# The Red Rose Ride



## ColinJ (7 Jun 2009)

_Goodspeed_ and I are doing the Red Rose Ride on Sun, 14th June. It's a 202 km audax event from Halifax out to Glasson Dock on the West coast near Lancaster.

It's pretty hilly on the way out, one highlight being the Trough of Bowland from the harder side (Dunsop Bridge). The run back is much easier (providing there isn't a big headwind from the south-east).

Is anybody else from CycleChat doing it?


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## Alun (8 Jun 2009)

A bit too far for me, I'm afraid. Have a good ride though, hope the weather's kind to you !


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## ColinJ (8 Jun 2009)

Alun said:


> A bit too far for me, I'm afraid. Have a good ride though, hope the weather's kind to you !


Thanks. I really wouldn't fancy 202 km in very wet and windy conditions. I don't mind a little bit of drizzle. Ideally, the temperature would be about 18-20 degrees (C!) and there would be just a slight breeze.

Looks like there aren't going to be any other CycleChat riders then...


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## Blonde (8 Jun 2009)

Nice ride - I've done it before but can't do it this time around as I'll be at the track all day on Sunday. It's a Sprint masterclass with Mark Barry, former Olympian and British Sprint Champion, Geoff Cooke, 18 times World Masters Track Champion and currently the GB Cycling team's National Youth Sprint coach and with Dave Readle, who works with Team GB on psychological interventions, is a current sprinter and has a wide knowledge of weight training. Looking forward to it.


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## ColinJ (8 Jun 2009)

Blonde said:


> Nice ride - I've done it before but can't do it this time around as I'll be at the track all day on Sunday. It's a Sprint masterclass with Mark Barry, former Olympian and British Sprint Champion, Geoff Cooke, 18 times World Masters Track Champion and currently the GB Cycling team's National Youth Sprint coach and with Dave Readle, who works with Team GB on psychological interventions, is a current sprinter and has a wide knowledge of weight training. Looking forward to it.


Yes, I did it in 2007 and enjoyed it, though I seem to remember a strong headwind coming back and I was riding alone so I didn't get any shelter. 

Having already ridden out from Hebden Bridge to the start in Halifax in the morning, I didn't feel inclined to cycle within 400 metres of my house on the return leg, ride on to the finish in Halifax, then ride straight back again so I was officially a DNF though I did do the whole route at close to 20 kph.

That track day sounds great - enjoy yourself!


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## Warburton (11 Jun 2009)

I'll be there. A nice ride out to the coast and back followed by a good spread at the finish.


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## ColinJ (11 Jun 2009)

Warburton said:


> I'll be there. A nice ride out to the coast and back followed by a good spread at the finish.


I'll look out for you at the start Andrew - I won't be able to ride at your speed so that's probably the last I'll see of you! 

If you remember, I arrived late for the 2007 edition just as the rest of you were setting off (or was that Another Fleet Moss Randonee?). _Goodspeed_ is giving me a lift to Halifax so I should get to event HQ with time to spare this year.


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## ColinJ (13 Jun 2009)

Tomorrow's forecast is really good!

I've decided to ride my Cannondale. I'll be interested to see how I cope with the Trough of Bowland on that. I know most of you think of 39/29 as being a really low bottom gear, but I'm used to packing a lard-hauling 30/28 for the steep hills.

At least the Cannondale is a few pounds lighter than my steel-framed Basso.


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## Warburton (15 Jun 2009)

It turned out being a really nice day. There was a bit of a headwind on the way out but plain sailing on the way back, though I was starting to get quite hot on some of the climbs especially the one out of Padiham. 

ColinJ and Goodspeed - good to see you at the start, I hope you enjoyed the day.


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## ColinJ (15 Jun 2009)

Warburton said:


> It turned out being a really nice day. There was a bit of a headwind on the way out but plain sailing on the way back, though I was starting to get quite hot on some of the climbs especially the one out of Padiham.
> 
> ColinJ and Goodspeed - good to see you at the start, I hope you enjoyed the day.


Nice to see you again too!

The Forest of Bowland was looking exceptionally lovely in the sunshine yesterday and I managed the Trough of Bowland okay on my Cannondale. That was where I thought I'd need my Basso's lower gearing. I must be getting fitter (despite still being overweight) because it didn't feel as hard as I remembered.

Goodspeed got a snakebite puncture when he hit something in the road just before Glasson Dock. Amazingly, it is the first puncture he's had. He has only been riding on the road a few months but he rode MTB for years. I used to get 2 or 3 a year off-road. I gave him the ColinJ tube-replacing tutorial and then we headed off to refuel at the control cafe. 

_Svendo_ turned up with another rider at Glasson Dock just before we left, them both having started 45 minutes late. Svendo ended up doing 150 miles yesterday after riding to Halifax from Rochdale (he got a lift home).

It was warmer than I expected and I started to feel over-dressed on the return leg. The leg-warmers came off at Glasson Dock, but I made the mistake of keeping my gilet on.

I got yet another bout of cramp in my left foot at the top of that little climb out of Whalley and had to ride round to Padiham pretty much one-legged. 

My foot eased off and I got up the climb to Manchester Road traffic lights in Burnley okay, but felt the tell-tale signs of 'the bonk' at the top of the hill. I was feeling confused and giddy and totally lacking in Ooomph. Goodspeed gave me a gel, which I washed down with an emergency Coke I'd bought at Longridge. It was about 20 minutes before my blood-sugar levels had recovered.

I had to dig deep to ride straight through Hebden Bridge within a few hundred metres of my home, and ride the 8 miles to Halifax to complete the event.

I was finding every little rise in the road hard work. I didn't find out why until later. I wrote this elsewhere:


ColinJ said:


> I was feeling particularly tired on one little drag yesterday and I couldn't believe that it felt as hard as it did. I checked my front brake to see if it was rubbing. Nope. Goodspeed was behind me so I asked him if my back brake was rubbing. Nope. Shucks, I was just knackered then. When we went to put the bikes in the back of his car after the ride, I discovered that the back brake WAS rubbing against the rim after all! Apparently, Goodspeed could only see one side of the wheel when I asked him... The friction was so bad that it stopped the wheel rotating instantly when I gave it a spin with the back of bike lifted off the ground. That must sap the strength somewhat.
> 
> I reckon we knocked the brake getting the bike into or out of the car in the morning so it had probably been rubbing for the whole 125 miles. That's my excuse, anyway!



We lost lots of time with the puncture and my problems, and ended up with a slow average speed of 16.5 kph. Thanks to Goodspeed for sticking with me on a bad day and congratulations to him for making the massive step up from the 110 km of Spring Into The Dales to 202 km for the Red Rose Ride in one big jump. It took me years to build up to my first '200'.

I was awarded a loaf of bread and a tub of cheese and onion spread in recognition of my achievement!  (they had food left over at the end and were giving it away )


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