Ride Aire Valley's Blog

A Ride of Two Halves

rideairevalley — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:47:46 +0000

Well what can I say, I was woken up this morning at 5:30am with the wind and rain battering against my window, not the best weather for a bike ride, I thought. When I got up at 8:30 the wind was still howling in Oxenhope and the plan was to ride from Bradford to Skipton and back today. On my way down to the start I did receive a text from Roberta asking if the ride was still on as the wind was “Scary Strong” I must admit that I did think that we might be pushing it a bit once in the open past Keighley but we would at least make a start on the Route. We met up with most of the UOB members at the usual spot and was surprised to see Gareth, who was supposed to be on the Hammsters ride to Tadcaster but decided that it would be a too difficult as he had almost been blown off getting to the start. The rest turned up and just after 10:30 we set of into Bradford, and not a good start as we were all blown onto the pavement outside the main building by the crosswind. We took a first little detoour to cut through Centenary Square to Manor Row as opposed to climbing up Sunbridge Road. We then met Roberta and Libby at Bradford Road at then set off. Libby was on her first ride for a while and found that the conditions were a bit tough and her and Roberta made their own way to Keighley which was a great result in the wind for a first ride. Roberta saw her onto the train back and then rode back home and must of been full of energy as she went out for a run afterwards. We kept stopping until Saltaire to allow Libby to stay with us but when they decided to make their own way we cracked on to Keighley and then onto Skipton. It was hard work in the wind as we got out of the built up areas and into the open, even riding downhill past Airedale Hospital meant pedaling all the way. As is usual we got stopped at the level crossing by Kildwick and was suprised to see an Ambulance with lights on waiting over the far side. The train past and we let the ambulance through and continued on our way to what I have always known as “the lonely stretch” from Kildwick to Skipton still into a wind. Out by the roundabout leading to Skipton, Dav had a cyclist v motorist incident as he signalled to pull out into the righthand lane and the car behind let him pull out and then proceeded to overtake him before the roundabout, not only that but you would have thought better of someone with 2 bikes on the back of their car!!! We were soon into Skipton for a well earned rest and great value was to be had at Grandma Wilds 2 pasties for £1 or a coffee and huge cookie for £1.50. We sat in the castle grounds and enjoyed our food and drinks al fresco, but soon noticed that the sunshine was being replaced by a very ominous black cloud heading our way so we made haste to get back underway. Once out of Skipton the whole ride took on a completely different outlook with a good road and a tail wind. We all put the hammer down and flew along to the roundabout at Kildwick at one point we registered over 33mph. Just over the roundabout we were again held up by the trains and it also gave Andy and Olly to catch up. Olly was performing out of his skin on the ride staying with us roadies on his mountain bike, Andy was having a spot of bother with his chain which kept coming off, think it was a couple of links too long. Once we were again all together we again set off and again were soon banging it out with Chris, Dav, Gareth and myself each attacking the others at one time or another all the way through Keighley to Bingley. Olly finally had to slow down abit as he started to cramp up in Bingley and his quads were playing up everytime he got out of the saddle. We eased off a bit upto Saltaire, but once again on Bradford Road we started to push it out again no point wasting a tailwind I always say. Eventually we got back into Bradford and started to split up to go our separate ways. What I could not understand was that going through Bradford we were once again into a headwind all the way to the Uni. Arriving back at the finish we realized that it had taken us just over 1 and a half hours cycling to get to Skipton and just over an hour to get back, arent tailwinds great. The next club ride will again be from the Unique Gym at 10:30am route TBC next Sunday and then a Skyride Social planned for 5th February to Burley in Wharfedale. Dont forget aswell the training sessions on Tuesdays at 6pm

Then there were three

rideairevalley — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:17:53 +0000

When I checked the participant list on the Sky Ride website last thing Saturday night I was pleased to see 7 brave soles registered for the 3 Counties ride. After the great weather over the past few days I was looking forward to a great ride. However on waking on Sunday morning I knew it would be a tough one, heavy frost and thick fog.

Driving to the University of Bradford for the start I kept checking the temperature to find that it was barely getting into plus figures, Glad I was well wrapped up for the ride.

