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

[Fnaar]

Yes, really looking forward to it, whatever the weather! See you tomorrow

 

[ColinJ]

I was just going to check the forecast ... (Checks) ... Ha, you got lucky - sunshine all day! A bit breezy though, which might make some of the more exposed sections feel harder. Sunday is looking wet for the actual TdF stage through here.

My timing is out by a few days. I was feeling a bit better this morning when I woke up so I started to wonder about riding tomorrow after all, but a quick run up a flight of stairs revealed that I am still pretty weak and wobbly. I am on the mend, but it will be next week before I can get back on my bike and enjoy it.

See you in the car park in the morning!

 

[Fnaar]

Best not to push it if you're not feeling well, Colin, but thanks again for planning what looks a fantastic route. See you in the car park! All the best.

 

[ColinJ]

Don't forget to take a few photos!

Steampig has gone a bit quiet ...

Paging @Steampig! If you still want to join in, make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to ride over from Keighley and be at the Market Place car park and ready to go by 09:45 tomorrow.

 

[ColinJ]

Well, I saw Fnaar and MartinQ off just before 10:00. Conditions had been a bit chilly when I got up, but the sun had just come out and it looks a nice day for a forum ride up here now, and for a Tour de France stage! A bit breezy, but nothing too horrid.

I will nip out and have lunch with them when they get back from loop 1. Meanwhile, I will watch the start of the stage as the riders roll out from Leeds.

Oh - the crowd control barriers are going up here. Portsloos are appearing in strategic places. Yellow bikes, jerseys, posters etc. everywhere.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Well, I saw Fnaar and MartinQ off just before 10:00. Conditions had been a bit chilly when I got up, but the sun had just come out and it looks a nice day for a forum ride up here now, and for a Tour de France stage! A bit breezy, but nothing too horrid.

I will nip out and have lunch with them when they get back from loop 1. Meanwhile, I will watch the start of the stage as the riders roll out from Leeds.

Oh - the crowd control barriers are going up here. Portsloos are appearing in strategic places. Yellow bikes, jerseys, posters etc. everywhere.

I went over to Ilkley and watched the TDF then cycled back and I will pop out over to Killinghall later and watch them come back into Harrogate, then tomorrow I plan to watch then on the York road in the morning.

I have never seen so many cyclists on the road, I came back up the Otley-Huby-Harrogate road and it was just a constant stream of bikes into harrogate several deep.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm starting to get a bit worried now ... the lads were talking about averaging 13-14 mph in which case they would have been back an a hour and a half ago. Either they have had problems, or the hills and the wind are much harder work than they thought they would be!

I'll try texting Fnaar, even though there are quite a few places on the route where there might be no phone signal ...

 

[MartinQ]

@ColinJ Enjoyable route though we took a couple diversions. The hills weren't too bad, but the cake and coffee at @Cubist took a little time. I had to crack on near the end in order to make my hospital appointment so hopefully @Fnaar got in contact when he got back to Hebden Bridge.

It was great to see everyone out for the tour tomorrow around Hebden Bridge. Quite a few dads on bikes with their young kids, some doing Cragg Vale . Thanks to @Fnaar for the company and hopefully I can chuck the bike in the car when I'm up north sometime and meet up for a ride. Thanks to @Cubist for the hospitality and riding out with us for a few miles and good luck for the sponsored ride. @ColinJ hopefully we can meet up for a chat sometime and its rare for me to miss a coffee/cake at the end. I ended up ;getting to the hospital a couple of minutes late & I'm sure I heard the nurse saying she like patients coming in all hot, sweaty and dirty . Having said that, I'm sure she turned up the dial on the electrical probe tests .

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, I did see Fnaar when he got back to Hebden Bridge. The town was really busy today so cafes were busy. We got takeaway drinks and munchies from a shop instead and found a spot down by the river to sit and chat.

I'm glad you made it to your appointment. From what Fnaar said, I thought you might have missed it.

I'm sure I heard the nurse saying she like patients coming in all hot, sweaty and dirty :whistle:. Having said that, I'm sure she turned up the dial on the electrical probe tests :wacko:.

Maybe that was the sweat conducting the electricity better! :laugh: I hope the test results are good.

Nice to see you both. I was sorry to miss out on the ride today, but it is definitely going be several more days before I will feel up to facing any hills on my bike. First, I have to slay the prolific snot-generating monster that seems to be camping out in my sinuses!

 

[ColinJ]

How on earth did those last 2 paragraphs become a link to my popup profile?!

 

[Fnaar]

A great ride, and a fantastic Le Tour-based weekend.
I did Colin's Loop 1 with Martin (had to part company towards end, @MartinQ had time pressure and needed to crack on)
Stopped chez- @Cubist during Loop1 for some very welcome coffee and cake.
I met @ColinJ again in Hebden for a coffee/pie/chat, which was good: Hebden was buzzing with Tour fever!
I then did Colin's Loop 2 on my tod, lovely ride as well, over Cock Hill (oo'er) to Oxenhope/Haworth, Penistone Hill, Cock Hill again.
Sunday morning had a quick spin over to Oxenhope again with a friend who'd arrived Sat evening...watched :Le Tour go through, barbecue with teh neighbours of where we were staying... and off back to Northumberland.
A fantastic weekend, all told, and thanks to all concerned, very much appreciated

Give me a shout if you ever make it up to Northumberland...it'd be a pleasure to return the favours with rides/suggestions/coffee and cake.

 

[ColinJ]

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.

I have just been reading through some of my old posts and found that one, dated July 2014. In the local Boxing Day floods of 2015, the hillside really got moving and came down onto the road. The tip has been exposed AGAIN!

The council really should spend the money and deal with the asbestos waste buried on hillsides round here once and for all rather than just reacting every time that there is a crisis. There is an awful lot of toxic waste from the former asbestos mill at nearby Old Town - LINK.