“This ride would be great if it wasn’t for the….”

1)  Rain

2)  Wind

3)  Cars

4)  Buses

Another classic quote from Mark within the first 10 miles of today’s ride with UOBCC.

However before I get on to the report I would like to ask your indulgence for a bit of advice to any car drivers reading this about passing cyclists when the roads are wet and its raining.  We are not taking up the road, although we do have as much right to be on them as you do, we are simply avoiding the gutter where the water is deep hiding all sorts of hazards that can cause not only punctures but much worse.  We are also avoiding any road markings that are extremely slippy when wet as we do not want to fall in to traffic.  Please have a care as yo pass and by the way blasting your horn only makes us jump at which point we are more likely to suddenly pull out wider into the road.

Right public service over now on to the report.  I suppose the report should start at the beginning which was actually about 8:30am when I received a message from Mark saying that the forcast was for high winds and heavy showers and were we still going. I replied saying in that case we would keep to the plan of heading to Gargrave via Colne but would keep off the tops where possible.  Ok sorted so still meeting at the Uni for a 10am start.  

So we met at just before 10am and found that the weather was not the nicest and there was only the 4 of us Mark, Andrew, Taras and myself who set off towards Keighley in the wet and wind.  The initial part of the ride was uneventful other than the weather and we quite happily chatted as we went along about rides we were intending on doing in the future.  As we got to Saltaire we realized that the weather was not improving but carried along in our merry way at a decent pace.  Our first incident occurred at Crossflatts where we were passed by a bus so close as to nearly knock us off our bikes, yes we were 2 abreast, but the road is wide and we were also travelling at about 20mph.  Taras moved ahead and as we passed the bus he offered the driver some constructive advice about cyclists as he passed, the driver must not have heard him correctly or disagreed with some of this advice as he left his door open so he could talk to us  as he passed us again.  Fortunately, he was a right fat git and would have found it difficult to get out of his cab in a hurry to stress his point, so we went once more along our merry way.

We got through Keighley avoiding all the raised iron works on Hard Ings road that had caused us that much hassle last week.  Then we got out onto the open roads more as we descended towards Steeton and Eastburn in a head wind, and then turned up at Crosshills towards Cowling and then over to Laneshawbridge.  This is Andrews favorite road as the last time he was on it he was almost taken out by an Audi driver.  Taras, thought it was just black Audis that were the problem but we informed him that we had more problems with white ones.  When we got up to the tops I noticed that the the wind was finally behind us and this meant a great downhill freewheel into Laneshawbridge, this was brilliant but for 2 things the amount of spray coming up from the roads and then a huge truck coming the other way that created a huge wall of water and wind that nearly brought us to a complete stop.  After this we were now officially soaked through and I started to think about cutting the ride shorter by avoiding Gargrave and then heading straight to Skipton.  This idea was confirmed as we travelled towards Earby and the rain and wind got even worse.

As we approached Earby we saw a few “”Caution Cyclists” signs and saw a couple of riders with numbers, we found out that it was Barnoldswick Triathlon, which put us in a mind that we really were “Hard Core” cyclists seeing as we were under no obligation to do this ride other than for the “enjoyment” of it.  As we passed through Earby and then Thornton we passed more competitors, apologies at this point but I did notice that one had dropped their pump on a hill but I saw it too late and did not want to go back down to collect it, also when we passed Earby the marshals for the race thought we were competing and were shouting for our numbers.  Once passed Thornton in Craven we said goodbye to the racers and decided to definatley miss Gargrave and head straight to Skipton and something warm to eat and drink. This we did with all haste as the weather was once again deteriorating and we were already soaked through.  Morrisons here we come!!!

I must apologise at this point to both the staff and patrons of the supermarket and especially to anyone who sat in the seats we occupied whilst there.  Taras and Mark ordered full breakfasts and coffees whilst I made due with a bacon sandwich. Removing gloves coats and helmets was fun and we left a puddle by our table.  Whilst ordering Taras noticed that we were in one of the coldest parts of the cafe so we moved to a slightly warmer place therefore creating 2 puddles in the cafe. Andrew made do with a hot drink and a doughnut and flapjack.  My butty turned up first and by the time I had finished it the others food had not arrived so I ordered another.  Taras had also at this point obtained most of the serviettes to help him dry out his feet and some of the puddles around us, and then used an old trick of putting carrier bags on his feet to keep them dry for the ride home.  I have to say that it really was an effort setting off again for all of us.  Once we had got past all the traffic lights in Skipton we got our heads down and pushed it back towards Keighley into an even stronger headwind which at one point blew me straight in to the middle of the road.

