A Gravel Adventure
A Wheel Easy Gravel Adventure
Chapeau and kudos to Steve Shearsby for coming up with the idea of a gravel ride offering, and for designing a super good route. There were five of us: Steve S, Peter, Fred, Jim and me, John C. Setting off on a perfect day we were very soon off-road and under the viaduct, twice, taking in a mixture of gravel, grass, rocks and stones along an undulating series of bridleways skilfully linked by short spells on tarmac. I had little to no idea where I was most of the time but when we popped out beside Spofforth Castle I got my bearings, until that is we turned right off the road to Wetherby and cycled through fields of cows and the occasional sheep somehow arriving at Barrowby, Netherby then Harrogate Road where we turned left then right then left into the grounds of Harewood House. By now refreshments were calling so we headed for the Muddy Boots café where we got a table in the sun, food and drinks. Staff were great and the food even better. Suitably replete we rode back down Sandy Gate and left around the outside of Harewood House. I was now on familiar territory, though I have to say cycling up through the woods and beyond is a tad more challenging than walking it! A short stint on Wike Lane then back on to bridleways (me with no idea yet again) to East Keswick after which came the warning: “It’s steep and rocky with a 90deg turn at the bottom, or you’re in the river” 😱. Heading towards Kirkby Overblow another right off-the-beaten-track track to Kirkby Overblow, over a busy John Metcalfe Way then through the woods, down to Fulwith Mill Lane and right to the Showground. Phew! What an adventure. Thanks again, Steve, looking forward to the next one already. 34.8 miles and 3040 ft elevation for me, John C.
Medium Plus Steady Ride
Just the three of us for the medium plus steady this morning, Yvonne, Zilpha and myself. A very flat ride but we were aware of the strong breeze that was forecast to get stronger later in the day and it did not disappoint! Good progress on the way out through Harrogate to Ripley and then round the back to Scotton, Farnham and Boroughbridge, by the time we got to Great Ouseburn we’d done twenty-odd miles and stopped for our first refreshments because we didn’t fancy doing forty miles to Sutton without a break. All still going well over the bridge and through Linton and Shipton, when we turned north in Wigginton we got a taste of things to come. All was calm sitting outside Miss Daisy’s Tea Rooms for an excellent lunch but as we left and turned westwards we felt the full force of the wind. Yvonne and Zilpha didn’t seem to be affected too much but my lack of miles recently mean’t I was playing catch-up nearly all the way back via Tollerton, Alne and back to Great Ouseburn, no third stop, the usual route back home to Knaresborough and up to golf club. Many thanks to the ladies for keeping me in touch on the way home, I think the ride must have done me some good? Final stats varied slightly but Yvonne’s were 65.8 miles, 1,667 feet and 14.3 mph average ( a bit more than Steady but a great day out). SteveB.
Medium Steady Ride 178
Medium Steady (Route 178)
There were a number of riders doing this route, but we didn’t see any after leaving the showground. There were 4 of us in our group (Rob, Tim, David and Gordon T). The ride was a struggle at times with strong winds which always seemed to be in our face. The café stop was Tates and we sat outside enjoying the last of the summer sunshine. The service was very slow today despite the café not being that busy. A great ride and good company. As you can see, I still have not mastered the selfie!
41.67 miles in 3:13:07 with an average speed of 12.9mph. Although everyone else will have a few more miles as they cycled from home. Gordon
Ilkley Triathlon
Our very own Chris Evans was doing the Ilkley Triathlon today, so a few of us decided to cycle over to support him. The only small snag was that he had a 09.40 a.m. start time which is why we four Early Worms pedalled out of Harrogate at 07.30 a.m. on a beautiful, sunny, rather chilly morning, into a stiffish breeze. Chris swam, cycled and ran while we drank coffee and ate cake, clapping, cheering and taking photographs at appropriate moments. He achieved his objective of getting the whole lot done in (well) under two hours so chapeau to him! We then made our way with unseemly haste to La Stazione Cafe for an excellent lunch and a full post mortem of the race. Chris was then chauffeured home whilst we leaped back into the saddle and returned by more or less the same route but it was warmer and down wind.
A most interesting day out and it made a nice change to be spectators, rather than having to endure the pain of actually doing it ourselves and we did spot Richard Leake manning an important looking clipboard, efficiently doing all the swim timing! Helen T
Medium Steady Ride
A good turnout at the Showground this morning. The medium steady set off in two groups. our group consisted of Mike Wills, Sally, Bridget, Chris, James and Debbie. Mike Wills led us along to Boroughbridge and beyond to Marton Le Moor. We cycled though lovely countryside in warm sunshine in the sheltered lanes. It was delightful. The wind did pick up later on but at least we stayed dry. We cycled on to Ripon via Sharow on some splendid surfaces and some not so good. We arrived at Ripon Spa Gardens cafe where a very friendly and helpful lady took our orders. It was grand to sit in the sunshine and eat our various meals. All looked delicious and one or two of us had lunch envy! Sally had a bit of trouble with her Cumberland sausage as it refused to stay coiled and kept springing out of the bap. Conversation flitted from subject to subject and we all enjoyed reminiscing over old comedy show which did rather show our age. Back in the saddle for the final miles. There were many families out cycling along the Greenway. So good to see. A thoroughly enjoyable ride with delightful company. Thank you all. 42 miles for me. Nicci Harding
Short Ride
There was no short ride or leader on the website today, but nine people wanted to do a short ride. Geraldine ‘volunteered’ me to lead (can ‘to volunteer’ be a transitive verb?) as we had already discussed leading if no one else wanted to. It was sunny but quite windy when we set off for Wood Hall Hotel by the usual route of , and briefly along the A61 to . Short break, when David gave a brief lesson on the use of gears, and then on to Kirkby Overblow and Sicklinghall. We regrouped at the right turn towards Wood Hall, and discussed coffee, which I had assumed would be in Wetherby. Paul B suggested we might try the new cricket pavilion in Sicklinghall, so after reaching Linton the plan changed slightly and instead of continuing into Wetherby we turned left to head back towards Sicklinghall. The new cricket pavilion is very plush, and provided good coffee and eats. On the way out, Barbara discovered that she had lost the key for her lock, but a bit of searching and checking proved successful and we headed back to Kirkby Overblow and the ring road, where we turned right. Geraldine, Paul and I headed to Pannal, and the rest came back via
About 24 miles
Joe Smith
