# FLAT imperial century (metric century option) from Garforth, Saturday 23rd March 2019



## ColinJ (8 Mar 2019)

Do you fancy doing a 100 mile / 100 km ride with me and @Littgull on Saturday, 23rd March? We will be catching the train out to Garforth station, just to the east of Leeds and doing a big clockwise loop. *Our official start time is 09:15*, about 5 minutes after our train is supposed to arrive. Obviously, if the train is held up there might be a delay. I'll make sure that I have a phone number for at least a couple of people meeting us at Garforth so I can let them know if there _are _delays.

*NB Despite being a small town, Garforth has a second station (East Garforth) - don't go to that one by mistake! )*

It is an EXTREMELY flat route which I will be tackling on my singlespeed bike. Ideal for anybody else who fancies a long ss/fixed ride, or anybody with gears who would like an easy chatty ride.

I won't be aiming for a quick ride, but given that it is such easy terrain I'd hope that we could manage an average of (say) 20 kph/12.5 mph, giving us a ride time of 8 hours with an hour or so of stops on top of that.

*NB I have updated the route, map, profile and GPX below after the discussions which followed on the next few pages. Make sure that you have the latest version for Saturday. Check on Friday evening to see if there have been any last minute changes.*

Rough description of route: Garforth, Barwick in Elmet, Aberford, Bramham, Wetherby, Spofforth, Cowthorpe, Boston Spa, Bramham again, Ulleskelf, Cawood (cafe at Cawood park), Wistow, Thorpe Willoughby, Gateforth (shortcut across to Hillam for anybody wanting to do only a metric century; shown on the map by a dashed purple arrow), Carlton, Snaith, Gowdall, Moss, Trumfleet, Thorpe in Balne, Campsall, Norton Priory, Womersley, Cridling Stubbs, Beal, Hillam, Fairburn, Allerton Bywater, 'The Lines', Garforth.

Map:







Elevation profile:






They don't come much flatter than that! Hills will not be a problem. (PS the lumps are so small that the vertical scale is not showing any detail. Garforth is the highest point on the whole route and even that is only at 80 metres above sea level.) Wind ripping across the flatlands _might _be a problem, but we won't mention that. (I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it ... )

We have used the cafe at Cawood Park before and we will use it again for this ride. It means any 100 km riders get the chance to have a stop with us before taking their mid-ride shortcut.

I have been looking for another cafe around Campsall but they all seem to close early on Saturday for some reason. If we can find one on or near the route which will be open by the time we get to it we will have the option for a second stop. (_ANY SUGGESTIONS, bearing in mind our proposed average speed and closing times of businesses?_)

A GPX file of the proposed route is attached below. I have simplified it to less than 500 trackpoints for those of us determined to get our money's worth from ancient Garmins with limited memory! 

I will check as much of the route as I can on Streetview to see if it looks ok but I won't get to ride it beforehand so comments about potential problems would be helpful. There are a few shortish stretches of offroad cycleway such as 'The Lines' which may be muddy if there has been a lot of rain, but most of the route is on quiet roads, or a few proper cyclepaths next to busy roads such as the A1M.

If you like the sound of the ride, express your interest below ... If you have ridden with us before then you know what to expect. If you haven't done a forum ride but fancy a chance to puts some faces to forum names, you'd be welcome to join us.

You don't have to have ridden the distance before, but I'd suggest that you should have comfortably completed a ride of 2/3 of 102 km/63 miles (about 65 km/40 miles) or 2/3 of 161 km/100 miles (about 110 km/65 miles) in the recent past so you are not pushing your limits _too _far.


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## Slioch (9 Mar 2019)

Pretty interested. Did my first century ride of the year in Feb and want to do another in March, so this would be perfect. Just need to check my availability with my social secretary, so will confirm later.


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## ColinJ (9 Mar 2019)

Slioch said:


> Pretty interested. Did my first century ride of the year in Feb and want to do another in March, so this would be perfect. Just need to check my availability with my social secretary, so will confirm later.


Excellent!

Littgull is 75% likely to be available on that day.

If the weather is appalling on the 23rd, I could put the ride back by a week. (I am booked up the 2 weekends after that.) I'll try to stick to the 23rd though.


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## mjr (9 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> They don't come much flatter than that! Hills will not be a problem. (PS the lumps are so small that the vertical scale is not showing any detail. Garforth is the highest point on the whole route and even that is only at 80 metres above sea level.)


80m!?!?! That's nosebleed territory compared to the Holland Hundred https://cycle.travel/map/journey/22666

Anyway, it sounds great but short notice and I've agreed to be at a small event in London that day. Hope it goes well for you.


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## Slioch (9 Mar 2019)

Social secretary confirms that I have authorisation to go out to play that day - woohoo! 

I'll probably drive to Garforth from Haxby, north of York, and have capacity to carry another 3x bikes plus riders in my car at a squeeze, so if any other Yorkites want a lift let me know. I could do pick-ups in Haxby, Poppleton, Acomb, Copmanthorpe, Tadcaster, Towton.


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## Littgull (9 Mar 2019)

@ColinJ , I can happily confirm as a 100% definite for this one (weather permitting).

We can sort train times later. It seems most are Northern franchise so no problem but the occasional train might be TransPennine necessitating bike reservations (but I think we can avoid those).

Be good to meet @Slioch and others too!


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## ColinJ (9 Mar 2019)

Littgull said:


> @ColinJ , I can happily confirm as a 100% definite for this one (weather permitting).


That's good news.



Littgull said:


> We can sort train times later. It seems most are Northern franchise so no problem but the occasional train might be TransPennine necessitating bike reservations (but I think we can avoid those).


The train I had originally intended to catch from Leeds for an 09:00 start from Garforth _IS _TP. No problem - there is a Northern train shortly afterwards which would be ok for a start at 09:15.

The return fare from Todmorden is only £5 with our railcards. As usual, there is the 'cross-region' issue for you which almost doubles the fare. You'll have to decide whether you want to add 12 miles to our 102 miles for the sake of that extra cost. Oh, I just checked - you could do it for £2 less if you split the tickets!


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## Kestevan (10 Mar 2019)

Possibly .. Saturdays are not easy for me... I Won't know till nearer the time. Put me down as a firm maybe please.


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## colly (10 Mar 2019)

I'll be OK for this @ColinJ  May not complete the full course though because we have friends coming to visit that weekend.


