Recent rides

Sunday, February 07, 2010
Wheel Easy Ride Report 198
Short Ride Report
Two eager short riders plus leader left a murky Hornbeam Park to arrive in Knaresborough, via the Beryl Burton cycle way. We arrived just in time to be greeted by the church bells – very nice, thank you!
Due to the closure of Low Bridge, a diversion up the high street was necessary. Credit cards were firmly placed in saddle bags!, We picked up the route left onto Chain Lane and under bridge to turn onto Water Lane, a pleasant traffic free zone! (Horse manure a plenty to negotiate around though!).
From there, a right turn onto Boroughbridge Road, and a left on towards Farnham. From there, a left turn through Old Scriven and a further left past Lingerfield School. Up hill and down dale to arrive back in Knaresborough on the Scriven Road.
Coffee stop along side the river in the Cafe in the Rock – which has undergone a makeover, and now has two sofas to tempt the weary/saddle sore traveller. Foot massage extra!
Back home to Harrogate via Beryl B. again - where riders parted company - and home for a thorough hose down in the back yard,– the bike, not me! Sarah E

Click on slide show for all today's photos

Medium Ride Report
Nine riders opted for today's Medium/Medium ride which turned out to be a happy medium ride for most of us, especially Caroline who enjoyed the numerous long downhill stretches zooming past the group at high speed. We welcomed to the group two new members Margaret and Greg who enjoyed the ride despite the poor visibility. The route took us out via the ASDA track, down to Bachelor Gardens and on to Knox Bridge.
Then, following the usual route out to Hampsthwaite and the dreaded Clint Bank where we met Martin repairing yet another puncture (he must be quite an expert at this by now). Onward and ever upward we eventually arrived at Brimham Rocks with everyone in good spirits and looking forward to the promised downhill ride "most" of the way back. After Warsill I decided to introduce a different way to Bishop Thornton
using the Bridleway, normally a reasonable track but after the recent bad weather it proved to rather muddy and potholed causing angry murmurs from the back! Soon all was forgiven and we had an uneventful ride back via Ripley until when in Killinghall Caroline decided to dispense with her chain and freewheel all the way home. Fortunately Sir Galahad, in the form of Max rode up on his sturdy steed armed with a spare link and remembering that friends Jane and Kevin lived just down the road they could be lucky and arrive in time for Sunday lunch?.
Hopefully everyone arrived back home OK and enjoyed the ride despite the weather. Dennis B.

Medium Plus Ride Report
Martin led out 16 medium plus riders towards Knox and on to Hampsthwaite with a promise that there would be a coffee stop. Phil S and Paul R joined us along the way and in true Wheel Easy style we lost Martin and Yvonne on Clint Bank.
Martin had two punctures to deal with while the rest of us found our way up to Brimham. There the mist began to clear slightly, one group went down one steep hill, the other down another, equally steep, and we all climbed out of Summerbridge with Darley Mill in our sights for coffee. There we settled down by the fire where we were all quickly served with excellent drinks and cakes. Our London visitor tucking in to Garlic Mushrooms! Angela then arrived with two friends having ridden from Leeds and as we were leaving Martin and Yvonne arrived.
Bill then took us on a mini tour round the back to look at the Water Wheel which we understand is being renovated.
We rode back up the hill to Sheepcote Lane and then past Menwith to the A59 and across towards Norwood. Some left to go home via Pennypot, the rest of us to Norwood, Stainburn Woods and Beckwithshaw.
It was an excellent ride, with everyone very enthusiastic about summer bike trips planned. 18 riders, 30 miles. Gia

A gloomy day did not deter the 17 riders who set off from Hornbeam Park intent on climbing to Brimham Rocks before descending for coffee at Darley Mill. But the best laid plans ……. Soon after Hampsthwaite Martin suffered a puncture and he and Yvonne lost contact with the main ride, who all seem to have had a lovely day.
The puncture was not all bad news, however, as a group of riders from the British Cycling Team out on a training ride stopped to help. The team manager jumped out of the support car saying he had heard what a fantastic cycling club Wheel Easy were and could he help. It was quite clear that David Brailsford was going to sort things out and he offered Martin a light-weight carbon racing Boardman but Martin declined, saying he thought his Hewitt was better equipped. So Mr Brailsford promptly sorted the puncture and we were on our way with Sir Chris Hoy leading the group of eight.
The wheels were spinning but all we could hear was Mark Cavendish grumbling on about the hills and wanting to know when he was going to get his flat sprint finish. Bradley Wiggins seemed entranced by Victoria Pendleton’s cycling shorts, and stuck to her like glue and soon we were going through Pateley Bridge and over Greenhow. Into Grassington and Cav shouted that this was his chance for a good sprint and asked Martin to lead him out into the square.
A brief stop for our high energy drink then it was Yvonne and Victoria setting the pace as we burned over to Lancaster for afternoon tea. We had to say cheerio to the British team at this point and head back to Harrogate, but we were thanked for showing them the route and setting a decent pace for them. And Martin almost changed his mind about the Boardman but thought his Wheel Easy friends would just think he was showing off.
A nice little winter training run of about 150 miles. Must do it again sometime. Martin

Long Ride Report
Eight of us set out from Hornbeam for the long ride to Coxwold. Shortly after Knaresborough we were joined by Carl from Wetherby Wheelers who had forgotten a change to start times and had missed the rest of his group. It was a brisk ride via Boroughbridge, Milby, Sessay & Carlton Husthwaite. As we were making such good time Malcolm proposed an extra loop so just as we got to a sign that tantalizingly indicated Coxwold (& the café!) were just half a mile away we turned off & put in an extra few miles through Kilburn & Oldstead & past Byland Abbey – a scenic detour. On arriving back in Coxwold we discovered the tearooms were closed & the pub was only serving Sunday lunches. After some discussion & time for Dennis to fix a puncture we headed off to Café 21 in Easingwold. Chris & Carl headed straight back from here, but the rest of us enjoyed a welcome stop for sustenance. It was a slightly longer stop than usual as we had arrived at the same time as a group from Batley Cycling Club and it took a while for all of us to be served. After welcome refreshments we headed back. Malcolm headed off with the Batley group so there were just six of us who made good time back over Aldwark Bridge & then via Great Ouseburn, Arkendale, Knaresborough & home. A good paced ride of approx 62 miles. Jill

2010 Wheel Easy Miles (approx) Today 1680 YTD 7058