A good bit colder than the previous weekend but another great turnout for the 10 o'clock Saturday rides.
12 of us (Kevin, Tony, PeteS, Nick, Rich, Alison, Dawn, Steve, MarkB, Ian, Arnie & myself) chose the “K” ride to Shiptonthorpe.
Mark had issues with his chain on the journey from home to Square and decided, on safety grounds, that he'd he'd only cycle with the group as far as Stamford Bridge. Dawn & Steve were heading off for some warmer (hopefully!) weather in the Canary Islands and so our number was reduced to 9 by the time we got through Fangfoss.
The easterly breeze made it a bit of a struggle through Millington Pastures, always slightly disheartening when you have to keep pedalling on the downhill section simply to maintain a constant speed, but we were soon through that and heading on to Huggate and Warter. I know Kevin frequently despairs that we all leave our brains in the office at the end of the working week but I think he secretly quite likes to have to remind us that "it's the second left after the junction then make sure you’re in the correct gear for the sharp turn and climb out of Nunburnholme”.
The garden centre cafe at Shiptonthorpe was almost full but the service was pretty swift and the food good. Made sure I had a double dose of sugar this week, with a charity Red Nose fairy cake and a bit of chocolate coconut stuff.
Nick and Alison were taking an alternative route home from Everingham and so we were down to 7 when Kevin reminded Arnie that we were now in the heart of his old training ground. This sparked what can only be described as a septuagenarian speed fest as Arnie took off like a scolded cat, sustaining a cracking pace till he peeled off for home at Fangfoss where the mantle was then taken up by PeteS as he, Rich and myself found a bit of a tailwind for the last section back to York.
Another good ride, my Garmin packed in at 35 miles, but I reckon it was about 70 miles door to door.
Weekend Roundup, 14th/15th March
Moderator: Moderators
Re: Weekend Roundup, 14th/15th March
Six takers for the 08:45: Gerard, Rob, Jez, Stacey, Paul W and self. Great to see Paul coming back to the 08:45 after a while away from it. Winter gear back on for what was a rather cold morning.
Really nice route out into the Wolds via Kirkham Priory – unfortunately the back wheel on Stacey’s hibernated summer bike gave out (couldn’t find any broken spokes when we had a look), so we were down to five for the remainder of the ride. I put some old demons to bed with a quick sprint up the hill from Kirkham which kept Gerard’s climbing ability at bay until we got onto some of the longer climbs out of North Grimston and up from Wetwang.
Overall, a decent set of climbs in bite size chunks and some great scenery out in the Wolds near Sledmere. Back at my front door by 12:25 having clocked up 64 miles.
Really nice route out into the Wolds via Kirkham Priory – unfortunately the back wheel on Stacey’s hibernated summer bike gave out (couldn’t find any broken spokes when we had a look), so we were down to five for the remainder of the ride. I put some old demons to bed with a quick sprint up the hill from Kirkham which kept Gerard’s climbing ability at bay until we got onto some of the longer climbs out of North Grimston and up from Wetwang.
Overall, a decent set of climbs in bite size chunks and some great scenery out in the Wolds near Sledmere. Back at my front door by 12:25 having clocked up 64 miles.