Trevor Lever Mem. Skipton & Blast

It's getting very competitive - 3RT in profusion and all the areas youthful talent, Mr Gower & myself the only Condors. In the big numbers I stayed safe up front but it was a very well behaved group with the only incident some old bloke attempting to overtake 30 riders just before the turn roundabout.
As usual plenty of energy was saved for the big 'kick off' on the Ingrow with Paul Dixon starting it - I let the young legs fly away and kept my own pace ending up in a second group with Dom and Binman at 1hr 25mins. Young Jack Clarkson was in first at 1.23 with Alex Turner and other talented young lads.
I think I'm getting too old for this stuff - deciding a fine pint of Wainwright in the pub afterwards was much more enjoyable !

(I plan to be out tomorrow for a spin round Coverdale - a favourite ride for me.)

Sunday 7th June

I've arranged to meet Chris at Keighley at 8.30 on Sunday, the plan is to do a Nidderdale - Coverdale circuit (Cringles/West End/Pateley Bridge/Lofthouse/Jervaulx/Coverdale/Kettlewell and back home with plenty of time for a shower and a glass of beer before watching Bradley's Hour.  Its about 110 miles/ 11,000ft for me, which isn't much more than last Sunday but should be in far better weather conditions. I realise that others may prefer a shorter faster ride and won't be offended if anyone wants to arrange such a ride.

Despite a shortfall of Condor participants (possibly due it not being mentioned on this blog) there was an excellent turn out for Wednesdays Trevor Lever Memorial Ride). Some photos, results and Chris Crosslands report can be seen on CTC Calderdales Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ctccalderdale/

Feasting At Feizor

A cold, wet and windy morning lent itself to our Club Run last Sunday. With Stoodley Pike shrouded in rain-cloud and almost horizontal drizzle, there was only one place to be ( on the bike!)

Climbing over Cock Hill seemed almost effortless thanks to a gale-force tailwind. Never forgetting that this would be against us later in the day.

5 brave souls assembled at Keighley roundabout to take up the gauntlet, Oakwoth Steve, Robin, Barker, Pete Horne and myself. It was soon apparent to me that I had been foolish to turn up guardless but after all, it was summer rain so no one seemed to notice.

We settled into a well organised group with a nice temperate speed, through Skipton, Gargrave and onto Long Preston. From here we took the busy main road for a while, before turning  back onto quieter lanes towards Settle. On past Giggleswick School and climbing Buck Haw Brow, Robins stomach was rumbling.

 "How far to the cafe?", Barker shouted. "1 Mile!" said Pete, " And what a cafe it is! THE BEST!"

Last time we were here it was Xmas eve, and yes it was better weather and warmer then.

No photograph could ever do the fayre at Feizor justice, but once refueled on cholesterol T Cakes, scones and lashings of hot sweet tea we just HAD to begrudgingly leave

 On towards Austwick and Keasden to climb Bowland Knotts. With an assisting breeze this was great. The wild open landscape which is The Forest Of Bowland, opened up infront of us as if painted by Gods fair hand. Barker was enjoying the view so much that he didnt see Robin drop his Oakley sunglasses, and rode (totally unsympathetically) over them.

 We descended past the MTB centre at Gisburn Forest and into Lancashire, where the sun always shines and the roads were at last dry. Riding behind Robin I was in awe as he managed to de-cape, roll up and pack away into the jersey pocket, all whilst riding uphill without hands. SKILL! I just had to try it. Success! Thanks for showing me that trick Robin.

Barnoldswick came and went, Kelbrooke and Earby too as we made progress over towards Cowling.Over the Pinnacle and onto Oakworth, where we parted company, with Oakworth Steve claiming " Its not recorded!". Never mind Steve, we know the truth that Strava doesn't, we were there!

Chris Smith

Vets National 10

Congratulations to Brian who continued to defy the ageing process last Saturday when he set a new British age group record for the 10 mile time trial, knocking 20 seconds off the old record with his time of 21min 14secs.   He recorded this time whilst competing in the VTTA 2015 National Championship in East Yorkshire where he claimed the silver medal out of a field of 150.

