Le Tour de France

Well it's finally come and gone. Wow!

I'd never spectated at a Grand Tour before so didn't really know what to expect. The forecasted number of spectators was 2 million over the two opening days (the initial estimate of actual figures as I write this was 2.5 million).

Certainly for the first day's route this was going to be mostly in rural areas so the potential disruption to the normally sleepy Yorkshire Dales was going to be immense. The route itself would be shut to motor traffic from 6am on the day of the race with cyclists being stopped half an hour prior to the publicity caravan coming through a couple of hours prior to the riders. However there were also restrictions on many of the roads leading to the route. If you weren't on a bike then basically the Dales were shut.

For the Saturday, we figured that we'd try to ride as far up Wharfedale as we could, hopefully we'd get close to the summit of Kidstones (or Cote de Cray as the official site has it) which was the first categorised climb of the Tour. Originally the first day was categorised as "flat" which for those of us who ride regularly in the area was a joke. Fortunately the organisers saw sense and categorised three climbs.

Some ten thousand mad Kilnsey their temporary home.

It was a truly weird experience riding up the road from Skipton towards Grassington. Lots of small groups of spectators were already (9am) sat at the side of the road but the truly weird part was the number of cyclists all heading up the Dale like moths being drawn to a flame. At a truly random guess there were about 50 riders a minute going past any particular point. It took until we were nearly at Kettlewell before I realised just how quiet it was. We've become so accustomed to the noise of traffic that it feels truly odd for there not to be any in situations where you'd normally expect it.

Some of the early crowds on Kidstones.

We managed to get up to Kidstones and decided not to head round the last bend but found a place on the bank above the road as it crossed the slope. We could see down the road as far as the pub at Cray so would get a bit of advance warning of what was coming.

The publicity caravan on its way past.

Even after we'd arrived there was a steady stream of cyclists arriving for the next hour to ninety minutes. Every child on a bike coming up the hill received a massive roar, the atmosphere was one of genial expectation. A few Mexican waves and the publicity caravan could be seen coming up the road. This is something that you rarely see on TV coverage but is best described as an bizarre mix of super sized versions of whatever the particular franchise is selling, so you'll get a ten metre bottle of fruit juice or a massive bag of oven chips. Each vehicle has someone throwing out some relevant trinket. I picked up a key fob but there were also cycling caps, inflatable cushions, herb seeds(?) - NO! not that kind of herb!

The king of the mountains needs to go on a diet!

The breakaway going past.

Just a quiet bike ride in the countryside.

The first sign that the cyclists were on their way was a group of five helicopters coming up the Dale. About ten minutes later the breakaway came through to huge roars. Finally the TV helicopter that accompanies the peloton throughout the race could be seen some way below us. In just a couple of minutes the lead car and TV motorbike were attempting to push their way through the crowds and the peloton followed looking remarkably unruffled, none of them were even out of the saddle!

The peloton making the first climb of the tour look very easy.

And that was it. As the hubbub died down the crowd got on their bikes and attempted to ride back down the hill. Eventually we got moving, heading for one of the big screens that were laid on for people to watch the rest of the race.

And so to Sunday. Cath was a Tour Maker so I headed over to Stanbury with the Wiggans clan. After a bit of fuss getting past a rather over-eager policewoman who had decided to shut the road 2 hours early we got ourselves a roadside spot about halfway up the hill - going much further looked as if it was just going to be a big crush.

Look! This is important, you'll just have to wait.

Much of the waiting time was spent chatting to the Police officers "on duty" - "We're only here in case there's a riot" - definitely an easy shift. Lots of the Police motorcyclists were high-fiving the crowd to cheers as they went past. Perhaps one of the only times that a crowd is likely to cheer them.

You mean I've got to ride through that lot?

Once again lots of noise and pzazz as the publicity caravan went through. We could see about a kilometre of the route leading to our position so we'd get plenty of warning of the riders approaching even if we missed the helicopters. This time the lead group of five could be seen circling over Haworth before swooping overhead.

The breakaway passing through some field art.

It wasn't long before the lead riders could be seen across the way, a quick swoop across the dam and then they were steadily climbing past us. Again they looked remarkably nonchalant  on a slope I'd been straining to get up.

The breakaway coming up 

 It wasn't long before the peloton arrived, a lot slower than Saturday so you could make out individuals: Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas of Team Sky passed right by us.

Again, that was it. Once the team cars had passed by there was just the broom wagon and a few Police outriders and the road was clear.

Riding back through Haworth, Crossroads and down to Keighley was bizarre: what would normally be a fraught dance with impatient motorists was now a closed road bike fest. By chance I caught up with Cath as we were riding through the village. Finally home we watched the rest of the stage as it headed to Sheffield.

So was it worth it? Too right! To have one of the biggest sporting event pass within a couple of miles of your house doesn't happen every day. The Tour is an event as much as a bike race and even as a Lancastrian I have to say that Yorkshire got it right. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

On the Other Side

Regular readers will no doubt have noticed that I've ridden quite a few sportives (timed road rides) over the last few years, this weekend was different - we were the organising club. With the Tour de France coming through Skipton in just five weeks' time there was a desire to have a local event to tie in with it.

Thus the local council and club put together a sportive and recreational ride covering part of the route that Le Tour will take on its first day. Several months of planning, designing and ordering stationary, sorting out the feed stations and supplies for those, getting sponsors on board and many more tasks followed. The numbers signing up for the rides steadily but slowly mounted and with a couple of weeks to go we had a projected entry of around 750. Then things went mad and there was a rush of late entries and we had to limit numbers to 900.

Saturday morning and a few of us turned up to move materials from the council offices up to the event centre at the Auction Mart. With 900 riders plus family members you need quite a large area to cope. The mart also has a cafe so we had on-site catering thrown in. A morning of work and we'd got the basics sorted out: food for the feed stations split up; signs sorted out and put up around the routes; barriers in place. The afternoon shift were getting all 900 envelopes filled with timing chip, food slip and bike number, then sorting them in to alphabetical order ready for the riders to pick up in the morning.

Sunday morning and it's a 5am start! Cath was one of the registration team so needed to get away early whilst I had been assigned two roles: one as part of the start team for the sportive and of "sweeper" also for the sportive ride so didn't need to be there quite so early but even so it was just after 6am when I got on site. The weather looked like it was going to be a scorcher.

We hadn't even got the inflatable start banner up before the first of the riders was on the start line! Come 0800 and we had a big bunch of riders waiting to go. Rather than let everyone go at once and block the roads we were letting groups of 20 or so go every two minutes and it was my job to organise this and check that people had got their numbers on their bikes and timing chips on their helmets - I wasn't being too strict on it being exactly twenty: if there was a group obviously riding together then I let fewer or more through as was expedient. By 0840 just about the whole field had set off so any turning up could just go once they'd had their starter briefing about the ride.

There were three cut-off points for the sportive ride: top of Kidstones(1100), Ribblehead(1400) and Settle(1500) with the timing system at the finish being taken down at 1700. All I had to do (hopefully) was ride until I came across the back markers and ride with them, if they hadn't reached the locations by the cut-off times then I'd to ask them to retire. Due to setting off a little late (40 minutes!) I was ten minutes late in getting to Kidstones where there was a St John's ambulance - the descent from here was the trickiest part of the course, to be told that there'd been an accident, one of the early riders had broken his shoulder.

All this had happened some time earlier so it was time for me to press on and get to the first food stop at Aysgarth. The last rider had left just five minutes or so before I'd arrived so I'd plenty of time to grab something to drink and eat as I'd got over two hours to get to the next cut-off. Despite us setting the riders off as spread out as possible they'd pretty much arrived at this food stop en-masse so they'd been rushed off their feet for about half an hour.

