That was a grand day out.
I set off promptly on the 200 and managed an impressive 5km before groups started flying past me. I reckoned that there were still plenty riders behind me and soon enough a huge group arrived, travelling at a pace that I could hang onto (and did). I was spat out the back on the lumps after Boroughbridge but soon reformed with smaller groups and arrived at Shelburn in decent time.
After some debate it appeared that retracing to Tadcaster and using the A64 cyclepath would be quicker (the official route through Cawood was a no no due to flooding). On arrival at the A64 flyover I could see no cyclepath so proceeded through Tadcaster in the general direction of York hoping that there would be a cyclepath wondering if riding on the A64 would be unwise. At this point Aidan and his trike caught up with me and we were delighted to see there was a cycle path and we sailed into York and enjoyed a Londis lunch control stop (slightly irked by the "do you want another 2l bottle of water for 1p" and "do you want a bar of chocolate for £1 or donate a bar of chocolate to charity"
stuff that now prevails in many service stations.
Aidan hopped onto a small group that overtook me near Aldwark but I was too busy enjoying the tailwind doing most of the work. I stopped again in Boroughbridge knowing that I would have to stop there or Ripon as there wern't many facilities after that. The bit up to Newton le Willows was uncharted territory for me and while a tad lumpy was evenly graded and it was now a lovely afternoon (not sure it ever got near the forecast 10deg mind).
The kms were ticking over nicely though I knew the final 20km or so would be straight into the wind. As is traditional on a 200 at this point I was passed by a few small groups of "faster-on-the-road-but-spend-more-time-off-the-bike-than-me" who were all very cheery. The last bit was something of a slog but I was heartened to realise that the Tadcaster / A64 retrace had actually taken distance off the original 206km event distance. I decided to shun the A167 (probably heresy) and the final Brompton and rolled into the finish having ridden just over 202km.
It was getting nippy when I finished and it must have been tough for full value riders. Myself and a fellow rider from Newcastle both sought shelter from the cold wind as we stood waiting for the train north at Northallerton station. Just as we were commenting on how cold it was, a group of scantily clad young women approached ready for a Saturday night somewhere. Oh to be young!
A couple of pints and a feed last night in Darlo and Im currently heading back to Edinburgh courtesy of LNER enjoying the views of the beautiful Northumberland coast. Bike cleaning, a bin bag of stinly kit and a snooze are this afternoons tasks.
G
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/83787955