As we approached Bingley we got once again into busier roads and were frequently hooted at by drivers, see initial part of the report, and I must admit to getting a bit miffed with this especially as I had just gone through East Riddlesden and at a set of traffic lights pulled up behind Andrew by a taxi and as the lights turned green the taxi then let me know that he was not going straight ahead  by indicating left so I stopped, remember I am cold wet and clipped in at which point the taxi realised I was behind him and then stopped in the middle of the road, like I am going to pass on the inside of a car who is turning left.  So I let the driver know my disapproval in no uncertain terms.

After Bingley we started to say our goodbyes as Mark and Andrew were going to turn off at Saltaire whilst Taras and I would continue to Bradford, however just before the roundabout I has to make a pit stop and told Taras I would catch him up.  This was not to be as every chuffin light was against me so I made my own way back to the Uni.

It really was an epic, enjoyable ride if shortened from our original plan and it seems we have another jinxed ride to complete similar to the Cow and Calf ride that took 5 attempts to complete.  Just a note to the riders who were with us last week, today was wetter and colder than last Sunday.  Even though I was wet and cold I found that when I got into my car to drive home I was totally buzzing.

I will finish this report with a final comment, their definatley is something about Audi drivers as, as I was driving home one was right over the central line coming towards me avoiding the puddles in the edge of the road and forced me almost on to the verge to avoid him.

I will not be leading the long rides over the next month as UOBCC will be running “May the Cycling Begin” a series of beginner sessions aimed at getting people out on their bikes.  There will be reports of these rides on this blog. 

 

“Right Guys we have 2 choices….”

“If we go that way its about 3 miles to get a coffee or if we go that way its about 8 miles to get a coffee”  This is what I explained to the rest of the riders on today’s UOBCC Road Ride planned for the scenic route to Gargrave as we were stood shivering and dripping in a bus shelter in Laneshawbridge…I will get onto that all in good time though.

As many of the clubs original riders are now so much stronger and fitter than when we first started, owing to the regular rides and training sessions arranged by the club, we are now making the most of the better weather (hmmmm!!!) and longer days to start increasing the distances from 40/50 miles to 70 and over.  This will also help us with the many sportives that the club members will be entering this season.

So today’s ride was planned to be just under 70miles from the Uni to Haworth then over the tops to Colne then through Earby and Thornton in Craven to Gargrave then round the back of Skipton to Otley before returning to the Uni via Shipley…Well that was the plan anyway.

We set off from the Uni just after 10am with too many people on new bikes for my liking, Dragos was on his new Trek, Jay (from now on will be called Surfer Dude, explanation later) was on his new Boardman Hi Bred, and Mark was on his new Giant (its actually 3 weeks old and has done 300miles but he still thinks its new) and made our way towards Allerton, which is one of the quickest ways out of the traffic of Bradford, even though it is straight uphill.  Really nice to be out on a ride where everyone is of a similar ability especially on a day like today where you do not want to be stopping too many times.  So it was just a brief re group before heading out towards Harecroft.

I will now explain Surfer Dude as even though it not the best of days he arrived in borders and a short sleeved cycling jersey but he did look really good as he rode ahead of us all through a huge puddle with his feet up in the air, looking like a kid on his summer hols.

Andy and Dragos were also braving the elements with just shorts on but at least they had waterproof jackets and with regard to Andy what appeared to be a full wardrobe change in his bag. The rest of us were a little more conservatively dressed in various layers and waterproofs.

We were fortunate to start of with with the weather and we had managed to get all the way through Haworth before the weather started to turn for the worse and as we passed through Stanbury on the way to Scar Top we were dodging puddles and floods all the way.  This is a frequent road for the club to cycle over and has 3 or 4 decent hills which do actually get worse as you make your way along, as Mark was happy to remind everyone when we had a brief stop Scar Top for a short rest.  Dragos informed us all that he does not really like hills to which Chris told him he was in the wrong area to avoid them, and Mark informed him that if he was on a ride with me that he had to expect them and if anyone said that they were not too bad then I would arrange a detour just to find one.

