New Yeas Day 2010

A heavy frost had settled on the greenery which had briefly reappeared over the last few days as six resolute souls departed Dalton Sq. to fire the opening salvos of 2010, as another cycling year began in earnest for the Lune RCC.
After brief deliberation Chris M, Clive, Howard, John A,Jon and myself set off up the Lune Valley to Wray , Wennington and on to the first obstacle of the day the climb of Ravenclose. It was hear that at least one member of the party found the seasonal festivities manifesting themselves in heavy legs and screaming lungs as the group strung out in classic Lune fashion. After the usual regroup a left turn saw the steep descent into Burton in Lonsdale navigated with caution and then the steady pull up into the village and further undulations on the main A687, once again left the author questioning both his seasonal " refuelling " plan and not least his sanity.
Asteadier pace saw the group reach the A65 and the lack of a suitable open venue fro the "mandatory Cafe stop" was lamented. instead the group headed westward along the A65 passing through Cowan Bridge before turning left to take the " easy" side of the Lune home.( The thought of hanging on out of Arkholme and Red Well had been troubling me for some time).
So it was a brisk ride home with a favourable wind, taking us through the villages of the Lune Valley before the inaugural sprint of 2010 was fought out to the Caton sign. Chris, Howard or Clive will fill you in on the placings as i did the decent thing by not contesting the sprint .
Our reward for our New Years eve abstainance was an enjoyable 40 miles, ave 16mph, under some lovely winter sunshine
and home in time for well deserved lunch after our cafe free ride.

Ian Brez.

After a 15 minute delay due to a puncture at DS, I estimate around 15/16 of us left and headed north to Wray. The usual discussion/indecision resulted in a change from the 'published Kipper led route to Staveley'; we were heading to Hawes.

Some quick mph calculations were being done, and it was evident that we would be losing a few riders around Newby Head; they would take the shorter route via Dentdale and presumably Sedbergh or Barbondale.

On the first climb of the day over Ravenclose trouble hit; John A and Chris M both developed drive chain mechanicals that would result in them diverting at Ingleton, and again, presumably heading back to lancaster via Kirkby Lonsdale. We lost 4 there as we hit the A65, Paul and A.N Other joining John and Chris.

It was going to be a long ride today, and as we hit the Hawes Road, I took it steady with Nic, Leanne & Trev up to the Caves car park, attempting to preserve something for later on.

As ascended to Chapel le Dale, and then onto Ribblehead, the snow by the roadside was getting thicker and thicker; just before Newby Head, the road narrowed to one and a half lanes, in my mind was riding a stage of the Giro!

At Newby Head, Paulo, John and Hass turned left and headed to Dentdale, and the now remaining 9 of us started up the short climb to Newby Head Farm.

Almost immediately, Terry, Clive's mate, snapped his rear mech hanger (I think, as I'd ventured up the road taking photos) and with still a good 40+miles remaining, Clive made the decision to tell the rest of us to go on while he sorted the problem!

So, from 16 we were down to 7, and we descended quickly (except Trevor who punctured) into Hawes and a cafe stop. (There are more incriminating photos, but i'll leave them to Nic).

A welcomed break, and food, and another unexpected puncture for Leanne upon leaving the cafe, and we were on the road to Garsdale Head; it wasn't half as bad as I remembered from the Coal Road in 09, very little, if any, headwind. Past the Coal Road turning, and onto Sedbergh, at times this stretch felt like hard work, Andy & I doing a 10 mile turn on the front.

Through Sedbergh and onto Casterton and Kirkby Lonsdale, I for one started to feel the effects of not having ridden 4/5 hours for at least 3/4 weeks due to the weather. Normally I quite enjoy this strect, although the road is even now worse than it was before, with pot holes emerging all over the place after the thaw. Reaching Devils Bridge, I was grateful that Mark had suggested the flatter route home via Hornby and Caton rather than Arkholme.

Neil, Andy & Nic, took turns on the front to get us to Caton pretty quickly, and as we took the bend just before Bull Beck, who should we see up the road, but Clive and Terry (Clive having zip tied up a 'fixie' for Terry) who were spinning back to Dalton Square. We said hello as we sped past them; Neil winning a one man sprint for the sign!

When Mark & I got back to Heysham, we'd clocked up 88 miles in 5hr15mins. Bit of a shock to the legs, but I'm sure it will have done some good! It was a good day, and Mark had even done a turn on the front, chapeau!