What's Happening - and next Sunday's Club Run

Looks like I missed some good events due to being exiled in the Highlands over the last 2 weekends. The Etape du Dales sounds like it was even more fun than usual due to the wind and, knowing its one of his favourite rides, I've looked in vain for Mels name in the finishers of last Sundays Richmond 5 Dales Sportive. However I did see that VS's John D and Andy Richardson both finished in the top ten with gold standard rides with Martin Croft not too far behind.
On the racing scene Grimpy's run of bad luck continues, his knee seems to have improved but he missed last Sundays road race with a heavy cold but is hoping to be better for this coming Sundays Vets National RR Champs down in Milton Keynes.
On the time trial front Brian remains peerless in the V70 category and must be a favourite for this Saturdays Vets National 10mile Champs on the superfast Hull course although he has plenty of opposition in a full field of 150 riders drawn from throughout the Kingdom. However Brian does now have a threat from within our own club, not on age standard of course but last Saturday in the Holme Valley Wheelers 25 he was the 2nd fastest Condor on the finishing sheet for the first time for many years with Padiham Chris, in his first ever 25, eclipsing Brians time by 7 seconds to finish in 58min 40secs on a far from fast course (former Condor Andy Marshall eclipsed 'em both with 58.37).
Its proving to be a busy week for Chris, he won the Rossendale RC Club 10 on Tuesday evening and today got 3rd place overall in the Halifax Imps Open Hilly TT n the Barkisland/Buckstones/Outlane course behind Alistair Wareham and Blair Buss.

There's a few local Audax's to pencil into your diary's, on Sat 20th June its Chris Crosslands 3 Coasts 600k event from Mytholmroyd but if you don't fancy that distance you can join in for the last 200k on Sunday in the Good Companions event.  For those of us who will be marshalling Grimpy's road race on Sunday 5th July there a chance to stretch our legs in the Yorkshire Dales Grimpeur the previous day, a real classic with climbs such as Greenhow, Coal Road, Fleet Moss & Park Rash contributing towards the 14000ft total climb its one not to be missed.

This coming Sunday 31st I'm counting on the short distance time trials to have ruined Chris' stamina and giving him a hammering on a club run, meeting at Keighley at 8.30 for Feizor and back over Bowland Knotts.

You might find this interesting

http://totalwomenscycling.com/…/reader-story-followed-hom…/…

Etape du Dales or '80 miles of headwind'

That's how most riders described this years event, and bloody cold as well. It was the hardest edition I can remember or perhaps it was just that I suffered more than usual. I started with a local friend but I suspected he would be too strong for me and I waved goodbye to him at the start of Buttertubs. As he rode away with the fast lads I settled down to chewing my handlebars for the next 5 hours or so.
The wind whisked us down Swaledale but Low Row is always painful and after turning for Tan Hill it was almost down to walking speed. I wasn't for hanging around in the freezing gale at Tan Hill to queue for a bottle re-fill so carried on towards Keld where the cross wind threatened to whip the bike away. I passed Chris Smith on the climb over to Nateby as he loyally shepherded his mate 'Stu' round, pity because I could have really done with some help from him !
I re-fuelled at the Moorcock after a vociferous reception from one of the West Pennine lads who was manning the feed station and then ground my way over the Coal Road, finding I still had to pedal hard on the descent to make any progress.
At Stainforth the wind got behind us making the run-in quite enjoyable but I was very relieved to get my sausage butty and a pint in my hand. I also met Chris Sylge, the only other Condor who had braved the day as well as VS's John Doherty and Eric. My time was exactly one hour behind my best, which seemed to be the norm for most. Tough, but a bit of an epic.

Times: Chris Sylge 8.11.27,   Chris Smith & Stu' 8.13.32 (I think),      
Mel 7.12.20.  

(I found some pictures but they are too distressing to publish !)    

Fred Whitton report 2015

It has been a quiet couple of weeks on the blog, but that's probably down to it being 'sportive season' and time to put all of that early season mileage into action. Hopefully this post will encourage a flood of further news reports. I see that Chris was in action mid-week after this ride and again on Sunday for the Etape. Does he ever get tired?

On 10 May we had the Fred Whitton Challenge where I saw Chris at the start for about 5 miles, until we got to the start of Kirkstone Pass and he shot off like a rocket on target for a time of 6:49:23. My scouts at the finish reported a minor fall during the ride but Chris was still smiling at the end. Here are a couple of shots of the youngster in action, which I trust will also encourage a legitimate purchase from Steve Flemming!

