Clifton CC

Last weekend I commented that I have ridden in far worse windy conditions than last Sat.
This Sat, on setting off, I thought that: it wasn’t the coldest I’ve ever ridden in; it wasn’t the windiest and it wasn’t the heaviest rain either……….however, for a certain distance of the ride, I had the coldest tips of my fingers in a very long time………

So, Sat am, only the (fool)hardy MarkB, Stuart and self at the Square for 10am. We set off intending to sail a route out to Millington. We soon realised that Stuart was pedalling a little quicker than us and all agreed better for him to head on and get a faster ride in (& keep warm).

MarkB & I were quite comfortable, riding out via Bossall, Howsham, Leavening, Langton, Birdsall and whilst it was raining all the time, we were happy chatting and pedalling along. Then somewhere up Birdsall, the rain obviously started to soak through the gloves and up on the exposed ridge along the top, the easterly wind and rain started to ‘bite’. The LHS of my face ‘froze’ and our chit chat reduced to a few grimaces and helpful ‘nearly there’ calls! After what seemed like an age of riding with the Siberian cold wind and soaking wet hands, we finally reached the cycle path left turn and both thought ‘only a few miles and a descent to the café’. The cycle path was strewn with the dreaded pesky hawthorns and we squinted hard to try to avoid, through rather misty, wet glasses. I had thought about stopping to rub clear the inside of my glasses so I could see better, but I knew if I took my absolutely sodden gloves off, I would be unlikely to get them back on again.
Hmmmm, so you know what happened 100yds after we turned right off the cycle path then? Yup p*******! This was the last thing we wanted, but as Kevin says ‘it’s not a fluffy, furry world’. We were still about 3miles from the café & Mark’s front wheel totally flat. I tried to sound positive saying ‘at least it’s only the front wheel’. Mark & I worked well as a team, but we had to keep taking turns so that the other could stamp around & stuff their hands under armpits in a desperate attempt to warmup the numbed fingers (I’m even shaking now as I type, remembering the feeling!). Cath would have been proud of my tyre-pumping up technique – amazing what pressure I can achieve when I have to and Mark’s refitting of tyre technique was worthy of the Dave I’A strength prize. I somehow managed to place my 2 blocks of ice (hands) back inside my icey, sodden gloves. Mark managed one glove, but after several attempts, he said a few choice words and set off with one bare hand! How we managed the next few miles to the café is a bit of a blur. I could hardly pull my brakes as we couldn’t feel our fingers, but somehow we managed to safely (but painfully) negotiate along the top and then descend to the warmth haven of Millington Café.

So you think all was well now? Well it was, but not instantaneously. We left our bikes (unlocked, for at that moment I thought ‘if someone wants to take it, they can have it!’) and fell inside the door, shaking and feeling not quite with it. It took us some time to compose ourselves enough to order food and even longer before we both stopped shaking. However, very slowly, the warmth did start to have an effect, the open fire partly dried, but significantly warmed our gloves & hats and sometime during the 2nd pot of tea, the shaking stopped and normal bodily service resumed . Once back to earthly temperatures, we felt suitably revived for the journey home and with a friendly tailwind, made swift and comparatively comfortable work of the miles.

You may think ‘nutters’ ‘madness’, but I am sat here smiling at the memory, our 55 miles on the board and I am sure to bore you with this adventure for many miles to come 
Thanks to Mark for sharing our benchmark day, ‘things that don’t quite kill us, make us stronger' ’.

Wow, nothing like Claire & Mark's adventure for the A-ride this week.

Santa Stu made another appearance on Sunday, joining Rich, Graham, James and myself out to Elvington on our route to Beverley.

It was a cold, damp, foggy morning and leaving the square a few remarked that it would have been worse for Rob's group at 8:30. Graham's Garmin was reading -2.3C and so it seemed appropriate that we dodged a few patches of ice on the roads.

While my toes were not as toasty as usual, there were no complaints and a quick pace ensured we were as warm as we could be. The change of scenery was nice and while the sun made only a brief appearance, the fog lifted as we got closer to Beverley.