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## ColinJ (10 Mar 2019)

colly said:


> I'll be OK for this @ColinJ  May not complete the full course though because we have friends coming to visit that weekend.


Super!

I did notice how easy it would be for you to get to and from different parts of the route.


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## Slioch (10 Mar 2019)

Do you have a link to a map of the proposed route please @ColinJ ?
Ta.


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## ColinJ (10 Mar 2019)

Kestevan said:


> Possibly .. Saturdays are not easy for me... I Won't know till nearer the time. Put me down as a firm maybe please.


Mental note made. I will make a proper list nearer the day of the ride. 

It is the kind of route that Brian and I would like to ride mid-week but that's a no-go because we would struggle to get our bikes on crowded commuter trains and Sundays are out because the first train would not get us there until 11:35!


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## ColinJ (10 Mar 2019)

Slioch said:


> Do you have a link to a map of the proposed route please @ColinJ ?
> Ta.


I will put it up this afternoon when I am back on my laptop.


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## keithmac (10 Mar 2019)

Slioch said:


> Social secretary confirms that I have authorisation to go out to play that day - woohoo!
> 
> I'll probably drive to Garforth from Haxby, north of York, and have capacity to carry another 3x bikes plus riders in my car at a squeeze, so if any other Yorkites want a lift let me know. I could do pick-ups in Haxby, Poppleton, Acomb, Copmanthorpe, Tadcaster, Towton.



I work Saturdays but thats a great offer, good on you!.


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## ColinJ (10 Mar 2019)

Slioch said:


> Do you have a link to a map of the proposed route please @ColinJ ?
> Ta.


I have updated the first post of the thread with full details of the ride.


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## Steve H (10 Mar 2019)

Might come out of retirement for a flat one! Can you book us a sunny day?


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## Venod (10 Mar 2019)

A lot of these roads are local to me, there is a cyclist friendly cafe at Birkin, but not sure what time it closes, it usually very busy on Saturday mornings, instead of taking the dotted shot cut {if doing the metric version) carry on South to West Haddlesey then head West to Birkin. If coming from the South into Birkin turn right and head east at the junction, the cafes about 400 yards on the right.

Its not completely flat, but nothing to a Pennine dweller, the climb past the windmill up to Bramham will come as a shock on single speed, likewise the climb out of Campsall to Barsdale Bar but you can avoid this by going via Norton and Womersley.

At the start, its a climb to Barwick and a few lumps to and through Aberford.

The dog leg at Clifford is not tarmacked but its not very long.

I wouldn't ride it on single speed, but I'm a bit of a wimp on the hills nowadays.

We have arranged something with friends on Saturday so won't be there, its a shame as I would have done some of the route but not all.

Birkin Cafe closes 15:30 Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/Birkin-Fisheries-Tea-Room-174943809332954/

The Courtyard Tearoom at Womersley closes at 16:00 on Saturdays, but would mean changing your route.

http://www.thecourtyardwomersley.co.uk/


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## Soltydog (10 Mar 2019)

I can't make the 23rd, but if it does get put back a week due to weather give me a shout & I'll join for some or all of the ride. Garforth would mean using TPE trains & booking bikes which could be an issue, & the trains back on Saturday afternoon are always busy  but I would have other options


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## NorthernDave (10 Mar 2019)

I could be tempted to join in for part of the ride, but don't know yet if i'll be available.

As @Afnug says above, there are a few ascents on there that will keep the legs warm - the Windmill being one, especially if it's into the wind (it usually is!). I've done well over 40mph descending it...

To avoid the section of rutted, stony farm track / bridleway on the dog leg between Bramham and Boston Spa, you could cross the A1(M) bridge and use the smoothly tarmaced West Woods Road which runs parallel?


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## ColinJ (11 Mar 2019)

I used cycle.travel to give me a rough draft of the route and I obviously haven't checked its suggestions as carefully as I usually do! 



Afnug said:


> Its not completely flat, but nothing to a Pennine dweller, the climb past the windmill up to Bramham will come as a shock on single speed...


I just took a closer look at that - the steepest section is 230 metres at 9% which is about the maximum that I would want to do in my 52/19 gear. It sounds similar to the lump I put into last year's Humber Bridge ride, which turned out to be harder than I'd anticipated. I did _just _manage to ride up it but it hurt! I'll see how I get on with this one. (It's not far to walk up if I have to.)



Afnug said:


> ... likewise the climb out of Campsall to Barsdale Bar but you can avoid this by going via Norton and Womersley.


Oops - that's one I _did _spot, but I forgot to edit the file! I developed the route last autumn and haven't gone back through it since. I'll put that change in. Cycle.travel always goes for quieter roads even if it means going up and down otherwise unnecessary climbs; this is one example.



Afnug said:


> At the start, its a climb to Barwick and a few lumps to and through Aberford.
> 
> The dog leg at Clifford is not tarmacked but its not very long.
> 
> ...


It's a pity that you can't make it. Maybe see you on the Humber Bridge ride later in the year?

I'll divert through Womersley but I think it will be 50-50 whether we get there in time for the cafe. (If there are no strong winds to contend with, no mechanical problems, and we don't stop too long at the first cafe we should get there before closing time, otherwise maybe not?)



NorthernDave said:


> I could be tempted to join in for part of the ride, but don't know yet if i'll be available.
> 
> As @Afnug says above, there are a few ascents on there that will keep the legs warm - the Windmill being one, especially if it's into the wind (it usually is!). I've done well over 40mph descending it...
> 
> To avoid the section of rutted, stony farm track / bridleway on the dog leg between Bramham and Boston Spa, you could cross the A1(M) bridge and use the smoothly tarmaced West Woods Road which runs parallel?


It would be good to see you.

Cycle.travel suggests that the surface of the cycle path is okay except for the very short section in the dogleg. Unless it really is a pain, I think I'd rather stick to the path. Paradise Way and West Woods Rd do both appear to have an excellent surface but they also look the kind of roads that some drivers would speed along?



Steve H said:


> Might come out of retirement for a flat one! Can you book us a sunny day?


Ooh, a real 'blast from the past' - I didn't realise you were still on the forum, Steve! I'll do my very best to sort the weather out for us and hope to see you in Garforth.



Soltydog said:


> I can't make the 23rd, but if it does get put back a week due to weather give me a shout & I'll join for some or all of the ride. Garforth would mean using TPE trains & booking bikes which could be an issue, & the trains back on Saturday afternoon are always busy  but I would have other options


Hopefully we will stick to the 23rd, but I will definitely remind you if the ride gets put back a week.

