A massive group of maybe 100-ish riders left the village hall at 10.00am and it was obvious the group was too big to stay together on the busy B1363. After about 5 minutes of drifting at 15mph, I mentioned to those around me that we needed to crank up the pace a bit to break up the group. I took off down the outside of the entire peloton and every Clifton jersey I passed looked over and thought “Yep, I’ll have a bit of that” and it was ‘game on’! By the time we settled down in front, we were down to about 20, with many Cliftonites present in the group, including Allan, Phil H, Virginie, Paul C, Dan C, Julian, Ian H, Dave C, Broomwagon, Mal, Jon G, Alistair and myself. Greg, being Greg, had shot off the front to accidentally add 3,000 miles onto his ride before picking us up again in Ripley.
The pace to Boroughbridge was hot! We hesitated briefly in the feed zone at Morrisons in Boroughbridge before charging on to Ripon. I had a recorded average of over 19mph for the ride to that point as we went through the town. It was great fun and the group was riding strongly. We became slightly stretched through the hills after Studley Roger (there’s something significant in the name to describe how I felt as we climbed up past the church). The sun was out at Ripley Castle and it was great to bask outside for lunch. We were enjoying the pace and Ian H joked “I love these Audax races”
After lunch, we motored back to Wigginton via Beningbrough Hall in a tight group. A few miles out of Wiggy, word filtered through that we’d dropped Cav! Julian, the big Aussie, jumped on the front to do the lead out duties and many of the boys in the peloton leant down to tighten their shoe straps and started ditching their bidons.
It was a fantastic run home, we were first back and Clifton easily won the virtual team prize! What a superb day with a great group!The other very impressive aspect of the day was the Clifton jersey which looked magnificent as a group. Note to Clifton racers: definitely ride with the new jersey together in the peloton, it looks awesome!
Now, as I left Wiggy after tea & cakes, some of the blokes were in to me about special mentions
…so, as a special one-off: Dan C: In danger of approaching the illegal limit for level of fitness.
Paul C: Passed illegal limit, should be banned.
Allan: Strong ride today – If anyone wants to know a tale about Aldwark Bridge, ask Allan!
Ian ‘Il Pirata’ H: Aggressive all day, looks awesome on the bike! - Bianchi bike, Clifton jersey, pirate bandana under helmet!
Dave C: Typically strong, chats socially at 24mph – how does he do that!
Phil H: The human steam engine!
Virginie: First female to finish – exquisitely strong!
Broomo: Late starter this year, most recognisable moniker on the website ensures he’s always in consideration for awards!
Jon G: Big turns on the front on the way home, looked strong!
Greg: Still strong after an extra 3,000 miles – Note to Greg’s Mum: Buy your son a GPS!
Julian: The big Aussie who did the lead out duties to drop Cav at the end.
Alistair: First time out for a while, great start!
Mal: Hung on to ‘uncomfortable pace’ all day! – funded my chocolate bar acquisition at Morrisons which obviously ensures he gets 2nd MVP award on the day.
Myself: Played a blinder for the first 15 minutes, enough to secure MVP!
PS: Special mentions will never happen again!
D.
Instead, I waited until the weather cleared and enjoyed just over 2 hours by myself racing round the hills near Sicklinghall in the lovely sun (although Darren's write up of the audax sounds much more fun!). On the plus side, I got back in time to watch the BBC coverage of the Formula 1!
, I was very please to see the finnish line after a long hard day.
when the visibility improved. Arrived in York to glorious sunshine so swapped the lenses for shades which i was glad id brought . Hung around at the sq for about 5 mins to see if anyone arrived but only saw Bernard and couple of others passby heading for Wiggington so set off.