FLAT imperial century (metric century option) from Garforth, Saturday 23rd March 2019

[Steve H]

Tbh we're taking a big risk asking Steve. . As far as I can tell he's had a major mechanical on every single forum ride he's ever attempted.... I reckon chances of him completing a hundred miles without his wheels exploding or the drive train snapping are pretty slim.

And if our mate Mark turns up then all bets are off as he can't ride to the end of the street without something falling off.

How very dare you!

I was riding along on one forum ride with Steve and telling him that some CC members accused me of jinxing them. A few seconds later he snapped a spoke!

Ok - this one genuinely did happen. Literally within 30 seconds of him saying it.

 

[Venod]

One further thought for you to consider @ColinJ from Sykehouse use the TPT NCN 62 down New Junction Canal to Braithwaite, its a hard packed surface no mud or puddles. you still have to go through Trumfeet, the track shown on your map going south just West of Braithwaite is not there anymore

 

[mjr]

Stick to NCN 67 cycleway between Bramham and Boston Spa, putting up with rough 'dogleg' at Clifford.

 

[ColinJ]

One further thought for you to consider @ColinJ from Sykehouse use the TPT NCN 62 down New Junction Canal to Braithwaite, its a hard packed surface no mud or puddles. you still have to go through Trumfeet, the track shown on your map going south just West of Braithwaite is not there anymore

Thanks - I'll check those out when back on the laptop.

I'm hoping that we will get back before sunset but it will be close either way so it would be wise to bring lights unless you intend to only do the 100 km version of the ride. If it is getting dark by the time we get to Fairburn then it might be better to return to Garforth on the road via Kippax rather than venturing up The Lines cycle path in poor light - it has a lot of tree cover, though I suppose that many of them won't have leaves at the moment so that might not be such an issue.

Fingers crossed that the current wet and windy spell is finished by next weekend!

 

[Littgull]

Thanks - I'll check those out when back on the laptop.

I'm hoping that we will get back before sunset but it will be close either way so it would be wise to bring lights unless you intend to only do the 100 km version of the ride. If it is getting dark by the time we get to Fairburn then it might be better to return to Garforth on the road via Kippax rather than venturing up The Lines cycle path in poor light - it has a lot of tree cover, though I suppose that many of them won't have leaves at the moment so that might not be such an issue.

Fingers crossed that the current wet and windy spell is finished by next weekend!

If current the forecast proves accurate it's looking more positive about next Saturday being largely dry.But we could be battling a strongish cross/headwind for the return leg. Better than a full on headwind though. Especially in the unsheltered flatlands!
Plenty of time for the forecasted wind speed to lessen.

 

[colly]

Plenty of time for the forecasted wind speed to lessen.

Snigger !

 

[ColinJ]

I should take advantage of the riding down-time resulting from the wet and windy conditions and sort out the freehub on the singlespeed bike. It was never right from when I first built the bike. There is enough drag in the pawls to drive the chain round if I take my feet off the pedals when the bike is rolling along...

I also want to take a good look at the 19-tooth sprocket. I found others in my spares box which I could use if a replacement were needed. (The bike still rides well, but I think it is getting noisier. That could be due to the fact that the chain is longer and therefore has more tensioning applied to it.)

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, I didn't have the chain tensioner adjusted properly. A quick tweak of it before a ride to the shops today sorted it out. I think I won't mess about with the bike again before this ride. It will be the last long singlespeed ride for a month or two so I'll have plenty of time to sort out the freehub afterwards.

One further thought for you to consider @ColinJ from Sykehouse use the TPT NCN 62 down New Junction Canal to Braithwaite, its a hard packed surface no mud or puddles. you still have to go through Trumfeet, the track shown on your map going south just West of Braithwaite is not there anymore

It probably isn't obvious on that chunky map but my route actually uses Trumfleet Lane, west of the non-existent track west of Braithwaite!

It is probably time to list those aiming to take part:

• ColinJ
• Carrie??? (non-CycleChat friend who's been a 'guest rider' on quite a few of my forum rides. She hasn't yet confirmed whether she can make it.)
  
• @Littgull
• @Slioch
• @Kestevan - a firm 'maybe'???
• @colly - will meet us somewhere and ride along with us to somewhere else???
• @NorthernDave - may also meet us somewhere and ride along with us to somewhere else???
  
• @Steve H - may come out of retirement for the ride?

I have been double-checking the route and making a few small changes ... (Oops - getting very late... will update Monday afternoon!)

 

[Kestevan]

Looking good.
I may well have a few hangers on too...
Mrs Kes is a definate, and a few friends are likely to be joining in too.

Looks like we'll be doing the 100k version of the ride though.

 

[ColinJ]

Looking good.
I may well have a few hangers on too...
Mrs Kes is a definate, and a few friends are likely to be joining in too.

