The Joys of Commuting

My commute to work usually passes in a sleepy blur most mornings, but with the recent cold snap i have been fortunate enough to enjoy some stunning early morning views along the River Ouse in York.
I had decided to leave the bike at home and walk from the Station to work, taking in the quiet scene along the river bank south towards the millenium bridge. The final stretch past Rowntree Park i have usually had to myself - just the trudge, squeek, trudge of my feet through the crunchy snow. So i took a few pics to show off the scene which has been pretty special with the bridge lit up by the christmas lights.

Winter Comes Early

It was only a week ago we were enjoying the moors by bike. This time its back on the Ski's as the first snow of the winter arrived - yes in November. For once my days off coincided with the brilliant white out conditions. So dusting of the XC ski's i headed out to check out the trails.
In all i made 4 trips out to Boltby Forest, 1 gruelling trudge/trip round Guisborough Woods, and 2 cheeky trips round Stone Cross Leisure Centre Field!, totalling 14hrs and 72km. Yeah not fast and quite a few falls especially at Guisborough.
If the winters continue to remain consistent like this then we can almost guarantee some snow each winter good enough to ski on. The trails in Boltby in particular are really well suited to holding the snow and if you time it right  a local gamekeeper will cut some nice tracks for you to then ski in. There is a good mix of flattish wide forest roads, a few steeper descents/ascents and then a good network of smaller trails even if a little rough. We certainly think it has potential to hold a Ski-Orienteering competition sometime in the future and we have 'mapped' most of the trails for skiability. The only real difficulty is being able to guarantee folk can get to Boltby via the narrow lanes. Access from Sutton Bank to Sneck Yate is usually clear or kept passable along the top road by the local farmers, and then there is a space for maybe 6-8 cars.

Mist, Moors & Muck!

We played host for a ride out east into the North York Moors with Helen & Chris Balfour of Pyractif. They were up in NE to visit family, so we had invited them to join us for nice ride out to test out our hills. The early morning murk was still hanging by the time we had set off from home. A little later than planned as Chris & helen had to setup there sturdy winter bikes - Ridgebacks, after dropping the trusty summer steads off for an overhaul on route north from the Pyrennees.
By the time we had hit the Chequers climb up out of Osmotherley the mist had almost lifted to give a great view east along the scarp of Great Arden Moor.

The roller coaster road that dips and banks across the moor to Hawnby nearly claimed Karen, as she punctured (5th time in last few weeks, need some new tyres!) on the descent to Blow Gill (very Apt). The missus is getting very handy at fixing punctures now so we were soon back on route if a little chilled. After the descent to Hawnby, the switchback down and back up Ladhill Beck Bank was only cleared with finesse by Chris B as the slippery roads/heavy bikes/dodgy cleats claimed the other 3 of us.

North onto the B road towards Chop Gate and we all took rolling turns to up the tempo & keep warm. Helen led us onto the Carlton Bank road and I proudly claimed the cafe wasnt far now! Karen and Chris pressed on just as we hit the drizzly mist. Helen and I crested the rise at Lordstones to see 2 rather pissed off faces before us. Gutted the cafe was shut. My moral took a momentary dive as had been looking forward to a hot mug of Chocolate and any sticky creamy cake. A quick descision was made to fuel up and push on home as the weather had now set in. Carlton Bank safely negotiated, waterproofs donned we hit the flatter lanes through Potto, E Rounton, Deighton to home, with all of us keen to keep the pace high to get home to the warmth and some nosh (well me at least!;-)).
A fun ride out on a testing route to give Chris & Helen a flavour of our training roads. Next time we meet up we will be in Spain on the Warm Weather Training Camp for a week. Cant wait.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/57468261?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4ce99120784030dd,0

Riding Down South

Enjoyed a great weekend of riding down south, whilst Karen competed for England at the Senior Home International.
Saturday, had a short cycle across the downs from Dicot to Tadley. Really nice quiet roads, with no potholes and smooth tarmac. Obviously West Berkshire have more money to spend on roads than N Yorks CC!

Sunday we had moved base down to the edge of the New Forest, staying at the Sandy Balls complex, near Fordingbridge in some plush pine cabins. I had checked out some routes before the weekend and discovered that one of the Wiggle Sportive's from early October had completed a route going right past. Having setup my garmin with the standard route of 65 miles, i set off early after breakfast into the cold but bright morning sun. The route went south skirting the edge of the forest then climbed up through leafy woodland onto the heath covered plateau and some very pleasant quiet roads. I seemed to be sharing these only with cyclists with a similar plan or the straying ponies and donkeys, and the occasional foraging pig. All were pretty oblivious to my presence and just carried on there merry way.
A very enjoyable ride, even though i think i did it the wrong way round to the sportive riders, it still seemed to work. It was a little tough coming back north from Bucklers Hard towards Lyndhurst with a cross headwind, but once back in the autumnal shade of the forest it was more sheltered.

