Way of the Roses - July 2015

A record turn out for the Way of the Roses, a popular route from Morecambe to Bridlington, coast-to-coast across northern England. With eleven riders, including the strong guest cyclist 'The Baron,' this was the biggest gathering of the Club to date. 

The weather was kind, the wind on our backs over two hard days of cycling, but the hills weren't. Day One was a good test, the hill out of Settle and the climb up to the Stump Cross Caverns being particularly popular, and we all appreciated the little hills after passing through Pateley Bridge.

Fastest known descent for the day was awarded to Alansandro who achieved an alarming 80.7kph (source: MapMyRide) during the day. Or he grabbed on to a passing car... 

Stats for the day (from the President's Garmin): distance -126.3km, moving time 5hr 39min, average 22.3kph. Ascent 1724m according to MapMyRide, 1137m according to Strava, 2214m then corrected to 1703m according to Garmin. Hmmm. 

Calories burnt - about 3,000 kCal. 

Overnight stop at Ulrichard Manor in Knaresborough, where the local pub afforded swift rehydration, followed by a superb meal prepared by Mrs Ulrichard, ably assisted by Mrs Merckx and Mrs Sastrae, which replenished us all in fine style.

Our overnight stop, at Mrs Merckx's favourite holiday destination, sunny Morecambe

The Presidential Suite

Pre-ride hydration at The Palatine in Morecambe

Carlos, Miguel and Jacques looking very confident before the ride

Guest rider, 'The Baron,' with Carlos, Isla and Mrs Sastrae, and some good looking bloke in white

Ready for the off, leaving Morecambe for an overnight rehydration session in Knaresborough

Club men all looking very pleased with themselves at the top of the climb out of Settle - a piece of cake lads, right?

A rare shot of our President

...and twenty minutes later, the rest of the team arrived ;-)

There is no flat country in this County!

Best bit of the day. Sod the riding. This is the important part. At the Half Moon in Knaresborough :-)

Day two dawned rather damp and cloudy, but a strong wind from the west soon got rid of that, and those had not applied sun cream lived to regret it later. Miguel distinguished himself on a number of occasions today, riding his bike into new territory soon after we left Knaresborough in an attempt to refine the route, then impressing us all with his skill in riding a bike where the back wheel was in constant danger of falling off.

We had a fabulous tea stop at Chateau Johntador in Sheriff Hutton - thank you Mrs Johntador for a wonderful spread!

We particularly enjoyed an exploratory diversion along the Wolds Way - riding uphill, back into the wind, just before Huggate, and at a point where we still had fresh legs after 100km. But we most enjoyed seeing the WAGs ready to greet us as we powered along the promenade of the North Beach at Bridlington. 

Congratulations to all concerned, and grateful thanks to Jan for organising this fine weekend.

Final day's stats: distance 153.6km, moving time 6hr 39min, average speed 23.1kph. Total ascent 776m (Garmin), 849m (MapMy Ride), 1137m (Garmin)...take your pick...

Calories burnt - about 2,600 kCal. 

The exit ramp out of Millington Dale, Joaquin leading the bunch

Miguel and Stewie working hard

Alberto and Jan enjoying yet another hill climb

The President sprinting past Heyddie. Is that an evil grin or just gasping for air?

Alansandro slaughters brother Stewie in the final sprint stage. He'd get the Green Jersey if only we had one...

Happy, relieved faces crossing the finishing line in Bridlington. Note the seagull aiming for Heyddie (he missed)

Oh, not another shot of the Prez! This time trying to take out the WAG paparazzi

'Rider of the Weekend' Award goes to Miguel
Having endured 280km of pure suffering with such grim determination, it was awarded by Team Captain Heyddie in recognition of Miguel riding a road bike for the first time and completing this long and challenging route on it.
Miguel also wins minor awards for the most calories consumed per hour and for selflessly searching out new variations on the route for generations of future riders.

Smiles were only possible after massive infusions of paracetamol and Ibuprofen....well done all!
Now, where's that Sudocrem?

Total Warrior - July 2015

For reasons best known to them, but obviously a severe masochistic tendency has to be suspected, club members Stewie, Alansandro, Jan and Mrs Alansandro Prattachi entered this rather strange competition, Total Warrior....hmmm.

They tell us they all finished the course, Jan best in class for his age group (not many entrants in that....most people are old enough to know better)...tales of gloopy mud, barbed wire, drowning, etc. 

Nice.

This is the lunatic fringe of the Golden Rule Adventure Club

It's all about the hydration regime ;-)

Mallorca 2015

Gathering in Mallorca for the 60th Birthday celebrations of Jan, our Club Secretary, there was a great opportunity for further training in the Tramuntana Mountains.
One notable event was Jan's first attempt at the magnificent Sa Colabra route, abandoned last year due to over-hydration the evening before ;-)

A short ride to the lighthouse at Cap de Formentor for the reconnaissance party in week 1

Cap de Formentor

Rehydration as per Club Rules :-)

...but just to note that there was also a lot of slacking before the President arrived

The boys looking far too fresh before their first ride up to Lluc

Second day on the bike, a good effort to reach the first col of the day, only 2000m of climbing still to do... 