Once we got past Scar Top the weather started to turn for the worse and the rain started and then the hail started as we made our towards the Herders all I could think of was the descent down to Laneshawbridge would not be nice.  Surfer Dude was now very cold and I was thinking about shortening the ride, the weather was getting worse and it threw everything at us as we descended and the hailstones really stung.  The group stopped just short of the bottom to shelter behind a wall but I urged then on to the bottom where we took shelter in the bus shelter.

Here Andy lent Surfer Dude a jumper which he was a little apprehensive about doing so until I informed him about hypothermia, which I do not think was too far off.  Here we had to make the decision on what to do next, we knew Surfer Dude needed something warm so it was a case of do we go to Colne and either Sainsbury’s or MacDonalds there or do we head home but have to wait until Keighley before we could guarantee getting a coffee, the choice was actually easy Colne and pretty quick.

Within minutes we were inside the supermarket and whilst some of us locked out bikes downstairs the rest took them upstairs to the cafe.  Everyone went straight to a table to get wet gloves and outer layers off before getting large warm drinks inside them.  Surfer Dude helped him self to a warm meal and even when he had finished it was still shivering.  Andy had is tea and then when searching for a pair of gloves, believe it or not its not the season for them but thanks to Matalan he manged to get a couple of pairs.

All the time we were refueling and warming ourselves up the weather stayed quite dry but we we all decided to make our way straight back, believe it or not as soon as we stepped out of the supermarket it started to rain, but this was just a short burst and we manged to get back to Laneshawbridge in the dry.  As we started to climb up over to Cowling the roads were flooded in places not that the cars cared as they splashed past us soaking us through again.

It was warmer a bit now so the descent into Crosshills was not too bad and we all decided to keep straight on home as opposed to detouring over the Salt and Pepper Pots.

We carried on through some showers and made it to Keighley where Chris said his goodbyes and we all carried on along the path as Hard Ings Road was closed for resurfacing and the detour was jammed with cars, the joys of cycling.

After that we all made our way to Bingley where Mark had a disagreement with a motorist who told him he was taking up all the road when we were in single file avoiding the river running down the gutter, Mark left us at Saltaire and Andy had gone on ahead so Dragos, Surfer Dude and I made our way in.

Surfer Dude managed to get to Lister park before he “Bonked” and managed to get back to the Uni thanks to some juice from me and Dragos’ excellent short cut.  Once at the Uni I checked my GPS on my phone to find that it was a little on the blink saying that we had done 14miles where as it was nearer 40 but the best bit was the speed 348mph, which I was quite pleased with.

Have now had a warm bath and am just awaiting the rain to stop again before I take my bike out of the car and clean it up.

Should be another ride next Sunday and hopefully better weather.

Hope to see you there.

“The good news is that we will be going downhill…Until we start to climb”

After the great weather that we have had over the past week, and the weather forecast stating that within the next few days we could have some snow it was with some trepidation that I looked out of the window this morning…and what did I see…bright blue skies, however it was also one of those days that had a cheeky little wind that seemed to follow us around as they say there was a definite nip in the air.  Today was one of those days where trying to work out what to wear is a nightmare, to begin with wrapped up so out came the arm and knee warmers then a base layer and short sleeved jersey, stand out side for a minute or too…nope its colder than that at the moment will need another layer which one though long sleeved jersey, nope because I will need to take it of later and its too bulky to carry in my pocket, same goes for my winter jacket so it will have to be a light weight waterproof, hope I don,t sweat inside it too much.

I set off from home to ride down to meet the riders from the University at the campus and got there just before our amended start time of 10am (most of the students have gone home, so we can afford a slightly earlier set off time) and the first thing I see is mark on his new Giant road bike, and as Andrew mentioned now he has that there will be no stopping him and there really was not.

The route for today was the 3 Counties ride that we have done before, but in reverse with an extra bit added on for good luck.  So after a brief chat as you do, where I informed everyone of the title quote and mark responded that I was made good motivational speeches, we set off just after 10am into Bradford centre, everyone seemed to be in the same frame of mind as me, up for a tough but enjoyable ride on a great day and the fun started straight away as we made a detour though the pool in the new City Park, before hitting the roads out of Bradford.