C2C Pyrenees Day 6

Arette to Biarritz

C2C Pyrenees Day 5

Argeles Gazost to Arette

C2C Pyrenees Day 4

Bertren to Argeles Gazost

C2C Pyrenees Day 3

St Girons to Bertren.

What an epic day - so epic that my garmin didnt record it at all! It was a fairly murky day all round, damp and misty, with the occasional heavier shower and then warmed up after the descent of Port de Bales. So i will have to add the pics to this link to show how tough a day it was. Was pleased to have Moz's company on the climb up Port De Bales. More later

C2C Pyrenees Day 2

Ax Les Thermes to St Girons

C2C Pyrenees Day 1

Perpignan to Ax Les Thermes

Pailheres to Ax Descent

Coast to Coast Pyrenees

The time has come, and we are heading off to France for our holiday or is it crazy challenge!

We are cycling from east coast to west coast in 6 days. In total we will be covering 805km, with 17200 metres of climb.Taking in lots of Cols made famous by the Tour de France, and a few lesser known roads and cols.
I am certainly excited to return to the Pyrenees, having ridden there in 2005 and for the 2008 Etape Du Tour and Karen is really looking forward to it having never ridden in the Pyrenees before.
Our training has gone well, we think, but its hard to prepare for 6 full days without a rest day, unlike the Tour De France riders who usually only do 3 days of Mountain stages before a break. I will gloss over the fact they are racing for 3 weeks!

The forecast is good and very warm for the first few days, and we expect to be challenged and have to battle through feeling rough at some stage. Personally i am looking forward to tackling the Tourmalet again to see if third time lucky i can feel satisfied having conquered its slopes. But also visiting the lesser known Cols and there's a few testing ascents that Pyractif have found for our delight.

If you want to find out how we get on check back here from Sunday 22nd onwards to read about our trials and tribulations (Web access permitting).

We are going with the company Pyractif - http://www.pyractif.com/

High Moors, North Pennines

Our final hilly long ride before the trip to Pyrenees. We had been eyeing up a jaunt out to Teesdale for a few weeks and things had conspired against us on a number of occasions. Finally a window of opportunity arose when my parents visited for the weekend. They went off to Church on sunday am, leaving us a few hours to fill before meeting them for lunch and a walk.

Up early and on the road by 10am (after forgetting bike shoes! Doh), we headed north to tackle the middle section of the new High Moors Sportive - full ride on 19th Sept. Its certainly a challenge with climbing or descending the order of the day for most of the ride. A slightly easier section  from Edmundbyers to Blanchland. But the rest mixes some superb moorland climbs and fast (Max 70Kph) but not too technical descents to link the dales. 

We were blessed with a dry, almost breeze free day, and saw plenty of other cyclists enjoying the quiet roads and dodging the many lazing sheep!

We both were spinning nicely and knocking out a good pace ~ 14mph, until the last and toughest climb of Langdon Common. What a brute. A short sharp bank to start with then contour and drop slightly before hitting the main drag to the summit. It starts at 10%, and gradually increases upto 16, then 17 and 18 %, without much in the way of bends. Even with a 34x29 it was tough and we both fought the bikes to make it to the top gasping for breath. 

After a short respite to take in the stunning view down into Teesdale, we hit the descent of 10 miles back to Middleton and a much needed rest and refreshments.

Karen about to collapse at top of Langdon Common

We would certainly recommend the High Moors sportive as a tough end of season ride - you may even see us there.

Karen meets her match!