Little did we know that it was the Beverley Festival of Christmas. We arrived to find the main street closed to vehicular traffic, adorned with throngs of people, a full-on Christmas market and a classic car show.

Cafe Velo was bursting at the seams, even the bike racks full, but we quickly found a table in the basement and were soon enjoying a tasty respite.

It was an uneventful trip back, although Rich was particularly grateful not to have the biting headwind that we encountered on the lanes to Market Weighton the last time we did this route.

With the weather starting to close in again, we made quick work of the return to York, electing to bypass the cycle path at Stamford Bridge. As hoped, rather than planned, we dodged the evening rain, only encountering a few spits as we came down the final stretch of Stockton Lane into York.

Other than my Garmin having a seizure (had to do a factory reset when I got home) we had no flats or mechanicals. Another good day out with a great bunch of guys, everyone taking strong turns on the front. Although we didn't see much of it, I was home by the official sunset time.

Since my Garmin self-destructed in the morning, I had no data, but Rich mentioned it was ~78 winter miles in the bank.

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Unabashed Product Recommendation: Gore-Tex lined gloves keep your hands dry and greatly reduce the misery of a cold, wet winter day. I can't find the model name, but mine are the GORE Bike Wear brand.

We got drenched in Otley a few weeks ago and I recall that my gloves left puddles on the cafe table. However, slipping them on, they were lovely and dry on the inside

IanH, Ed, AndyG, Muzzy, RichardD, Steen and I all congregated in the Square for the slightly early departure from Gate 1. It was hovering just around freezing and the roads looked a little iffy in places. Our usual trick off sticking to bus routes initially didn't offer much assistance as the low temps appeared to have caught the council out too. By Castle Howard, the thaw was in, but the north facing slope into Amotherby looked dodgy again. Half way down I got off to inspect the coefficient of friction, and actually it was fine. Nevertheless, Ian had had enough of the tension, and Muzzy was fed up of the soft pedalling and both headed back.

The Vale of Pickering was cold and damp, but as soon as we were climbing out of Thornton, the temperature climbed and the frost melted away. I love the ride through Dalby, Langdale End, Hackness etc., Marine Drive in Scarborough feels like an exciting destination, and there are always surfers looking more bonkers than us.

Three course Xmas lunch in the Golden Grid. I can recommend particularly the Ukranian beetroot soup.... It was a very long café stop, but felt somehow appropriate. By the time we left, the weather was changing again and soft drizzle falling from heavy skies.

Forge Valley, Wykeham, Sherburn. Great climb then diagonally up onto the Wolds in fading light. Andy and Richard took charge of the pace making and we plunged on through W Lutton, Duggleby and Langton. By the time we reached Gally Gap their riding was metronomic. It was strangely satisfying ploughing through the dark and rain within that halo of light.

Was back to a hero's cup of tea by 1715, with 170k on the clock. Thanks for the ride chaps. Another memorable one.

The last of the "bleak mid winter challenge trilogy" is next Sunday, details to follow.

I didn't quite have my head together for the ride on Sunday and made a quick decision at Amotherby to take a left on the Helmsley road. I'm pleased the Scarborough ride went well and everyone was back at a reasonable time. I was also happy with my decision and still had a decent ride carrying on up past Oswaldkirk and taking the next left which is nice steady climb and drops down into Ampleforth. The frost had lifted by then and the climb up to Yearsley was just about ok. Carried on down to Stillington and then back across to Sheriff. So three and a half hours a few climbs and the gift of time back. No excuses next Sunday though!

Glad the rest of you guys had a good ride and Christmas lunch, I really was looking forward to the ride after having missed the previous weeks Osmotherly ride due to illness but as Rob so accurately described above the tension got too much for me after the long and rather hairy decent, as Paul made the quick decision to head left I decided to head right to Malton and have a cafe stop before a fast ride home down the Gally Gap road which was very quite with no slippy parts.

Ian H.