I always find the road up Wensleydale a bit of a drag and today was no exception, there was also a slight headwind so it was a case of plodding along. The road out of Hawes had just been covered in chippings, "road dressing" being the correct term, and it was hard work keeping traction on the initial steep climb. Halfway up Widdale I caught the back marker up, a lady on a mountain bike. So it's slow down and have a chat encouraging her along.

She'd never ridden more than 40 miles before and she'd got a sore bum! But she was still pushing on. At the top of the climb was another St John's ambulance so a chat with them to let them know I was the sweeper and then it was catch-up on the descent to Ribblehead. We got to Ribblehead with half an hour to spare before the cut-off, the lady had though about retiring there but decided to press on to the food stop at Horton.

By the time we get to Horton she's decided that she'll abandon there and get the train back. The next back marker is also there getting stocked up for the last section. Again I give him a bit of time to get going as I only have to be in Settle by 3pm and it only takes twenty minutes or so to ride. The Horton food stop was supplied by the village and was proper sandwiches, cakes, etc rather than gels and bars. The ladies serving up the food were very appreciative of all the riders and said they'd all been polite and pleasant which is really good to hear.

With the food stop tidying up it was time to get down to Settle. I got there with ten minutes to spare and no sign of the back marker. After a call to event HQ to let them know I'd be on my way it was just the small matter of High Lane. Now the road signs say this is 16% but it's actually over 20% for the first part up out of town and is a real grind (it's harder than the climb out of Langcliffe which is in the 100 top climbs book). It was here that I saw the only abandoned gel wrapper on the entire route, that's one piece of litter from nearly 500 riders.

I caught the back marker up at the top of the steep bit so it was then a case of riding back to the finish at his pace. On the flat he wasn't that slow but any slight uphill was a bit of work. We got to the finish with half an hour to spare and with the rest of the crew cheering us in. Unfortunately we weren't the last home as one rider had taken a wrong turn in Hetton and we'd leap-frogged her in getting to Rylstone, luckily she was a local so knew her way back.

All in all a long day out. Judging from the comments on Twitter (search for LPGD2014) everyone taking part really enjoyed it, we couldn't have asked for better weather

Le Petit Grand Depart

Managed some short faster rides this week, mainly at night though with the increasingly longer daylight hours the first half of one ride was in daylight/twilight. On Saturday I led the first of our club's improver rides. These are intended to help riders improve their speed as well as improving group riding skills - riding as a tight group tends to increase speed as you are sharing the workload and actually doing less work at any given speed. It's why you get the peloton in races. Anyway there were four of us and we managed to stay pretty well in formation, of course there are lessons learned and hopefully next week will apply some of those.

Andy and I had arranged to do the route of the club sponsored sportive on Sunday, this is all tied in with the Tour de France and the first 60Km follow the route of the first stage up Wharfedale, down Bishopdale to Aysgarth then along the valley to Hawes. Rather than continue over Buttertubs a la Tour, the sportive then heads back to Ribblehead, down to Settle and back to Skipton. Around 130Km or 80 miles in total.

It then got decided (not by us) that this would be a good time to get shots for a cycling magazine article on the event so surprise, surprise rather than the usual handful of riders, nearly twenty turned out. (Not cynical me ... ) There was an 'A' group of about 12 and a 'B' group of about 6. After a short detour through Skipton town centre to get some shots there we headed up the Grassington road at a steady pace and it wasn't long before the first big climb over Kidstones was reached.

This is steady with just a short section at the top that is significantly steeper than the rest. Then it was the fast descent in to Bishopsdale and with the sun coming out it felt a lovely spring day. Then we turned left up Wensleydale and directly in to the strong westerly wind. The pace dropped significantly and it took a good while to get to Hawes. Cafe stop mandated!

We were just leaving when the second group arrived so not that far behind really. I'd joked earlier with Andy about the section up Widdale and over to Ribblehead being tough and with the wind blasting down the dale it certainly was. There's no shelter on this section so it was just a case of keep pushing on. To make matters worse it was starting to rain. The group got split on this point and we had to wait a few minutes at Ribblehead. Fortunately the wind was now on our backs as we headed down Ribblesdale but even so we were all cold and wet enough that another cafe stop felt mandated at Settle.

By now I was feeling the distance and didn't really fancy the climb up out of Settle and over to Airton since I'd also got the climb up home to do as well. Also one of our group was heading back to Howarth so he and I went the flat way. Not really an easy option as it turned out since he was pretty quick but by the time we got to Carleton my legs were definitely on the way out so it was a slow crawl up the hill and back home. In the end I managed 142Km so another longest ride so far. Having foregone a cafe stop in Settle, the 'B' group arrived in Skipton only about half an hour later.

For those that did the full route finishing over the top from Settle, they took just over five hours so something like 4hrs30 would appear to be a good time for the route in less breezy conditions.

Autumnal changes

Autumn finally appears to have arrived, that mixture of crystal clear and dull dank days where you are never quite sure what the morning will bring. November has never been my favourite month, memories of snagging cold wet turnips on the farm and increasingly short daylight, it always feels like it's a stop gap between the good weather of summer and the hope of winter.

As a consequence I've always used November as a recovery month, just let the body catch up, whether that's letting my fingers rest when climbing or my legs when running or cycling, it's just time to chill before the next ramp of effort. With my operation now very close, it's also quite important not to push things and potentially have an accident. Open wounds or scars aren't particularly welcome in the operating theatre.

A couple of Sundays ago I decided to skip the A group ride and go for a spin up Wharfedale to Kettlewell. My main rule was to stick in the small ring all day - the day was a clear one and pretty cold so pushing the speed would only produce extra windchill. Having set out late enough for the frost to have thawed away there weren't many of the local riders out and I only saw a handful all the way up the Dale.

At Kettlewell I had a choice - either head in to the cafe straight away or head up Park Rash. Of the five roads out of the head of Wharfedale, Park Rash is the hardest though not the longest - that's the southern part of Fleet Moss; next year's Tour de France will head over Kidstones which is the easiest; the other two head up Arncliffe Cote and out of Halton Gill. Now I'd only ever ridden down Park Rash and according to the 100 Climbs book it is meant to be equivalent to Fleet Moss from the north. Time to find out!

The first climb out of the village was covered in leaves and a few skids ensued. There then follows a section along the valley floor before the main event: around 200 metres of 20-25% followed by a long section of 18% before an easing and the final 20% to the summit. In to next to bottom gear (always gives me that psychological boost knowing there's another gear left) and hit the slopes. The steep section isn't actually too bad and since there's no traffic I can take it wide on the hairpins. It's the 18% that I find the killer as there's no respite from the effort below and I hit bottom gear. Then it's the easing and soon the final rise is done and the summit reached.

Four cyclists at the top ask if the descent is icy and there's a large icy pool on the road where I turn round - they'd all hit the deck several times coming up Coverdale and were a little worried. So it's a blast down to the village and the cafe. The ride back down the Dale was pleasant in the afternoon sun with just the climb up Park Lane to get home. There was hail still on the ground and it felt as hard as the climb at the other end of the ride.

This last Sunday was the Cumbrian Cracker Sportive: Grasmere; over Red Bank and down to Coniston then along the east side of the lake and down to Cartmel. Then it's back via Bigland, Grizedale, Hawkshead and Ambleside. There were thirteen of us but after Red Bank we split in to two groups, slow and quick. The quick group then split again as we went down the east side of Coniston Water. The problem was that there were now only four of us (Andy, Rick his brother, the Herb and me) and we could do with more bodies to share the work especially along the speedy section of Holker Mosses.

There was a group of three riding in and around us and by the time we got to the start of the Mosses we were riding together. It turned out that we did the majority of the work anyway with just one of the others taking a turn on the front. There was also another rider just wheelsucking - definitely poor form. A few bumpy bits and we arrived at the food stop in Cartmel.

