Spring Into The Dales, Sunday 19th April 2009

ColinJ

It's not long until Spring Into The Dales comes round again. I wimped out in the bad weather last year but I'm planning to do it this year.

It's a lovely route from Hebden Bridge out into Wharfedale and back but be warned - it's seriously hilly - 2,230 m of climbs in 110 km (or 7,300 ft in 68 miles if you don't 'do' metric). Not one for those who prefer flatter rides.

The route has been changed slightly this year to take in some different climbs near Bolton Abbey and miss out the notorious footbridge over the Wharfe. I've not ridden those climbs before so I'm looking forward to checking them out.

I'm meeting up with a group of riders off the CycleChat forum at the start and we will go round at a fairly leisurely sociable pace, if any of you fancy coming along? I'd guess that we will take about 6.5 hours including stops.

andy_wrx

Good event.

I'd do it again if I wasn't going to be sunning it up in Italy 8)

Those people who do sportives and look down on audaxes as some sort of lower form of event ought to do this one

They'd find it tough enough for them and lots of people in club jerseys on carbon-fibre bikes at the sharp end (and lots of people at the sociable end too).

Magnificent slap-up buffet at the end (i've been to worse wedding receptions !)

And it's £3.50...

SunWuKong

I really enjoyed it last year and you're right Andy the spread was quality.

ColinJ

andy_wrx wrote:

Those people who do sportives and look down on audaxes as some sort of lower form of event ought to do this one

They'd find it tough enough for them and lots of people in club jerseys on carbon-fibre bikes at the sharp end (and lots of people at the sociable end too).

The organiser (Chris Crossland) told me a couple of years ago that nobody upto then had ever done the event's maximum average speed of 24 kph. I'm sure that someone has got close to it but if you fancy challenging yourself - see if you can. That would correspond to taking 4 hours and 35 minutes, but don't forget - you have to stay under the 24 kph average to each audax checkpoint so you can't just blast round.

PS Enjoy your trip to Italy Andy!

Not Another Hill

I'll probably be doing this along with a fair number of other riders from the Huddersfield Star Wheelers. I can't decide whether to ride there from Hudds and then back again (to make it 100 + miles). It may depend on the weather :!:

ColinJ

Not Another Hill wrote:

I'll probably be doing this along with a fair number of other riders from the Huddersfield Star Wheelers. I can't decide whether to ride there from Hudds and then back again (to make it 100 + miles). It may depend on the weather :!:

That would be a good hard century!

I rode over to Huddersfield to do the Kirklees Sportive last year and was pretty knackered by the time I'd ridden back to Hebden Bridge afterwards. I might try and cadge a lift for the Brian Robinson Challenge this year. That might depend on the forecast for me too.

AndyRubio

I did it last year, LOVED IT! Good Fred Whitton prep.

ColinJ

AndyRubio wrote:

I did it last year, LOVED IT! Good Fred Whitton prep.

Er, have you suddenly mutated for some reason Andy?