To begin with we all rode steady in a group along the roads chatting and what not as this way towards Keighley is flat with cycle lanes and we also all knew what was coming at the latter end of the route.  It was not until we headed down to Eastburn that things started to change, suddenly Chris came flying past us all and set off like a rocket, with Andrew following on behind him, then Gareth shot past only to pull up after about half a mile to retrieve his pump that had come off and ended up in the middle of the road, then finally mark came past putting his new bike through its paces, great I thought, they have all let me take the bit of head wind up till now, and now that we are going a bit downhill they are leaving me, but in the end I went with them.

As we approached Cross Hills I hoped that Andrew and Chris knew to turn left otherwise they would be heading out to Skipton before they knew it, fortunately they did and we all regrouped in Glusburn.  Where they kindly let me take the lead again.  At this point we were  making our way up a steady drag that would take us up above Laneshawbridge, before a short descent in to the village, this is one of those climbs that just keeps on going never steep but never easy just on and on.  Eventually we reached the top and started down to the village where I planned to have a short stop before the big climb of the day.  As we were dropping down however we and when I say we I mean Andrew had a seriously close call when an idiot in an white Audi A3 came past us at well over the national speed limit only to realise that there was another car coming up the opposite way so came in so close to Andrew that Gareth wanted to know if he still had a sleeve on his right arm..Note to drivers solid white line in the middle of the road means NO OVERTAKING, regardless of what mode of transport it is.

After this we stopped off just before the left turn up the “Herders” our main climb of the day, I informed everyone that the thing with this hill is when you think you are at the top you are actually only halfway and it does get steeper in the second half.  Chris also mentioned that he now has a book on the best climbs in the country of which many are in Yorkshire (no real surprise there) so some of our future rides will take in these hills just for the joy of it eh!  We had now refuelled a bit so it was time to set off, the hill starts off steady and then just starts to gradually climb and for the first time today we started to split up as a group with Chris taking the lead me next followed by the ever improving Mark then Andrew and Gareth just behind.  As I had predicted you get to a corner on the hill with a farmhouse on it and you think that is the summit then you get around the corner and suddenly see the rest of the hill in front of you and getting steeper.  When we regrouped again at the top everyone in that sadistic cyclists way said that they enjoyed the climb and Gareth and Mark also mentioned that there was nothing like that on the C2C that they did last weekend. Setting off again everyone was still in high spirits as one at a time people attacked over the tops towards Stanbury, now I could have been cruel here and turned off and taken them up the reservoir banking in to Oxenhope but I followed the route from Stanbury to Haworth as it undulates into the village with a couple of short sharp ascents before the village.

We were soon into Haworth and then making our way up to Crossroads when Chris and I who were leading heard a call from behind, we both thought there was a mechanical so stopped but it was just mark and Andrew calling a halt so they could get rid of a layer, Mark ended up down to his skin and I think it might have been that that caused the dozy women in the Renault Scenic, who was on her mobile at the time to barely miss 5 riders stood at the side of the road as she battled to steer one handed that much that she even slipped and hit the horn.  Once everyone was ready again we set off up what would be for me the final climb of the day past Sugden End,  here I left the rest of the group to make their own way back to Bradford and from what I here they might have been planning on giving it big licks down Thornton Road.

Route of the ride that I did can be found here http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=372143

Another great ride with UOBCC, Gareth text me later on to say that he had done 47miles and that was in well under 3 hours. There will not be a ride Easter weekend as I am away in the far north or training on Tuesday night until after Easter, so have a good one.

At Last…..

It has taken 4 attempts but finally UOBCC has finally made it around the Ilkley route including the Cow and Calf.  The first attempt was cancelled because of snow as was the third and the second was just a vile wet and cold day. Today however was perfect a better day could not be wished for, although the start was a bit dodgy.  As I set off from home I was in blue skies and sunshine, within half a mile I was in thick fog and so it was as I made my way to Bradford fog-clear-fog-clear and it did not matter if you were high or low it was just random.

We met as usual at the car park by Unique Gym ready to set off at 10:30am and owing to the C2C trip from the University this weekend I knew there would not be many takers.  In actual fact it was a good job as all the bikes had been taken on the C2C so if a load had turned up they could have been disappointed. 4 of us set of about 10:45am and made our way to the newly opened City Park and saw the last part of the Bradford 10k with a few people sat outside Wetherspoons after the race. Then we were out on to Bradford Road heading for Shipley.  The weather was getting better and we were taking it stady as Johnny? (apologies if name is wrong) had joined us although he was down to do the shorter ride.and was on a MTB as opposed to a road bike but he did really well staying with us along the road. Once through Shipley we negotiated the roadworks at Baildon and then headed up the first climb of the day Hollings Hill.  Here Johnny started to struggle owing to the extra traction and weight but still managed to ride at a good pace all the way up.  Andy Had a small problem with his gears and stopped to sort them out at Hollins Hall, whilst Chris flew to the top as usual and this trait was repeated a number of times over the ride but more of that later.