We'd just sat down when a voice spoke up: "Bob!" It was Nick Wharton who turned out to be one of the group of three that we'd teamed up with. I'd climbed with him in the 1980s and Andy went to school with him. Really quite a bizarre meeting. His mates hadn't helped with the pacing as they were struggling to keep up!

Food eaten we headed on our way. The problem was - it was one of the dull dank autumn days and the drizzle was getting heavier, not only that, I'd forgotten my waterproof and only had a gilet for protection. Time to crack on.

The return journey was quite eventful. First a rider fell off trying to avoid a car that simply stopped in front of him (he wasn't too hurt and kept up with us for most of the way home). Then Andy had a couple of punctures so a bit of easing up rather than hang around and cool down. One steep descent to Hawkshead was taken with care then push on to the finish. As we approached Rydal there were blue flashing lights ahead - a rider had collided with a car and was out on the ground being attended to. It turned out he hadn't broken anything. Just the main road back to Grasmere and the wheelsucker was back - but a bit of determined pacing soon dropped him. We rolled in to the finish in just over 3hrs30 which is my best time for this route so quite pleased.

After food it was time to get changed before the damp got through and chilled me. By the time I got back Cath had finished, also in a good time. Then it was time for the pub - my last alcohol before next week.

Majorca

Despite having climbed abroad a lot I'd done very little biking outside the UK, a wet trip to Ireland and a couple of mountain biking trips to Peru and Cyprus being the only exceptions. So a long weekend road biking in Majorca would be quite different. Nine of us were going but flying from different airports so transfers were a bit tricky to arrange.

The main problem with flights on the cheap airlines (or Budget carriers as they like to call themselves) is the anti-social flight times. Our flight out left at 0630 which meant getting up at 3AM! :-( As it happened the return flight got delayed and it was 0145 before we got home.

Rather than take our own bikes, Cath and I decided to hire: for a long weekend there's not much difference in cost between hiring and baggage charges plus you get the chance to try out a different bike. Andy had a series of routes planned for the weekend so after a bit of lunch we set off. We were stopping at Puerto Soller on the north of the island which has three roads leaving it - all uphill. Our introductory route was out by the easiest of these, round to Valldemossa and back over the Col de Soller.

Climbs on the continent tend to be different to those in the UK. Here we take the line that means least amount of building work so the gradient varies enormously. Also whilst the actual elevation gain isn't much the desire to take the shortest route possible means that the gradients are often severe. Continental road builders tend to pick a gradient then stick to it so when a sign says "5Km 5.4%" That's pretty well what you are going to get. There is some variation of course but not to the extent of UK roads. All this means that you need a different approach to cycling up the hills: rather than pushing through short steep sections you have to find a gear that you can keep spinning for the whole climb. You might go up or down a gear occasionally but generally that's the strategy.

Of course since we were setting off in the mid afternoon we were in the full 30C mediterranean heat which despite our brilliant summer was a bit of a shock. Cafe stop in Valldemossa then a zoom downhill and along the plains to get to the foot of the Col de Soller. This used to be the main road but there's now a tunnel through the mountain and bikes aren't allowed so it's up and over.

The final switchbacks to the top of the Col de Soller. There are five cyclists in the shot.

On the descent we seem to be waiting a long time for Andy, when he arrives it's because his pedal has come out of the crank. It happens again just before reaching the hotel and it seems like the bearings have seized so he hires some from the shop. Not to be the last "mechanical" of the trip.

Cath isn't impressed with Andy's mankini impression.

Day two was to be the longest ride of the trip: same climb out of town then along the coast to Andratx and back via the Col de Soller again. Some truly amazing scenery and at times it felt as if you were floating above the Med as the road twisted in and out of the ribs and gullies dropping down to the sea. By the time we were heading back it was hot again and we'd still the Col de Soller to do. Dropping off this Tim came to a halt - a broken spoke. Which shouldn't be so bad except he'd got some stupid bladed things which are very hard to get hold of. Back to the shop.

In the morning they said that they'd lend him a wheel while they sorted his out. Then the problems started: Tim's bike was fitted out with Di2 electronic gear shifting and when putting in the new wheel they trapped and broke the wire so he couldn't change gear. They decided to lend him a bike for the day while they fixed it. Today's ride was basically ride up to Puig Major, down to Sa Calobra then back again. Out of 75Km of riding just 8km could be regarded as flat!

Again the difference between UK and continental climbs became apparent - the climb to Puig Major was 13.5Km at an average gradient of 6%, it took me just under an hour to do. In the UK even the biggest climbs only take 20 minutes or so.

Down the other side then turn left and over a small col for the descent to Sa Calobra, which is back at sea level. The road is one of the tourist attractions of Majorca and is truly spectacular, in order to keep the gradient to a reasonable level the road designer had to build in a 270 degree bend where the road cuts back under itself. 9.6Km of descent gets you to the village which isn't much to talk about really. What gets you is that the only way out is back the way you came. Only one thing for it: man up and ride the bike!

Rick heading back under the loop on the descent to Sa Calobra.

The problem isn't so much the 7.1% gradient but the tourist coaches - you just hope that you don't meet them on a bend. There's a lot of cyclists on the road, it's a popular ride in spectacular surroundings, but mostly you just keep pedalling away counting down the kilometres to the top. Fortunately there was some cloud keeping the sun off otherwise it would have been a cauldron with all the limestone reflecting the heat. All that's left is the climb back up to Puig Major and the long blast back down to the hotel.

Ian, Rich and Tim in front of a heat damaged road sign - the boys were scorching!

Our last day was meant to be a ride across the island but eventually we decided on getting a taxi through the tunnel and riding the first day's ride in reverse. There were just six of us doing it and the first flattish section became a bit of a chain gang - we only took 36 minutes to get up to Valldemossa where we thought we'd better have a coffee as otherwise we'd get back too soon. Coffee done, we'd only two short climbs on the way back to Soller but with the first day's two long climbs as descents.

All that was left was to take back the hire bikes; pack our kit and wait for the transfer taxi.

King of the Pennines

There's been a huge increase in the number of sportives (timed road rides) in recent years. Some, like the Fred Whitton or the Etape du Dales, have been going a number of years and are a good test of a rider's fitness and might be considered in the "classic" category. Others seem as much a money making exercise as anything else.

Of course there are many that lie between these two extremes and there are new "rides" appearing all the time. First run/organised two years ago, the King of the Pennines is a pretty tough ride starting out from Skipton and taking in 100 miles and some of the bigger climbs in the southern Dales. It's nowhere near as tough as the Etape though. I did the first event and suffered towards the end getting cramp at 90 miles and just 200yds from the finish (!) mainly because I hadn't got the base miles in.

Cath had entered for the long event and there were several club members who planned to "bootleg" the shorter event. The roads aren't closed during most sportives so there's nothing stopping anyone riding all or part of the route whilst avoiding or ignoring the food stops. There was no point in entering the short event as it wasn't much different from one of our standard club runs - £27 to do what we can and do ride over most weeks.

My plan was to see Cath away then ride the short route but with a cafe stop in Kettlewell then back to town. Things didn't start out too well - Cath got a puncture within ten metres of the start! Fortunately we were stood right next to her at the time. The event's mechanic came out with a spare inner tube as well so she was soon on her way again.

There were six of us on the club run so not a lot of waiting around. The route is initially a bit strange going through housing estates on a loop that is surprisingly hilly but it's to avoid a busy roundabout on the bypass. The next section to Malham is straightforward rolling lanes but then the fun begins with the Cove Road, one of the 100 best climbs in Britain apparently.

This is where you reach the conclusion that overweight middle aged men should be banned from wearing lycra - as we pass one such gentleman we are treated to what might best be described as the cycling equivalent of "builder's bum" with a white panel of lycra stretched over corpulent buttocks. Cathy (different Cath) got a bit too close and reckoned it was spotty as well!