PS If anybody fancies a hillier century (imperial or metric), I will be organising one for the 6th April. (~100 miles from Todmorden, ~100 km from Whalley. To a cafe at Conder Green near Glasson Dock.)


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## Venod (11 Mar 2019)

Further thoughts on the route that may or may not help.

The last time I rode the cycle path from Wetherby to Spofforth it was muddy in places. 

Likewise the path from Pollington across to Sykehouse has some big puddles if wet a lot slalom type riding required.

I went down the road over Haywood rail crossing in February I was held up 20 minutes while 3 trains passed (its the main East Coast Main Line) then I was held up at the second crossing for 10 minutes, my usual route would be carry on at Trumfleet to the next right turn to Thorpe In Balne, the road goes over the main line on this route, plus the roads are in better condition.


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## ColinJ (11 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> Further thoughts on the route that may or may not help.
> 
> The last time I rode the cycle path from Wetherby to Spofforth it was muddy in places.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I will check your suggestions when on the laptop. I have experienced a bit of mud on The Lines and that path across a field, but it seemed like opportunities to cross rivers and avoid traffic were limited. I had forgotten delays at those level crossings!


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## NorthernDave (11 Mar 2019)

Yes, traffic can be a bit quicker on Paradise Way and West Woods Road, although it's generally light on both.

The cycle path is literally just a shared path - two abreast should be manageable providing there is no-one coming the opposite way. As you say most of it is good quality tarmac, which makes that dogleg section all the more frustrating.


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## Steve H (11 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> Ooh, a real 'blast from the past' - I didn't realise you were still on the forum, Steve! I'll do my very best to sort the weather out for us and hope to see you in Garforth.



No I don’t really login / participate on the forum much. However I still cycle / drink beer with @Kestevan and he keeps me in the loop on a few forum rides every now and again. Would be good to ride with you again!


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## ColinJ (11 Mar 2019)

I have been looking at the route and bearing in mind comments above ...

My thoughts:

Stick to NCN 67 cycleway between Bramham and Boston Spa, putting up with rough 'dogleg' at Clifford.
_EITHER _cycleway from Wetherby to Spofforth (might be muddy) and lane to North Deighton _OR _more obvious direct route on B6164 (how busy on a Saturday lunchtime?) which would lose some distance but that can be made up elsewhere.

Instead of potentially muddy NCN 62 between Pollington and Sykehouse, how about: Snaith, West Cowick (is it possible/permitted to ride past Cowick Hall to East Cowick? If so do that, otherwise get onto A1041 sooner), A1041, south on the A614 for 1km and then turn right onto what looks like a really nice little road to Sykehouse, rejoin original route.
Instead of Trumfleet, Hayward, Sutton ... do Trumfleet, Thorpe in Balne, Sutton. We would still have 2 rail crossings but one of them has no barriers and the other has pedestrian gates so we could potentially cross (*OBVIOUSLY WITH EXTREME CAUTION!*) even if trains were due.
Skip the unnecessary climb from Campsall towards Barnsdale Bar and proceed via Norton instead.
Instead of riding directly from Little Smeaton to Stapleton, go via Wormsley instead and hope to get there before 15:30 to give us time for a quick stop at the cafe there.
Probably stick to The Lines back into Garforth. Even if it were muddy in places, at least that would be at the end of the ride. We would have a last minute option to divert via Kippax instead if we chose to.
Reactions? 

I will replot the route once we have finalised it.


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## Kestevan (11 Mar 2019)

Steve H said:


> No I don’t really login / participate on the forum much. However I still cycle / drink beer with @Kestevan and he keeps me in the loop on a few forum rides every now and again. Would be good to ride with you again!



Tbh we're taking a big risk asking Steve. . As far as I can tell he's had a major mechanical on every single forum ride he's ever attempted.... I reckon chances of him completing a hundred miles without his wheels exploding or the drive train snapping are pretty slim.

And if our mate Mark turns up then all bets are off as he can't ride to the end of the street without something falling off.


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## colly (11 Mar 2019)

The section between Wetherby and Spofforth is a nice little off road few miles and it can be abit muddy after a rainy spell but it's rarely too bad. It gets well used by walkers, dog walkers, and kids on bikes ( as it should be) so the hold ups from other users might be more of a problem than puddles. Having said that it's not exactly Oxford Street. 

It'll be fine.


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## ColinJ (11 Mar 2019)

Kestevan said:


> Tbh we're taking a big risk asking Steve. . As far as I can tell he's had a major mechanical on every single forum ride he's ever attempted.... I reckon chances of him completing a hundred miles without his wheels exploding or the drive train snapping are pretty slim.
> 
> And if our mate Mark turns up then all bets are off as he can't ride to the end of the street without something falling off.


I was riding along on one forum ride with Steve and telling him that some CC members accused me of jinxing them. A few seconds later he snapped a spoke!


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## Venod (11 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> Snaith, West Cowick (is it possible/permitted to ride past Cowick Hall to East Cowick? If so do that, otherwise get onto A1041 sooner), A1041, south on the A614 for 1km and then turn right onto what looks like a really nice little road to Sykehouse



Cowick Hall is company offices and private as far as I know,and you wouldn't gain anything, as the road comes back to the A1041.

A1041 then A614 back to Sykehouse is OK, its part of Knottingley Velo chaingang route, but only Tuesday and Thursdays, but don't be put off NCN 62 its just a matter of puddle dodging, I have only seen it impassable twice at the Topham Ferry end where it floods.

Trumfleet, Thorpe in Balne, Sutton is a much better route than Haywood, its a bridge over the East Coast Mainline now, and the other line has barriers.

If going via Norton to Womersley go via Norton Priory, this avoids a little climb at Smeaton.

The Haywood crossing has had a few foreign artics causing chaos, they set the satnav for Haywood thinking they were going to Heywood Manchester !


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## ColinJ (11 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> Cowick Hall is company offices and private as far as I know,and you wouldn't gain anything, as the road comes back to the A1041.


I saw that the (chemical?) company had saved the old hall. I read some walkers saying that the company were okay with them walking past the building and wondered if that applied to cyclists too. I'd rather cycle on quieter roads and then past a fine old building than spend more time on an A-road, but it's no big deal really.



Afnug said:


> A1041 then A614 back to Sykehouse is OK, its part of Knottingley Velo chaingang route, but only Tuesday and Thursdays, but don't be put off NCN 62 its just a matter of puddle dodging, I have only seen it impassable twice at the Topham Ferry end where it floods.


