FLAT imperial century (metric century option) from Garforth, Saturday 10th July 2021

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Littgull and I are planning to repeat the century ride that we did in March 2019 from Garforth (check it out in THIS THREAD). The full route is 100 easy, flat miles but you could take a shortcut back to Garforth after our cafe stop and do 103 kms instead.

We had intended to do this one in 2020 but Covid-19 put a stop to that. Finally though, things are looking up so I reckon I should be able to run this ride this summer (2021). Restrictions should have been lifted by then, and all of us who want to be vaccinated should have had both jabs.

Let's assume that Boris is able to stick to his timescales... I am booked for the earliest possible family holiday in Devon at the end of June/start of July so let's pencil this ride in for Saturday, 10th July with a reserve date of the 17th?

This time though we will plan to ride back on the road through Kippax and forget about using 'The Lines' cycle path. We had to go via Kippax last time because of flooding at Allerton Bywater. This time I will have the Kippax route on my GPS so we won't get lost again! :whistle:

Littgull and I will be catching the train out to Garforth station, just to the east of Leeds and we will be doing a big clockwise loop from there. Our official start time is 09:15, about 5 minutes after our train is supposed to arrive. Obviously, if the train is held up there might be a delay. I'll make sure that I have a phone number for at least a couple of people meeting us at Garforth so I can let you know if there are significant delays.

NB Despite being a small town, Garforth has a second station (East Garforth) - don't go to that one by mistake!

It is an EXTREMELY flat route which I will be tackling on my singlespeed bike. There are just a couple of short testing climbs which you could walk up in 3 or 4 minutes if you had to. Ideal for anybody else who fancies a long ss/fixed ride, or anybody with gears who would like an easy chatty ride.

We won't be aiming for a quick ride, but given that it is such easy terrain I'd hope that we could manage an average of (say) 20 kph/12.5 mph, giving us a ride time of 8 hours with (say) 1.5 hours of stops on top of that. So, let's aim for a return to Garforth around 19:00.

NB The route, map, profile and GPXs below are subject to last minute changes in case of road closures. Check on the Friday evening to see if there have been any such changes.

Rough description of route: Garforth, Barwick in Elmet, Aberford, Bramham, Wetherby, Spofforth, Cowthorpe, Boston Spa, Bramham again, Ulleskelf, Cawood (cafe at Cawood park), Wistow, Thorpe Willoughby, Gateforth (shortcut across to Hillam for anybody wanting to do only a metric century; shown on the map by a red arrow), Carlton, Snaith, Gowdall, Moss, Trumfleet, Thorpe in Balne, Campsall, Norton Priory, Womersley, Cridling Stubbs, Beal, Hillam, Fairburn, Kippax, Garforth.

Map:

582461


Profile (Almost completely FLAT!):

582460


Please note: We will be using a cycle path from Wetherby to Spofforth. I'm mentioning this because a couple of riders complained about it last time. I really don't understand why - the surface was pretty good and most of us had no problems whatsoever! It is about only 4 km long. As long as it hasn't been raining heavily for weeks beforehand, it should be fine.

We will have one official stop at Cawood Park, after 66 km (41 miles). [NB I will check nearer the time that it will be open.]

Those of us doing the imperial century will have another short break somewhere about 3 hours further on. We won't be passing many shops so make sure that you have enough drinks to get you to Cawood, where you can refill your bottles. Also make sure that you carry enough snacks/food/gels (whatever you consume on long rides) to get you back from Cawood to Garforth.

I have attached GPX files for the imperial century and metric century routes. They are designed to work with my ancient Etrex GPS. If you use a GPS device, make sure that your GPS understands my files. Some people have to edit them to suit their hardware.

I hope that we can get a decent turnout again this time. If you fancy coming along, post below! :hello:

GPX viewer

GPX viewer
 

Attachments

  • Garforth metric century 2020.gpx
    18.4 KB · Views: 11
  • Garforth imperial century 2020.gpx
    28.4 KB · Views: 18
Last edited:
Yes, I'm definitely up for this one and I'll mark the date and reserve date on my calendar.
As you know @ColinJ, during the last year the arthritis in my knees has worsened considerably making our rides with steep climbs unviable for me due to the pain and stress on my joints. But long flat rides are still fine. I've done lots of flat (i.e less than 50ft per mile of climbing) imperial century rides in the last 12 months in the periods when COVID restrictions have allowed. I'm currently suffering from a strong vice like pain in both feet preventing me from walking any further than 100 metres without a lot of pain. My GP reckons it's a trapped nerve in my back causing it and has suggested I initially try an over the counter remedy called Tiger Balm. I've used it for over a week now and it has made no difference. It smells nice and that's about it. My GP says if the pain still persists after two weeks he'll prescribe strong pain killers but has warned there will be noticeable side effects such as fatigue. Not great for cycling long distances though. Thankfully, the condition has not yet affected my cycling as that is still virtually pain free. So it must be the weight bearing aspect of walking that brings on the pain. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a solution in the next few weeks. On days when I'm not cycling I'm currently house bound but at least there is the garden.
 
Last edited:

Buck

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Yes, I'm definitely up for this one and I'll mark the date and reserve date on my calendar.
As you know @ColinJ, during the last year the arthritis in my knees has worsened considerably making our rides with steep climbs unviable for me due to the pain and stress on my joints. But long flat rides are still fine. I've done lots of flat (i.e less than 50ft per mile of climbing) imperial century rides in the last 12 months in the periods when COVID restrictions have allowed. I'm currently suffering from a strong vice like pain in both feet preventing me from walking any further than 100 metres without a lot of pain. My GP reckons it's a trapped nerve in my back causing it and has suggested I initially try an over the counter remedy called Tiger Balm. I've used it for over a week now and it has made no difference. It smells nice and that's about it. My GP says if the pain still persists after two weeks he'll prescribe strong pain killers but has warned there will be noticeable side effects such as fatigue. Not great for cycling long distances though. Thankfully, the condition has not yet affected my cycling as that is still virtually pain free. So it must be the weight bearing aspect of walking that brings on the pain. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a solution in the next few weeks. On days when I'm not cycling I'm currently house bound but at least there is the garden.

Hope you‘re on the mend soon Brian :okay:
 

Soltydog

Legendary Member
Location
near Hornsea
I'm free both dates at present, i'm on leave the week between & am planning on a few days away on the bike, no set dates planned yet, but hopefully wont clash 🤞
 

Buck

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
@ColinJ Another potential food stop is the Birkin Fisheries Tea Room.
I’m not sure of their opening times but if Cawood is not an option then this could be albeit it is a little further and would require a small detour?
 
OP
OP
ColinJ

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I've just remembered an improvement made to the original route out on the road last time - we left the busy A162 early and rode through Grimston Park to Kirkby Wharfe. I'll edit the GPX files and map tomorrow to put that in.
 

Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
I've just remembered an improvement made to the original route out on the road last time - we left the busy A162 early and rode through Grimston Park to Kirkby Wharfe. I'll edit the GPX files and map tomorrow to put that in.
It is a nice shortcut through Grimston Park, although it is a private road I often ride through myself . Although it hasn’t happened to me, several friends have been asked not to ride through the grounds, apparently the residents are not too happy. Thought it might be worth a mention.
 
Top Bottom