This first one is taken on the way up to Hardknott, on a bit of road that normally would be considered a tough climb. Looking up you can then see the 'wall' section ahead, and Chris seems to be wearing an appropriate expression of 'were going up there?'

[picture removed]

The second shows our man successfully riding the steep bit. The photo just doesn't quite capture the 33% angle, or the way that this comes after 98.6 miles of hard riding.

[picture removed]

Of course, some riders simply  took it sitting down. But a bottom gear of around 30" does make that easier.

[picture removed]

And finally, flying the Condor flag but rather over-geared (or under-powered) I made it up. With Robin doing the hard work all the way round and waiting for me at various times we made it back in a reasonable 07:45. Though I'm sure it could have been faster if we'd been served quicker in the cafe ...

[picture removed]

SECOND THAT

I add my thanks to Mr. Ginley's for the helpers last Saturday at the Imps road race. It did threaten to be a grimmer day than it turned out but I'm sure it was pretty cold stood on the roadside marshaling. A consolation for the guys was some fine pie & peas and good cheap ale in the All Rounders bar ! Hope Johns knee soon recovers - I'm still nursing my knee injury from Boxing Day !
I came across some good pics of the event on Facebook but unfortunately can't recall who to credit them to - Thanks anyway.    

CONDOR SUPPORT APPRECIATED

Imps road race, big thank you to the great condor support. We had PG, Alan, myself and Sandy at Barkisland plus John Lumb and his mate is it Mr White? Simon + son elsewhere on the course. Hope I haven't missed anyone? Its strange but when Sandy indicates STOP motorists obey whilst in my case they can elect to run me down.
Organiser Martin Gargett has also expressed his gratitude for our fine marshalling.
Race wise unfortunately i had a doggy knee so i had to withdraw but Brian and Mel in the inclement
conditions put in solid performances. Brian finished first in the O70's whilst Mel completed the event with John Galway who finished 3rd in the O55 cat which age group Mel will join in time for our Buckstone event in July. Thanks again.

26 Apr - Slaidburn

I hope the racing lads had a good time today. For the club run this week I'm proposing Hebden Bridge 9am heading out to Slaidburn.

Write Up: Searching for images of the Riverside cafe in Slaidburn brings up several entries for this blog in the top ten. Lots of other riders go there, though it seems that they manage not to feel the need to put it on the web. This time we found local rider Seb Ramsey enjoying a toasted teacake, fresh back from competing in the first round of the Enduro World Series in NZ: http://www.enduroworldseries.com/emba-rankings/men_master

For the ride itself I can very nearly recycle a previous trip report: http://condorroadclub.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/fun-in-sun.html. This time it was Oakworth Steve, Builder Steve and myself, with kind help from Dougie and Martin of VS Cycles for the first miles to Padiham into the cooling northwesterly. After that we enjoyed the quiet lanes of the Trough, though the road surface down from Brownsholme Heights is now shocking. Lunch in the Sun was taken as expected, with the return route via Paythorne Moor, Bank Newton, Elslack and Cowling Pinnacle adding plenty of climbing meters.

General Splather

Its been great MTBing weather out there for the last 2 Thursdays although several who have expressed enthusiasm have failed to make the startline. Don't be shy, join us next Thurs, 6pm Brighouse.

I've just been looking at the startsheet for the Imps RR on Saturday (see Imps blog). Brian, Mel & Grimpy are there representing the Condor plus many other familiar names. Report to Martin Gargett at Greetland Community Centre by 9.15am Sat for marshalling duties.

A Few Reminders etc



A very enjoyable day out on last Sundays club run up to Wensleydale, Chris and I were joined by Richard, Ian, Oakworth Steve, Robin and Mel. Although there was a nip in the air in the morning its always a bonus when it stays dry. Giving respect to the north easterly wind we did the clockwise circuit from Buckden enjoying a helping breeze up Langstrothdale and sheltered from the worst of the head winds by the bulk of Fleet Moss although once over the summit the wind did prevent us from travelling at the usual silly speeds down towards Hawes.

We gave Hawes a miss, turning right at Gayle to take lunch in the excellent café at Bainbridge before heading to Aysgarth via the back road through Thornton Rust. Our route choice paid dividends as we enjoyed the rare pleasure of being blown up Bishopdale and over Kidstones.  From Kettlewell we took the back roads down to Grassington and Burnsall. At Bolton Bridge, being keen to avoid Ingrow Chris and I kept Mel company on the back road down to Ilkley and Menston whilst the others took the Cringles option. A great day out conducted at a very respectable pace.