I'm sure that NCN 62 is what I cycled over years ago. There were just a few puddles when I did it.

Ok, I'll leave that bit in but put the other way on my GPS as well, just in case.



Afnug said:


> Trumfleet, Thorpe in Balne, Sutton is a much better route than Haywood, its a bridge over the East Coast Mainline now, and the other line has barriers.


Ah - Streetview is 10 years out of date!



Afnug said:


> If going via Norton to Womersley go via Norton Priory, this avoids a little climb at Smeaton.


I'm not disputing it, but I'm used to thinking of climbs in terms of hundreds of metres, not metres or tens of metres - ha ha! Still, no point in adding difficulty for the sake of it so via Norton Priory it is.



Afnug said:


> The Haywood crossing has had a few foreign artics causing chaos, they set the satnav for Haywood thinking they were going to Heywood Manchester !


Blimey!

Mind you, I have seen the most ludicrous satnav errors round here. Lots of old hilltop bridleways have signs at either end of them warning drivers that they are not roads.


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## Steve H (11 Mar 2019)

Kestevan said:


> Tbh we're taking a big risk asking Steve. . As far as I can tell he's had a major mechanical on every single forum ride he's ever attempted.... I reckon chances of him completing a hundred miles without his wheels exploding or the drive train snapping are pretty slim.
> 
> And if our mate Mark turns up then all bets are off as he can't ride to the end of the street without something falling off.



How very dare you!



ColinJ said:


> I was riding along on one forum ride with Steve and telling him that some CC members accused me of jinxing them. A few seconds later he snapped a spoke!



Ok - this one genuinely did happen. Literally within 30 seconds of him saying it.


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## Venod (12 Mar 2019)

One further thought for you to consider @ColinJ from Sykehouse use the TPT NCN 62 down New Junction Canal to Braithwaite, its a hard packed surface no mud or puddles. you still have to go through Trumfeet, the track shown on your map going south just West of Braithwaite is not there anymore


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## mjr (12 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> Stick to NCN 67 cycleway between Bramham and Boston Spa, putting up with rough 'dogleg' at Clifford.


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## ColinJ (16 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> One further thought for you to consider @ColinJ from Sykehouse use the TPT NCN 62 down New Junction Canal to Braithwaite, its a hard packed surface no mud or puddles. you still have to go through Trumfeet, the track shown on your map going south just West of Braithwaite is not there anymore


Thanks - I'll check those out when back on the laptop.

I'm hoping that we will get back before sunset but it will be close either way so it would be wise to bring lights unless you intend to only do the 100 km version of the ride. If it is getting dark by the time we get to Fairburn then it might be better to return to Garforth on the road via Kippax rather than venturing up The Lines cycle path in poor light - it has a lot of tree cover, though I suppose that many of them won't have leaves at the moment so that might not be such an issue.

Fingers crossed that the current wet and windy spell is finished by next weekend!


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## Littgull (16 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> Thanks - I'll check those out when back on the laptop.
> 
> I'm hoping that we will get back before sunset but it will be close either way so it would be wise to bring lights unless you intend to only do the 100 km version of the ride. If it is getting dark by the time we get to Fairburn then it might be better to return to Garforth on the road via Kippax rather than venturing up The Lines cycle path in poor light - it has a lot of tree cover, though I suppose that many of them won't have leaves at the moment so that might not be such an issue.
> 
> Fingers crossed that the current wet and windy spell is finished by next weekend!


If current the forecast proves accurate it's looking more positive about next Saturday being largely dry.But we could be battling a strongish cross/headwind for the return leg. Better than a full on headwind though. Especially in the unsheltered flatlands!
Plenty of time for the forecasted wind speed to lessen.


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## colly (16 Mar 2019)

Littgull said:


> Plenty of time for the forecasted wind speed to lessen.



Snigger !


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## ColinJ (16 Mar 2019)

I should take advantage of the riding down-time resulting from the wet and windy conditions and sort out the freehub on the singlespeed bike. It was never right from when I first built the bike. There is enough drag in the pawls to drive the chain round if I take my feet off the pedals when the bike is rolling along...

I also want to take a good look at the 19-tooth sprocket. I found others in my spares box which I could use if a replacement were needed. (The bike still rides well, but I think it is getting noisier. That could be due to the fact that the chain is longer and therefore has more tensioning applied to it.)


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

Oh, I didn't have the chain tensioner adjusted properly. A quick tweak of it before a ride to the shops today sorted it out. I think I won't mess about with the bike again before this ride. It will be the last long singlespeed ride for a month or two so I'll have plenty of time to sort out the freehub afterwards.



Afnug said:


> One further thought for you to consider @ColinJ from Sykehouse use the TPT NCN 62 down New Junction Canal to Braithwaite, its a hard packed surface no mud or puddles. you still have to go through Trumfeet, the track shown on your map going south just West of Braithwaite is not there anymore


It probably isn't obvious on that chunky map but my route actually uses Trumfleet Lane, west of the non-existent track west of Braithwaite! 

It is probably time to list those aiming to take part:

ColinJ
Carrie??? (non-CycleChat friend who's been a 'guest rider' on quite a few of my forum rides. She hasn't yet confirmed whether she can make it.)

@Littgull
@Slioch
@Kestevan - a firm 'maybe'???
@colly - will meet us somewhere and ride along with us to somewhere else??? 
@NorthernDave - may _also _meet us somewhere and ride along with us to somewhere else???

@Steve H - may come out of retirement for the ride?
I have been double-checking the route and making a few small changes ... (Oops - getting very late... will update Monday afternoon!)


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## Kestevan (18 Mar 2019)

Looking good. 
I may well have a few hangers on too...
Mrs Kes is a definate, and a few friends are likely to be joining in too.

Looks like we'll be doing the 100k version of the ride though.


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

Kestevan said:


> Looking good.
> I may well have a few hangers on too...
> Mrs Kes is a definate, and a few friends are likely to be joining in too.
> 
> Looks like we'll be doing the 100k version of the ride though.


Excellent! I'll put a marker in the GPX file to show the split-point in case I forget where it is.

I'll post the definitive route when I am back on my other computer this afternoon.

I used Streetview to check how the cyclepaths get us round the nasty big roundabouts on the A-roads and A1M. I'm hoping that any unsurfaced sections will have dried out by the time we ride them. I bet they are pretty muddy at the moment after the recent rain.