The short route then continues over Malham Moor to Arncliffe and on past Kilnsey down the dale. We turned right at this point to Kettlewell and our cafe stop. Actually this was on the long route and after we'd finished in the cafe I decided to find out how far Cath had got from the event's Kettlewell food stop. "About ten minutes ahead" was the consensus so I decided to try and catch her up.

Just one little bit of the climb of Fleet Moss to do!

It took until the start of the final climb up Fleet Moss before I picked out the Skipton jersey ahead. All I got when I reached her was a grunt. By the time she'd decided that she'd like me to carry on with her we were at the summit. I've never really liked the descent from Fleet Moss down the north side, usually there's a cross wind and it feels very insecure so we just took it steady.

The route doesn't just head straight down Wensleydale but does an awkward loop round Burtersett and Semerwater just to get the vertical ascent figures up. Then once you are at Bainbridge it's mostly a long gentle downhill to the next food stop at Redmire. This is just over 60 miles in to the ride but you still feel as if you are heading away from the finish as you continue down the dale towards Leyburn.

The climb up Gayle Bank to get to Coverdale is more awkward than you might think but the loop around Middleham High Moor just seems unnecessary. Then it's Coverdale which I hate. It's a long deceitful drag of a climb with lots of descents to take away your hard earned effort and the wind is nearly always in your face. Today the wind had picked up again, not as bad as our first ride up here some years ago but still annoying. The steepest part of the climb is the last bit and as the gradient eases you are exposed to the full force of the wind so even the flat summit area of Park Rash is hard work.

Finally it's the steep descent down Park Rash back to Kettlewell and the familiar roads down the dale. Cath decides not to use the last food/drink stop but continue straight on as it's only an hour back to Skipton.

Cath at the top of Black Park.

Of course there's a sting in the tail in the form of Black Park. It's a long drag from this side but being local I know the effort needed and soon I'm passing riders who passed us earlier some of whom are walking. Finally it's the top and the blast in to Skipton. A couple of club members are out cheering us on.

So well done to Cath for her first 100 miler for a while. Not an easy one, I reckon there's only a handful of sportives that are harder. With the lack of food (not officially entered so couldn't use the food stops you see) my legs definitely felt it as well.

More Long Rides

We'd been looking after our niece last week and after dropping her off back home Cath was keen to get some longer rides done. More specifically: "Let's do a 100 miler".

A bit of fiddling around on MapMyRide I got one worked out over roads that we hadn't done much riding over. The one problem was that it went over two watersheds before heading back over those same watersheds to get home.

A reasonably early on Friday start saw us on our way up Wharfedale readying ourselves for the first climb, which happened to be the easiest, over Kidstones to Bishopdale. It's a long steady climb with just the last couple of hundred metres steepening up. Then it's a blast down the dale to our first cafe stop in Aysgarth.

The next leg was to head over Redmire to Reeth then up Swaledale before beginning the return journey via Oxnop Scar. The climb up from Redmire is long but again steady with just one short section of 14%, there's a few false summits though if you don't know the road. Swaledale is my favourite dale and the ride from Reeth to the foot of the climb back out of the valley was surprisingly quiet of traffic - there were nearly as many cyclists. I've ridden over Oxnop Scar before but in the opposite direction, all I can remember is an undulating section near the top and some steep bends at the bottom.

The bottom section is much, much, steeper than I remember it and I'm forced on to the wrong side of the lane to get round one left hander. The upper part is much easier though the last few hundred metres steepen up a bit. Once back in Wensleydale we keep to the north side of the dale to reach Hawes and our next cafe stop.

I'd managed to get Cath over Oxnop by saying it was harder than our next climb - Fleet Moss. Now we'd find out. She managed the first section OK but struggled on the final bit of the main climb.

All that was left was the long descent down to Buckden and then back down Wharfedale. Except as we were riding through Skipton, we had an encounter with a driver who attempted to overtake us when there was oncoming traffic and then behaved aggressively towards us. I was annoyed enough that I noted the license plate and reported it to the police. As it happens they would only take it further if we were willing to go to court. All I was wanting was for them "to have a word", as it is, the driver's record has been tagged in case of future incidents. One incident to spoil a great day.

On Saturday I had a 100Km blast with Andy and Iain. Well they had a blast, I was hanging on for grim death! By the time we got to Halton Gill we'd only been going an hour, so now for the big climb of the day over to Stainforth, again I was behind the other two but post ride analysis (Strava) showed I'd ridden it in a personal best by three minutes :-)

After a loop round by Austwick we headed for a cafe in Settle. Iain needed to get back quick so went back via the A65 while Andy and I went the long way via the back lanes. All in all a hard session and it took a while to recover.

Monday I managed to get a ride done that I'd been meaning to do for a while. We got the first train from Skipton up to Kirkby Stephen and then headed back south.

First up was Lamps Moss, I'd ridden down this on the Etape du Dales in May, the Etape being the reason I'd wanted to do this as a training ride to get some hills in. Steep at first then a series of ramps with flatter sections to get a breather. The biggest flat section is just before the final ramp which although not as steep as the first section but quite a bit longer and I'm panting hard by the top.

The drop in to Swaledale is long and not all downhill but before too long we are at the foot of the next climb of the day - Buttertubs. Again I'd done this in the other direction on the Etape so new territory. The first section is fairly steep but rideable whilst seated and then there's an easier section past a barn before the road ramps up and it's out of the saddle for the zig-zags before a long blast past the Buttertubs themselves before the final steepening gets to the summit.

It's a blast down to Hawes - Fleet Moss looms large across the valley - same cafe stop as before. Once we got going again it's not quite so much of a struggle for Cath as the previous effort. We still aren't halfway but we have the three big climbs out of the way and we have the usual run-in back down the valley to Skipton, just time for an ice-cream in Kettlewell though.

So some good hard cycling done. Now need to recharge my batteries. :-)

Kildwick TT

"We're doing the Kildwick time trial on Wednesday!" said Cath "Oh, are we?", "Yep, I've said we're doing it"

So the die was cast. Now neither Cath nor I have ever done a time trial or indeed any other form of bike race on the roads so this was a bit of a departure. We've done a few trailquests and a mountain bike race at a local show once but nothing on the roads. I was intending to go out with the fast crew on Wednesday night but: "they're all doing the TT". No escape there then.

As the day drew closer, Cath began to get more nervous - "What have I done?", "What do I do?" - answer: put your head down and pedal like ****!

Come the allotted evening we rode down to Kildwick, there were already a few cyclists milling around, all looking very thin and serious. There's a lot of seriously expensive bikes around. Eventually the organiser turned up and we paid our money and picked up a bib number. First rider off at 1900 then at one minute intervals. I was #11, Cath was #14. Eventually the rest of the Skipton crowd arrived, so many that as a club we were over 1/3 of the entries! The course is probably as flat as you are likely to get around here.

A few rides round the block for a warm up and then it was away to the start. Slowly the number of riders in front of me dwindled and then it was my turn. "Three, two, one, go!" A few pedal strokes then it was up in to the big ring and on to the drops. Try to go as hard as I can without blowing up, keep the cadence high and spin those gears.

The first roundabout comes up in six minutes flat then it's on to the bypass and the long drag up to the top roundabout. Even in a car this bit of road just seems to go on and on with the roundabout always just over the horizon. Eventually the marshall is in sight, the roundabout is clear so no chance of a rest. The return should be easier but there's actually a headwind and once the long descent is done the effort to keep going becomes greater. Cath is still heading out and on the start of the climb to the turning point. There's no sign of the rider in front, he's long gone (he actually came 3rd) so it's just keep spinning.

I'm back in sight of the first roundabout again when I'm overtaken by the rider behind, I'm surprised it's taken this long actually. I almost come to a halt at the roundabout when a car turns across me without indicating then it's more effort to get back up to speed and there's a rider ahead (not in the race) to act as a target. All too quickly I'm past him and then I hear a clunk as he picks up my wheel and begins to draft me!

