Today was the day of reckoning, the third and final of the
Wiggle Yorkshire Sportive series -
Ay Up! Yorkshire out of Thirsk.
Up early to be there for registration by half seven and out just before 8am in the third wave, which was fortunately light on racing snakes this morning.
It was cold - down to just 1 degree C overnight and while there was no frost it was definitely chilly, so well layered up in longs, long sleeved compression top, arm warmers, lightweight jersey and a thermal jersey over that. Plus two pairs of socks and overshoes, long fingered gloves, buff, etc - you get the picture. Over the top of that I wore my Santini windproof lightweight jacket, which must be the most overpriced and poorly wearing bit of cycling clothing I've ever purchased (although it does work).
Out of the race course and skirting the edge of downtown Thirsk, before heading out into the flatlands of Yorkshire under the A168 bridge and with a very slight downhill run and the merest hint of a tailwind we were bowling along at 15-16mph in return for not too much effort.
It was all very pleasant as the sun started to burn through the clouds and we were soon at Brafferton, then Helperby and took the road for Easingwold. Still flat, but this is a very boring road and we were glad to turn off it and start heading north for Husthwaite, then a loop through Carlton Husthwaite and Angram Grange before striking out north for Kilburn, with the legendary White Horse visible on the foreboding hillside above us.
This was the first real test of the day, after all the flat and slightly rolling countryside of the Vale of York, here was a proper hill - 1.4km at an average of 11.8%, but with several steeper ramps. Most of it is under trees too, so the road was still damp and there were plenty of fallen leaves so it was a case of very rapidly dropping down the gears and grinding it out. More than one person commented "we must be mad"...
I'd like to say that I made it to the top without stopping, and certainly without getting off on the steeper bit, but that would be a barefaced lie. So I won't.
Even emergency Haribo didn't help. At least it wasn't just me
Anyhow, eventually the top was reached and the road levelled out past the gliding club, where we met out motorised moron of the day, driving at speed towards lots and lots of cyclists on a road little wider than single track, while gesticulating at the cyclists to get out of their way...
A brief squirt along the A170 followed, almost to the top of Sutton Bank, and right along the ridge and into the National Park visitors centre for the only food station of the day. And a quick running repair on the Giant, courtesy of the nice man in the Lezyne support van.
Then cherry cake and flapjack, plus an energy bar for later and a top up of the water bottles, while laughing at the bloke who insisted in parking his 68 plate Jag right in the middle of all those cyclists, rather than going to the next section of the car park literally feet away...
The next section of the ride almost made up for the hell of that climb. Four and a bit miles of downhill on a near deserted singletrack lane, first between fields on the tops of the moors and then dropping down into a glorious wooded valley and eventually to Rievaulx, home of the famous Abbey.
Unfortunately, topography pays you back for sections like that, this time with a mile of near vertical climbing (well, that's how it felt
) back out of the valley and onto the B1257, where we stopped for oxygen and a photo:
View attachment 433082
The next bit was fairly flat with a little bit of downhill to allow us to recover - although this road seems very popular with motorcyclists.
We eventually peeled off for the fun descent into Hawnby, which was 'rewarded' with the climb up Murton Bank which starts off steep, levels off a tiny bit and then gets steep again
It looks like it's levelling off after the second mountain face, but that's a lie. There are a couple of very short downhill bits to lull you into thinking you must be at the top, but it just becomes a long steadily climbing grind that saps your very will to live, let along the last vestiges of power from your legs. I feel slightly better that nearly everyone who overtook me on here (and there were plenty who did) was grumbling about the seemingly never ending slog, including one young lady who summed it up perfectly - "this is bloody awful!" before vanishing off into the distance
Eventually we did reach Boltby and there is a blinder of a descent that must be an absolute blast on a summers day, with dry, clean tarmac and warm sticky tyres - there was a marshal at the top telling us to be careful, but it was still a white knuckle descent and blooming good fun!
And one of the reasons I have disc brakes on my bikes
By now my legs were really feeling it and a couple of steady climbs that wouldn't have been an issue near the start of the ride were really dig in and grind them out ones now, but we only had ten miles to go so it was just a case of getting it done.
And there we were, just a few miles to go and on the run in back to Thirsk, then a right just before the James Herriot Museum (well worth a visit) and just a mile left to go. Hammer down now (such as we could
) and over the line!
55.11 miles (88.7km) in
4h 40m at an average of
11.8 mph with
3,503ft climbed and an average temperature of
5.4°C
We celebrated by buying a steak cheeseburger apiece from the catering van and I have never tasted a finer burger in all my days.
Despite how it might sound above, I really enjoyed that. There is a real sense of achievement from digging in and getting it done, although I could have made things a bit easier for myself if I'd done some proper training for the big climbs, but hey ho! The whole ride had a really good vibe to it and once out of the Vale of York is through some stunning scenery.
And to end, the map (and elevation) from the day:
View attachment 433081
Lots and lots of people on roads, some of which really aren't suited to that many cyclists in one go.
The traffic was busier on the return with lots of people heading home after a weekend away. This tends to bring out the worst in some drivers as they want to get back in a rush and I saw some questionable manouvres, the daftest of which being the guy who started his overtake just as we were about to reach the t-junction by Llanrhaeadr. I asserted myself, stuck my right arm out and took my rightful place on the road which caused him to slam the anchors on and drop in behind. If he'd attempted to complete the pass he'd have overshot the junction straight into traffic.
moment - convinced the squeak was from rear repositioned the rear brake blocks further from the wheels
Squeak, squeak
moment - best reposition the rear brake blocks, and that quick release lever looks tatty so the original skewer went back on.
No squeaks
