Great ride (the bit of it I could do anyway) Big thanks to Colin for organising it
Great to meet you all & nice to put some faces to names.
I'm not always great at socialising in 'new' groups, but felt quite comfortable with the group today
A ride report couldn't do a better job than
@Soltydog of summing up all that's good about these occasions.
For me - and several others - the company was that perfect mix of familiar, friendly, faces, and new people to meet and talk to.
All the York departing riders assembled in good time, so we were on our way by 9am.
Leaving York via the Knavesmire and Solar System path was better in every respect than the previous main road route.
Two of our riders - @13rider and
@Supersuperleeds - had ridden up from Leicester the previous day, which tells you something of their riding ability.
That they did it at around 18mph tells you something else, and it soon became clear @13rider in particular was going to have to spend the day holding himself back.
Cycle paths can slow progress a little, but we kept to our target average of 12/13mph, and made our first stop at Howden a little earlier than expected.
The combination of a Co-op and public toilets was handy, and a quick phone call from
@EasyPeez established he was already in town.
Our meeting was barely delayed, but the moral here is that there are two Co-ops in Howden.
After a reasonably disciplined stop and a text to
@Soltydog we set off for the bridge.
Meeting Solty proved seamless, he appeared from the other direction, swung round, and joined the ride without any of us stopping.
A couple of climbs before the bridge did us no harm, but I suspect they could be eliminated by some route tweaking.
Before next year someone - possibly me - needs to investigate the NCN routes just north of the bridge which appear to offer a choice of Trans Pennine Trail or minor road.
By the time we'd crossed the bridge to the lunch stop it was 1.30pm, slightly later than planned, so an easier and shorter last stretch to the bridge would have a scheduling benefit.
Leaving the bridge, our new route substituted longer, draggy, climbs for the old route's shorter, sharper, ones.
There is no flat, so it's either one or the other, and the new route wins here by virtue of being on quieter roads.
I had a mental and physical low period on this section and was grateful for the company of
@Moodyman at the back of the ride.
Among other things, he's a Friday's veteran and I was interested to hear a rider's perspective on those rides.
We found a quiet spot for a snack stop, and at my behest, had another few minutes rest in Stamford Bridge.
The new route scored again, not least because the way into York is different from the way out.
One benefit of cycle paths is there are no traffic lights, although we inevitably had to negotiate several sets as we wiggled our way through the centre of York - and through lots of Saturday night drinkers - on our way to the station.
We finished the ride at about 7.30pm, a bit later than anticipated but I don't think it caused anyone any difficulty.
Thanks to Colin for route planning and ride organising, and thanks to everyone for the excellent company I've come to expect on these rides.
Well done to everyone, too, 105-odd miles on a push bike is a good effort.
So that's it for another year, the good news is Colin has already said he will run the ride again in 2019.
L-r: @13rider,
@Supersuperleeds,
@Oldfentiger,
@ColinJ,
@EasyPeez,
@Soltydog.
