England : West Yorkshire Season of Mists (& Mellow Fruitfulness) 5/10/2014

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Due to work commitments and progression up the career ladder I've not ridden much. Starting commuting on Monday as my cold's just passed.

This means I'm no where fit enough to do this this year. Gutted as it's a really good route. Hopefully I'll get it in before year end.

F the weather continues as it has been so far in September - which it is predicted to do, then it'll be a good day out.

 

[ColinJ]

I had forgotten to enter, so I have just done an online entry.

A female friend and her friend might be joining me.

 

[busdennis]

hi all
thinking of entering this ride as my first audax, is there going to be a cyclechat group I could tag a long with?

 

[ColinJ]

hi all
thinking of entering this ride as my first audax, is there going to be a cyclechat group I could tag a long with?

I don't know if any other CC members will be coming with me this time, but you would be welcome to join me.

If my 2 female friends do the ride, they will stick with me (one is fit enough to blitz round an hour or two quicker than me, but her mate is more like my standard so she would be waiting for her anyway).

A mate says he will ride if the weather is ok. I reckon he will probably go on ahead though, unless he feels like an easy day.

How fit are you @busdennis? This is probably one of the hardest 100 km rides you could find in the UK audax calendar so it is a toughie for your first audax event! It is a really nice route, but it is hard work so you ought to be confident of getting round. I remember plotting an elevation profile of the route - hang on, I'll dig a copy of it out for you ...

Season of Mists profile

As you can see - there aren't many flat roads on the route!

The cut-off time for the event is 8 hours and 20 minutes but it would be better to aim for sub 7 hours 45 minutes to allow time for any problems and to get back in time to enjoy the goodies laid on at the finish.

 

[busdennis]

cheers for the offer Colin but I couldn't impose on you and your friend, I was more hoping for a cyclechat group which seems to have been organised in the "season of mist threads" over the last few years. On the subject of the rides profile that's whats attracting me to the ride. ive done the miles this year and much longer rides but want to test my self on the climbing. if I see a" Suggs" lookalike I will say hello

 

[ColinJ]

cheers for the offer Colin but I couldn't impose on you and your friend, I was more hoping for a cyclechat group which seems to have been organised in the "season of mist threads" over the last few years. On the subject of the rides profile that's whats attracting me to the ride. ive done the miles this year and much longer rides but want to test my self on the climbing. if I see a" Suggs" lookalike I will say hello

Most of 'The Usual Suspects' are otherwise occupied or have chickened out (@potsy ...). It looks like my friend's friend isn't coming so it will be 6' 1" me on a red Cannondale with 5' 1" blonde friend on her white/pink bike. May be joined by 5' 10" mate on a blue bike but I think he will go haring off with faster riders.

My avatar photo is getting more and more out of date! I am 8 years older but seem to have aged about 20 years in that time, now with greying hair and balding, and not helped by a bout of serious illness in 2012/13. I must update the picture. I'll see if I can get someone to take one I like on a sunny day somewhere nice.

Have fun tomorrow! The forecast looks ok, except that we might have a gruelling headwind slog back.

 

[busdennis]

Most of 'The Usual Suspects' are otherwise occupied or have chickened out (@potsy ...). It looks like my friend's friend isn't coming so it will be 6' 1" me on a red Cannondale with 5' 1" blonde friend on her white/pink bike. May be joined by 5' 10" mate on a blue bike but I think he will go haring off with faster riders.

My avatar photo is getting more and more out of date! I am 8 years older but seem to have aged about 20 years in that time, now with greying hair and balding, and not helped by a bout of serious illness in 2012/13. I must update the picture. I'll see if I can get someone to take one I like on a sunny day somewhere nice.

Have fun tomorrow! The forecast looks ok, except that we might have a gruelling headwind slog back.

only just seen this reply Colin, had a good ride today with good weather, could have done without the climb at about 55miles (where the nice chap in the yellow bib was taking pics at the top, car'nt imagine what I looked like) anyway finished just under 6hrs a with a couple of very small detours after getting lost

 

[ColinJ]

only just seen this reply Colin, had a good ride today with good weather, could have done without the climb at about 55miles (where the nice chap in the yellow bib was taking pics at the top, car'nt imagine what I looked like) anyway finished just under 6hrs a with a couple of very small detours after getting lost

Yes, it was a great day out. I was a bit slower than you, taking 6.5 hours to get back to Market St in front of event HQ, but I rode home with my pal to stash the bikes, and I had a quick wash and got changed. We then strolled round to HQ, and spent nearly an hour there, then strolled home again. I had a soak in the bath and fell asleep, eventually woke up, got out and that was still earlier than when I got back outside the time limit in 2011! I am definitely making progress with my health and fitness.

