First experiences of riding in Yorkshire.

dai_t75

Overall very good!

The other half is from just outside of York so we went up there for a few days over the holidays and took our bikes. I was looking forward to the flat rides on the back of a pretty poor couple weeks training/riding prior to the Christmas period. It was very enjoyable, even though it was wet and very cold. I could not get over how courteous all the drivers were! We were given a lot more room than I am accustomed to which was a nice change. I was thinking it may be due to the fact that there are more cyclists in the area? Or are the locals just more patient at this time of year :P

I was expecting it to be a completely flat ride... unfortunately I let the missus navigate and we ended up going up a nasty little hill called Terrington bank I believe. I managed to make it up, but spent the next 15 mins by the side of the road trying to recover (I blame all the mince pies). I nice old gent popped his head out and asked if we were ok 8)

Just wondering how you all transport your bikes? I popped the front wheel off and put it in the back of my car. It was a bit of a faff mainly down to the mudguards catching/not wanting to bend them. Do you all do this, or is there any good racks that you use?

lotus49

It's funny you should post this as I posted earlier today in another thread saying how polite I had found drivers to be.

I learned to drive in London and when I moved back to Yorkshire I expected the standard of driving to be higher and for drivers to be less aggressive. That proved to be completely wrong.

However, now I am back on a bike after many years, I have been very pleasantly surprised at how careful drivers are. No-one has shown any signs of aggression and drivers generally pass wide and slowly. I'm really not sure why drivers treat cyclists with so much more courtesy than other drivers around here but I'm not complaining. There are a LOT of cyclists in the small town where I live though so perhaps they are more conscious of us. It may also be that the level of traffic is fairly low so being stuck behind a bike for a minute won't make any overall difference to their journey times as they can easily overtake safely and then catch up with the next car.

rolf_f

Terrington Bank is a little sweetie! It looks scarier than it is as it goes straight up the hill but it is nothing compared to eg Boltby (or indeed most routes up onto the N Yorks Moors).

But where you were is a lovely part of the world to cycle in - not too hard but with some nice challenges as well but only if you want to take them on.

dai_t75

Rolf F wrote:

Terrington Bank is a little sweetie! It looks scarier than it is as it goes straight up the hill but it is nothing compared to eg Boltby (or indeed most routes up onto the N Yorks Moors).

But where you were is a lovely part of the world to cycle in - not too hard but with some nice challenges as well but only if you want to take them on.

I am still very much a novice so I wouldn't call it a sweetie for me yet! I am still in the mind set of avoiding hills where possible :P Hopefully come next spring/summer I will be in the mindset of looking for the challenge instead of avoiding it. It's not that I dislike the challenge now... it's more than my body cannot take it yet, so I need to build up my endurance.

I agree though, it is a nice area to cycle in and I will be back there no doubt at some point in the near future. Any recommended areas to head for? We will be starting from Strensall if that makes a difference.

rolf_f

dai_t75 wrote:

I am still very much a novice so I wouldn't call it a sweetie for me yet! I am still in the mind set of avoiding hills where possible :P Hopefully come next spring/summer I will be in the mindset of looking for the challenge instead of avoiding it. It's not that I dislike the challenge now... it's more than my body cannot take it yet, so I need to build up my endurance.

Ahhh, but Terrington is still the most memorable bit of the ride - the bit you are most pleased you accomplished (and you did - which is the point!) and the bit you talk most about I bet. That's the thing about hills - they are terrible when you are on them and brilliant once you've got up them!

Come back soon!

unixnerd

I was thinking it may be due to the fact that there are more cyclists in the area?

I was in York to collect a car last week and I very surprised at the number of cyclists I saw both in the city and on the B roads. I must admit once you got out of the city centre it seemed fairly relaxed.