Coastal views before the Sa Colabra turn

Jan looking confident before his first descent of the famed Sa Colabra road

The descent to Sa Colabra, mercifully quiet on the day

Approaching the bottom of the road

The return to the col, 9.5km at an average of 7%...about one hour's riding for us mere mortals

Jan and Stewie nearing the summit

Stewie, Heyddie, Jan and Carlos looking very pleased with themselves!

Tour de Yorkshire - May 2015

On 3 May, five intrepid club members, Alanssandro, Carlos, Joaquim, Stewie and Jan, took part in the Tour de Yorkshire Sportive.  Unfortunately Heyddie and Alberto had to pull out because of injury, or did they study the route map and weather forecast better than the rest of us?

Stewie was elated he had found his shirt (it was in his kit bag all the time) but then forgot to bring his race number and timing chip.  The return trip to Leeds meant we missed some essential carb loading at the pub on Saturday night.

We got dropped off on Sunday morning at Roundhay Park in torrential rain.  The team looked very smart wearing our team wind jackets over our waterproofs but by the time we reached the start we were already wet and cold.  It looked like most of the 6000 entrants had not been put off either and we set off in groups of 50 at 4 min intervals which meant there were lots of cyclists all around us for the whole day.

We started with a descent into Wharfedale and a nice flat ride for 15km westward to Pool to where the fun started, Pool Bank our first Cat 3 of the day. From then on we didn't see a piece of flat road until we got back there.  The climbing and descending was relentless 3 Cat 3’s 3 Cat 4’s and 4 Cat 5’s with lot’s of short sharp ramps in between.  The descending was as difficult as the climbing, the roads were greasy and with riders of different abilities around us we had to go down the hills only marginal faster than we went up.  There lots of spills and the sound of the sportive will be remembered as the wail of ambulance sirens, fortunately we all managed to stay upright. 

At the first “feed stop” all the organisers had laid on was cold jacket potatoes, a tray of salt, jelly babies and some digestive biscuits.  An antique shop owner took pity on the poor shivering wrecks arriving and was making cups of tea which she gave away along with chocolate biscuits. We gratefully consumed these in her shop trying to keep warm and dripping all over her floor.  We all vowed to go back and spend some money some day as a thank you.

At Howarth we joined the professional race route and from then on had to keep up the pace to avoid the sweeper van clearing the road of the wounded before the race arrived.  This is a village which boasts two climbs.  Alanssandro asked how come a village is built in a “W”, the answer is because there is nowhere flat round there.  The first hill is the cobbled high street which featured in the Tour de France last year and the Tour de Yorkshire this year.  After a short descent you are then faced with Cote de Goose Eye which I can’t find words to describe, if you watched it on tele it’s the first one which got all the pro’s out of the saddle.

Club secretary Jan powering up Howarth High Street to the yawns of the crowd

Lots of spectators and bunting now so we put on a brave face, at least the rain had stopped.  Fast-ish decent into Airedale and then over some “bumps” back into Wharfedale. The road through Addingham was closed to traffic so we sprinted through to the cheers of the crowds pretending they had come to see us.

Outside the town on the A65 the sponsors, Maserati, had set up a feed station with mini Yorkshire puddings stuffed with sausage and onion jam, and flapjack - much more like it.  We stuffed down as many as we could before we had to move on, conscious of the sweeper van.  

Then through Ilkley where they had barriers up to stop the crowd mobbing us and asking for autographs - “look there’s a team with their names on”.  Just outside the town is the Cote de Cow and Calf which being a KOM climb had helpful signs telling us the distance to the summit.  Great, apart from the “summit” wasn’t at the top of the hill.  We resisted the temptation to remonstrate with those shouting that it was all down hill from there when we knew we had to get back out of Wharfedale.  Next the long slog up the Cote de Otley Chevin, by the top we felt like we had been "boiled in a bag” so stripped of the waterproofs despite dark clouds.  

Back down to Pool and a flat run along the valley until the final climb.  This 17%+ proved too much for most with 10 walking for every one riding, some too stubborn to unclip and get off just fell over in the road. Stewie and Alansandro then set a fast pace on the run in and at the finish Stewie who had “saved himself” on the hills out sprinted Alanssandro (who had waited for him at the top of the climb so honours even I think).  The crowds banging on the boards up to the line made everyone put in a last effort and smile.

A great adventure with all agreeing it was the hardest 100k they had ever done but a great experience riding part of the tour route with all the bunting and the crowds. They are going to do the same thing next year and I will be back but I hope they choose a flatter stage.

Stats of the day - 110km, 2000m of ascending, average speed 19 kph, nearly 5 hrs in the saddle, a lot of bruised egos and sore muscles but no lasting injuries.

