England : West Yorkshire Fnaar and ColinJ's 'Tour Time Taster' - Sat, 5th July

[ColinJ]

Maybe = my usual Saturday commitment has been cancelled cos of some bike race or other.......

It Largely depends on
A) How battered I'm feeling after the C2C this Saturday.
B) If I can wrangle another day pass out so soon... this is the hard part and I may be forced to take Mrs Kes out to get beered up in Holmfirth instead.....

Good luck with (a) and (b)!

Riders:

• ColinJ
• Fnaar
• Steampig
• MartinQ (maybe)
• Kestevan (maybe)

 

[Fnaar]

Game On!!!! And I'm fine for both loops!!!!
See whoever makes it, on the Saturday. And @ColinJ , I really can't thank you enough for putting this together.

 

[MartinQ]

Really in two minds about this, One side is excited, the other is . Having said that, things will probably get worse before they improve and no one has said I'm not allowed to cycle up hills ... haven't asked either .

 

[ColinJ]

And the bad news is ...

I have a heavy cold and am currently weak as a very weak thing from Planet Weak!

It started on Friday so I am hoping that I will be getting over it by about Wednesday and have a couple of days to get my strength back. Bloody typical that it should happen just before our TdF weekend!

I'm resting, eating plenty of fruit and not doing anything to make it worse, so fingers crossed that the bug works its way out of me in time.

In case it doesn't though ... @Fnaar, @Steampig, @MartinQ, @Kestevan - do any of you have a GPS which you could use to follow the first loop if I can't make it? The second loop is dead easy to navigate so that shouldn't be a problem.

I will write audax-like route sheets for both loops just in case, and double-check everything in Streetview.

The one good thing is that I didn't catch a bug like this while my lungs were still badly clotted because I don't think I would have been able to take both illnesses at the same time.

I'll report any progress (or lack of it) below. Sorry about this, lads!

 

[Kestevan]

Fraid I'm out too.

Looks like I'm being forced against my will (no really, would I lie to you) to take Mrs Kes on an all-day beer fest/tour watching/barbeque thing.......

 

[ColinJ]

Fraid I'm out too.

Looks like I'm being forced against my will (no really, would I lie to you) to take Mrs Kes on an all-day beer fest/tour watching/barbeque thing.......

Well, if you have to do that, at least do it near one of the spectator hubs showing the entire stage on a giant screen!

 

[Fnaar]

@ColinJ I have your gps files (thank you) loaded on a gps viewer that I stop and check as nec...
Hope you feel better , would be great to meet up and do the ride

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ I have your gps files (thank you) loaded on a gps viewer that I stop and check as nec...
Hope you feel better , would be great to meet up and do the ride

Oh, I keep forgetting that phones have GPS in these days! I also forgot that I had posted the GPX files ...

If I feel on death's door and unable to ride, we should at least meet up for a coffee and cake (say) after the first loop.

I've had colds like this that have cleared up suddenly, but I have also had them leaving me wiped out for a week. If I think I am going to be ok for Saturday, I will go and ride up one of the local hills on Friday to make sure.

Meanwhile, I will try and get my Cannondale 'tripleised' so I have a choice of bikes if I am riding.

 

[MartinQ]

I have a heavy cold

MTFU

@ColinJwould be great to meet up and do the ride

. @Fnaar are you still interested in meeting up? I'm not speedy but once started I usually keep going ... I can't guarantee things (last weekend was fairly awful), but fingers crossed.

If I feel on death's door and unable to ride, we should at least meet up for a coffee and cake (say) after the first loop.

As long as you're past the infectious phase. Would be good to meet up, but as you say above, this + other stuff isn't great. Could always wear a mask

 

[Fnaar]

. @Fnaar are you still interested in meeting up? I'm not speedy but once started I usually keep going ... I can't guarantee things (last weekend was fairly awful), but fingers crossed.

Yes, definitely... I'll be there, with bike. If anyone coming, please let me know here on this thread (or PM) and meet as per Colin's original plan in the car park... If nobody coming, I'll set out on me tod from the goldf club after dropping my car. Look forward to seeing whoever can make it...I'm not that fast either, and though I'm used to hilly riding, I suspect these will present quite a challenge

 

[ColinJ]

MTFU

The reason I am being cautious!

If it is looking doable, I will try a spin on my gym bike on Thu evening. If that goes ok, will try a few miles and a hill or two on Friday. If I can cope with that, I will certainly do the first loop.

I am still bunged up, but feel less wobbly than yesterday, so it looks like the old immune system is finally getting to grips with the bugs!

 

[Fnaar]

@ColinJ and @MartinQ
I will PM you my mobile number for textual contactability in the case of hopefully-meeting-up-ness.

 

[MartinQ]

The reason I am being cautious!

Can understand. Last few months I've been quite light headed when riding and had two offs from simply not concentrating. Once onto a grass verge on a normal road, the other while crossing a ford. The water helped wash away the blood, thanks warfarin .

 

[ColinJ]

Can understand. Last few months I've been quite light headed when riding and had two offs from simply not concentrating. Once onto a grass verge on a normal road, the other while crossing a ford. The water helped wash away the blood, thanks warfarin .

Yikes!

To anybody thinking of doing the ride, who has not yet added their name to the list: I have told the others privately - a bad cold has left me a clogged-lung snot-monster with jelly legs, so I am not well enough to handle this ride. It is still going ahead though, with Fnaar leading the way.

I am going to come and say hello at the beginning, and will meet up for the cafe stop back in HB.

JUST A COUPLE OF NOTES ABOUT THE ROUTE OF LOOP 1 ...

Some of the lanes are a bit tricky in places. If I had been there, I would have gone to the front and warned you of some of the pitfalls, such as gravel on bends, potholes in dodgy places, and adverse camber. There are a few places where you can meet cars coming the other way from blindspots. Just ride cautiously when you can't see what is ahead, and you should be ok.

As you begin the descent of Scout Road into Mytholmroyd, you will encounter a road closure. The reason for this is that there is an old asbestos tip in the woods on the descent. It is covered over and set well back from the road, but the council has detected some minor landslip and is being ultra-cautious about letting anybody use that road until they sort it out. All the cyclists I know just walk their bikes round the obstacles and carry on. Assuming you do that, be careful because the road is strewn with branches and leaves. It's amazing how quickly a road gets covered when there is no traffic to blow debris away. Oh, and dog walkers think it is safe to let their pooches loose because nobody will be using the road ...

If you don't want to run the miniscule risk of passing 100 metres from a covered tip, turn left up Steep Lane and make your way back up to the Cragg Vale Rd, where you would turn right and descend the road that you had climbed earlier.

I had marked the return from Mytholmroyd to Hebden Bridge on the Calder Valley Greenway/Cycleway. That is much quieter than the A646, but the main road is the obvious option for ease of navigation and speed. Your choice. (To do that, turn right from the end of Scout Road, then left towards HB on the A646 a couple of hundred metres further on.)

 

[MartinQ]

Weather looking OK for Saturday morning, hopefully the rain should have cleared before we set off and my yellow tdf top will be dusted off. Can't imagine there will be many of those around on Saturday.
Looking forward to it and currently trying to convince myself that I'm not coming down with a cold, on top of everything else .