 

[busdennis]

well done colin. I have followed your illness thread as im a nurse and have done some work with anticoag clinics before our PCT pulled the plug.
lets hope cyclechat get a group together for 2015 as I would be happy riding faster or slower, defo intend to do more events next year including one of your forum rides.
I must say the food at HQ was the best ive ever seen at a cycling event.
are you on strava as this was my ride http://www.strava.com/activities/203669455

 

[ColinJ]

well done colin. I have followed your illness thread as im a nurse and have done some work with anticoag clinics before our PCT pulled the plug.
lets hope cyclechat get a group together for 2015 as I would be happy riding faster or slower, defo intend to do more events next year including one of your forum rides.
I must say the food at HQ was the best ive ever seen at a cycling event.
are you on strava as this was my ride http://www.strava.com/activities/203669455

No, I don't do Strava. I'm happy enough just posting in threads on CC, though I may start a routes & rides blog some time over the winter.

I probably will not organise anything else this year now because I think the weather will be on the turn and daylight hours will be getting short, and sunset earlier. I am going to organise another ride to Glasson Dock from Whalley for the last Saturday in March, 2015 though and you'd be welcome to join us for that.

We nearly always get a group of riders together for Spring Into The Dales in April,

 

[dan_bo]

Yes, it was a great day out. I was a bit slower than you, taking 6.5 hours to get back to Market St in front of event HQ, but I rode home with my pal to stash the bikes, and I had a quick wash and got changed. We then strolled round to HQ, and spent nearly an hour there, then strolled home again. I had a soak in the bath and fell asleep, eventually woke up, got out and that was still earlier than when I got back outside the time limit in 2011! I am definitely making progress with my health and fitness.

never mind DVT bro-falling asleep in the bath'll finish you off!

 

[ColinJ]

never mind DVT bro-falling asleep in the bath'll finish you off!

Only short people drown in the bath - I have a big bath but my feet still touch the end and my knees need to be bent for me to fit in it!

 

[ColinJ]

Oh and the other thing I forgot to mention was that @zacklaws rode up to me early on and we spent a lot of time riding together and chatting, which was nice.

 

[zacklaws]

Excellent day out and great to remember past rides as I rode along with Colin and it was thanks to Colin who got me into Audax's a few years ago. As for your fitness Colin, I was very impressed with it and never seen you riding so good. And to be able to chat away going up the steep hills, whilst I'm gasping for air sums up how well you are doing. Hope to see you on the big Audax's next year, The three coasts and the Old 240.

Pity we split up about halfway somehow, and even more painfull whan you rode into Coldwell just shortly after us as you and Karen must have only been a hill and corner out of sight all the way and just a short stop or slackening pace and we would have joined again then I could have told you about my exploits on the Tour de France at Hebden Bridge, eaten to death by flies on Cock Hill, fell of the kerb stone backwards as Contador came by. and then got bollocked for going too fast decending into Hebden Bridge by one of the jobs worth official.

The hill I mentioned on the ride is at Kidstones that somehow I can never get up.

Hopefully I'll get over for one of your rides next year, and for a suggestion one day, a ride from Hebden Bridge North through Otley way to North of Harrogate and back almost the same way and through Oxenhope is a real killer. Its roughly what I did for the Tour de France weekend outing and it was brutal. Harrogate to Cock Hill is just over 30 miles, I planned on a couple of hours, wrong, it took me about 3 and a half hours with non stop hils.

If I don't see you before Colin, maybe in March, Spring into the Dales is on my calendar.

Oh, and if there is something wong with your health, the only thing I can think of is see a Pychiatrist about your desire to descend hills like a crazed lunatic, I realised when I got home, that all those grooves in the dips are not caused by cars bottoming out and scraping the roads with there sumps, its been done with your chain rings as you pull 100 G pulling out of a fast decent, you madman!!!!

 

[sackville d]

A great ride, the weather was much better than I was expecting.
The excitement of the off makes going up through Heptonstall a breeze.Interesting to see that the highest point of the ride is the junction of Kebs Rd and Eastwood Rd.Smaller height gains were fought for much harder later on.
I forgot how tough the back end of the ride is and my legs had gone all bipolar on me by Downham and the ride up over the front of Pendle Hill.
One minute they were up for it fresh as daisies, the next, whimpering telling me they couldn`t cope.
Used the shared path under the double roundabout entering Nelson .Is that in the route notes?
I was glad of a tea and some Lemon cake at Coldwell before tackling El Bas**rdo up to Widdop then the (more or less) descent to Hebden Bridge.

Standout memories of the day
"You didn`t tell me there were cobbles!" a lady cries as we approach Heptonstall village.
The very able young couple on a Cannondale tandem going up over the Nick o Pendle.Good effort.
Control at Waddington tucking into a full English outside at Country Kitchen.
Riders having to wait at Slaidburn as a herd of cattle are brought down the road.Lucky for me this is my first planned sit down break and a chance of some real food as opposed to bananas or Haribos.Unlucky for the cattle as, Monday they go to slaughter.
Many thanks to Chris Crossland and all the team for their efforts