North West Passage Audax, 18 Feb - anyone done it?

[Svendo]

I'm considering a big dose of MTFU and going for the alternative long route tomorrow, rain be damned!
I've managed to dodge getting a cold all week despite everyone coughing and spluttering all over me and the office, so that's quite high motivation!

 

[ColinJ]

Can't wait to take you on one of our rides, when we did the 50 mile last weekend I would be surprised if more than half a dozen cars passed us.

They probably didn't have snow chains fitted!

I'll be trying to make it for a summer ride. I won't be coming down to the Midlands so often now my folks are no longer alive, but I do have friends and remaining family to visit so it will happen at some point.

Sometimes when we are out you might get 4 or 5 cars coming past one behind the other and we make comments like "where did all those come from". We are truly spoilt [but not complaining].

We do have some quiet roads here too and I'm very grateful for those. This is one of my favourites, near where you grew up ...

You had better list your other rides coming up.

Sorry you can't make it this Sunday, Steve. I can see that the racing season might prevent you making subsequent rides, but here's what I have planned for 2012 so far:

A 100+ km ride on Saturday, 15th March, probably from Hebden Bridge.

The flattish imperial century from Whalley is on Sunday, 1st April.

The Spring Into The Dales audax from Hebden Bridge takes place on Sunday, 15th April. (Very hilly 110 km, so not ideal for fixed - 2,350 of climbing some > 15%)

A very hilly 100 km forum ride in the Forest of Pendle, Forest of Bowland, Ribble Valley area based on the shorter Pendle Pedal route from a few years back - 1st weekend in May.

Nothing yet planned for June, July, August or September, but I intend to do at least one metric century, imperial century or '200' in each of those months. I have talked with tubbycyclist about doing a long Cheshire ride this year, so maybe one of those forum rides will take place there. I'd have to arrange a date to suit him - he would be driving us over. We might choose to do the Cheshire ride as an audax 'permanent'. That might be ideal for you.

Season of Mists, sister event to SITD - Hebden Bridge Sunday, 7th October. Even hillier than SITD - almost brutal! (100 kms, 2,550 m of climbing, some 20%)

 

[oldfatfool]

Did someone say there is a ride out this Sunday?

 

[potsy]

I'll quickly start another thread to see if we can get a few more people to come along and will edit this post to link to it ...

How quick is quickly? It is now 5pm

 

[ColinJ]

How quick is quickly? It is now 5pm

I'm feeling stressed! People keep phoning me when I'm halfway through doing things ... Aaargh!

Here is the new ride thread. (Any discussion of it should take place there, not here!)

 

[YahudaMoon]

Is everyone watching the forecast? Gone a bit quiet on here so I am assuming that is what's going on. Ideally we need to make a decision by about 1pm today, what are your thoughts?

70% chance of showers/rain until 11am.

Then wind from west at 34 kph.

Looks like a crap day for cycling.

Looks like a near perfect day for February and I hate the wet / cold

It looks like a bit of drizzle for a few hours so it's not going to be getting you wet. It's just a damp start. Perfect ! With a lovely day after 11 ish

Is it only me on the 200km from CC then

 

[totallyfixed]

We do have some quiet roads here too and I'm very grateful for those. This is one of my favourites, near where you grew up ...

Now misty eyed with remembering that exact spot, my old teacher lived in Sabden Fold [the sign is a bit wonky, I have a memory it always was, Sabden Fold of course is behind the group]. I know the road so well that I am sure there is a right hand bend only 30m or so in front of your group, and I haven't been on that road for 40 years! I used to ride on my 3 geared bike daily from Read to Newchurch and back in the holidays. Thank you.

 

[trio25]

Once again we are going to have to cry off on this one, seems like a lot of rain from very early on until around midday and after that there will be wet roads, couple that with strong winds, it ain't going to be too pleasant.
I am occasionally bemused by Audax UK and the CTC with some of the routes they choose, I realise many are historical but once quiet roads are often now clogged with traffic, but how difficult can it be do use quieter roads? There is an old club in Leicester called The Ratae which has been around for ever, they do a reliability ride, half of which is on A roads. We did this ride a couple of years ago and never again, yet it would have been so easy to plot a very similar route using quiet lanes. Some folk are very resistant to change!
I will be interested to see what you come up with Colin, and of course what all the other CC'ers will be doing.