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

I have rerouted via Womersley to try and catch the cafe there, but I suspect that we will not arrive in time. (If we leave Garforth bang on time, spend only 45 minutes on stops before Womersley, AND average 20 kph when riding, then we would get to the cafe just after it closed. If we managed to average 23 kph we would get there at 15:30, 30 minutes before closing time. We probably _could _average that speed, but I suspect that we _won't_ and stoppages tend to add up to more than 45 minutes in 127 km!)

@Afnug - we have to cross the railway line again after Womersley. Streetview seems to be 10 years out of date for the whole area so I can't get a current picture of the 2 crossings that we'd have a choice of - up Northfield lane out of the village to use the Spring Lodge crossing, or the original route towards Darrington and then east along Stubbs Lane to use the Cridling Stubbs crossing. Does either of them now have a bridge over the line? ***

*** PS I found a couple of videos on YouTube dated 2018 which show that the crossings with half barriers, so probably _not_!


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## Venod (18 Mar 2019)

@ColinJ The spring Lodge crossing would be the best route, the road from Darrington to the Cridling Stubbs Crossing carriers a lot of quarry traffic and the road gets very dirty, my parents lived in Knottingley and if we used that road the car was always filthy.

Both crossing have barriers, but its not a busy line.

The railway lines at Spring lodge cross the road at an angle, my mate had to stop for a train and as he set off he was struggling to clip in, his front wheel slipped on the wet rail and he hit the deck, broken hip fixed with a new hip, but it caused him to hang up his wheels and he hasn't ridden since.

The cross roads east of Cridling Stubbs crossing (where you will be turning right) used to get very slippy and I have seen someone come off there, but it has improved since they have stopped moving slurry from Kellingley Pit, but beware, you could always take the right just before it and go through the village.

There is a cafe at The Blue Lagoon Diving Center as you come out of Womersley, on Northfield Lane, I have never used it, but I think some cyclist do, but it also shuts about 16:00 on Saturday I think.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...n_Cafe-Womersley_North_Yorkshire_England.html


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> The spring Lodge crossing would be the best route, the road from Darrington to the Cridling Stubbs Crossing carriers a lot of quarry traffic and the road gets very dirty, my parents lived in Knottingley and if we used that road the car was always filthy.


Spring Lodge it is!



Afnug said:


> The railway lines at Spring lodge cross the road at an angle, my mate had to stop for a train and as he set off he was struggling to clip in, his front wheel slipped on the wet rail and he hit the deck, broken hip fixed with a new hip, but it caused him to hang up his wheels and he hasn't ridden since.


I will definitely warn everyone about the railway crossings. My friend Carrie (who may be joining us on Saturday) had the same kind of accident on a wet diagonal railway crossing in Switzerland 18 months ago. This was the outcome...! 






This was the crossing ... (locals who attended her lying in the road told her that they have multiple such accidents every year but the authorities do nothing about it, not even posting warning signs!)








Afnug said:


> The cross roads east of Cridling Stubbs crossing (where you will be turning right) used to get very slippy and I have seen someone come off there, but it has improved since the have stopped moving slurry from Kellingley Pit, but beware, you could always take the right just before it and go through the village.


The village sounds like a good option. We'll go that way.

Thanks - that is exactly the kind of local knowledge that I wanted!


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## Venod (18 Mar 2019)

@ColinJ Edited the above post to add this.

There is a cafe at The Blue Lagoon Diving Center as you come out of Womersley, on Northfield Lane, I have never used it, but I think some cyclist do, but it also shuts about 16:00 on Saturday I think.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...n_Cafe-Womersley_North_Yorkshire_England.html


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> @ColinJ Edited the above post to add this.
> 
> There is a cafe at The Blue Lagoon Diving Center as you come out of Womersley, on Northfield Lane, I have never used it, but I think some cyclist do, but it also shuts about 16:00 on Saturday I think.
> 
> https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...n_Cafe-Womersley_North_Yorkshire_England.html


Thanks, but that would be the same problem with closing time. Even if closing time were later, if we were making an second stop there after 16:00 then we would be doing the end of the ride in the dark, which I'd prefer to avoid or at least minimise!

Riders doing the full route will need to eat and drink enough at Cawood and then carry enough supplies to last another 4-5 hours of riding, in case we don't stop anywhere else.

After all the changes to the route, it was 2 km short so I have now added a little detour after the stop at Cawood Park. We will go to Wistow and then turn back towards the original route. That should be exactly 161 km/100 miles. These details are _terribly _important...


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

*I have updated the route in the original post. Make sure that you have the final version for Saturday. (Best to wait until Friday evening in case there are any last minute changes).*

@Littgull - Brian, I checked the return Northern trains to Leeds and we can catch them at xx:15, or just after xx:45. The trains in between are TP so we won't be catching one of them because of the reservations/limited numbers of bikes issues.


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## Littgull (18 Mar 2019)

Thanks Colin - @ColinJ, for updated route and detail about the trains back. Good that we won't need to get involved with TP trains and all the bike space shenanigans.


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## NorthernDave (18 Mar 2019)

There are plenty of places in Garforth where any hungry cyclists will be able to get something to eat if necessary. 
There's a big Tesco just over the road from the station, and a 'spoons on Main Street (although I've no idea about any cycle parking facilities)


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

NorthernDave said:


> There are plenty of places in Garforth where any hungry cyclists will be able to get something to eat if necessary.
> There's a big Tesco just over the road from the station, and a 'spoons on Main Street (although I've no idea about any cycle parking facilities)


They could be handy for some of our riders but I think Brian and I will just hop on the first available train back from Garforth to Leeds. Unless we are very lucky with the timing of the trains then it could easily be 2 hours after the ride finishes when we get home.

I'll be okay with just the one stop. I'll probably carry some emergency shortbread and chocolate rations and will refill my bottles at Cawood. OTOH, if we happened to get to Womersley by 15:30 then I'd be happy to stop at the cafe there until it closed at 16:00. We should be able to ride back from there in about an hour and a half.


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

Do you think you will be able to make a guest appearance on the ride, @NorthernDave?


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## ColinJ (18 Mar 2019)

I have just been checking back through some of my files to find a mystery hill that almost had me walking with my singlespeed and on which @Littgull bonked! It turns out that it is the hill that I have taken out from Campsall to Little Smeaton via the road up to Barnsdale Bar. We did it from the north. I can't remember if I put it in deliberately, or if I hadn't noticed that it would have been much easier to go via Norton...