More effort from burning legs and lungs and then it's a filter left to the finish. My sneaky drafter yells a "thank you" and carries on. I cross the line and pull up. Once I've got my breath back I check my time: 26:51, not bad - the best time was 20:30 though the rider is a semi-pro. By the time everyone is in, it's starting to go dark so rather than head back to Skipton for the club TT prize giving we head straight home. Cath managed a respectable 31:24.

Thoughts? Well it's hard work and you need to have your technique nailed, which I don't. Still I've got a target to aim at.

Scorchio!

It's been a while since I've posted anything as I've been making the most of the brilliant weather we've been having this month.

Completely different from last year - we've been able to sit outside most evenings whereas last year we might have done so just once or twice. Some days it's been too hot: I have been repainting the windows on the house and the paint stripper was evaporating before it could do its work! Also since we are on a private water supply we have to be careful with water usage in times like this, we managed - just - but there were times in the day were the spring overflow stopped running and we just had to keep an eye on it.

I've been doing a lot of biking, nearly 1800km since the Ripon Revolution, a variety of rides from steady training rides to quick efforts along with some that were intended to be one and ended up the other! Above about 25C I begin to struggle so on the really hot days I'd go for an early ride at about 6am, the roads are lovely and quiet at that time of day.

Like many cyclists these days I use Strava, not to be in competition with the young riders (typically I add 50% to the best time for any segment to get my time) but as a means of measuring progress (or decline), the only competition is with myself. One Strava segment I'd been testing myself on is one of the hills heading back home, try as I might I couldn't get under nine minutes - my best time was 9:15, so a target for the year was obvious. Imagine my surprise about a month ago when I logged 8:30 then just two weeks ago logged 8:03 so it looks like sub 8 minutes is on the cards :-) I don't think I'll get anywhere near the best time of 6:50 posted by Tom Moses, a professional rider, though.

Other than that most of the cycling has been a blur, a bit like a long day doing lots of gritstone routes, it's the overall experience that your remember rather than the individual routes. One incident though was unusual - I got stung by some insect one Saturday morning. I remember the sound of something striking my bike helmet then a sharp pain on my forehead just above my eye. Fortunately I'm not allergic to bee/wasp stings so I wasn't overly worried. The rest of the ride my forehead had that slowly subsiding tingling feeling. The following morning however my eyelid had drooped such that that side of my face had an oriental appearance and by Monday morning I struggled to actually open my eye! A trip to the doctor's and a course of anti-histamine and it began to subside but a little worrying at times.

We've got a club trip to the Manchester Velodrome coming up in a week or so (must find out the actual date!). I've never been on a cycle track, I'd missed out on a couple of trips to Manchester over the past few years, so it will be an interesting experience. In fact I've never ridden a fixed wheel bike so it's going to be doubly interesting if not amusing for those watching.

When Silver isn't good Enough

So, the Ripon Revolution sportive, my second 100 miler of the year. The first of course was the Etape du Dales back in May.

This one promised to be a bit different, not least because I'd now got lots of miles in my legs but also because the hills were all in the first half of the route with the last half being pretty much flat out in the Vale of York. There were quite a few Skipton CC riders entered but only I'd entered the long or (Jeremy Clarkson voice) "EPIC!" route. The first thirty miles or so were shared with the medium route anyway. Given that the route is so close to us, I'd actually ridden very little of it so it was all going to be new to me.

We woke up on Sunday to quite nasty weather though once we were over at Ripon it at least wasn't raining but it was definitely windy. This wouldn't be good on the first climb over to Lofthouse. The nice man at the starting gate reckoned it was going to start raining about 10am and if we wanted we could do the shorter route rather than get cold and wet.

Actually it didn't turn out that bad with just one short shower, not enough to put the jacket on for, on the climb out of Masham. The climb over to Lofthouse wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the cattle grid marking the summit appeared about two miles before I thought it should have. Down in Pateley Bridge and decision time: bad weather alternative to the left; planned route to the right. Turn right and up Greenhow it was. Again not a bad climb but a definite headwind once the steep bits were over and done with.

The rest of the route went fine, mostly I was on my own though from Summerbridge to about five miles after Kirkby Malzeard I was riding with a guy from Harrogate until I looked round to see him about two hundred metres back, off his bike with cramp. By the time I got to the last food stop I'd been on my own (and passing quite a lot of riders along the way)  and also had the feeling that I hadn't been feeling the wind against me for a while. I needed to get in a group for the last bit back in to the wind.

About  two miles after the food stop a group went past me, but too fast for me to get on to their wheel, then about a mile later a second group of just three. A couple of miles of real effort got me on to the back of them and then it was just a case of doing my turn on the front. We picked up another rider with about 15Km to go so even easier work wise.

I'd got it in my head that the time limit for the gold standard was 6hr45 which now that I was in a group looked very achievable, I'd guessed that I'd be finishing in around 6hr30. With this in mind at about 10Km to go and seeing Cath up ahead I reckoned that I could roll in with her and still make the gold standard time so I peeled off the group and chatted to her. She'd had a blowout just after the last food stop so had been delayed a bit. At the top of one rise I realised that I'd dropped her so decided to press on.

Before too long I recognised the road as being the one we'd set out on and crossing the River Ure there was the finish. Over the line and stop my clock at 6hr31min37. I'd only just got back to the car and begun to get changed when Cath arrived, so she hadn't been that far behind.

I'd actually felt pretty good for the whole ride and hadn't had a bad patch, in fact I would have been quite happy to do another twenty miles or more: the benefits of dong a lot of miles in the preceding weeks.

It was only when I got home and check that I found that the gold standard time was 6hr34! Was my watch correct? Had it auto-stopped at any point? When the results appeared, it was confirmed: 6hr31min37 Phew! My first sportive gold standard, in fact I'd never even got a silver standard before now so I was really pleased with how things had gone.

I went for a recovery ride the following day and even managed to get a top ten cup on Strava without either trying (I stopped for a comfort break!) or realising. Things are starting to feel good :-)

Some Days are Better than Others

A couple of decent rides at the weekend taking advantage of the warm weather. It's nice to be able to get out without feeling you are dressing for the arctic winter!

On Saturday four of us headed over towards Nidderdale for a "lumpy" ride that took in a few roads (and climbs) that I'd not done before. Here's the Strava trace. For some reason my legs felt heavy and I was hanging off the back for much of the ride, especially the uphill bits. Dunnies Cafe in Otley provided the usual good value fare.

Come Sunday and there was six of us heading out for a slightly less lumpy ride over to Settle then Halton Gill. My legs felt fine and I could blast up the climbs with ease. This was a two cafe stop ride: Halo in Settle and the Kilnsey Trout Farm, well it was Sunday :-)

In a couple of weeks' time there's the Ripon Revolution Sportive and I've signed up for the 102 miler (gulp!) but since most of the climbing is in the first half of the route it won't (or shouldn't) be too bad.

Etape du Dales

Some years ago a friend mentioned that she was doing the Etape du Dales. Having not heard of it I looked it up and felt somewhat in awe, basically if there was a big or steep hill in the Dales then you rode over it.

Back to the present and with a year of cycling as my main sport I felt ready to have a go. Except I didn't. Breaking my ankle in January put training back by a couple of months and I didn't feel as if I'd got the miles in my legs. Still I'd entered. My get-out clause of wind and rain failed to materialise so at 6:15am on Sunday morning I turned up at the event HQ at Threshfield Rugby Club. There was a posse from Skipton CC doing the ride but I thought I'd better start off a bit earlier as they were all fitter than me.

My basic plan was to get round, I'd set myself a target time of 9hrs, I'd be ecstatic with 8hrs and a time of 7hrs would lead to a trip to doping control :-) The weather was cool and overcast with no wind, ideal.