High Moors Training

Photos from National Sportive

Darlo Round 50

4 Hambleton riders made the early 7.30 am start from Northallerton - Jase, Andrew, Karen and Myself. Steady spin up main road for an hour to Darlo Dolphin Centre. Met up with Andy Massey who had cycled out from the Rowntons.
Round 50 is part of Darlington Cycling Festival and is a tourist trial ie you navigate yourself. Jase and Andrew had ridden the route last year and it uses local training roads, so navigation wasnt really a problem. With a slight tailwind we set off at a good pace 18-20mph, back down to Hurworth and then eastwards along tees valley. The first couple of banks had Karen puffing a little but she was fine later on. We gradually began to reel in a couple of groups as we headed south away from Tees onto home roads to Appleton. A sneaky cut down Baker street saw us jump the group we had been tailing. Andy M's family gave us a cheer and shouts of cheats, as we sped through the village!;-)
The pace turned up a notch as we were being pushed by a couple on a tandem. But the HRC train kept the head of the group through the lanes back to Northallerton, and then the turn back into the wind for the homeward stretch. The group had swelled a little and we even got some assistance on the front through to Streetlam. Then the bladders weakened and the HRC group dropped back as all the blokes needed to release some fluid!
Great timing as the heavens opened with the promised showers. Capes on, the HRC 5 got back into the rhythm and the rest of the ride saw us swapping positions with the tandem as they slowed for the hills, but caught us on the flat and descents. Another cheeky alternative route saw us ahead again through Middleton Tyas.
A couple more swaps with the tandem saw us back in front coming down into Croft and then the final 4 miles back along the main road into Darlo. A good HRC team effort and swift pace - Av 18.5 mph for the whole ride, and good banter with the other riders.
Andy M left us at Darlo to cycle home, and wearily the 4 of us decided shortest option home was best. Fortunately the tailwind gave some assistance despite the showers, and the plucky quad of HRC riders eased back home in 54 mins. A fab day out despite the rain - cheers Andrew, Jase, Andy and Mrs P!

So if you fancy a decent ride out with minimum fuss and a good training effort, then check out the next ride - The Round 70 on 4th July from Barnard Castle, or The Castles Ride (85 miles) on 1st Aug from Leyburn.

http://www.darlingtoncyclingclub.co.uk/pedalpower.pdf

See Ride Data below:-
Darlo Round 50+ by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Loch Rannoch - Tandem Ride

Our trip to Scotland for the Bank Holiday weekend combined Orienteering and Cycling. Saturday and sunday we competed at the Scottish Championships Individual Race and Relay both based at Rannoch Forest.

After sundays race we had decided to dust of Peg (Our Tandems name - Orbit Pegasus) after nearly a year of sitting patiently in the shed hoping for a ride out! We thought the tour round the lake would be a sensible challenge. Allow us to refresh our tandem skills - namely talking to one another, and a good spin out for the legs after the 2 days of running in tough forest.
There was quite a breeze blowing east to west down the Loch so I decided we should do a anti - clockwise tour as this would give us a bit more shelter on the return into the wind.
Its a fairly easy ride with a few undulations, but relatively little traffic as its a little off the main tourist route. There were quite a few other cyclists doing the same ride and we got a few smiles and admiring glances as we cruised round.
The forest edge round the Loch is pretty special - wild oak, birch and pine woodland to die for.
We managed the circular ride in 1hr 45 without too much effort and no major dramas or wobbles!

Loch Katrine & Trossachs

Wow what a beautiful sunny day in Scotland. I had promised to save this trip round the Loch for when Karen could join me, and it was to be our longest ride on our Tandem so far.
We had a few issues with a rubbing front wheel and jumping gears but after clearing the pier area at the south of the loch and all the walkers, we soon got into the roller coaster flow of the loch side road. It really is a lovely ride - through gorgeous natural oak woodland, weaving along the east side of the loch.
On one steep downhill section, I decided to try out our rear disc brake as I thought we might need it on the Dukes Pass descent later. Whoops! I had the lever half down for the twisty steep descent, then forgot which way to turn it and ended up full on as we started climbing again. Promptly bringing us to a swift halt and a not so stylish topple over into the verge. No damage to tandem or us fortunately, just a little embarrased!
Carried on round head of Loch to stop for lunch at Stronachlachar Pier - see pics.

Then headed up easy climb, followed by a cool fast downhill past Loch Ard, negotiating a few potholes and tourists cars on the narrow roads. Discussed our strategy for tackling Dukes Pass climb and decided to be safely in granny gear at the base of the climb in Aberfoyle. Just about negotitated the traffic without stopping then the long spinning grind up through the bends. A few impatient cars, but most respecting our need for more space. Had to stop just after first part of climb as both had burning arses! Not yet mastered the art of standing up on pedals at same time to provide some relief. Arses suitably cooled, we pedalled onwards spinning easily to the top. The final cruise down the flowing descent was good fun, getting used to leaning and steering the bike at speed.

All in all a lovely ride in stunning scenery.