Looks like we'll be doing the 100k version of the ride though.

Excellent! I'll put a marker in the GPX file to show the split-point in case I forget where it is.

I'll post the definitive route when I am back on my other computer this afternoon.

I used Streetview to check how the cyclepaths get us round the nasty big roundabouts on the A-roads and A1M. I'm hoping that any unsurfaced sections will have dried out by the time we ride them. I bet they are pretty muddy at the moment after the recent rain.

 

[ColinJ]

I have rerouted via Womersley to try and catch the cafe there, but I suspect that we will not arrive in time. (If we leave Garforth bang on time, spend only 45 minutes on stops before Womersley, AND average 20 kph when riding, then we would get to the cafe just after it closed. If we managed to average 23 kph we would get there at 15:30, 30 minutes before closing time. We probably could average that speed, but I suspect that we won't and stoppages tend to add up to more than 45 minutes in 127 km!)

@Afnug - we have to cross the railway line again after Womersley. Streetview seems to be 10 years out of date for the whole area so I can't get a current picture of the 2 crossings that we'd have a choice of - up Northfield lane out of the village to use the Spring Lodge crossing, or the original route towards Darrington and then east along Stubbs Lane to use the Cridling Stubbs crossing. Does either of them now have a bridge over the line? ***

*** PS I found a couple of videos on YouTube dated 2018 which show that the crossings with half barriers, so probably not!

 

[Venod]

@ColinJ The spring Lodge crossing would be the best route, the road from Darrington to the Cridling Stubbs Crossing carriers a lot of quarry traffic and the road gets very dirty, my parents lived in Knottingley and if we used that road the car was always filthy.

Both crossing have barriers, but its not a busy line.

The railway lines at Spring lodge cross the road at an angle, my mate had to stop for a train and as he set off he was struggling to clip in, his front wheel slipped on the wet rail and he hit the deck, broken hip fixed with a new hip, but it caused him to hang up his wheels and he hasn't ridden since.

The cross roads east of Cridling Stubbs crossing (where you will be turning right) used to get very slippy and I have seen someone come off there, but it has improved since they have stopped moving slurry from Kellingley Pit, but beware, you could always take the right just before it and go through the village.

There is a cafe at The Blue Lagoon Diving Center as you come out of Womersley, on Northfield Lane, I have never used it, but I think some cyclist do, but it also shuts about 16:00 on Saturday I think.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...n_Cafe-Womersley_North_Yorkshire_England.html

 

[ColinJ]

The spring Lodge crossing would be the best route, the road from Darrington to the Cridling Stubbs Crossing carriers a lot of quarry traffic and the road gets very dirty, my parents lived in Knottingley and if we used that road the car was always filthy.

Spring Lodge it is!

The railway lines at Spring lodge cross the road at an angle, my mate had to stop for a train and as he set off he was struggling to clip in, his front wheel slipped on the wet rail and he hit the deck, broken hip fixed with a new hip, but it caused him to hang up his wheels and he hasn't ridden since.

I will definitely warn everyone about the railway crossings. My friend Carrie (who may be joining us on Saturday) had the same kind of accident on a wet diagonal railway crossing in Switzerland 18 months ago. This was the outcome...!

This was the crossing ... (locals who attended her lying in the road told her that they have multiple such accidents every year but the authorities do nothing about it, not even posting warning signs!)

The cross roads east of Cridling Stubbs crossing (where you will be turning right) used to get very slippy and I have seen someone come off there, but it has improved since the have stopped moving slurry from Kellingley Pit, but beware, you could always take the right just before it and go through the village.

The village sounds like a good option. We'll go that way.

Thanks - that is exactly the kind of local knowledge that I wanted!

 

[Venod]

@ColinJ Edited the above post to add this.

There is a cafe at The Blue Lagoon Diving Center as you come out of Womersley, on Northfield Lane, I have never used it, but I think some cyclist do, but it also shuts about 16:00 on Saturday I think.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...n_Cafe-Womersley_North_Yorkshire_England.html

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ Edited the above post to add this.

There is a cafe at The Blue Lagoon Diving Center as you come out of Womersley, on Northfield Lane, I have never used it, but I think some cyclist do, but it also shuts about 16:00 on Saturday I think.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...n_Cafe-Womersley_North_Yorkshire_England.html

Thanks, but that would be the same problem with closing time. Even if closing time were later, if we were making an second stop there after 16:00 then we would be doing the end of the ride in the dark, which I'd prefer to avoid or at least minimise!

Riders doing the full route will need to eat and drink enough at Cawood and then carry enough supplies to last another 4-5 hours of riding, in case we don't stop anywhere else.

After all the changes to the route, it was 2 km short so I have now added a little detour after the stop at Cawood Park. We will go to Wistow and then turn back towards the original route. That should be exactly 161 km/100 miles. These details are terribly important...