Timer attached to bike, there was little to do except get in the next group of ten or so to be let loose on the route. And then we were away, the first objective was to get warmed up before the foot of Fleet Moss so I ended up in a group of about six or seven pedalling away nicely along the back lanes of Wharfedale. Come Fleet Moss there were only a couple at my pace so either I was going OK or they knew something I didn't. Fleet Moss from the south side is relatively straightforward if long and you get  a breather after each steep section. (1hr mark: bridge over beck at Yockenthwaite)

On Fleet Moss, looking fairly happy

The first food stop at Hawes was gained in 1hr40 which I had in my mind as being around 8hr pace. There was just one of the original group with me so we continued over Buttertubs pass together. Now I'd never cycled any of the roads north of the Hawes - Garsdale road so other than looking at the map I didn't really know what to expect. Again, the reality wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, all the steep bits are low down and once you've passed the old mine workings at about quarter distance then it's a pleasant ride so it wasn't long till we reached the summit. (2hr mark: mine workings on Buttertubs ascent)

The drop down to Swaledale was a blast and even the first mile or so along the valley didn't require pedalling. Then it was a bit of roller-coaster road to get to Low Row and the next big climb. This is one of the steeper sections of the route, getting to 25%, plus it's a narrow lane in trees so you can't zig-zag around if you get tired. Then there's a cattle grid! Fortunately it's past the steep stuff. My companion was falling behind - I found out later he'd dropped his chain and his legs were tiring. The section over Reeth Moor is a bit undulating with two big drops, the second is to a ford which can be tricky but it was OK today. Finally there's a great, open, descent down to Arkengarthdale and the start of the next climb - Tan Hill. (3hr mark: Ford on Reeth Moor)

Any conversation about the Etape inevitably turns to the climb to Tan Hill. It's not steep, in fact there are quite a few descents and it only gains 150m in 13Km, but it's open and is in to the prevailing wind. Today with no wind, it was still a grind and by the end I could feel a bit of cramp coming on in my right thigh. Fortunately this started about 100m before the top of the last climb so I was able to drop down to the food stop at the pub and get replenished. 3hrs45 to here.

I took a good twenty minutes getting in some proper food rather than gels and power bars at Tan Hill before setting off again. The descent back in to Swaledale is open and fast until the last little bit which is a series of tight switchbacks before the turn right to Lamps Moss. (4hrs mark: Crossing the Swale - note this is riding time)

This was one bit of the route I didn't enjoy, basically it was my bad patch and the whole climb just felt hard work and a bit of a drag. The descent though was brilliant! It had been described to me as being alpine, open and fast, you can see round pretty well every bend so there's not much need for braking. All too soon it was over and I was faced with the one bit of road that I didn't really look forward to: the climb up to the Moorcock Inn. I've driven it and it's always felt as if there's more up than there should be.

As it turned out, it wasn't as bad as I'd made it out to be and I got to the Moorcock about ten minutes up on what I was expecting. (5hr mark: Pendragon Castle & 5:33 at the Moorcock) What I knew was coming up was The Coal Road, I'd done this on a recce a few weeks earlier but not with 70 miles in my legs. As you approached the base you could see a long line of cyclists slowly inching their way up the climb. Again, the steepest part is at the bottom so basically once you get past that you know you can do the rest. It's still pretty steep but there are easings to allow you to recover.

Still looking OK on the Coal Road

The mist was still down for the lumpy road over the top and then you dropped out of the cloud as you pick up speed for the descent in to Dentdale. I thought I was going quickly at about 40mph but a group shot past me. One of them obviously overdid it as I heard a scraping sound on the first sharp bend and he was just picking himself up as I went past. (6hr mark: Dent station)

Typically the sun chose to make an appearance on the most sheltered part of the route, the climb up to Newby Head. I've done this several times so it wasn't too bad as I knew what was coming up. Then another blast, down to Ribblehead and then on down through Horton to the final foodstop at Stainforth (7hr30) I got passed by Sean just before the stop. 7hrs12 to here.

One last climb over to Halton Gill and I was going OK, if slowly. Then it was just the ride down the valley to the finish. Somehow I managed to find some energy in my legs and made good time, even managing some Jens Voigt like "keep going" messages to my legs.

Finally I crossed the line with an official time of 8hrs27, my actual moving time was 7:45.

Surprisingly I didn't feel too bad, certainly not as bad as after the White Rose ride last year which was 30 miles shorter. I'd actually gone out with a drink/food strategy that I pretty much stuck to and this probably made a big difference. Could I have gone faster? Possibly though I might have suffered a bit more during the latter part of the ride.

All in all a good day out, I certainly slept well that night.

Oops!

For once fine weather coincided with a weekend. Rather than head in to the Dales and do lots of hills I decided to head out towards Wetherby for a "flatter" ride. First there was the little matter of getting the car headlights fixed - both had blown within a matter of days. Guess which lights on the car aren't user replaceable? Fortunately the garage didn't charge for fitting.

So, on to the bike ride and everything went well for the most part. I didn't get quite as far as Wetherby, turning round after around 26 miles as I haven't really done a lot of riding recently. Having gone out via the back roads I returned using the main road up Wharfedale. Even though I was on my own I was making good time averaging around 17-18mph. Everything went well until Ilkley where I bonked having not eaten enough and the last ten miles over Cringles and up to home weren't a pretty sight. Oops!

Sunday was even better weather wise but the ride was a bit of a comedy of errors. Firstly I needed some oil on my chain so as we were going close to his house in Embsay, I nipped in to Andy's for some lube. I'd misheard which route we were taking so headed off up the climb to Halton Heights trying to catch the others who had actually gone via Bolton Abbey. Still I got a PB on the climb:-) It was only after finding out at Kilnsey that they were behind me (waiting for a slow rider!) that we met up again.

The plan had been to head up to Halton Gill but time pressures on various members of the party had led to a change of plan and they were now intending to head from Arncliffe straight over to Malham. Unfortunately there's a very steep hill in the way, one which I'd never actually managed to ride up before, with a still delicate ankle it and also recovering from Saturday's debacle it wasn't something I was exactly keen on. So it proved as I ground my way up the incline at the back of the group. Amazingly I actually managed to ride it in one go with no getting off :-) There's a long drag after the main climb to get to Malham Tarn and with a strengthening breeze it was getting harder and harder work, I'd no energy in my legs at all. Even the slight inclines on the way back to Skipton felt hard work.

Monday, I rode to and from work for the first time in nearly two months and my ankle felt quite a bit worse than previously but the discomfort eased over the day. Tuesday morning and the ankle was again swollen and painful so I arranged an appointment with my GP who put me in for an x-ray at Airedale hospital. Thus on Wednesday lunchtime, x-rays duly done, I'm waiting in the Radiology department for the preliminary results when I'm told to head to A&E because they've seen a fracture. It's then a wait for triage (daytime TV is truly appalling!) who send me on to the minors facility (I think it's minor injuries rather than minors as in young people).

Once my name is called, the doctor wants to send me for an x-ray until I tell her it's the Radiology dept who've sent me to A&E. When she pulls up my x-rays it's plainly obvious that I've a break in my lower fibula. Bugger! If I'd headed to A&E when I'd done it then apparently I'd have been in plaster for around 6 weeks. The fracture is very similar to look at to this one: http://nateklein.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/november-22-2009-thanksgiving-week.html A bit of plaster work later and I'm on my way home with an appointment for the fracture clinic tomorrow (Friday). We'll just have to see what the prognosis is. Oops!

Cool Riding

With bad weather forecast for the Sunday, I was keen to get out and do something on Saturday. I didn't want a route with any steep climbs as I (correctly) didn't think my ankle would be up to much out of the saddle efforts even though it's nearly a month since I sprained it.

I settled on a route from Gargrave over the tops to Settle then to Clapham and over Cross o' Greet to Slaidburn then back via Bolton by Bowland.