At the top of Hollins Hill we re-grouped and also said goodbye to Johnny who made his own way back via Guiseley and Rawdon. The original plan was to head through Menston and then down to Burley but we decided as it was so nioce and all of us were strong to carry on to Otley and then up to Burley and on to Ilkley.  This stretch is great for getting your head down and building up the speed along the by-pass.  We all got into Ilkey and pulled off at Booths for a quick re fuel and pitstop before the main climb of the day.  Once sorted we made our way through the town and onto Cowpasture Road leading to the hill, I noticed that Chris had disappeared and wondered why, Andy informed me that he was just sorting out his kit, I commented that he would soon be cruising past us and as I said it he did and stayed ahead all the way up to the summit of the Cow and Calf.  I must admit it was hard as usual the climb but not as hard or long as previous attempts, I think the weather had a lot to do with it as well.  Andy also did well even with only 5 or 6 gears.  We had a brief rest at the top and then set off towards Bingley over the tops, this is an undulating road culminating a great descent down the Alma into East Morton.

The original planned route would then take us along Bradford Road and into Bradford, but we decided to make it a bit different and cut off at Cottingley Bar and up Cottingley Cliffe Road where once again Chris came coasting past me to the top.  From there we cut off past the back of the BRI where Chris had a puncture which actually took about half an hour to fix as the first spare tube I gave him had a pinch in it and went straight down again.  But eventually we got off again down onto Thornton Road and up Ingleby Road and back to the Uni.  

Toady was a great ride in great weather with good company, here is wishing for many more like it.

See you next Sunday for the last ride before a short break over Easter.

Not the best of starts,but….

OMG…..How many riders on today’s ride.

The plan for today’s ride was to go from the Uni to Skipton and back along possibly the flattest route through this part of West Yorkshire.  

As it was an absolutely brilliant day for riding with clear skies and a decent temperature, I decided to ride down to the Uni, and took the slightly longer route via Denholme and Thornton Road.

I got to the start point at the Unique Gym at about 10:25am and quickly got rid of 1 layer of clothing ready to start at 10:30am and there was already about 6 riders there.  As time progressed more and more riders appeared some on their own bikes and some waiting to borrow bikes from the Uni either the club bikes or from Cycle Re-Cycle which is on campus. Time continued to tick on and more riders appeared and more bikes and these were in need of some adjustments such as saddle heights and air in the tyres. There were now about 20 riders about to set off.  As there were so many Alex took a register so that everyone could be contacted at a later date with more ride and club information.  As there were so many riders of such varied ability I decided to keep everyone together until Saltaire roundabout and then the faster ones would go on with me and then Chris W and Adam would take the slower ones on.

Eventually at 11:20am we set off to Centenary Square and the ride proper.  To begin with this worked but by the time we had reached Bradford Road at the top of Hamm Strass we had already split up this was because one of the bikes had broken and fortunately it was outside Chris M’s des res so he dropped this bike in to his house and got his spare.  I had dropped back to collect these back riders and sent the others out to Saltaire where we would re group.  We continued along the route at a nice steady pace and reached Saltaire.  At this point the faster riders had already been sent off to Skipton, so once we had regrouped Chris M, Casper, Ed and I set off to chase them down and we really went for it, chain ganging all the way to Skipton and keeping a really high speed, with each of us taking plenty of turns at the front.

We caught up with the first part of the faster riders just outside Skipton and were enjoying ourselves that much that we went straight over the top of them into Skipton where we stopped at the bus station to gather everyone together, then made our way into the centre to meet the others.  

