28/05/2010 by Ben.

Evening fellow Thorpers.

I just wanted to post a quick note prior leaving on my trip.  Just in case you were not aware, I am cycling from Bradford to San Remo (Italy) in order to raise money for the Bradford Burns Unit which was set up following the Valley Parade fire in 1985.  Please have a look at this previous post for the details. I am leaving on Friday (4th June).

I wanted to say a big thank you to you all for both your generous donations (I’m still happily accepting donations here (it has been tempramental but it should work fine and certainly will be clear when it has taken the money))  and the support you have all given me over the last 6 months since joining the club.  You have all greatly increased my cycling confidence and without the excellent Sunday club runs I would, without question, not be as fit and ready to go.

If anyone would like to follow my progress online, my Blog (www.bensbigtrip.wordpress.com) is the place to go.  I will be updating it as much as possible when I am away.  I will also be ‘Tweeting’ my progress via my Twitter account (www.twitter.com/BensBigTrip).

I won’t be out this Sunday as I will be ‘resting’ prior to setting off on Friday although I may pop down to the Library with ‘Fry Up’ for the banter before you all go.

Thanks again everyone.  I  look forward to the Sunday run at the start of July when hopefully I will be back and ‘tanned’!

McCall - I WILL be doing a TT this year, I promise. (It would be great if there are any that are 80 miles long and require a 12mph average after what I will be used to!)

Alistair - I will be texting you back for some ‘training runs’ (i.e. drafting practise for me!) when I return.

Doug - I will let you know how the ‘Camping’ goes.

Ben

Posted in Charity | 4 Comments »

12/04/2010 by Ben.

Evening fellow Thorpers.

As some of you may or may not know, along with Cycling I watch a lot of football (Bradford City (Insert joke here!)).

As you will all no doubt remember, in 1985, there was a fire at Valley Parade which killed 56 fans.  I was only 3 at the time and didn’t go to the game however, strangely my Grandfather did get to the ground but after feeling unwell, bought a programme and went off home again before kick off.

Following the fire along with the 56 killed (mainly children or ‘older’ fans) there were over 200 people badly injured and transferred to hospitals in the district.

Following the fire, the people of Yorkshire and across the world raised £3.5 million, part of which was used to set up a dedicated burns unit at Bradford university. The unit continues to do incredibly valuable work both treating and researching burns injuries. In order to continue doing this, it needs money as it is partially run via public donations.

25 years on from the fire this May, the Telegraph and Argus and Bradford City are running a campaign to raise £100,000 to ensure the survival of the Burns unit which will otherwise be in real doubt.

Back in October last year I decided in order to raise some money I would think of a cycling challenge.  Once extreme Unicycling had been ruled out I set upon the idea of Cycling from Valley Parade (Bradford City F.C.) to San Remo (in honour of Cavendish’s 1st major one day race win) over 3 weeks in June.  I will be camping as I go.

Planning has been ongoing for quite a while and I have set up a blog to document my progress (don’t worry, there are no pictures of me in the nip (Steve, I emailed you those separately, as requested. You owe me £10 now as you didn’t pay me for the last lot)). There is lots more info in the blog about the plans so far (total distance is roughly 1200 miles and the route includes a stage of this years Tour!).

Please take a look and also take a look at my JustGiving page and if you can, sponsorship would really be much appreciated, any amount however small. Alternatively, any sponsorship can be collected on the club run and I can apply it to the total. It is a very good and local cause.

Thanks for your time.

Ben

Posted in Charity | 10 Comments »

27/09/2009 by Martyn.

A cool breezy day was almost perfect for the latest running of this popular charity ride, from Easingwold, N Yorks. 

A swift one hour drive from home and i was there in plenty of time, a chance to chat to riders I have seen before and  get ready before the 0930 start,as about 200 itchy riders lined up.

As soon as the route left easingwold high street riders from Yorks Road Club, Dinningtton Rc and other clubs well represented lifted the pace and despite taking in Terrington Bank and climbs around castle Howard we covered 21 miles in the first hour.  Ridng in the front group of about 30 riders I was glad i had left the  saddle bag and kitchen sink at home! 

The was the flavour of things as the ride was fairly flat for the next hour and we flew past Flamigo Land and out towards Ampleforth.

Some roads were narrow and with gravel on teh bends, but good shouts from those at the  front meant a safe  ride.  Although i did come close to riding on the grass verge whilst trying to catch up to the group on one descent!

 There is some lovely scenery out there, (so i am told as i was watching wheels, and chewing my stem quite a lot) and the climbs around Hovingham were taken with the thought that it was better to suffer and shove the HRM into 90%+  than lose the group and have to ride alone

 The inevitable happened after 53 miles and 2 hrs 40 in the saddle, the  climb to Ampleforth just  took too much and the group pulled away, as fatigue set in I eased back stoked the engine with nutragrain and hoped for a second wind

 I didn’t have to wait long as at 59 miles i hooked up with a rider from Scarborough who had shipped his chain and got dropped and we  rode together to finish the 70 mile route in 3hrs35 mins,

It isn’t compulsory to try andkeep up with the front group and there are cafes en route if anyone fancies an easier day

 How about a few Thorpers next year?

Posted in Charity | No Comments »

10/08/2009 by Doug.