 

Today the Wednesday Vets Ride took us over Buckstones and down to Saddleworth before Paul Gower lead us into new territories round Castleshaw Reservoirs and Bleak Hey Nook to return to Yorkshire over Standedge.  and down to Marsden from where we sought out even more cols over to Meltham and then to Holmfirth for lunch via Upperthong.



Once refreshed we returned to our home roads through Netherthong and Blackmoorfoot, dropping down to Slaithwaite and in homage to the forthcoming Tour de Yorkshire attacking the Col de Scapegoat Hill before taking a look at Grimpy's LVRC road race route over Scammonden. Shorts and short sleeves - may there be many more similar days !

Hoppy, Brian & Grimpy lead the way on the Pennine Bridleway

                      
Thursday evening MTB ride is on again tomorrow - 6pm Brighouse.

Reminder - Saturday 25th - Imps Road Race, Norland, as usual Condor's required to help with marshalling - be at Greetland Community Centre 9 to 9.15 , more details on sidebar.

Sunday 19th - Wensleydale

I've arranged to meet Chris at Keighley roundabout at 8.30am for a wander up to Wharfedale and Wensleydale. All welcome.


From Ian:
As usual the full tale of the day will already have been relaid via Strava. I used up the maximum waiting time at the start but luckily the Condor sextet were still in sight as I arrived and were soon chased down. A strong and nagging nor'easterly kept the pace steady. It's worth noting that Richard kindly lead the way out of Skipton and hopefully that extra effort wasn't the cause of him trailing off later in the day.

With Nigel absent on holiday I had to pass some remarks on his behalf. These being '8:30! For a club run!' and 'Wensleydale in April!' Yep, far too early and far too ambitious mileage wise. But it worked, we had a great day, so I'll stand corrected.

Not having been over these roads since 'The other Fleet Moss Randonee' this was something of a rare treat. We had a nice bit of Wensleydale (Gromit) in this lovely valley, with the cafe stop at Bainbridge where bacon and egg baguettes were the order of the day. Then, at last, we turned for home and picked up the tail wind over Kidstones (first time for me over there). Well, we'd earned it by then, and took advantage all the way home.

Mountain Biking

I'm meeting Simon & Adam in Brighouse on Thursday for a couple of hours mountain biking. Meeting bottom on Hudds Rd outside Websters at 6pm - hoping to make it a regular ride - meeting time will move to 6.30 when daylight lengthens. This will be a social ride rather than a training session. All welcome.

Spring into / Circuit of the Dales

Well done to Chris who rode his new time trial bike in anger for the 1st time yesterday in the Circuit of the Dales 50 mile event taking 11th place overall in this classic event. I understand that the weather was pretty grim with strong winds, rain and hail ( all of which I suspect added to Chris' enjoyment of the event ). I look forward to hearing the full grizzly details from the man himself.

Whilst Chris was enjoying himself time trialling many other Condors were battling the elements in the Spring into the Dales Audax. For once I'd taken notice of the forecast and put away my best bike choosing instead full guards and saddlebag containing spare winter hat and gloves along with food and overshoes. Riding out to the start at Mytholmroyd I was joined by Robin who was dressed ready for what a Spring day ought to be like and riding his new X bike with 11 speed Di2 and hydraulic discs - ah well he wasn't planning to be on the road as long as me.
Despite the weather forecast we had a reasonable turnout, Adrian Lord, Paul G, Lumby, Mick White, Oakworth Steve, Vicar & Phil Haigh joining Robin and myself toeing the start line, a notable absentee being Mel, who along with Cancellara and Boonan has been absent from the recent 'monuments'. After spending several months chasing NZ Paul and Padiham Chris on similar endeavours my plan was to have a less urgent ride, which with Phil for company is what I did. We enjoyed lunch at Burnsall's Wharfe View Cafe  before battling blustery head winds and icy rain for the final 30 mile stretch. A memorable day out - just ask Phil.

