Not sure what to do today
1. a 'level 1' ride with
Wakefield Triathlon Club (just a steady potter, overseeing/sheparding/guiding the newcomers/nervous riders)
2. a 'level 3' ride with a few of the faster members of
WTC, but I'm not sure I'm up to that, at the moment, as I'm not as fit as I should be
(have ridden them before, & easily kept up, even dropping a couple on the hills)
3. a solo ride by myself, at my own pace/own route (as I have one, that I was going to use as a 'level 2'
WTC ride, leading them)
If I do the 3rd choice, I can include in it, a
viewing of 60103, as it passes under my given route once more
I chose.............................................. Number 3
The bike of choice, with it being a nice, dry, fairly warm day; the Gran Fondo (complete with shorts!! - but a long-sleeve Club jersey)
Out through Castleford, via Barnsdale Road (A656), up 'Mary Pannall', over the cross-roads of Back Newton Lane, & LongDike Lane, where it turns into 'Ridge Road'
A reasonable pace, along there, past Ledston Luck business park, & straight over 'Peckfield Bar' (where the A63 'Selby TurnPike', intersects at a roundabout)
As I approached 'Ridge Bridge', a trio were walking away, I swung over to speak to them, sadly I'd just missed it, & could just about hear it in the distance, & still smell the smoke
Bugger!!!!! (blame those sets of traffic-lights in Castleford)
A right turn then, onto Church Lane, to take me into Micklefield, & a turn onto the
'GNR'
It was followed out of the village, with me wondering what it was like, when it was exactly that, & not bypassed..................
The road surface is atrocious, as the junction with Wakefield Road (Garforth - Lotherton - Towton - Tadcaster) is reached at Hook Moor
Continuing on the
'GNR', into Aberford, I stopped to take roughly the same photo as
@NorthernDave
The clock was wrong, as it was 10:25, by my watch
A brief descent into the village, then a right turn onto Lotherton Lane, getting caught up in a gaggle of MTB-ers, I got past them under the A1, & rode away from them up the hill (taking care to stay in the saddle, & push a reasonable gear; 39 x 17)
Leftwards, at the end towards
'The Crooked Billet', having first passed the
North Yorkshire, &
'District Of Selby' signs
On passing the 'Billet', & the
lovely Lead Chapel (didn't stop this time), it was an uphill right, onto Dam Lane, towards Saxton, where there's a few Apple trees growing alongside the road
One was picked for later
The Greyhound was passed, a quite old Pub, that was famous for not having cellars (until the mid 80's)
- see 'My Picture Of The Day' thread -
With the trip out of the village, in the south-west corner, onto Coldhill Lane, heading towards Garlic Flats
In the picture, the road to the right, goes back to Lotherton Hall, & Aberford
To the left, it heads to Sherburn-in-Elmet
A slight tailwind allowed me to big-ring it, from the corner with Coldhill Pond, all the way, through the 'rolling section', under the railway bridge, as far as the junction with Church Hill, & KirkGate
Turned right, towards Newthorpe, &
http://www.squires-cafe.co.uk/index.asp
A call was decided, as I've not been for a while, & it looked fairly busy
The stage was being dismantled, after their annual 'Rock & Bike Show'
There was a plethora of 'Satans Slaves' around, with members from the English chapters, & German too, going by the patches
Had a brief chat with a couple
Once tea was consumed, it was back over the 'new' A1, under the 'old' A1, & turn onto New Road, with the descent to Ledsham, entering the village opposite
http://thechequersinn.com/history/
Through this lovely little village, to meet back up with Back Newton Lane, which was crossed earlier in the ride
A drop into Ledston, to cut out the horrendous 'corrugated' road-surface, on the downhill part of 'Mary Pannall' (a HGV has probably braked, on a hot day, as something turned into a farm, & the trailer has quite literally 'corrugated' the tarmac with axle-tramp, I presume)
A short run back into Castleford, via Barnsdale Road again, with the usual mayhem, when circumnavigating the roundabout by Bridge Street/Wheldon Road
Home through the town-centre, & Hightown, then past
Voysey Row, at Whitwood Common
One more obstacle being the M62 roundabout at jct 31, this being a 'dog-bone; with roundabouts to either side of the elevated m-way..... & I want the centre lane all the way round
Good sprint training...........................
avoided what could have been a nasty off.
and up Jewitt Lane onto another Thorner Lane where I stopped for a quick photo and drink at what must be one of the last fields locally that hasn't been harvested yet