Ravensthorpe CC was well represented here - myself (Doug), Alex, Craig Newton and Richard Creaser. Richard had cleaned his bike, and did so intermitently throughout the day. On one occasion I saw him use his tongue to do it - though that may have been purely for personal gratification, I don’t really know. Craig is very much on form - new bike, new haircut, new fitness and new strip. What can we say about a man who wears “Hargreaves” colours? Alex and I were just the same as always. We had the usual moose impressions from Alex, and I did my best to keep my mouth shut all day with varying dgrees of success (well, no success, actually). By the way, Richard, my bike was still cleaner than yours despite all your efforts; and I didn’t kiss mine once!

There were about 30 riders at the start - most of you will know the format, Fleet Moss for strters, Garrowby Hill before lunch, Woodhead Pass and Holme Moss at the end. According to my computer, actual riding time was 9hrs 58 seconds - under 10 hours - yes! After 140 miles we had all averaged 18.3 mph. At the end (about 172 miles) our average was 17.1. This was achieved with everyone taking turns on the front. Of course we had a break for lunch and some scheduled stops, but the times are pretty damn good.

 The weather was hot, hot, hot and we had 5 punctures. One lad vomitted in dramatic style after Penistone (proper projectile stuff) and them screamed in pain as he got cramp. He packed in at that point. I had a snack and carried on. God I enjoyed that snack - needed it, too. Another lad vomitted at the top of Woodhead. He carried on and told me of the incident when we regrouped at Holme Moss - by that time he had turned a shade of green. Brilliant! What more could you ask for on a day out?

The cameraderie was excellent - a good day was had by all. Would I do it again? Having done it three times now, er ……. maybe. Well done everyone!

 Doug

Posted in Charity, Club Run | 7 Comments »

11/05/2009 by FactoryPilot.

The above challenge celebrated it’s 10th anniversary this year and I was glad to be part of it. After getting up at 04.45 (!!!) to a clear and still morning, I stuffed my face with porridge and headed for Coniston with Ange being kind enough to get up and drive me there. Setting off at 06.50 ish to a now overcast sky and cool temperatures, I spun a nice low gear to thoroughly warm the legs through. Hawkshead Hill and the unclassified climb up through Troutbeck came and went without problem, offering some beautifully panoramic views over Windermere. Kirkstone, as always on the Fred, was the first real challenge, however it seemed easier than usual and the wonderful descent into Patterdale was far more memorable. In fact everything which would normally be challenging such as Matterdale end, and the lumps prior to the A66 to Keswick were a breeze and for the first time of my three rides at the Fred, I had chance to appreciate the scenery instead of grovelling and staring at the tarmac 2m in front of me.

Honister pass arrives at about 48 miles…..and it kicks ass! It’s long and hard (ahem….stop it Steve….) with gradients of 25% in places followed by a treacherously steep descent, which thankfully was dry this time. The first feed at Buttermere comes about 5 miles from the top of Honister, and I arrived in 3.17:44, filled the bottles and troughed a banana and set off again….straight into Newlands pass, a long, straight grind at about 20%. After the descent the scenery is spectacular and quite lumpy leading on to Whinlatter pass which I seemed to remember as being fairly easy. I have now altered this to fairly hard as it is quite long with steady sections and steep sections climbing up through a forest. A geat crowd greeted the riders at the top reminiscent of Tour of Britain crowds on Holme Moss, it was brilliant.

The climbs of Ennerdale/Calder Bridge were bathed in warm sunshine and the view out to the coast as you head towards Gosforth kept the pain at bay. I reached the second feed in a time of 5.45:12 and took 15 mins rest to swallow a fly cake and stretch off a little. I set from here with a group for the first time on the whole ride. We cruised along at decent pace taking turn at the front, until a couple of miles from Hardknott pass and I started easing back to rest my legs. It didn’t work…..I nearly made it over the first steep (25% !!!) section coming at 100 miles, but niggling cramp stopped me. I walked up to the middle section which is easier and got back on the bike. Again, as I hit the 33% top section, the cramps stopped me again. My first failure up Hardknott. I got back on for the awful descent when the heavens opened and the temperature plummeted. I sailed up Wrynose while being pelted by hailstones!! The road coming off Wrynose was coated in hailstones, not nice when you’re tired, cold, wet and slowly riding down a 30% slope!!! The lumpy last few miles in to Coniston passed in sheet rain and after hastily grabbing my certificate, Ange drove me home while I shivered and moaned about cold and cramp…..brilliant ride, as always….cheers Fred.

Posted in Charity | 6 Comments »

05/05/2009 by Big'N.

Message from Dave Sowerby (e-mail received via web page)
(Posted on Blog by Big’N)

Could you please ask around at the club as to who is interested in doing Lyndas Ride 09^th August 2009. We are finalizing a list of riders for transport and accommodation purposes and we know some people are thinking of riding but have not yet committed. The requirement is to raise £100 sponsorship, or failing that a £50 entry fee is payable by the 25^th July 2009.Places are being filled quickly so anyone who is interested needs to contact us as soon as possible. Many thanks 

Dave Sowerby

sowerbybros@tiscali.co.uk

Posted in Charity, Sportive | 7 Comments »