Spring into the Dales

SPRING (n) 

       Pronunciation:  /sprɪŋ/

Forms:  OE– spring, ME–16 springe; OEen.15 spryng(e, ME sprung,  sprenge, 15 spreng.

a. A flow of water rising or issuing naturally out of the earth; a similar flow obtained by boring or other artificial means.

 b. A flow of water possessing special properties, esp. of a medicinal or curative nature. Usually with various distinguishing adjs., as chalybeate, hot, mineral, thermal, warm, etc.

 c.  pl. A place or locality having such springs to which invalids or pleasure-seekers resort.

As regards a) we can testify that springs also arise unnaturally out of the earth, notably atop Cock Hill where our boring away into a biblical headwind let loose uphill travelling flows

As regards b) we can testify that the special properties of said flow were far from curative, unless a full scale, heavenly enema into every orifice is on some list of medicinal properties

As regards c) we can testify that for the small minority of testers whose closest, life-long companion is their stem there might just have been some pleasure to be found up there, but the rest of came down thoroughly invalided

Up until Cock Hill though we had a grand day ... a mannered climb out of Hebden for a change, blown round to Stanbury where John and I found Ian doing a Pete Horne 'pottering on'  - having started his own route at his own time - so we gathered him up and persuaded him to stick with us in a small front bunch, which lasted until Thorpe, where we let a few crack on as we held back a little, ever wary of worsening weather. Cringles gave us notice of what was to come, the gels were consumed if only to have something other than road water in one's mouth (mine after my flippantly having told Ian I was not going to need them), then the calm of old Keighley road before the storm .... and then of course there was the rice pudding (skin still in tact by the time I got back this year ... yeah) and a knackered heater around which a gathering of clothing and cyclists grew damply. Soon after getting home the bloody sun came out. The Pennines heh. 

Ronde Report

The mile munchers amongst us have had a busy few weeks with the Chirk 200 being run off in heavy rain and strong winds the week before it was bliss to have dry roads and sunshine for last Sundays cobbled classic, the Ronde van Calderdale.  This event, the main organiser being our mate Mick Collins on behalf of Kirklees Cycling Academy,  is rightly growing in reputation, the 500 places disappearing quickly before the end of last year. However Mick had the foresight to have saved some places for the local lads and lasses to be able to enter on the day and
 I'm so glad he did.

Thanks to Jon Jolly for the above pics of our guys ascending Shibden Wall (plus Chris' mate Tod Stu who joined us for the day)

On Tuesday evening we said goodbye to Paul & Lynda Daly who today (Thurs) are flying away to start a new life in New Zealand. A few pints were consumed at the Cross Keys where we were joined by our good friends from the Imps. Unfortunately the photos taken on my old iPhone aren't worth posting.

Spring Into The Dales - 12 April 2015

Hopefully the good weather will hold for this coming Sunday 12 April and there'll be a good Condor turnout at the SITD/LITA ride - leaves 9am from Mytholmroyd Community Centre; allow a few minutes to sign in at the start and hand over your £4, and a few more for tea and a chat.

Last week it was just 3 for the Pateley Bridge ride but we enjoyed sunshine and temperatures in the high teens by mid afternoon.  It was very pleasant to stop for a restorative tonic at the Dick Hudsons pub looking at the windmills of home on the horizon, and a nice surprise at how quickly we crossed the valleys to get there. I'm sure Strava has already disclosed the rest of the tale.

Oh, and Oakworth Steve has threatened to conduct a weigh-in of the best bikes. There were some mutterings about UCI minimum weight limits also applying to Condor club rides and CTC events, but I'm sure that bike and rider combined I'm well over 6.8Kg.

Ravesthorpe CC - Invitation to 'A night with Brian' - 29 April 2015

Phillip Johnson‎

Dear fellow cyclist, my club ravensthorpe cc are honouring our favourite club member Brian robinson at gomersal park hotel on 29th April...".a night with Brian" 7pm kick off. Want to come? 5 quid a ticket with money going to the Dave Rayner fund which brian is president of. The idea is to heve brian reminiscent of his cycling days and take questions from the floor, im trying to sell tickets to local clubs 120 so far sold . Im quite happy to come over for those who wish some just add to this post.

Round and Ronde

I understand that it is the Ronde van Calderdale this Sunday 5 April.

For those who haven't entered we need to come up with another option. I'd suggest Keighley at 9:30 and a ride to Pateley Bridge.