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## NorthernDave (19 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> Do you think you will be able to make a guest appearance on the ride, @NorthernDave?



I'd like to meet up, even if it's only for part of the ride, but I'm still badly with this hateful cold and haven't touched a bike for over a fortnight. 
I'll have to see how I go unfortunately.


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2019)

NorthernDave said:


> I'd like to meet up, even if it's only for part of the ride, but I'm still badly with this hateful cold and haven't touched a bike for over a fortnight.
> I'll have to see how I go unfortunately.


I had one of those bugs for the first half of February - not nice!

Don't risk knocking yourself up, but if you do start to feel better then trundle along with us for a while and then peel off and head for home?


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## Venod (19 Mar 2019)

@ColinJ 

Been out for a ride today, there were road closed signs on the way to Cawood, thought it might be flooding, but further signs said road closed 18/3 for five days, I carried on and they are resurfacing through Cawood, I got through on the footpath, they should be finished by the weekend and you will have a nice new surfaced road, but if not you can ignore the signs and get through on the path.

The road from Beal to Birkin was impassable (flooded) this may have receded by Saturday, the pic is took from Birkin Church looking South towards Beal, with the amount of water laying on the land I would imagine Topham Ferry at the Southern end of the path from Pollington to Sykehouse will be flooded, this may have also receded by Saturday but as its an unmade path it will probably still be muddy, the problem is if you get there and its not passable the only alternative is to return to Pollington. see if you can get a report on the path between Wetherby and Spofforth as I know this gets muddy.


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2019)

Yikes - thanks!!! 

I am now looking at the North Yorkshire council roadworks map to check for potential problems.

A Beal to Birkin closure would be a pain ...

Hopefully most of the water will be gone by the weekend but I don't really know the area so I would find it difficult to improvise on the day ... I do have the OS maps on my phone but I can't reprogram my GPS while I am out. I'll preprogram some alternatives in for likely trouble spots.

If this were a summer 100 km route then lengthy diversions wouldn't be so bad, but with limited daylight hours _and _a 100 mile route planned, adding much extra on would be a BIG headache!


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2019)

Pah - I'm sticking to the hills in wet weather in future! 






I knew that flooding can be a big problem in York but I hadn't really thought about the fact that it could affect the whole area ...

Quite a few parts of our route are potentially affected. I don't think that any significant rain is forecast between now and the weekend though so hopefully everything will dry up by Saturday. I'll certainly be searching online for information leading up to the ride.


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## Slioch (19 Mar 2019)

I cycled that Beal to Birkin road last year on a 100 miler last March/April when it was flooded. There was about 50m of the road that was underwater. I looked at the map and worked out it would be a 6 or 7 mile detour to go round it, so I took off my shoes and socks, put the bike on my shoulder, and waded through. It came up to my knees.

It took 5 mins to dry out and put my shoes back on the other side, and I was on my way again.

I suspect that any floods will have receded by this coming weekend, but if not we can always go for a paddle.


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## Kestevan (20 Mar 2019)

Hi Colin, 
Any chance you can knock up a gpx for us wusses doing the 100k route please. 
I'm having no luck splitting the route without manually re-entering the whole damned thing from the start.


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## ColinJ (20 Mar 2019)

Kestevan said:


> Hi Colin,
> Any chance you can knock up a gpx for us wusses doing the 100k route please.
> I'm having no luck splitting the route without manually re-entering the whole damned thing from the start.


I was thinking in terms of just pointing down the road and saying "carry on that way for 3 kms to rejoin the original route, we are turning left here"! 

Actually, I suppose that we might get separated and those of you with more modern devices might have them trying to reroute you. My screen would just go blank until I got about 2.5 kms down that shortcut road and then I would see a grey line appearing on the screen ahead of its little person icon.

Here you go - two GPX files for the price of one. The shortened version of the original route (104 km) which finishes up_ The Lines_ cyclepath. That might be muddy so an option would be to avoid the path and go on the road through Kippax instead (103 km).


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## ColinJ (21 Mar 2019)

There is only one flood warning left in place in the area now, at Roall Dyke just south of our route. Hopefully, all will be okay!

Beal bridge should be okay now ...





I'll check that the cafe at Cawood Park is going to be open. Mind you, we found in the past that there weren't a lot of alternatives nearby ... While I am at it I will ask if they have had any flooding problems.


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## Slioch (21 Mar 2019)

Just want to say thanks Colin for all the work you're putting in to organise this ride. It's much appreciated.


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## colly (21 Mar 2019)

I went that way this morning and found one flooded road just outside Beal.
Made it through ok though.

I'l lpost some photos when l get in later tonight.

So the road from Birkin to Beal is flooded but it's only 6'' deep and I passed through it without any problems, not even getting my feet wet.







The fields around are still under water in places but if there's no rain between now and Saturday things should be ok.


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## ColinJ (21 Mar 2019)

Slioch said:


> Just want to say thanks Colin for all the work you're putting in to organise this ride. It's much appreciated.


No problem - I can be very lazy and it helps to motivate me to get me out on longer rides! 



colly said:


> I went that way this morning and found one flooded road just outside Beal.
> Made it through ok though.
> 
> ....
> ...


I hope that _is _as bad as it gets!

My pal Carrie rang tonight to say that she intends to start with us. She hasn't yet chosen what to do after that. She may...

Ride with us to Spofforth but then head home via the hills towards Bingley
Do the 100 km version
Do the full ride
I was just checking my bike this evening and discovered that the bolt holding its chain tensioner on was loose, which explains why I have dropped the chain a couple of times recently. It's a good job that I have fixed it because if the chain tensioner fails then the bike is unrideable. (I've had bolts fall off bikes before now and been unable to find them in the road!)


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## Venod (22 Mar 2019)

colly said:


> So the road from Birkin to Beal is flooded but it's only 6'' deep and I passed through it without any problems, not even getting my feet wet.



That has dropped very quickly compared to my picture from Tuesday, the hedgerow to the right in your pic is the one nearly under water in mine.


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## colly (22 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> That has dropped very quickly compared to my picture from Tuesday, the hedgerow to the right in your pic is the one nearly under water in mine.


Yes so it has. I didn't recognise the road in your photo but that's the exact spot.


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## ColinJ (22 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> I'll check that the cafe at Cawood Park is going to be open. Mind you, we found in the past that there weren't a lot of alternatives nearby ... While I am at it I will ask if they have had any flooding problems.