Once again we raided Wilds bakery as they were having another sale with bacon butties only £1 or 2 pies for £1.  3 of the faster riders had been hanging around for awhile so they set off to put some extra miles in making their way to Bolton Abbey and back via Ilkley.  We were now a group of about 7 and decided to set off home along the same route as we came in on as planned and we would meet the other riders on the way.  We actually met them just outside Skipton and all dropped down to Morrisons to regroup so that the back riders could re fuel.  A vast assortment of re fuelling was purchased from bananas to paninis to fruit salads.  This stop also gave us the chance to explain the system of getting home.  I needed to be home quite soon so took those who wanted to push it with me and Alex volunteered to take the rest back.  This fast group consisted of 6 riders and the plan was to get to the first mini roundabout outside Skipton then bang it out to Keighley where I would have to leave the ride to get home.  We hit this roundabout and really pushed it out so much so that Chris W was almost taken out by a bus who squeezed through an almost impossible gap to get to his next stop only 100 feet further on this bus driver then nearly took out Chris M squeezing through past a traffic island.  eventually we got into the clear and went away and soon were down to 3 all the way back to Keighley.  Here I turned off and set off home, but was soon joined by Casper who had gone the wrong way, so after I had given him directions he carried on home.

Hope everyone made the most out of the great weather, I will not be out on the ride next Sunday as I am competing in the Keighley BigK 10K but hope you have a nice ride

 

Burley and Back with a Bump

This ride is definitely jinxed.  This is the third time that we have attempted it and the third time the weather has put a stop to it.  Its not a case of being fair weather cyclists I just don’t relish the thought of spending 4 hours getting soaked through

 

3 Counties…plus a number of hills

Weather Check…Bike Check…Route Check…Go

A different format slightly for today’s UOBCC ride as normally I drive down to the Uni and then ride the route and quite often end up being the only rider left going back to the Uni as everyone else makes their way home at various points leading into Bradford.  So today I rode down to the Uni and glad that I did.

The route was planned as a repeat of the 3 Counties ride done a few weeks back but on the ride down to the Uni I came up Trough Lane to Denholme and found that even though the sun was shining the road was covered in ice all the way across forcing me to get off and push.  Not just in one spot but in a couple so that part of the route was out.

I met the rest of the riders at the Uni (apologies to Callum who needed a bike but we were unable to raise anyone so he missed out).  Owing to this we set off a bout 10minutes late on our way up Thornton Road, Andy was tailing me but a bit down on fitness following 2 weeks in the sun (lucky sod) with Mark, Ben and Finn (new rider) a bit behind but not far as we reached the top and the first stop to re group.

We then made our way through Denholme and out towards the Flappitt where we were detouring due to the ice.  At the Flappitt we turned left towards Haworth and Oxenhope as we were out in the more rural areas now ice was a bit of a problem along the edges of the road, which was really a problem at the bottom of the brow where it looked like water in the sun but was ice we all called to point it out and even Ben called out to warn the others and then found himself on the ice and then the deck as his wheels went from under him (thanks you to the car driver for the symapathy to Ben)  We now made our way towards Oxenhope and the first real hill.  Out through Lower Marssh and up the hill to Penistone, I must admit that I was not looking forward to this as my cleats were damaged and I kept pulling out of the pedals, however we all made it to the top with Mark coming out with a great comment as he reached the summit, aimed at me “You’re a sadist”

Over the top of Penistone and up to Stanbury and in to a slight headwind as we made our way to the biggest climb of the day upto Scar Top.  Both Mark and Finn took the safe option and pushed the steepest part whilst Ben pedaled all the way up and over and we all met up just past the Pine Shop.

From here we undulated towards the top of the Herders and a long descent down to Laneshawbridge, a couple patches of ice on the descent and a cold wind in our faces,but everyone made it safely down.  Once in Laneshawbridge we stopped for a re group as Ben Was starting to suffer a bit.  Now we were heading towards home and once into Cowling we would have a long descent into Crosshills so as Ben had dropped off the pace at this point we waited for him otherwise we would be miles ahead.  Ben caught up and refueled with a Mars Bar which I think was not as solid as the Snickers he had earlier.

Andy and I pushed ahead down to Crosshills helped a bit by a tailwind and then waited at the bottom, good job as the other three almost turned the wrong way and headed out to the by-pass and we just managed to catch them to direct them the right way.  Now it was just a drag up past Airedale Hospital  and upto Keighley.

At this point I left the group to make their own way home as I rode through Keighley centre and up Halifax Road to home.