A Bit of a Doooooo

Paul and Lynda Daly will be flying off to start their new lives in New Zealand next Thursday and have invited everyone to come and say goodbye at the Cross Keys, Siddal, next Tuesday from 7.30pm.  Please spread the word (even Imps are welcome).

Sunday 29 March - Heavy Weather

The suggested club run this week is 9:30 at Keighley - don't forget to reset your clocks, and to bring your cape.

Airton has been mentioned, but then so has Settle and Bolton-by-Bowland. Let's see how we feel and how the rain comes in. It would be good to get the westerly behind us at least for the homeward leg. I'll not be using the best bike.

Punishment Park (more punishing for some than others)

Good turn out for last Sunday's club run down to 'Punishment Park'. A great day for the classic circuit of Holme Moss, Snake and Strines, dry roads, sunshine and a temperature approaching 10 degrees. Robin's missing from the above pic, two café stops in one day was just too much for him so had ploughed along to enjoy Crowedge alone whilst we enjoyed the café stop and the back roads back to Calderdale.

This coming Sunday Simon, Paul, Chris and myself are riding the Chirk 200. Poynton down to Wales and back. Its described as a flat ride but with strong westerly winds forecast so it shouldn't be too easy.

Sunday 22nd March and a bit more

A trip down to punishment park is proposed for this coming Sunday, meet 9am Sainsbury's Roundabout, Brighouse for Holme Moss, Snake & Strines.

Simon and I have entered the Chirk 200 Audax on Sunday 29th March, there are no entries on the day so if you fancy joining us get your entry in, on line, before 22nd.

Also on the itinerary is the Monyash Peak 100k Audax on Weds 8th April (Easter week), its challenging scenic route from Marple.   Paul D and myself rode it a couple of years ago in deep snow and were the only ones to finish so I'm hoping the weather will be kinder this year. I think its the following day that Paul boards the big bird in the sky to leave our shores pursuit of a better life in the antipodes so if you've promised yourself to give him some pain this may be your last chance.
For those looking for a flatter ride the Icecream Wensdae 100 is on the same day from the same location.

The following Sunday, the 12th April its our local Spring Classic, the Spring into the Dales 110k Audax from Mytholmroyd, organised by our friends from Halifax CTC.

Red Rose Ride Report




Sunday Morning outside the Oddfellows Rooms
 

The Red Rose Ride

Another brilliant day was had this Sunday with a large number of riders attending The Red Rose Ride 200km Audax. Condor colours were a little thinly spread with only myself, Simon and Paul (who only threatened to ride to the Whalley control.

An 8am start through Halifax meant we were soon clear of town centre traffic and making swift progress with the early climbs sorting the wheat from the chaff. 

Paul and I lead the front group down to Keighley and over Cowling, Laneshawbridge and over The Moss. A strong group including

 Mick Collins, Simon Mayfield and Paul Ward.

We climbed over Padiham Heights, descending to Whalley and bidding adieu to Paul. Within moments Simon had caught us at the control and from here I rolled up the road with Mick and Simon navigating, at a steady pace.

Mick had told me that no-one could moan about a ride quiet as much as him, and this was surely true, as we approached The Trough Of Bowland. With a tailwind and the pleasant babble of Langden Brook, what could be better?

The descent to Abbeystead is one of my favorites. Simon said he was pleased he had conquered  The Trough and Mick just couldnt wait to sample the WHOLE new menu at The Lantern o Lune, which is now a bistro.

With only a brief rest-bite myself and Simon battled the headwind section to Longridge. Simon seemed thankful for my wheel which I gladly provided, but insisted that I press on now that we were on familiar roads. The road to Whalley was more undulating than I remember, but head down, ass up, I passed the few audaxers who had slipped us at the controls.

The climb up through Padiham and Burnley came and went, after all its one that's ingrained in my legs over the years. The Calder Valley was a sight to behold, with the bright afternoon sun reflecting off its steep rocky sides.

I arrived back to the HQ alone as the first finisher at 4.10pm, 5 mins before Chris Crossland had estimated me to arrive. As always a lovely spread of refreshments including the legendary trophy rice pudding was waiting. 10 mins passed when Simon arrived, having battled it alone, showing good form for his Paris - Brest -Paris lead up. Another 10 mins until the strong group we had ridden with earlier. I later passed Mick as I rode home still riding strongly as he approached Halifax.