I did a 200k audax last sunday, it was also on A roads. The route was deliberately chosen for the time of year. Some of the local riders used lanes to reach the controls earlier on in the ride, but once it got dark we were all glad of gritted roads. In the summer I wouldn't dream of riding the same route, but in February with snow on the fields it was ideal.

 

[ColinJ]

Looks like a near perfect day for February and I hate the wet / cold

It looks like a bit of drizzle for a few hours so it's not going to be getting you wet. It's just a damp start. Perfect ! With a lovely day after 11 ish

Is it only me on the 200km from CC then

The Met Office and BBC forecasts are both talking about heavy rain all morning, drizzle in the afternoon, with cold 20+ mph winds gusting to 40+ mph!

Let us know how you get on! Hopefully, you will be okay, but if things do turn out really grim, you could always bale out onto the MNWP route at Gisburn and knock 100 kms off your day's ride.

 

[ColinJ]

Now misty eyed with remembering that exact spot, my old teacher lived in Sabden Fold [the sign is a bit wonky, I have a memory it always was, Sabden Fold of course is behind the group]. I know the road so well that I am sure there is a right hand bend only 30m or so in front of your group, and I haven't been on that road for 40 years! I used to ride on my 3 geared bike daily from Read to Newchurch and back in the holidays. Thank you.

Well, the ride I'm planning for the first weekend in May covers many of those roads, so see if you can make it for that one!

Yes, the sign is wonky - I was thinking that myself. Perhaps some kids have yanked it round?

And yes, the road drops steeply to the right just behind the riders.

 

[400bhp]

The Met Office and BBC forecasts are both talking about heavy rain all morning, drizzle in the afternoon, with cold 20+ mph winds gusting to 40+ mph!

Let us know how you get on! Hopefully, you will be okay, but if things do turn out really grim, you could always bale out onto the MNWP route at Gisburn and knock 100 kms off your day's ride.

The potential positive is that the wind is forecast to change direction from the south west, to the north west.

 

[ColinJ]

The potential positive is that the wind is forecast to change direction from the south west, to the north west.

The early wind should be a positive help all the way to Todmorden.

Going up the valley towards Burnley could be a positive or a negative depending which way the wind gets funnelled along it - it could be a headwind or a tailwind.

The wind swinging round later will be a negative (a crosswind or a headwind) until the route starts heading SE at Lancaster for the NWP, or Blackburn for the MNWP when it should be a very useful tailwind.

 

[Svendo]

All set to go in the morning, right up to porridge being 3/4 cooked to save time.
Setting the bike up and putting the second bottle in the seat tube holder and noticed the bottom peg has snapped off. Glad I've been uncharacteristically organised and didn't discover it in the morning. Fitted a spare for now and have to get a new matching one, or maybe a new pair.

 

[ColinJ]

All set to go in the morning, right up to porridge being 3/4 cooked to save time.

Measure out, nuke in the microwave for 2 minutes, stir, nuke for I minute - and it's done, in less than 4 minutes!

Setting the bike up and putting the second bottle in the seat tube holder and noticed the bottom peg has snapped off. Glad I've been uncharacteristically organised and didn't discover it in the morning. Fitted a spare for now and have to get a new matching one, or maybe a new pair.

Ah, that reminds me - I must put my new rear tyre on tomorrow, and refit the rear Crud Roadracer! Oh, and must double-check my brake blocks - they are getting ever-nearer to rim-chomping ...

If you do my lanes route, let me know what you think of it. I really liked it between Gisburn and Blackburn except a few miles either side of Kirkby Lonsdale where it seemed sensible to rejoin the official A-road route to avoid stupidly long diversions.

 

[DCLane]

All set too - bringing the new Spesh Secteur Comp rather than the re-built Carrera Virtuoso. Rack and mudguards fitted (somehow). The 'map holder' wouldn't fit though so I've butchered an A5 clipboard I'd bought just in case.