Another good ride with the guys, there will not be a road ride next Sunday as we are all off to get mucky at Gisburn Forest, so the next ride will actually be on 4th March and will be a Sky Ride Social to Ilkley and up the Cow and Calf

Hope to see you there

 

Bolton Abbey

Then There Was One

Was a much milder day as we met at the Unique Gym car park ready for the rides yesterday.  Notice that I did say rides as we had 2 going out.  I was leading the long ride of about 50miles over to Bolton Abbey whilst Tracey was leading a shorter ride for beginners over to Shipley and back.

The ride was arranged to set off at 10:30 but unfortunately we were a bit delayed waiting for some spare bikes to arrive from the club and we eventually set off at about 10:50am

Chris, Caspar (from now on to be known as Flatspar, more on that later), Andy and I set off from the Uni taking our well used shortcut into the city centre via the new City Park before climbing up to Lister Park on our way to Saltaire where we would be picking up some other riders.

We got to Saltaire at about 11:15am and found Mark, Adam, Gareth and new rider Dave with his step son ready to ride with us.  A quick chat later and we were off heading downhill to Bingley where we got a bit spread out owing to the number of traffic lights, once we got into Crossflatts it I sent the others on whilst I waited for Dave and Chris, and it became clear that Dave and his stepson were struggling a bit to stay with the pace, it is always harder for an MTB to stay with a road bike I know I’ve tried.  They decided to call it a day and make their own route from their on.  So Chris and I set off to catch the others who were actually just around the corner.  

From here we rode into Keighley and then out towards Steeton, was not impressed when I saw that the Steeton lights were on temporary ones and it was down to one lane, the next challenge was getting over the roundabout to Silsden but fortunately traffic was light and we headed off to the first hill up to Addingham.  Andy set off in the lead and kept a good pace all the way to the corner where he realised that the hill continued, so he eased back.  I was surprised to find that both Chris and Flatspar (all will become clear now), our two best climbers were no where in sight at the top.  We waited a while and then I walked back to see if I could see them coming up the hill, no sign at all, I tried to ring them but no reply.  Adam caught me and Chris was on his phone Caspar had got a flat which they had fixed but they were now at Crosshills having missed the turn to Silsden, this meant that they were about 15 minutes behind us owing to the hills, we decided that the best thing was for us to crack on as our planned route would add in a bit of a loop around Addingham but they could take a bit more of a direct one.

From there we all enjoyed a long descent towards Ilkley before turning off and around the back of Addingham heading towards Bolton Abbey.  Loads of people around at the Abbey and loads of snow (see pic) We made our way through and Gareth and I stopped to wait athe entrance drive down to the Pavillion Cafe. After a short wait I left Gareth there to make my way down and got to the cafe to find it shut (re opens end of March ), hoever those nice people had put on a coffee wagon so got my self one and waited, and waited and waited.  Gareth then turned up and we waited and waited, then we got the call that the rest had stopped at the village shop, but they were on their way.

We all joined up at the Pavillion for a rest and Chris and Caspar were back with us, I apologised to Caspar for the cattle grids leading down as earlier this week he had come off his new carbon road bike on one at the bottom of the Cow and Calf and broke his rear hanger so was on his old bike and was having flashbacks.  Once rested we set off back to the roundabout on our way over to Otley.

The route now followed the A59 which is a long steady climb with a number of false horizons, but great for building some leg strength, I was well pleased with myself as I big ringed it all the way to the top, as did Adam.  Mark, Gareth, Adam and I all got to the top where we waited or the others to arrive, they were a while as Andy was struggling on his bike which kept throwing off his chain when we was putting pressure onto the pedals,  these three had a close call when some numpty (we did use other names when we saw it happen) Audi driver decided to over take 5 other cars right in front of the riders only just managing to pull in before the riders.  A short stop for everyone at the top before heading downhill on the twisty section over Blubberhouses moor, this is always a great descent.  We turned off this road a bit further down towards Otley with a short steep climb and once we got to the top stopped to let everyone catch up, as Chris, Andy and Flatspar were behind again.  Mark was none too impressed at this point when he saw the road ahead of us which went decidedly uphill.

We waited a while and then I set off back to find the others and try to ring them no sign and no reply on the call, so after a bit of waiting I went back to the others.  However as I topped the rise to where they were waiting there was no sign, it was not until I looked up the hill ahead that I realised that they had gone on, I set off to catch up and finally caught them after the big climb before the descent into Otley.  Turns out that Flatspar had got another flat and Andy was still struggling with his bike and was going to catch the train home at the earliest point, so we were now down to four.  We all cracked on enjoying a fast descent into Otley and then meandering through the traffic.