I just rang them and they _are _open. I said that 7 or 8 of us should be arriving at around 12:30 and that we would be wanting coffee, cake, sandwiches, that sort of thing.

One of the staff lives at Ulleskelf (wonderful Viking name!) and said that it was flooded there last weekend but is now clear.

Apologies in advance for any mud patches that we encounter, and for the inevitable headwind later on but hopefully we will not see any rain.

I will text @Slioch if Brian and I are going to be delayed by more than 5 minutes, otherwise see you at Garforth at around 09:10.


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## Venod (22 Mar 2019)

@ColinJ 

I have been down the path from Sykhouse to Pollington this morning, its very rideable (IMO) no mud just a few puddles to avoid.

Arrangements have changed for tomorrow and I might get out for a ride, we have two granddaughters staying tonight so it depends what plans Mrs Afnug has for them tomorrow, if I do get out do you think you will be at Bramham about 11:30? but nothings definite so don't be surprised if I don't show.


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## ColinJ (22 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> @ColinJ
> 
> I have been down the path from Sykhouse to Pollington this morning, its very rideable (IMO) no mud just a few puddles to avoid.
> 
> ...


Oh, that looks a _lot _better than I was expecting - great!

It would be nice if you _could _make an appearance on the ride. I'm hoping that we will start fairly promptly around 09:15 and average 20 km/h. Bramham first time is at 14 km so we ought to get there around 10:00. The top of the climb to the windmill as we come back into Bramham is at 49 km so we ought to be getting there at ... er, about 11:45. Obviously, we may have problems and be later than that, or no problems at all and riding briskly get there a little earlier. I can't see us being there much before 11:30. Other 'guesstimated' ETAs - start of cycle path at B6164 in Wetherby, 10:20; Spofforth end of path, 10:35; junction of Knaresborough Rd and Ox Close Ln, 10:45; Cowthorpe, 11:00; Walton, 11:35.

Give us a shout if you come out and are standing at the roadside waiting. (I had one ride with a loose arrangement like this and got some very strange looks from random cyclists I encountered when I asked each of them if they were called _VeryStrangeCycleChatUsername_ ... )

I'll be on this bike ...






(It has a dark saddle now with an _'Assguard'_-clone stuffed under it.)

PS I hardly needed the chain tensioner with that new chain. Now, it is having to take up a lot of slack. I will probably need to replace the chain soon but I'll ride it a bit longer as long as the tensioner is not struggling to cope


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## Venod (22 Mar 2019)

ColinJ said:


> Give us a shout if you come out and are standing at the roadside waiting.



If I am out it won't be early, I will just ride in the opposite direction and hope I time it right so your past the windmill !


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## Littgull (22 Mar 2019)

Just catching up on the ride thread after a hectic week.

Some good work done by @Afnug and @colly regarding reccies of the potentially flooded parts and also @ColinJ for reviewing the overall route.. 
It's looking good regarding the weather. See you all tomorrow.


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## ColinJ (23 Mar 2019)

Afnug said:


> If I am out it won't be early, I will just ride in the opposite direction and hope I time it right so your past the windmill !


I must be slow - I just worked out what you meant by that! 

I'll certainly be slow riding up the hill to the windmill on my s/s...


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## ColinJ (23 Mar 2019)

Oh, so much for getting an early night... Got tempted to watch more _Aussie Gold Hunters! _


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## ColinJ (23 Mar 2019)

See you soon!


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## Slioch (23 Mar 2019)

Indeed. Just having my porridge.


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## colly (23 Mar 2019)

Thanks for organising things @ColinJ. A good turnout with 12 of us to begin. 13 at one stage. Nice to see some familiar faces and of the new faces I never really got to chat to anyone before I broke for home. Next time maybe.

Thanks again @ColinJ


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## Venod (23 Mar 2019)

Thanks @ColinJ for a nice ride, hopefully I can make a full ride someday.


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## Kestevan (23 Mar 2019)

Cracking ride as usual Colin. I think all the non cyclechat hangers on I turned up with were happy campers.
Surprised you managed to arrange some decent weather despite my attendance.


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## ColinJ (23 Mar 2019)

Will post something tomorrow after a good rest!


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## Slioch (24 Mar 2019)

Great ride and some good company. Thanks for arranging etc Colin.


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## Littgull (24 Mar 2019)

A really enjoyable day out on the bike and good to meet old friends and new. Thanks for organising Colin.


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## ColinJ (25 Mar 2019)

Well, yes - a good day out on the bike!

@Littgull and I arrived at Garforth station on time to discover a much bigger group of riders than expected. @colly, @Slioch and @Kestevan were there and so was my pal Carrie. There were also 6 other riders who had come along with Kestevan. One was (presumably!) his wife, although I didn't really find out _who _they were - we just rode along together and I had short chats with some of them, but I wasn't going to start asking for ID! 

I was pleased to see so many riders on what turned out to be a better than expected day for cycling a fairly long distance. It felt warmer than forecast, it stayed dry and we got sunshine for a few hours. We did get a fair amount of wind, but it wasn't horribly windy as it sometimes can be in those flatlands, and since we were doing a big meandering loop the wind helped as much as it hindered.

The ride up from Aberford was easy and safe - a lot of it was on cyclepaths or quiet roads closely parallel to the A1(M). Unfortunately, as expected, our proximity to the motorway meant that there was a lot of traffic noise along that part of the route.

We left Wetherby on a cyclepath on a dismantled railway line to Spofforth. I think most of us liked it though there were one or two grumbles about the quality of the surface. I can imagine that it might have been muddy a week ago in the heavy rain we had then, but it was dry packed soil yesterday, with just a little embedded gravel. It honestly was not a problem and I would happily have ridden it on my best bike shod with my narrowest tyres. I suspect that some of the riders had their tyre pressures way too high for anything other than smooth tarmac! 

Speaking of smooth tarmac - most of the roads were surprisingly well-surfaced. Littgull and I mentioned late into the ride how a patch of rough tarmac there was the first one we'd had all day.

Carrie had intended to leave us at Spofforth and ride home but I had suspected that she would stick with us. The sun had come out and she was enjoying the ride so she decided to do the full route after all.

We looped round and headed back towards Bramham. Somewhere along there we were intercepted by @Afnug*** who had managed to find a few free hours to spend with us. We were soon reduced to 12 riders again though because colly had to get home to spend time with his family.