A long day on the saddle was planned for the Lune RCC Club run with a route up to Shap and Tebay.

Given the distance involved and the days getting significantly longer already, it was agreed to meet at Dalton Square for 8:30am. Last year's saw a restricted group of three riders battle against strong winds. This year the more settled weather conditions meant that a 10-strong group, comprised of Paul, Chris A, Chris M, Neil, Paolo, Hass, John A, Clive, Mark and I met up to ride 80+ miles. We were all keen to get moving and with less discussions with regards to the route as in previous weeks, off we went and left Lancaster for the A6 to Carnforth and then the A6070 through Burton-in-Kendal. One could feel a certain level of apprehension as some of us hesitated to take turns at the front despite Paolo's attempts to organise the group.

Nevertheless, the pace was sustained and good progress was being made.

On our way near Endmoor we were briefly joined by Adrian Dalgleish, James Dunlop and Andy Horrobin who had planned a slighlty shorter but brisker ride through Grayrigg, Sedbergh and back.

Unfortunately the usual turn to Heyclose Lane caused a little confusion as we lost sight of Paolo. The group was unaware that he had briefly stopped and then took a different route towards Shap. A phone call to Paolo put that straight and a plan was hatched to meet up again on the long and steady climb up to Shap.

The climb up to Shap was best described by Clive as "steaming". What Clive meant by that from the outset of the climb, the group quickly split into two. The gruppetto quickly lost contact with Neil, Clive and I. The group of four remained together for most of the draggy ascent. None of of us bar John has ever been on that road before. It's a a very nice climb. Good surface, steady gradient with a few flat and downhill sections and on that day virtually traffic free. Near the top we met Paolo. It became quickly obvious that he was unhappy to have been left alone earlier and having to ride up the Shap road solo. However, to the group of 4, there was much confusion as at the turn to Orton where we'd all regroup Paolo decided to steam ahead and carry on his own!

As it turned out the regroup was to happen much later on at Sedbergh as the gruppeto opted for the shortcut discussed on the previous day taking the lane in front of Shap Wells Hotel.

At Sedbergh, the riders replenished their energy levels with hot drinks and food. Off we went towards Kirkby Lonsdale onto the A683 for the traditional "sprint" to the Caton sign. Chris Atherton edged John and Neil to the line. Later on, on twitter, Chris decided to dedicate his strong finish to the practice and advice imparted by Kevin H on the previous day on a training ride around the Cockerham circuit and to a piece of this cake (look away now if you are allergic to cake pictures...):

Man off! Where is Paolo? Clive taking every opportunity to pull out his wonder map of Northern England.

Howgill Lane approaching Sedbergh.

Nic.

The Return of the Ice Men

After a week of relatively warmer weather the return of sub-zero temperatures over the weekend was a sharp reminder that the winter is far from over. Local professionals Ben Greenwood and Matt Cronshaw enjoyed the high of the Rapha Condor Sharp Team Presentation before being grounded at Manchester airport on Sunday due to ice and snow. The delayed party were later able to fly to Malaga for a team training camp.

The 16 strong Lune ‘B’ Run assembled at Dalton Square to be greeted by leader Gordon Helme. Although the temperature was -2, the roads in Lancaster were clear as the party headed south to Cockerham. Beyond Pilling there were signs of fresh snow on the lanes and Gordon, wisely decided to adapt the planned route and stay on the main road to Hambleton and the River Wyre crossing at Shard Bridge. They continued over the Blackpool road and on towards Singleton and Elswick. It was here the road conditions deteriorated with a few scary moments on the corners.

The group continued on the B road through Inskip, skirted Woodplumpton, to reach the A6 at Broughton. Unsure what was in prospect on the lanes round Inglewhite the group headed north along the A6 to Bilsborrow. With the roadside fields now clear of frost it was agreed that the lanes by Claughton Village Hall would be safe and the group continued on this regular cyclists’ route to a welcome stop at Scorton. The return via Street Bridge and 5 Lane Ends was accomplished without mishap and here the party split, the Lancaster contingent headed for Galgate whilst the Carnforth group turned up the Quernmore valley towards Caton and Halton. With the temperature still hovering around zero thoughts turned to Matt and Ben, hopefully en-route to Spain.

http://www.raphacondor.cc/news/rapha-condor-sharp-2010