Clifton CC

13 in the Square for the Inters ride to Thornton Le Dale via Dalby Forest Drive yesterday. A very nice ride it was too. 90 odd miles in mild conditions with the sun occasionally poking through. G headed out with us but got fed up with our company as early as a couple of miles out of York, while Dave B headed back early from the café.

The group was a lot tidier this week after last week’s chaotic display. No mishaps, some tidy group riding and a nice injection of pace from the presence of Fin & Jen. It was a day of leg strengthening with a succession of long but not overly-steep climbs at Kirkham Abbey, Settrington Bank, the long drag out of Ebberston up to Dalby Forest Drive, the line out blast along the Drive itself, the pull out of Dalby, and finally the traditional leg-bashings at Amotherby and Castle Howard Drive on the way home to finish us off. I think everyone was feeling it a bit as we approached York.

Fin and Dr Dave spent the day belting each other up in their own personal slugfest chasing village signs. The rest of us really didn’t join in, like Aussies drinking beers at a barby while watching the kids play backyard cricket – vaguely amused by the game but firmly rooted to our deckchairs and light years away from getting involved.

It was a nice day out and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Thanks to all for a great day.

D.

Great to be back out on the training ride yesterday after a couple of months riding a mtb. Only myself in the square for a Sunday Club Run today though - no other takers for the sunshine. Is there something I missed?

As Darren mentioned, an excellent ride to Dalby Forest Drive. Absolutely spot on about the legs feeling tired by the time we rolled back into York. Only complaint is the lack of competition for the Maillott Vert. I am assured that Stu will be contesting next week but hope that some of the regulars can find their sprinting legs to keep the entertainment keen.

Fin easily took the Polka Dot btw - respect!

Cracking ride on Saturday, great performance from team Cannondale!

Smashed it through Dobly Forest, in fact we went so fast that I managed to set a King of the Mountains (KOM) time on Strava! Although I expect that Fin and Dr Dave haven't got around to uploading their activities? In which case I wait for my KOM to disapear...

Word is that Stu will be back this Saturday. We are currently in negotiations, based mostly on free beer for me to quit Team Cannondale and be his lead-out for the day (sorry Dr Dave).

To remove doubt and before I am publicly berated - 'Dalby Forest' rather than 'Dobly Forest' - it could explain how I got a KOM however?!

Will have to upload now!

Sunday’s MTB ride saw Ros L, Jez A, Paul S, Phil H, Phil no.2, Chris W, newcomer Catherine, Gill C, Adam B and Steve W unload the cars at Chopgate, deep in the NY Moors.

And then we did what nobody does when leaving the Square- almost immediately we were into a 20 minute-long climb on heavy suspension bikes, from the valley bottom to the Moors top!
At the summit the Garmins were proudly tapped to confirm it was 200 metres of elevation just done. We then went down and up a steep gorge that had map contours packed so tightly, it made Bulmer Bank look easy.

Next, we descended into Cockayne- a few of the roadies wondered why it all looked strangely familiar. Followed by a long steady climb through a pine forest that felt like we were in Scandinavia, as we headed north towards Middlesbrough.
Around this point, we started to run out of Moors:



So we fled from the flatlands of the North East and onto a singletrack through a peaceful forestry plantation.
Relaxing, until we reached a helluva climb that had us all panting loudly. A few bits of road around the Moors are 1 in 3 (33%) steep, but off-road the ‘Battersby Incline’ was as hard as it sounds. Crawling up a 20% gradient for 10 minutes at just under 4 mph, we were sitting on the nose of our saddles to stop the front wheel lifting up, whilst carefully avoiding gravel that would've had the rear wheel spinning out.

But after such efforts came the fantastic descents of various kinds: rocky ones over stones the size of fists, forested ones with ferns brushing the arms, and narrow moorland descents with heather ‘pinging’ past the wheel spokes.
Arriving back at Chopgate around 4 pm, post-ride nutrition saw us sensibly load up on protein and a little carbs (pork sandwiches and lager shandies at the pub ).

As Sunday MTB rides go that was pretty epic. Covering just 23 miles at 6 mph, you can imagine how good the descents and climbs were like. Better still, nobody crashed, had a mechanical or got lost. And we were fit enough for a chat and laugh afterwards.

A brilliant day Steve, thanks a lot.

Wardy wrote:Cracking ride on Saturday, great performance from team Cannondale!

Smashed it through Dobly Forest, in fact we went so fast that I managed to set a King of the Mountains (KOM) time on Strava! Although I expect that Fin and Dr Dave haven't got around to uploading their activities? In which case I wait for my KOM to disapear...
Word is that Stu will be back this Saturday. We are currently in negotiations, based mostly on free beer for me to quit Team Cannondale and be his lead-out for the day (sorry Dr Dave).

Sorry Dave