I've done that hill a few times, both up and down, along with the three a bit further South which run into Brantingham and Elloughton during the Summer. I was in that area in the past two weeks trying my new bike out on all the hills I could find close by, just heading North towards Market Weighton from Welton, just zigzagging up and down the wolds as I slowly headed North.
I think it was on the road downhill through Elloughton Dale where I had a scary moment in the summer and discovered orange tinted sunglasses are not that good and now only wear yellow. I was out on a club run one evening, heading west with the sun in our faces, when we hit this downhill section lined with tree's on both sides and overhanging the road cutting out all light, along with my sunglasses and my eyes not adapted to the sudden darkness, I could only see about twenty yards apart from the white lines in the centre of the road which I took my guidance from, and I was hurtling down the hill when I saw something white on the road which was a bit different from a road marking. It turned out to be a jogger running uphill who I swerved round, and the only one I saw initially because there was a great group of them all in dark clothing running just behind, scattered all over the road.
All I could do was stay in the middle of the road and pray for the trees to clear so I could see again. At the bottom, a friend could not stop laughing at me for what I had done as he said that he could hardly see himself and he did not have glasses on so he knew that I could not see at all and how I had missed all the joggers as he followed me downhill.
I've been giving the new bike a real good testing on the hills, did the Big G again on Friday, and even with having to stop a few times to tweak my saddle and go slow downhill, as it was wet and muddy in a lot of places, I managed to do it in 3 hours 50 mins which is my best effort yet. The new bike has completley changed things, on Friday on the big G route, I only spent 21 minutes in heart rate zone 5, life has become that easy, but last July on the day, it was 1 hour 23 minutes as I pushed hard to get round within 4 hours.
I saw in Beverley Guardian last Friday, that Beverley once again is hosting that cycling weekend again in July 2010, racing Friday night, Big G Saturday, and racing Sunday. So I have already got my training on the go all ready.
. It seems to go on forever. It would be fun to try going up!
. 2 out of 2!