It was pretty foggy in the valleys so flashy lights front and back were the order of the day and I made decent time to Airton then it was turn left and the long climb. All this was OK but as I approached the cattle grid on to the moor the road began to get snowy. Fortunately it was clear where vehicles had been so I carried on past the herd of Highland cattle who gave me very funny looks as if to say "Where's me grub?" to the summit. It was here where the fun began and as the descent steepened I remembered an antipodean attempt at snowploughing and decided to walk.

About 200m later I could get back on the bike but the descent still needed care and it took me as long to descend the two miles to Settle as it had done for the three miles of the climb :-( Time to reappraise the plan. Cross o' Greet is about 50m higher than where I'd just been and isn't as well a travelled road, it was likely to be a bit on the tricky side. Direct line to Bolton by Bowland seemed like a better bet as it kept low. 

So head down for a bit of personal TT'ing to Rathmel then on to Wigglesworth. Climbing out of here I was passed by another lone cyclist so with him in front I made good time down to BbB. In fact I lost about 200m in total on my unknown target.

The cafe at Bolton by Bowland was open but I was the only customer: "Want a paper to read?" enquired the owner! After a cuppa, it was just the usual long drag over to Halton West and then back via Nappa and Bank Newton. I got back to the car in just under two and a half hours. The first ten miles had taken an hour, the last twenty five an hour and a half.

Due to the state of the roads, my bike was absolutely filthy - I've been mountain biking and come back with cleaner bike! My ankle wasn't too bad, certainly easier on it than the social ride last week.

Cumbrian Cracker

The weather round here is a bit depressing, though nowhere near as bad as for those who've had their homes flooded. The dampness doesn't help when things clear out and frosty mornings return as everything is so wet that you get patches of ice here and there as Cath found out last week when she took a tumble on a bend near home.

This Sunday we headed over to the Lakes for the Cumbrian Cracker Sportive. This used to be known as the Christmas Cracker but bad weather (read snow) for a couple of winters led the organisers to move it slightly earlier in the year. Not that this guarantees good weather of course. As we drove over it was raining heavily and there were lots of short flooded sections of the A65 but by the time we got to Grasmere it was fine, if cold.

There was a large group from Skipton CC so we headed off together at about 9:45 apart from Cath who had set off a few minutes earlier. First up was Red Bank - as soon as we got to the steep bit I dropped to bottom gear and attempted to spin up it, OK until the 25% section when it became the usual grind. One of the group had a flat tyre at the top so after sorting that out we dropped down to Elterwater when someone else had a puncture! Fortunately this was the last of the mechanicals.

By the time we got through Coniston and were heading down the east side of the lake there were just three of us on the front and with the twisting roads soon lost sight of the others so after a bit of slowing down to see if they'd catch up, they didn't, we pressed on. The fast bit of the course is along the Holker Mosses and with a bit of teamwork we made good progress though by the time we got to Allithwaite and the climb up the hill there, my legs were feeling quite tired.

Cath was at the food stop in Cartmel when we arrived - she'd set off about twenty minutes before us - she was outside as the place was packed. By the time we got our food she was cold and ready to go. After about ten minutes the rest of the gang began to arrive in various small groups.

Getting cold ourselves we set off about ten minutes after Cath. The other two dropped me on the final part of the climb up to Bigland but I managed to pick them up on the descent and we remained together until just before the finish. We didn't catch up with Cath until Satterthwaite so she'd made good time. With just the pull out of Grizedale left we pressed on, got our photos taken and blasted down to Hawkshead. Shortly after this a determined group passed us so we jumped on to the back of them and blasted along the road towards Ambleside, we were doing over 20mph up the hills! 

All that was left was the small road round Loughrigg Terrace and the main road back to Grasmere. I got dropped here and it was only the speedy gang catching up after they'd had a stop that got me going again - though it was a bit of a cheat hanging on the back without doing any work. My final time wasn't brilliant - 4:33, slower than last year's 4:06 but we'd had the mechanicals so not too bad. Sat in the village hall with a cuppa I was just wondering where Cath was when she appeared in the meal queue, she'd not really lost that much time.

Once partially refreshed we headed back to the car and home.

Wheezing and Walking

Despite my best efforts last week I succumbed to the current lurgy doing the rounds. This led to a couple of days in bed feeling pretty lousy. Quite unusual for me - I normally only take days off work for things like physical injury or being hospitalised. Fortunately it struck early in the week so I was on the road to recovery by the weekend.

With good weather forecast for the weekend I decided to head over to the Lakes to grab some more Wainwrights. The Northern Fells seemed like the place to go since the number of fells I had never been near has always been far greater than in any other book and nearly 2/3rds of the remaining tops were in this group. 8:15am saw me at Longlands on the edge of the Uldale fells and ready to go. It was all very easy walking and very quiet - I was passed by a solitary fell-runner as I approached Brae Fell and met another walker as I dropped down to Trusmadoor from Meal Fell but apart from these two I was on my own. With six tops done I headed round to Dodd and just managed to get back to the car inside the time allotted by the car-park ticket.

Sunday was another bike ride - Skipton - Ilkley - Otley - Greenhow - Appletreewick - Skipton: about 60 miles including the bits to and from home. There were just seven of us but there were lots of other cyclists out enjoying the autumn sunshine. We held a steady pace but even so I struggled quite a bit on the bigger climbs like Norwood Edge so my lungs haven't fully recovered.

More Bike related Japery

Last week Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on another world, died. One of my abiding childhood memories is being woken at four in the morning to watch the moon landing. For a farmer to wake his kids to watch such an event that had no conceivable direct link to him shows just how much the whole Apollo effort captivated the world.

Armstrong could have used his fame in so many ways but he chose to head back to engineering and instill his enthusiasm for aeronautics in to others. Perhaps his attitude is best summed by his quote: "It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small."

It took a day or two for my legs to get back to normal after the Ride with Brad, the climbs at the end definitely having packed a punch!

Nine of us turned up on a dull drizzly morning for Iain's "epic" trip to Bowness. However Cath decided that the pace was a bit much for her so went her own way then after a sprint towards Settle ( I thought use of the whip was frowned upon in racing?) Phil decided that he'd rather not reacquaint himself with his breakfast so headed back, meeting Cath at Rathmell as it happens.

At Clapham we left a worried looking Andy & Andrew in the hands of Tim and his mate who all needed to be back a bit sooner. So while they headed over Stainforth and Halton Gill to get home the remaining three pressed on ever westward towards an increasingly sunny Lake District. We joined the A65 at Goat Gap and by the time we got to Kirkby Lonsdale we decided to keep going as we (by which I mean I) didn't know the back roads between Kirkby and Endmoor to avoid it.

It wasn't too bad as it wasn't desperately busy, then it was in to Kendal and try to figure out what they've done with the one-way system this year. By the time we got to Bowness we were all ready for a rest. We just had to find the cafe where Iain and Sean were meeting their wives. One cafe stop and lots of food later and we were ready to head home.

Sean and Iain decided on following the A65 all the way for the return leg. I spent the next three hours hanging on the back as we pushed for home. We had a pit stop at Ingleton for Sean's inevitable mechanical then at Gargrave they had stopped and I suddenly became the hare and just managed to hang on until the roundabout before town.

Iain's 52 miles each way turned out to be nearer 60 and we averaged 17.4mph for the whole trip which felt fast. Perhaps more surprisingly we did nearly 10,000ft of climbing, lots and lots of small ups and downs.

Not wanting to face the climb back up home I'd rung Cath to pick me up from the Narrowboat  Phew!

Ride with Brad

Sunday saw the first run of the Ride with Brad sportive, a 100Km or 160Km ride based around the Forest of Bowland. This is basically the route of the old Pendle Pedal rides. Cath had signed me up for the 160Km and herself for the 100Km. Hmm.