Well done to all and thank-you to the organisers for another great route.  

Chris Smith

Sunday 15th March - Red Rose Ride

This coming Sunday its the Red Rose 200k Audax, 8am from the Oddfellows Rooms, Halifax. Unfortunately I can't ride it myself this year but I'm sure it will as usual be well supported by the Condor.
Chris and I had an excellent day out last Sunday on the Yorkshire Gallop Audax, a good write up and photos can be found at http://balancingontwowheels.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/yorkshire-gallop-200km-audax.html

(No So) Delightful Dales

Chris and the author on The Old Coal Road

It was never  a great forecast for yesterdays Delightful Dales 200k ride but in my experience the weather is usually far better than the forecast - this is what I told Steve T when he let me know on Saturday that, after seeing the weather report, he had decided to give it a miss. However Padiham Chris and Irish John were not dissuaded by the possibilities of snow showers in the high Pennines and joined me and about 40 others to set out from Pendleton Village Hall at 7.30am on a dry but windy Sunday morning.

With a south westerly wind it was a pleasure to be blown up to Kettlewell and over Park Rash, there were even short intervals of blue sky in between hail showers as we raced down to the 1st check at Middleham. The ride over to Swaledale from Leyburn was not as hard as expected but once we turned west in Grinton we began to feel the full force of the westerly gale. However cycling in Swaledale can never be anything other than a beautiful experience although the undulations made sure I couldn't shelter behind Chris and John and I was happy to watch them disappear up the road, settling in to my own constant effort.

Towards the head of the dale I was caught and passed by the 5 times National Hill Climb Champion, Jim Henderson, he'd set off 10 minutes late from the start and was ploughing through the field, it was interesting to watch him in the distance pulling back Chris and John over Birkdale Common on the road to Nateby.



Jim Henderson accepting his Hill Climb trophy from Eddy Merckx following his 2003 victory on Halifax Lane, Luddenden.

The 2nd and last checkpoint was at the pub in Nateby where after battling headwinds and hail I joined Chris, John and Jim. Unfortunately they not doing sandwiches but did a grand sticky toffee pudding and custard - I'm not sure I would have survived the next section without it. Jim declined to partake in the pudding fest and set off alone as we sat there, dessert spoons at the ready.

The hail was just beginning to turn to snow as we left he pub and it was surprising just how quickly it settled. By the time we got to the Moorcock junction at Garsdale, Chris and John were 100 yds ahead of me so any thoughts of taking what may have been an easier and lower level but slightly longer route to Ribblehead via Hawes were thwarted. The Old Coal Road over to Dentdale lived up to its reputation, I'd put a pair of new tires on the bike a few days earlier and they refused to offer traction even after letting some air out to reduce the pressure, this together with the cassette being jammed up with snow causing the chain to jump (excuses! excuses!) slowed progress.

However we battled on, I had to walk up Newby Head but was still making faster progress than several cars. Once back on the bike I had a couple of falls which began to make me ultra cautious. I was expecting conditions to improve as we dropped down towards Horton, they did, but only a little. John and Chris had a pint mug of tea and a toasted teacake ready for me when I got to the Pen y Gent café at Horton and once consumed we were off again. By Settle the roads had improved and by Wigglesworth we were on wet rather than snow packed roads making good progress again. It was good to get back to Pendleon. A few more observations of the days Audaxing can be seen here -

 https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=88341.0



An ever smiling Chris waits for his team mate at Ribblehead

Thanks to John and his iPhone for the photos

The Long One

We (well most of us) had a great day on Saturday at the North West Passage. There were over 100 pre-entries for the long event plus more who entered on the day. At 8am on a chilly day six Condors lined up on the start line in the car park of the Spring Inn, Mel, Paul D, Padiham Chris, Single Simon (on gears), Oakworth Steve and myself.

Exercising well used tactics Chris and I rolled out at the head of the peloton with our team mates and associates in close attendance. The Condors shared the work through to the first big test, the climb from Barrowford through Blacko over Greystone to Gisburn when Mel and his buddies from Ilkley failed to slow down for the incline. I was expecting to go off the back here and had earlier instructed Chris and Paul not to wait for me. However they chose to ignore this instruction and we got over this lump as Gruppo 2.