I knew I was going to be 1 rider down as Gareth had already text me to say that he had done his shoulder in and was resting. However on arriving at the start I think the weather had put a few people of as there were only 3 of us that set off, Dav came to the start but had an exam on Monday and was needing to cram, (I later found out that Sanne had contacted me via Facebook to say she wasn’t coming due to rtesting up after a couple of heavy weeks on the bike and running.

So myself, Roberta and Andrew set off just after 10:30am to brave the cold towards Oxenhope up Thornton Road. The fog meant that the temperature was kept low all the way but I knew that as we got higher we would get above it into better weather as I had actually seen sunshine on my way down. It was amazing how much the temperature dropped when we were fog bound.

The ride was split into3 sections with getting to Oxenhope being the first, the next section took us over Penistone Hill and over the tops to Pendle. This is a very scenic route with a couple of testing little climbs and I have to say at this point that Roberta was brilliant staying with it all the way round on her mountain bike when we were both on road bikes, Andrew commented a couple of times that give her a road bike and she would be flying.

Over the tops we managed to get into some sun and and take in some of the views some of which over the reservoirs were very gothic with the mist rolling over the water. Once at the Herders pub we then got onto the long descent down into Laneshawbridge, this is a great descent in good weather but not as nice in the cold as we were not putting any effort in at all. Laneshawbridge was also the start of the way back home and an easier ride being mainly flat.

At this point Roberta was beginning to struggle a bit mainly with the cold sapping her strength and chilling her to the bone. In Glusburn we decided to try and get a coffee to warm us all through however all the cafes in the village were shut so next stop was going to be Macdonalds.

Andy and I set of and got to the Macdonalds in Keighley for a well deserved coffee, it was here that I got a call from Roberta to say that she was calling it a day and catching the train home. Once we had finished our coffees we set off to Bradford in a bit of the sun. We also pegged it a bit on the way in.

Just before Bradford centre Andy peeled off home and I finished the ride through the centre on my own. I must say I was pleased to get back to the car and a bit of warmth.

For those of you who missed the ride this time, this is one ride I will be repeating in the better weather. The next Sky Ride Social should be on the 5th February 2012 and details will be on http://www.goskyride.com/ shortly, there is also another Hammsters Ride on 22nd February from Guiseley to Tadcaster which we might tag onto

Thanks to Andy and Roberta for taking part

5 Falls, but only 1 banana skin

rideairevalley — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:38:33 +0000

31st December, great day for a ride to create a thirst in preparation for the New Year festivities in the evening, and that was the name of the ride “Before the Booze”

This was the 2nd of the Sky Ride social cycling group hosted by UOB CC and in contrast to the first one the weather was much better. It also seemed like a good ride to try out all the new gear that was received from Santa the week before, although not all the gear worked out for the best, but more on that as we progress.

The ride started at 11am at the University and first to arrive was Andy (with new carbon stem and bars) added to bike the day before and not yet tested, this was one of the purchases that worked out well, then slowly the rest turned up ready for the start. Gareth with new shoes and pedals, Adam with new waterproofs, Liz with new bike, pedals and shoes, Wayne with new tights and Matthew awaiting new wheels.

First complaint about new kit came from Wayne whose new tight were obviously designed for Antarctic use not a mild winter in Bradford as he was over heating as the ride started.

The aim of this ride was to get up and over Cock Hill to Hebden Bridge and then back via Halifax, so the first thing was to get up Thornton Road to Oxenhope, once through the busier junctions we all went at our own speed to the top, chatting away about cycling and the holidays. At the top we all regrouped and set off to Oxenhope and the first real climb up Long Causeway (Not an steep climb but one straight after a sharp bend so gear choice is vital) This was where the first Christmas purchase showed up as not being all sweetness and light. Gareth was struggling a bit up the climb when realised he was going to have to stop and then found he could not get out of his new pedals and went over. In actual fact this was the first of 3 falls for Gareth on this hill, partly due to either not getting out of the pedals or not getting clipped in to set off. Big thanks to Matthew for helping Gareth get back up at this point.

Once we were all back together we dropped down in to Oxenhope, with Wayne showing us how to descend through Leeming, we all met up in the village and awaited Liz who is not a fan of descending owing to a nasty fall a while back. Liz joined up with us and promptly realized that she was clipped in and fell off to a well meaning round of applause from the passing car driver.

