Ron Kitching report

[simonfrench]

We'd signed up for the 100k circuit (rather than 150k) as my riding mate Mike hadn't ridden much. Packed our bananas, water and gels, pumped up the tyres to the max, and headed to the information tent to sign on.

(The ride co-incided with the York cycle show, so there were hundreds of cyclists milling around, and all sort of off road and on road events planned, it transpired)

The course started flat - meandering through the streets of York and north towards the Howardian hills. The sun shone, people were friendly and the scenery was great too. We soon had to climb a couple of short sharp hills (known as 'banks') and from then were up on the tops of the hills, and into more rolling terrain. On one of these banks I was overtaken by a female Addiscombe rider .. too quickly to say hello, sorry.

The route continued north until we reached the North York Moors proper, skirting through Hutton le Hole before turning south again to tea stop. Meanwhile the 150k-ers had started an hour ahead and were tackling the moors proper - including an infamous 33%-er.

And what a tea stop - the local WI was out in force and did us proud - 3 cakes and a cup of tea for 2 quid. (yes, I was relieved not to see calendars on sale.....)

Return involved more hills, circuiting Castle Howard - as impressive in the flesh as on Brideshead - and back down into the Vale of York to finish. Most dangerous part of the day was the last mile thorough York dodging tourists with their heads in the clouds.

Great day. Think I might do the 150 next year but first I'll change the SLR for something easier on the bum (any suggestions?!) and get something bigger than a 23 on the back.

Cheers
Simon

[Maria David]

Ooh great - so I wasn't the only Addiscombe rider there.

I did the 150k ride, 'cos I felt I had to make the most of my trip up to York.
The outward route is in 3 phases - the first phase - 12 miles of pan flat, as you are in the Vale of York. 2nd phase - You then see a very inviting road that says - "Welcome to the Howardian Hills", and suddenly the pedalling becomes harder as the elevation rises. After a bit of climbing, the 3rd and serious phase begins as you then climb up a steep bank to reach the North York Moors.

It doesn't matter which road you're on, you can't avoid going up a steep bank of greater or lesser tribulations. The 1 in 4 White Horse Bank is probably the worst. On Saturday the route took us through the less malicious Terrington Bank.
Given that I'd set off late with the 100k riders it was a job for me fathoming out from the route sheet where I was meant to turn off for the 150 route.
Unfortunately I only realised where I was meant to turn off 6 miles after the intersection, while in the cafe at Hutton le Hole !!
I then had to retrace the 6 miles (mainly uphill) to Farndale. That was tiring enough, but the mile or so of 1 in 4 up Blakey Bank was a real quad buster.
Given that I was on my training bike which only had 39x26 gearing I didn't even consider riding up the cliff aka The Chimney (35%), so took a longer route around Rosedale and through some pleasant rolling lanes. Ok, easier than riding up a wall, but still lots of 10 and 12% mini rises. Moors are definitely tougher than the Dales or the Wolds.

The North York Moors are very beautiful in a bleak kind of way. When you're at the top all you see are other moors bathed in a sea of bracken, heather and ferns, giving the mountains a strange browny, purply colour.
There are hardly any vehicles - just sheep, tractors, and a few 4 x 4's.
Some days you get a howling wind, and all you want is to find some shelter and hope that someone called Heathcliffe might come and rescue you !

Anyway, I continued my ride back to York, and passed through Castle Howard (of Brideshead revisited fame). Definitely as splendid as it looked on tv.

It was a welcome sight to spot the Minster way over in the distance and to know that I was approaching the Vale of York.
A good work out, and a ride I would definitely recommend for all round training. (Note - this isn't sign posted, so route sheet reading is de rigueur, if you don't want to do supplementary miles !)

Back at York Race course, where the ride began, I took the time to browse around the York Rally.
This Festival of Cycling is a bit different to what you get at the Excel Centre or Business Design Centre in London. It's more hands on, with lots of displays of weird and wonderful bikes - recumbants of various shapes and sizes, brompton tandems, tricycles with great big wheels, penny farthings etc - I half thought I'd bump into a Maurice Garin lookalike !

And of course you get the usual bike stands - the best bit though, was lots of stands selling bike accessories/kit had special offers for the show. Butlers had a stand up there so I was able to get a double whammy of the bike show discount as well as my ACC discount (Thanks George !).
The rally is a good place to go if you get the chance. It's a good meeting place - I was surprised to see a few people I know up there. And if you've got kids it can be a good day out as there are lots of organised rides of all levels and distances, as well as the mother of them all - Ron Kitching Challenge Ride.