descent at least, due to the loose nature of the track. Sunset is around 9.02pm.

Any problems, my mobile no. is 07788 728547.
Hope to see you there,
Steve

can anybody give me and my bike a lift from York for this? Ta! Jeff

Hi Steve

I dont think i will get out this week as im in pieces today from doing the Open24 over the weekend.
Have a good one

Wayne

I hope to make this one too, not sure my car will be back from it service though, may need a lift too.

Hi All,

I will be out this week. As we are starting to needs lights now I just thought I would let you know that we supply Exposure & Hope lights and have the whole range of Exposure lights available for demo. The charge is £10/light which is refundable against any light purchase. I can bring any along to the Wednesday night ride if you require.

All the best
David

Big Bear Bikes: Trek / Orange / Ibis / Yeti / Ragley / Ridgeback
0% Finance & 'Cycle 2 Work' & all your cycling life needs!

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How longs the ride for? and distance and if i can come would i be ok to ride there as i got a hardtail, an all round playbike with single chainring up front (not a DJ bike) so may struggle up some of the steep hills but love going down haha.
Also im not a member YET! but i have read i can come along to try out etc.

So would i need lights then?, is it essential as i havnt got round to getting any yet.

I also would need scrounge a lift if i can come.

Hi Flowrider,

Your bike should be fine - some riders bring singlespeeds although I don't know if any are coming this week. There are always a mixture of hardtails and full sussers.

The ride is planned for around 24km, and should be 2 to 2.5 hrs ride time, depending on the size and skill of the group. The route may vary to accomodate.

As for lights, I would advise you should bring some - we've been fine without through the summer but last week needed them in some darker sections. The sunset times are getting earlier by around 15 mins each week, and if we have significant cloud cover, that makes it darker still. See the post by Big Bear who could hire you some good quality lights - contact him direct if you need to arrange some.

Regards, and hope to see you Wednesday,
Steve

OK, final update on the ride:
The weather looks to be hot and humid, with forecast heavy thundery showers. If we get one like the one passing through Tadcaster and York earlier this evening, we'll get very wet. I'm taking a change of clothes for the car. Also, the final 3 km descent from Anna Cross (gradual descent, so you can go as fast or slow as you wish) with wet clothes after sunset may be cold. You might want to bring a waterproof jacket for this section alone...

The planned route is 26km, and we'll need to keep moving to get round in the planned 2.5 hrs. There is rolling singletrack, lots of wide bridleways, a couple of short tarmac sections, and a stiff climb from Rosedale valley up to the top of the ridge - this has one short, rough very steep section which most will probably walk (there's a challenge...), but the majority is rideable with gears ! Once on the ridge the riding is straightforward on the disused railway and then loose double track. There are no steep drops so rideable for all (with reasonable fitness)! I hope to be back at the cars around 9.30 ish, so half an hour after sunset. The final wide tracked descent is loose with small rocks, and drainage channels crossing the path, so lights are strongly advised.

I hope to start as soon as possible so if you have any delays, please text me as early as you can - phone reception is poor in Lastingham.

Hope to see you tomorrow,

Steve (07788 728547)

sorry I can't make this one now, hope to see you all next week.

Hi Steve,

Sorry we missed you last night in Lastingham. There was me, Wayne and three others waiting near the pub on the main street - dooh!. We waited until 7.15pm and then went for a 'potter' across the moor. Catch up next time.

All the best
David

Big Bear Bikes: Trek / Orange / Ibis / Yeti / Ragley / Ridgeback
0% Finance & 'Cycle 2 Work' & all your cycling life needs!

e. shop@bigbearbikes.co.uk
t. 01751 474220 b
w. bigbearbikes.co.uk

Massive thanks for leading this week Steve, a brilliant ride and it was warm and didn't rain
Excellent work

Dave, Wayne + 3 others,
Sorry you missed us - we waited until 7.10 and decided the weather / traffic problems had stopped others coming. It was a beautiful evening, and even the ground was dry (unlike the York area with several very heavy downpours). I'm sure you will have had a good ride also.

Regards,
Steve