We were now approaching out first real challenge getting up and over Cock Hill, it is always nice to get a head wind when riding up a long drag. Along with the wind we also had fog so visability was limited and the occasional shower. As you can imagine we ended up well split up by the top by the University’s research station, so it was a good time for a rest and for Andy to work out that if he ate 5 Quality Street each ride then he would just finish the tin for next Christmas.

It was now time to descend and a couple of us set off with Andy and Wayne leading and myself and Rolf just behind, and Gareth suffering his last fall of the day. I could not believe how much surface water there was and why is it always my right foot that gets wetter than my left? It really is a great descent in to Hebden Bridge with twists, turns and then smooth straights on quiet roads before getting in to the Calder Valley. It was amazing how much warmer it was at the bottom where I showed Wayne my Christmas purchase, dry gloves, and welcome they were.

The road along from Hebden Bridge is a nice flat one and we all cracked on at a descent pace until the re group just out side Halifax. Here Adam showed us the uses of his new waterproof which has a pocket the size of my rucksac and contained his energy replacement food a banana, or it would have done if everything else in his pocket had not squashed it completely to a pulp. He had banana purée over everything but managed to get some of it into his mouth. He then asked if the skin was biodegradable as he went to throw it away straight in to Liz’ face, we could not believe it was such a good shot.

We were now heading in to Halifax and stayed together as we made our way over the roundabouts and dual carriage ways towards out final challenge the hill up past Boothtown. We ended up really split up on this hill and it was also getting colder as we had climbed but great views from the top. This gave us the quote of the day from Wayne and very prophetic it was too, “the good thing about riding with people stronger than you is that they push you, the bad thing is they push you”

Liz at this point was starting to struggle a bit as her new bike means that she is stretched out quite a bit and was getting some back pain. I let the others go on ahead and stayed with Adam and Matthew to help her up into Queensbury, she was also suffering from a sore hand when she came off.

Once at Queensbury we again regrouped but as it was getting colder said that if people wanted to get of home then they could, Matthew and Wayne headed off home and Adam and I stayed with Liz, by the time we got to the top of Great Horton Road Liz was struggling a bit so she and Adam stopped off for tea and cakes well deserved I thought and Gareth set off home to tend to his bruises so Rolf, Andy and I rode in to the finish together.

All in all a great ride with great company now looking forward to the next one planned for the 15th January hopefully with some extra riders from the Uni.

For more details about the next ride checkout http://www.goskyride.com/ and look under Bradford Rides, if you want to join us then please register and book on its free.

Hail Hail Go away

rideairevalley — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:45:22 +0000

As mentioned on the main page Active Sports has been leading rides for cyclists of all ages and abilities for a number of years. Up until now these have been to get people into cycling and showing them new routes around their local area so that they can go out and explore in their own time.

Active Sports is now one of the pilots in the Bradford area for the Sky Ride Social cycling Groups and will be leading rides from the University of Bradford at least once a month, reports of these rides will be included in this Blog.

The first ride that was arranged did not get us off to a great start in any possible way. This ride was arranged for 4th December 2011 and the plan was to ride from the University to Burley and back via Bingley. On the day the weather was appalling, it was quite literally throwing everything at us as we huddled together in the entrance to Unique Gym.

As the weather was so bad a quick re think was arranged and the plan was then to ride over to Queensbury and back, this allowed a couple of the riders who had braved the weather already to peel off as we made our way round.

About 12 of us set of in the wind and the rain towards Thornton Road keeping together through the busier roads, with a plan to go at our own speed once on to the open road. The conditions made this more difficult than first thought and we were soon split up so the pace was dropped whilst everyone caught up.

We were lucky to have 3 Sky Ride leaders with us so as we hit the open roads and everyone went at their own pace there was always someone to ride with. We aimed to get to the top of Thornton Road and then regroup however as we got near the top the weather deteriorated with horizontal hail being blown in to our faces as we struggled the last few meters to the top. It was decided there and then that the conditions would not get any better and to call it a day, So whilst 2 riders (Oliver being extremely brave in shorts) and Zaid set straight off back, Matthew and Wayne carried on to ride home I led the rest back down Thornton Road.

