Sunday 30th April

Short Ride

Ten of us headed along the Greenway and Holly bank woods to admire the bluebells. Sue T left us here to view the cherry blossom elsewhere- good to see you out, Sue! Having felt quite warm along the Greenway, the clouds started gathering and by the time we got to Darley , the rain had arrived.

Dave R left us at this point. Darley was the start of the hill challenge too! We went up to Crake Lane, to Thornthwaite and then the long drag up Day Lane to the Menwith ridge. Congratulations to Paul and John who managed with just leg power.

Once over the A59, John and ebike Paul turned along Pennypot. The remaining six sped down and climbed up to Fewston Village Hall. The Air Ambulance volunteers provided a great selection of cakes, sandwiches or soup in aid of funds with speedy service despite it being busy. Then we had a lovely surprise- Liz and Pete Frederiksen arrived to join us after their walk around Swinsty. It was encouraging to see Liz as cheerful as ever.

From there it was a final climb up Little Almscliffe before going our separate ways home. A most enjoyable ride, thanks to all plus a special mention to Colin for back marking once more. 25 miles. Alison N

Medium Ride

Cyclists today were keeping a close eye on the rain clouds given the forecast for the afternoon, so after dividing our group in half, we opted for a rendez-vous at Tates just beyond Ripon, though the question of cranberry teacakes there is taking on quite an existential hue !

Although we had set a pretty swift pace out, newcomer Alex didn’t have time for a pause-café but had to press on back to Harrogate to make an appointment.  Group 2 (James, Gia, Debbie, Diane, Paul, Margaret) were sensibly pacing their coffees as the remaining four of us in Group 1 left in a light shower, but our timing meant we saw the deer as we ascended Studley Park before heading on up Watergate Lane and to Shaw Mills.

Doug and Helen had admirably already cycled the route in from Birstwith, so Tim 2 and I bade them farewell there before I lead us on a little déviation down Clint bank into Birstwith and the climb up to Clapham Green followed by the lovely swoop down into Hampsthwaite.  A few light showers along the way meant the rain jackets were on and off but we arrived back in Harrogate before the heavier rains.  Thanks to all for convivial company over nearly 40 miles and approx 2,400ft.  Yvonne D.

 

Medium-plus Steady

Was it the weather forecast or was it something I said? The ride to Thorp Perrow was billed as 56 miles (I made it 54.5) and the forecast was for rain in the afternoon so that’s hopefully the reason there were only three of us on today’s ride.As it happens, we had the odd moist spell but no rain. At least there had been no rain by the time I left the other two at Fountains Abbey on the return trip – having cycled from Fountains to Harrogate early in the morning.

It’s a lovely ride and well worth doing  especially for the three of us who are hoping to do the 100 mile challenge. The route out was via Bishop Monkton and Ripon; then through Wath after which we passed Thornborough Henges where there were loads of tents getting ready to celebrate the druid festival of Beltane.  Our photo stop was at Snape. We were just getting to Thorp Perrow for lunch when the fast group passed us going the other way having already had their lunch.

After lunch there were some good hills to be climbed. The stand out memory from the ride is the amount of blossom on the trees and flowers on the hedgerows and verges – glorious. Thanks to Mike W and Liz P for their company. Steve W.