As we came through Otley Adam said he thought that Gareth was starting to struggle and they might call off for a rest at a local hostillery, so at the Fox pub in Menston we stopped, Gareth was fine and we all set back off towards the decsent down Hollins Hill, Adam took the lead and went off like a rocket with me chasing him, I just managed to make the lights at Hollins |hall but only just (amber gambler) at the bottom we re grouped and then at Ellis Briggs Mark dropped off to get his speed looked at as it said that he had done 8 miles only, then at Valley Road Adam and Gareth dropped oo to go home leaving me on my own.

So then there was only me riding back to the Uni.  Once back I contacted the others to check they were okay and set off home, Andy had caught a train home from Shipley and now had his bike in the shop and Chris and Flatspar were home safe.

This was the longest ride we had arranged but I knew we had to step up the milage as many of our riders are doing either the Coast to Coast or the Hamm Ride or both and getting the miles in is important.

The next ride is Sunday 19th February and will takes us over the tops to Lancashire, start point is the same and start time is 10:30am hope to see you there 

Slips and Splits

As I drove down to the start point at the University, I was looking at the temperature gauge in my car and hoping that it would get over 1 degree for the ride today.  I was also not convinced that it was not going to snow whist we were out, this fortunately did not happen.

The slips mentioned in the title are aimed at Andrew who had put on a new chain which created the first bike with automatic gear changes, which happened everytime he put pressure on the pedals.  The splits is aimed at Chris who found a piece of glass whilst we were out, puncturing his trye and letting the green ooze out all over the tyre,  on looking at his tyre it did resemble a colander, think it is time for a new one Chris.

As usual we set off from the Uni at 10:30 after saying goodbye to the mountain bikers who were off to Lee Quarry.  The ride set off with 2 new riders, Mark from Cape Town who had been away from his bike for 2 months and is wanting to get back fit for the coast to coast in March.  The other was Dave who did join us on Tuesday’s training session but had a mechanical.

As we set off towards Thornton Road, Dave dropped off the back with another mechanical, but nothing major his chain kept slipping off when he went onto his big cog.  This sorted we continued to Thornton Road and then up to Allerton and the first hill of the day, nothing major but it does go on a bit.  Here Andrew started with his automatic gears, but this gave him no problems climbing, and Chris was just his usual flying self.  Once at the top we leveled out over the tops towards Harecroft watching out for the patch of slushy ice by the electricity plant, from there we descended along Bents Lane to Wilsden, avoiding the grit along the way.

Once in Harden we climbed through the village and up to the Mad Mile to Cullingworth, it was here that Chris started to think he had a puncture and as the glass worked its way through we all heard the air escaping along with the green ooze (great way of finding the puncture).  It was a quick change of innertubes and we were away again.

After a short descent and a short climb in to Cullingworth village, Chris veered off to dispose of his old innertube and we continues up to the Flappitt.  This road is deceiving as it does climb steadily and at this point some of the riders were starting to tire a bit.  Once at the Flappitt we turned right and headed for our destination, Haworth, this meant a nice descent followed by a stiff climb to the top.  From there we made our way along the bottom of Penistone Hill and a short climb to the Country Park entrance.  We paused here and waited for everyone to catch up, before the cracking descent into Oxenhope.  It was here as I was coming down that I had my slip, fortunately it was only my bottle slipping out of its cage and crashing to the ground, must admit I thought it was my phone, the advantage was that I could go part way back up the hill and have another blast down.

Now in Oxenhope, I realised that, a couple of the group were getting a bit tired so I changed the route slightly to avoid a big climb from the Dog and Gun to Denholme so instead we took Trough Lane in to the village.  We were now well on our way home and the climb to Denholme Gate, I think finished the new guys off, however we were at the end with just a downhill finish along Thornton Road.  Chris, Andrew and I set off and pushed the pace a bit down the road and were soon in to Bradford and the traffic, then it was a final climb back up to the University and the finish.

In the car park, Andrew set of home whilst Chris and I waited to make sure the others were back safely, they all came in a few minutes afterwards.  Another good ride with the club and great to see new faces joining us.  The next ride is on 5th February from the usual spot and details can be found here

http://www.goskyride.com/Search/Details?eventid=3585

Please remember to register on the ride, look forward to seeing you there