We met up with the others part way down and David (one of the leaders) carried on home whilst the others turned back with us. I was actually looking forward to cycling back as the wind would be behind us and we could fly down, the only problem was that we were not pedalling and so not getting warm and being so wet already we were just shivering on our bikes.

It was such a relief to get back to the car and get in to warm dry clothes.

Big thanks to all who took part and for David and Adam who looked after the rear of the group.

Ride Cancelled

rideairevalley — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 06:41:38 +0000

This Sunday 20th November 2011 was planned to not only be the last ride of the year but also, although it be a bit early a Santa Ride. However, due to the limited number of participants the ride has been cancelled.

It is hoped that the rides will restart towards the Spring so watch this space

Thank you to all who took part in the rides over the past few months

Hmm, Muddier Than Expected

rideairevalley — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 06:37:20 +0000

Sunday 6th November saw the latest Aire Riders event from Yeadon. These rides that have been made available through a partnership between Active Sports, Aireborough Extended Services and the CTC are aimed at showing families where they can ride in the local area.

This ride started from the end of the sustrans cycle path by Fourways Coaches and we had 6 riders taking part. Initially the plan was to just ride out and back along the cycle path but as it was a nice day we extended it a bit further.

We initially set of along the path to its end where myself and, Jed and Max had a bit of play on some steps whilst we waited for Libby and Romany to catch up.

From here we made our way back slightly along the path to Westfield Infants school where we cut of down to Esholt woods. It is a steep descent into the woods and I was surprised how much the 2 girls had improved from the last time we did it.

Once in the woods, we set off along a out and back trail towards Rawdon, but quickly realised that the 2 girls would find it very difficult as the mud in places was pretty deep so they went back to the end of the trail with their dad and I took the boys and their Dad on to the end. This trail was very muddy and we were all well caked when we got back.

Once we had re grouped we set off back to the start point which involved a nice climb up past the railway line and back.

The girls both tried very hard to get up the hill and were very determined and the boys really made it look easy.

Well done to all who took part

Richard

Next Aire Ride

rideairevalley — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 06:15:49 +0000

The third Aire Ride is arranged for 16th October 2011 starting at 10am from behind the Retail Park (Argos) by Fourways Transport in Guiseley.

The ride will be an out and back along the National Cycle Network Route to Yeadon and back, all ages and abilities are welcome.

Hope to see you there

Richard

Small but Compact

rideairevalley — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:08:19 +0000

The good news is we had riders this time.

Simon and his daughters Liberty and Romany arrived at Yeadon Westfield Infants School ready and raring to go.

I had spoken to Simon earlier in the week about if the ride would be suitable so it was great that we could work almost 1 on 1 with the girls.

Starting at the school we then headed off down Greenlea Road to Green Lane, this was the girls first real time on roads and they did really well especially as it is quite a descent to the woods. Once at the bottom we then started the off road section of the ride along past the water works.

Whilst on this track we worked with the girls on riding out of the saddle ready for the hill on the way back.

We had a short stop at the end of the track in Esholt and then set off back along the track to the off road hill. Have to say that both girls were very determined and tried their best to get up the hill, which was tricky in places as the stones were a bit slippy with the damp weather.

Once at the top Simon and the girls headed for home whilst I rode along the Sustrans trail back to the school.

Route of the ride is available on this link

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/52793958

The next ride will be on the 16/10/11 and the start point will be posted here later on.

Shame you missed it!!!!

rideairevalley — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:04:31 +0000

The first of the new Ride Aire Valley rides started on a great day meeting at the Woolpack Pub in Esholt at 10am the only problem was no one turned up.

The next ride will be on the 2nd October again at 10am from Westfield Infants School please contact me if you wish to book on the ride by 1st October.

E.T.C. (Emmerdale, Thackley and Canal)

rideairevalley — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:33:08 +0000

The ETC is going to be the first of the rides from the Yeadon area as mentioned in the previous post. The ride will set off from The Woolpack in Esholt at 10am on 18th September 2011 and travel along quiet roads and tracks to Thackley Woods before returning along the canal and roads to Esholt. The ride should be approximately 6 miles done at a nice steady pace.

If you would like to attend can you please confirm by Saturday Evening 17/09/11 by either emailing me or txt to

activesprts@gmail.com or 07702 071779

Thank you

Richard Taylor