Loch Katrine & Trossachs by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Lakes Training Weekend

Karen and I had planned a weekend of preparation aimed to help her peak for the World Champs Selection races in a weeks time (now only 3 days away).
Friday eve we joined up with club mate Paul Thornton to orienteer round the streets of Guisborough, OK not in the Lakes but was all part of the weekend! I planned a course that tried to take in some blocks of housing and then a mix of street O, plus a small bit of parkland. Mainly to help get Karen thinking about fast decisions and simple plans for each leg of the course.
Nice meal afterwards with Paul and Linda - cheers for the Chocolate pudding - am sure we had done enough exercise in 17 minutes to deserve that!
We drove over to Grange to stay with Karens's dad and saturday we had a session planned on Bethecar Moor. This was intended to match as close as possible the terrain Karen will expect to encounter in Scotland for the Long Race at Creag Mhic Challain. After a long run up through the forest we exited out onto the moor and completed a tough tour of the moor in sunny but blustery conditions. Karen was completing a longer course. I opted for the shorter cut-off option as have not really been training for orienteering and it was just for fun. Managed to nail the long leg, but then bumbled round the loop 11-17, then cleaner through the last controls. Karen followed not long after and was v happy with the training. Just a short jog back down the hill through the forest to the car - all on paths you understand. Stopped off in Coniston for some lunch and watched all the cyclists arriving to sign on for the following days Fred Whitton Challenge. Some even getting in last minute training on the first climb and looking like they were suffering... more pain to follow on the sunday for them!
Saturday PM - Karen had wanted to 'visit' her mum at the place where her ashes are spread on the flanks of Wetherlam. Its a beautiful location with stunning views all around - the lower lying forests and lakes to the higher peaks of the Fairfield Horseshoe and detailed craggy slopes of Wetherlam itself. Very restful and moving,  hoping to inspire Karen to good runs in Scotland.

Sunday - I had taken my bike so cycled from Grange to where Karen and Pippa were training at Gummers How. I knew this was going to be a tough climb up, but boy was that tougher than expected and yes my breakfast very nearly reappeared! My garmin was claiming a gradient of 31% for some of the climb. Definately a little brut. Duncan was waiting for me at the car park after his moments of torture cycling from Ambleside, swapped painful thoughts of the climb, then chose a short 1hr loop to get us back when the ladies had finished.
So up some more and over the top of the fell and weaveing our way down the narrow cumbrian lanes into the Lyth Valley. Skirted the west edge of Whitbarrow on the east side of the valley then crossed the flatter plain before returning into the wind on the west of the valley. We both knew what was coming. After a false steep climb then partial descent we knew we had to climb back up to Gummers How. We opted for the easier option as we zig zagged back up the slope of Cartmel Fell, legs screaming with the accumulated effort of climbing. A tough little ride, but nice to have different company to push me up the climbs. Thanks Duncan.

Caledonia Training Camp - Tour of Trossachs 2

Loch Katrine & Ben Leven.

Caledonia Training Camp - Tour of Trossachs 2 by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Caledonia Traning Camp - Tour of Trossachs TT

Loch Achray and Dukes Pass in the sun!

Caledonia Traning Camp - Tour of Trossachs TT by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Caledonia Training Camp - Etape Caledonia by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Caledonia Training Camp - Etape Caledonia by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Caledonia Training Camp - Loch Tay & Glen Lyon by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Caledonia Training Camp - Loch Tay & Glen Lyon by redpooley at Garmin Connect - Details

Caledonia Training Camp, 24-28th March

A great few days of cycling & a little orienteering in a beautiful part of Scotland.

Tour of Ilkley Moor

This route would make a good test circuit. Plenty of short sharp hills, and a few longer drags. It was certainly a tough ride for early season, and had me crawling along for most of it into a chilly headwind.


Karen was competing at the Ilkley Moor Regional orienteering event, so i went along to keep her company for the drive and for a change of scene from the local roads. 
I had a rough idea of a loop to take 2-2.5hrs but maybe had forgotten how tough the roads are. With parking for the O event on Wells Road on the south of the moor. I didnt have too much of a warm up before the Cow & Calf climb. I have ridden this once before, but this time it was a little tougher. I was trying to console myself with the thought of the Tour of Britain riders struggling up here in 2008, but decided i was set for a slow grind to the top.
The rest of the ride round the edge of the moor on minor roads was a roller coaster, plunging steeply down to the villages then crawling back uphill into the wind. 
All in all a good test for the legs, heart and lungs and worth the trip down.
Check out the stats below.
Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for Tour of Ilkley Moor

Welcome to my New Blog

Hi. I intend to post some thoughts & photos about my passion for cycling, some training rides and general cycling stuff about my 2010 season - my 40th year!
This is my first attempt at blogging (yeah takes me a while to catch on!), so please be gentle with your comments.