After the imperial half yesterday and with stuff to do later that ruled out a longer ride, it was time for a bit of fun on the hybrid, mainly off road and staying fairly local.
For once the weather forecast was right, grey and very mild for the time of year, although damp under tyre due to a lot of rain overnight - just the thing for tackling a few bridleways.
Got the layering just about spot on - long sleeved compression base layer under a short sleeved top, with
Altura MTB shorts and lightweight full fingered gloves. Who'd have thought that last week?
Anyhow, off I set, local roads and down to Cross Gates, the over the railway line and climbed Austhorpe Lane. At the top of the hill I realised I'd forgotten something...can you guess what? Here's a clue:
Yep, I'd filled up a bottle and left it on the side in the kitchen - D'oh!
Anyway, I was 2 miles in at this point and it was too far to turn around, so I carried on up Barrowby Lane, then dropped down into Thorp Park on R66.
I wound my way round the utterly soulless office park to the BP filling station on Selby Rd, where I was relieved of £1.45(!!!) for 750ml of water.
That's knocking on £2/litre making it twice the price of petrol.
As a Yorkshireman I nearly cried at spending that much on water, but what can you do?
Anyway, back into the office park and then picked up R66 again for the climb up to the bridge over the M1. Dropped down the other side and began the descent towards Garforth. It's a narrow bridleway and being Sunday there were the usual numbers of dog walkers, joggers and the like out so I took it steady and about halfway in, I stopped for a couple of photos and a sip of water...
Dropping down onto the Garforth section of Barrowby Lane, I got a wriggle on up the tarmac section to Barwick Rd, left under the railway bridge and left again onto Nanny Goat Lane for the gentle ascent to the stables.
At the stables, the lane reverts to bridleway and it is muddy, no other way to describe, with huge puddles I had no option but to splash through.
As i started the descent down to the tunnel under the M1 I passed a jogger heading the other way and couldn't help think how his shiny new looking running shoes were about to get ruined.
Out of the tunnel and I disturbed a red kite, which took off and swooped low along the lane between the hedges - they are big birds aren't they? Made me glad I'm not a rabbit.
Lovely quick descent from there down to Manston Lane, which I never get tired of riding, then past the farm and back towards the old tank factory before swinging a right and climbing the hill to Pendas Fields, where I tacked on a half loop just to add a bit more distance. Down to Barwick Rd and the looped round to home.
10.43 miles in
55m 30s at an average of
11.5mph, which isn't bad for a mainly off road spin of the legs on a Sunday morning.
Good fun too and just what the hybrid does best. The only fly in the ointment is the knowledge that the council are busting to build a new dual carriageway and allow a massive extension of the office park over huge swathes of this ride, so I'll have to make the most of it while it's still there.
Both bikes needed a clean, so it was out with the bike stand for two full wash and leathers, plus chain mickles & relubes - I even checked the torque bolts with my new fancy tool.
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