Peterborough 100 - April 2015

An excellent first outing of the season. In a rare exception to the Club Blogmeister's rules, here is a description of the weekend from Jan, on the eve of his 60th Birthday:

"The Club fielded a six man squad for the Peterborough 100 today. Thanks to Fabian for organising the warm up yesterday and to him and his better half for the fantastic hospitality. 

After the normal balanced pre race nutritional 5 pints and a curry (no red wine though as the President doesn't drink it) the team were in fine form. The weather was dry but cold which encouraged us to keep the effort level up.  Some very slick rolling pelotons and sharing the wind breaking made the kms fly by. 

[The new shirt - Ed] ...spurred me on to show it was inappropriate and as the rest of the peloton fell off the pace and were left like discarded gel wrappers over the final kms as I delivered our team sprinter Stewie to within sight of the line. Having saved himself on the hills (well that was his excuse for being last up) he had the power left to explode to the line to the cheers of the crowd. Perhaps I should have chosen Mark Ric-shaw as my club name (maybe not). 
A great start to the season, I look forward to cycling with you during the summer club events."

Ride stats: 104.km, time on the move 4 hours 24 mins, total climbed 1081m. Average speed 23.6kph.

Average temperature into a cold northerly wind, 8 degrees. 

Mistake of the day - not wearing long bibs! Brhhhh!

An appropriate cycle jersey for Club Secretary Jan, after a very indulgent winter with his missus... 

HAPPY 60th JAN :-)

A cold start from the Marriott just outside Peterborough, the chaps looking remarkably fresh after a few beers the night before

Stewie, Alanssandro and Jan looking very sprightly at the finish line, 104km under their belt

The full team on the day, new member Joaquin Robriguez far right

Bucks 100 - September 2014

The main ride, Sunday 14 September, in support of Action Medical Research

Training ride across the wooded hills of south Bucks, a quick 40km and 383m of ascent

In the pretty village of Hambledon on a short training ride between Marlow and Henley. Welcome, Mike, second left, as our guest rider.

So, the Club meets again, this time at Measham Manor in Beaconsfield. A training ride filled the afternoon, and the evening was spent carbo-loading and ensuring we were properly hydrated, in true Club fashion. The evening ended with some limbering exercises, mainly to the tune of Pharrell William's 'Happy', and the President and Mrs Merckx showing how this intricate series of stretching moves can be done to perfection.

Serious hydration session in full swing...

Stewie carbo-loading on profiteroles

President and Mrs Merckx demonstrating an advanced warm-up routine 

Sunday was all too quickly upon us, and a drive through the leafy lanes to Aylesbury and beyond eventually brought us to Waddesdon Manor, built in the Neo-Renaissance style of a French château between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, and bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957.

Our ride took us out through the beautiful grounds of the manor, and initially south east to hit the hills around Wendover, with a good climb up into Wendover Woods, the highest point of the Chilterns, and beautifully managed by the Forestry Commission.

Our start point, Waddesdon Manor

Alberto camping it up with his NEW SHOES

After our descent from the woods we caught our breath at a refreshment stop in Cholesbury Village Hall before riding northwards through some gorgeous villages, many with 'chocolate box' thatched cottages and great looking pubs.

Alberto showing the way up a typical Chilterns hill, his new shoes making a huge difference!

Alas, no time to enjoy these local hostelries, and more hills to climb before a lunch stop at 80km, a good feed provided at Stewkley Village Hall, before we turned south towards the finish. The only negatives of the day were the universally poor road surfaces of the Buckinghamshire roads - coarse tarmac, potholes and bumps galore. You would have thought that the well-healed burghers of Bucks wouldn't tolerate such shabby surfaces!

Lunch stop. Feed station at Stewkley

Our final 30km was ridden at a good pace, with one particularly long hill providing the team with an opportunity to set a new land speed record, hotly contested between Jan, Heyddie and guest rider Mike. Once again, their speeds proved too much for the technology. All appear to have missed the much sought after 70km/h barrier, but only by a small margin. Alberto and the President, were, as usual, eminently sensible on descent but still got the wind in their hair (well, maybe not, Alberto...).

[Postscript: Heyddie has since made the claim for the land speed record, achieved on a training ride with the Marlow Cycling Club. This claim, of 79.5km/h on 9 August 2014, will need careful vetting by the Club Secretary Jan, and therefore remains to be fully validated].

Jan, Stewie and Mike steaming down one of the last hills. Note the President wisely holding back...

Another sportive safely completed :-)

Stats for the day: 111.6km, 1196m of ascent, moving time 4 hours 35 minutes, average speed 24.3 km/h.

So, another good day out, with a couple of pints of St. Austell Breweries' Tribute enjoyed by the more discerning Club members, and further hydration in Beaconsfield later. Once again, splendid hospitality was provided by Mr and Mrs Merckx, the latter a super chef and warm-up exercise leader. Well done all.