An early start saw us registering at Barnoldswick, the longer ride was starting first so by 7:41 I was in the starting pen with about 40 others. Five big hills and quite a few smaller ones lay ahead. The initial miles via Bowland by Bowland to Waddington went easily enough and then the fun began. Unlike most of the other big climbs I'd never been over Waddington Fell before so wasn't sure what to expect. In the event it was a steady ride with a steepening near the top then a blast down the other side and along the valley to Slaidburn and the first food stop. 1hr15.

The climb out of Slaidburn begins straight way but it's a false summit and after a couple of miles you drop to the beck before the  real fun begins and you head up to Cross of Greet. "Did you see Brad?" asks a lad as he pulls level, "Sky top and a yellow helmet", "Oh, you mean the blur?" I respond not realising that The Man had gone past. One of the stranger sites of the ride awaited me further on: a Peregrine Falcon stood on the roadside with a pigeon, totally unconcerned about the hundreds of cyclists riding past. The riding on the other side is fast and we are soon at the food stop in Wray. 2hr20.

To keep us away from main roads the route then crossed the river Lune and headed towards Lancaster before the next big climb loomed ahead: Quernmore. I've done this a few times before and not really enjoyed it. Sunday was no different. Then it's another fast descent and through the valley towards the Trough of Bowland enlivened by the rider ahead of me making close acquaintance with several metres of a barn wall! Fortunately only cuts and bruising - he was from Norfolk apparently so didn't understand hills. The Trough of Bowland is actually a straight forward climb from this side with only a couple of slightly steeper bits. As I passed over the summit the first spots of rain began, by the time I was down at Dunsop Bridge it was heavy rain but I decided to delay putting on my jacket until the foodstop in Chipping. 4hrs25.

However by now it had stopped so decided against it. Just as well as making a right turn the road reared up to 20% and just headed straight up the hillside of Longridge Fell. What the ... Bottom gear and big effort with encouraging words from those who'd got off and were walking. Fortunately the rest of the climb was easier, well apart from the hairpin at the top. Easier riding now lead to Whalley with heavy rain now set in and before the last of the big climbs: Nick o' Pendle.

Luckily this was from the "easy" side, right. A few more walking now, plus we'd begun to catch up the tailenders of the short ride. A blast down the other side to Sabden then the real work began. An unamed, well any name wouldn't be printable on maps, climb on to the ridge had at least half the field walking. I'd ridden everything up to now so wasn't going to give in but the effort had me struggling on the following flat for a while. A steep drop back in to the valley led to another 20% climb on the slopes of Pendle. Not long to go now, except it wasn't. Descending in to Barley I could see a line of riders/walkers snaking up the road ahead.

This is more of a drag than the previous climbs. Halfway up a lass asks "How much further?", "Five miles or so", "What! This hill is five miles long?". Then a level section before dropping down and beginning another climb, the last one I promise myself, except it isn't and two more short sharp climbs appear in quick succession before it really was the last. The rider next to me checks his high tech gadget: "Nearly 4000kCals today" he announces with pride, I look down: "I had a belly before this". Finally it's back through the fenced off section and the clapping crowds to the finishing line. 7hr30.

Results here: http://www.mapmytracks.com/events/ride-with-brad-sportive/results/160km-sportive/7 - I came 262nd out of 628 so not as bad as I thought

Over the Hills and Far Away

Some months ago Cath signed me up for the "Ride with Brad" 100 mile sportive. This was actually before the start of the Tour de France so not really jumping on any bandwagon. However I'd not really done any long rides so when Skipton CC posted that Sunday's ride was heading over Fleet Moss to Hawes and back via Kidstone Gate I thought I'd better get out and do it.

Six of us set off from Skipton and from the start the speed was high. It didn't look as if any quarter was going to be given. In short order we were at Burnsall where Tim discovered that the rattle on his bike was a loose cassette lockring. With no-one carrying the requisite tool he decided to head home.

Grassington, Conistone and Kettlewell came and went in short order and before long we were on the long drag by the upper Wharfe before the climb proper of Fleet Moss. There's a short intro which begins suddenly with a sharp right hand bend and a couple of hundred metres of 14% before the road drops in to Oughtershaw. 

Then the fun begins. Mostly it isn't too bad as there's an easy section to recover after every steep bit. Of course the steepest bit is right at the top where a sharp hairpin forces you on to the opposite side of the road to the easiest angle hereabouts. As I was approaching this a car full of Chinese went past with cameras hanging out of the window. Having not got enough of my wonderful visage they stopped on the summit area and took more shots as I went past! Regrouping on the summit, the Chinese went past then it was time for the fast descent in to Gayle. Except we were now gaining on the Chinese who then proceeded to take shots of us as we descended. Not often you get your own press car whilst on a club ride!

Tea stop in Hawes avoided most of the rain storm that past then it was down to Aysgarth and the climb out of Bishopdale. I wasn't looking forward to this as it feels steep enough in a car. It starts steadily then steepens and steepens until the last few hundred metres are at 16%. I seriously considered getting off and walking but managed to keep going. The descent through Cray and down to Buckden is excellent though.

By now I was getting tired so kept getting dropped. By the time we got to Kilnsey I was just going to hold the others up so they sped back to Skipton. I wasn't that slow on the flat but any slope saw me down to a crawl. A short stop at Rylstone to get an energy gel down me followed by a steady pace to Skipton meant that I managed the steep hill to get back home (another one I really thought I was going to have to walk). 

All in all I did 85 miles in 5hrs30 which given the hilliness of it wasn't too bad. Another reasonable length ride next Sunday should see me good for the Sportive.

Wet and Dry Cycling

Thursday's evening ride was, to put it mildly, a bit of a washout. No sooner had we met up than the heavens opened and we had to wait under a nearby tree for around fifteen minutes before setting off.

We had just got to the top of the road underneath Earl Crag (AKA The Pinnacles) when there was a big clap of thunder and it began to rain quite heavily so we decided to head back down in to the village. It was "interesting" heading down one of the steepest roads in the area with so much water around. It had got so bad by the time we got in to Sutton that we headed for the park benches that have a wooden canopy.

To say the rain got worse would be an understatement and the thunderstorm was pretty intense. Eventually we called it quits and headed home. The roads were more like rivers and I was having to avoid golfball sized stones being washed down the hill. I got home to find that we'd had four power cuts and that the kitchen was flooded in one corner.

Saturday's ride was a steady affair, livened by one of my cleats breaking - I should have replaced it some time ago - and by having to get one rider back in to Skipton before his parking ticket ran out! Rather bizarrely it was quite sunny and I've a prominent tan line on my arms. Normal service was resumed later in the day as I was mowing the lawn in a race against an approaching thunderstorm. I lost by about ten seconds!

Sunday looked like it was going to be fine in the morning so another 0900 start saw about 17 or 18 of us head out on the Grassington road. Once again it began at a rapid pace and it was more like a spread out chain gaing than a steady ride. By the time we got to Hetton a split had developed so we ended up with an 'A' and a 'B' group though on the same route at least as far as Settle. Somehow I was with the 'A' group - hopefully I wouldn't be too far off the back.

The idea was that we'd wait at the cafe for the others to catch up. As it happened they weren't too far behind plus one of our group had had a mechanical - his front tyre exploded due to the heat from braking down Stockdale Lane! Fortunately it happened right outside the cafe not on the hill so it was a short walk to the bike shop on the other side of the square.

Once we got going again the speed really picked up and with no-one willing to sit up (!) we flew through Rathmel and Wigglesworth. I got dropped on the short climb out of the latter (I really need to figure out my gear selection for these short steep climbs) and spent the next 5Km hammering along at 50kph+ to catch the group. At Bolton By Bowland we got a breather due to another mechanical but then it was another long effort over to Halton West before the final effort through Bank Newton to Gargrave. Then it was just the usual hill to get home which wasn't as hard as I thought it might be.

Definitely tired after the speed, and concentration, needed on the ride though my legs aren't as sore today as they were after last week's ride.