The rest of us rode through Stutton and then turned south on the A162 (Tadcaster Road), which was busier than we liked but Afnug came to the rescue with a nice diversion through Grimston Park to the village of Kirkby Wharfe and then down a quiet lane to rejoin our original route on the B1223 through Ulleskelf. That road is very close to the river Wharfe and had been flooded a week ago, but it was clear yesterday, as in fact were all of the other potentially flooded roads except for one, more about which later.

We were soon at our cafe stop at Cawood Park. I had phoned them the day before to check they were open so they were expecting us. I had guessed that there would be 8 - 10 riders rather than 12. We waited a fairly long time for our lunches, but it was a nice stop. I'm sure that we will go there again another time.







I took the photo, so I am not in it. Slioch is the nearest left, Kestevan furthest left. Carrie is nearest right, then Afnug and Littgull.

We enjoyed our break but it was a bit longer than I'd hoped for and our average speed was slightly lower than target too. It wasn't a huge problem, but it meant that there was no chance of a second cafe stop later and I realised that we would finish the ride in darkness.

I completely forgot that Kestevan et al were only doing the 100 km main loop and turned left at Gateforth and abandoned them! I was called back and went to say goodbye. Everybody seemed pretty chirpy, which was nice.

That left me, Littgull, Slioch and Carrie to continue on the southern loop to complete an imperial century.

The Trans-Pennine-Trail between Pollington and Topham crosses fields but it was fine. The soil was smooth and dry apart from a few easily-avoidable puddles.

We continued on our route as far as Beal where Afnug and colly had reported flooding earlier in the week. It was completely clear yesterday, which was fortunate because the alternative route is a big diversion on some nasty looking A-roads!

The sun was setting and without its warming rays it was becoming distinctly nippy. Our route was supposed to go on road as far as Allerton Bywater where we would take to _The Lines_ cycle path. I was thinking that it would be better to just ride up the road through Kippax instead and decided to consult my fellow riders. Just then Carrie decided that she needed to dive behind some bushes for a quick pee so we went on and waited at the junction with the Kippax road. While we were there another rider came up and asked if we intended to continue along to Allerton? If we did, be warned, the road had still been deep underwater in the morning. 'Bywater' - that's a big hint about what it is like along there... Definitely Kippax then!

Carrie rejoined us and we turned towards Kippax. I had been doing well on my singlespeed bike considering how little riding I have done since early December, but I was getting tired. I also realised that I hadn't had enough to eat and drink so my energy reserves were running low. The climb over to Kippax felt harder than expected and I was getting very light-headed by the time we descended to the town. So much so that I took us left at a roundabout instead of right. I hadn't bothered putting the diversion on my GPS because it was '_too simple to get wrong_' - pah! (I'd just like to say this though - why are there no bloody road signs in Kippax!)

We plunged down towards Garforth and then climbed up a steep slope on the other side of the dip. Only it wasn't Garforth, it was Great Preston - in the wrong direction!!! I couldn't think straight so it took some faffing about before we eventually turned round and went back the way we'd come. My legs finally gave way on the climb back up to the roundabout so I had to walk the bike a couple of hundred metres. We took what must be the correct turn but I accosted a local to make sure! "_Is this the road to Garforth?_" "_Yeah mate, just go over the top just there, then it is downhill all the way_." Super. Brilliant. Just what I needed. My legs were shot, my head was gone - a nice downhill run was exactly what the cyclist doctor ordered. And then we got _this_...






Listen, I admit it isn't exactly an Alpe d'Huez climb but when you are cold, tired, hungry, stiff-legged and single-speeded, then someone tells you to expect what you can see in the first 800 metres but you suddenly find a climb looming up out of the darkness, it sure messes with the head! 

We finally did emerge into Garforth but even then my scambled head managed to cock up the easy run back to the station so in the end we got back onto The original route along _The Lines_ for a short distance to regain our sense of direction.

Littgull, Carrie and I said farewell to Slioch and went up to the platform for our train back to Leeds. Carrie got held up in Leeds but Brian and I were soon on our way back.

A young drunk started talking to us just before I got off the train at Todmorden and asked where we had been riding, how far we had gone. He was impressed when he heard that it was over 100 miles and held his mates back to allow me to exit the train first with my bike - I felt like royalty!

This was my first qualifying ride in _The Annual Lunacy Challenge_. My target of 161 km was exceeded by 4 kms by the time I eventually got home.

I slept well last night ... 

PS A hillier forum ride is coming up in a couple of weeks time - 100 miles from Todmorden, 100 kms from Whalley (near Clitheroe). If you are free and fancy it, you are  to join us.


*** For those of you who, like me, have wondered about the origination of Afnug's strange forum name ... it has a suitably odd origin! When he were a lad, he and his school pals watched _Car 54, where are you? _One of the characters in that show was named Gunther Toody. Afnug got the nickname (Gunther ->) Gunfa. _Obviously_, when faced with the onerous task of choosing a forum name half a century later, the logical thing to do is to go back to a schoolboy nickname taken from the misspelt name of a character in an obscure American sitcom... 

... and then reverse it!


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## Jontyski (2 Jun 2021)

Steve
Don't know if you can help!
To encourage my wife to cycle with me I have bought quite a nice e-bike in Brighouse - but I live down in East Sussex and so have organised a box and a courier to collect it - all paid for.
The lady who is selling it is very nervous about taking the handlebars, pedals and front wheel off despite me showing her it only taking a couple of minute using a 4mm and 6mm Hex key or a 15mm open ended spanner.
I wondered if you could suggest anyone I could put her in touch with to give her a helping hand this weekend to pop it into the box ready for picking up.


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## ColinJ (2 Jun 2021)

Jontyski said:


> Steve
> Don't know if you can help!
> To encourage my wife to cycle with me I have bought quite a nice e-bike in Brighouse - but I live down in East Sussex and so have organised a box and a courier to collect it - all paid for.
> The lady who is selling it is very nervous about taking the handlebars, pedals and front wheel off despite me showing her it only taking a couple of minute using a 4mm and 6mm Hex key or a 15mm open ended spanner.
> I wondered if you could suggest anyone I could put her in touch with to give her a helping hand this weekend to pop it into the box ready for picking up.


I think that you may have posted this in the wrong place!!!


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## Julia9054 (15 Jun 2021)

I need to put my distance head back on. Been spending too much time on my mountain bike


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## ColinJ (15 Jun 2021)

Julia9054 said:


> I need to put my distance head back on. Been spending too much time on my mountain bike


New thread thataway ---->


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