Once over the summit we soon settled down and became an efficient machine. Simon had disappeared over Greystone and Steve, who had so far been quieter than usual (I suspect an early foray at the front with Paul had done for him), was saying that he was having problems sustaining the pace.

Before Settle he was gone, I knew Simon wouldn't be far behind and said to Paul that I expected the 2 to team up. Mel and the Ilkley lads had just left Settle when we got there. I was expecting Mel to stop for a butty at the caravan at Kirby Lonsdale so was planning to catch him there, but there was no time to waste. Simon came in to Settle alone and quickly got his card stamped. A group of 8 of us left Settle together and once we hit the A65 we organised a very successful through and off with the pace rarely dropping below 20mph despite a cross head wind. We soon reeled in Flat Earth Bob who joined our working party which left just 4 on the road ahead of us. We lost one or two on the journey up to Devils Bridge but arrived just as Mel's group were hitting the road again.

After a quick bite to eat and a drink we were soon tapping down the Lune Valley towards Lancaster. Once through Lancaster we were picking up a helping wind which blew us down the A6 and into our next check at Scorton. I felt as if we had taken it quite easy down from the last check and was a little surprised to find Mel's group still loitering there, however they soon swallowed their bananas, jumped on their bikes and were away before we had chance to attach a tow rope.

We left Scorton as a bunch of 3 Condors, Paul, Chris and myself, one Huddersfield Star Wheeler, Ed Wolstenholme and one VC167, Bob Johnston. I usually suffer most on this section down to Longridge but the predominantly helpful winds ensured that the section was easier than normal, a rare phenomenon that continued round Blackburn and even over the feared cols of Oswaldtwistle Moors and Owd Betts; the only casualty being Bob who was having a rare off day.

We booked in back at the Spring Inn at 3.50pm, I'm not sure how far we were behind Mel but all had really enjoyed the ride and the weather was not too bad, certainly compared with the following day if what I hear about the Imps RR conditions are correct. Simon was'nt too far behind us, a great show of strength from someone who has been 'resting' for some time; PBP here he comes. The tragedy of the day was Steve's, he had punctured shortly after dropping off the back, Steve's a man not afraid to ride on his own but the mapping on his GPS was unobtainable and had no route sheet. Not having ridden the event before he turned at Settle and kept to roads he is familiar with.

Next Sunday Chris and I have entered the Delightful Dales Audax, Steve will probably be joining us but Paul's busy packing up his NZ bags.

The short version

Here is a quick report on the 'short version' - firstly of the NW Passage on Saturday and then the Imps Reliability Ride on Sunday. I suspect that Strava will already have given most of this away. We got round both rides at a reasonable but not quick pace and other than having perhaps a few miles too many of busy main roads overall it was a satisfying weekend.

We didn't see any other Condors for the short NWP setting off at 9am. At least by then it had warmed up a little bit. I guess the 8am hard men may have been a tad chilled for the first few miles. Our bunch sadly thinned out quite quickly leaving us with just three lads who rode well but were on best bikes with naked wheels - there was a notable absence of clubman's extensions to their (non-existent) mudguards.

This select group stayed together to the cafe checkpoint at Waddington where, as Pete will be glad to hear, the butties were up to scratch and the tea was served in plentiful quantity. After that we were on our own and for a while I feared for a tough time getting home, until the food worked through to the legs and I could settle into a steady pace in the sunshine with a tailwind over Hasslingden Moor and Owd Betts. Also, fortunately, uncle Nigel was on hand to navigate round various busy motorway roundabouts and dismal mill towns. Back for 2 and off home well before the long-uns came in to tell their tales of 200k heroics.

On Sunday the legs were somewhat reluctant to get going but they did and contrary to my usual excuses I managed to find Brighouse unaided and even get there in plenty of time to hand over my 40 shillings and sign up for JK's 2015 torture fest. Grimpy, Brian, Phil, Richard all joined us there and formed the core of our group, with the occasional guest rider sitting on. On paper this seems like an easy route of 55 gentle miles. On the road it was hard going and especially tough at the end into the snow. That bit from Keelham Farm Shop to Northowram, some 4 miles that could pass in a flash in summer, instead seemed interminable - and it just wouldn't end either. The pub promised "a warm welcome and a roaring fire" and sadly disappointed on both counts. Sodden and freezing I needed a welcome lift home in a warm car and didn't thaw through until Monday!

A long report anyone?