FNRttC York-Hull 30th August, 2024.

[Andrew Br]

I'll post this on CycleChat as well.

Registration is now open for the York-Hull FNRttC.
A route description is here (not my words):-

"The Fridays go north to York for an unusual, mainly flat ride that goes below sea level, but also lets you soar over the River Humber. 116km with just a couple of climbs.

The ride sets off by the steps on the western side of York Minster (High Petergate) at midnight, leaving the city centre, where people in strange outfits stare at people in strange outfits, to emerge into the darkness of the Vale of York. We pass numerous villages with names ending in Thorpe, cross the River Ouse, follow it eastwards and marvel at the only OS square with nothing in it.

If we get sufficient numbers we'll be stopping, as before, at the village hall in Garthorpe for refreshments. If not, we'll use the McDonalds on the outskirts of Scunthorpe.

Setting off as dawn breaks we're surrounded by a network of waterways, with the dyke wall above us. Over the Trent and past Flixborough, we’ll follow a track to Harkstow bridge, then a bit of bridleway round South Ferriby Cliff. We finish by riding through the cycleways of the Hull, arriving for breakfast around 8:00am at McCoy’s on the marina, or the Admiral of the Humber near to the railway station.

Please ensure you have train tickets and cycle reservations to York where the ride starts and back from Hull or alternatively via York before registering. Cheap advance train tickets are available for getting to York on the Friday, and then returning from Hull on Saturday. There are a few train websites, which let you book bike spaces at the same time as getting a ticket, e.g. Hull Trains. These tickets do sell out, so book as soon as possible.

Register here: https://forms.gle/jJUzBFizE5o9nW6N8"

Please note that I'm intending to use the off-road route described above. I'm sure it's possible to take the road option but you'll have to do your own research for this although it's unlikely that we'll wait very long at the re-grouping stop on the north side of the Humber Bridge.
Personally, I don't recommend this option because it takes you along a fast road at "shift change" time.

We need 25 riders to make the Garthorpe Hall stop viable. If we don't get that number signed up we'll refund your £10 hall fee and use the McDonalds in Scunthorpe.

If you have any questions, please ask away !

[Gattopardo]

Am tempted tho haven't ridden that far for ages.

[Andrew Br]

More chat on the CycleChat forum but I've posted this there:-

"Sorry for the radio silence folks, I've got the Friday's Tour and DD out of the way plus I've (mostly) cleared the email backlog.
I can now devote some time and effort to this.

As ever, StuAff is correct, we don't tend to give out routes to all and sundry.
There are a number of reasons for this:-
The route can change on the night.
We don't want people haring off because the group is going too slow.
We also don't want to hang around for the "hares" to come back to join the group because the route has changed. For the rides that I lead, there is a strict "no chase down" rule. I will tell faster riders to "go ahead until... then wait for the group." If you fancy riding faster, way mark at a junction then head back to the front and do it again. You must, however, obey the way marker instruction "Stay there until the "all upper" comes along".
Another reason that I haven't sent out a route is that I haven't done a route check yet. That's coming in the next few weeks.

wiggydiggy:- If you want to get in touch separately, I may be able to share some ride details although it's not necessary. We'll have your emergency contact details should anything go wrong and there will be enough experienced riders there to help with mechanicals and, if necessary, help you get to local transport to make your own way home.

Shadow: The off-road section won't be great on 23mm road tyres. I've only ever ridden it on 32 mm and, this year, I'll be on my gravel bike with 38+mm tyres (actual width TBC). Most of it is eminently rideable though (IMO). I do advise walking over Harkstow bridge however; the gaps between some of the planks are rather wide.

mmmartin: get your arse into gear and sign up :cheers:.

Thanks to everyone who has already registered 👍. We're still some way short of having the numbers to book the hall but I'm hoping more people will sign up.
Speaking of which, register here:- https://forms.gle/jJUzBFizE5o9nW6N8

Please continue to ask if you have any questions; I should be able to answer them more quickly from now on and I'll update this thread with more news as it arises."

Gattopardo:- It would be great to see you if you think you're capable of doing 116km/72 miles. Consider it 40 flat miles, a sit down off the bike and then 32 hillier miles.
But, but, but: make sure you're capable of doing the distance....

[Andrew Br]

Email that I sent out earlier this evening:-

Hello again.
I'm hoping that this will be the last formal email before the ride.
Please read it all and take note of the various points

Thanks again for signing up.
At the last count there were 13 of us on the ride and I hope that you're all able to make it. Please let me know asap if you're going to have to drop out.
Because of the low numbers we shan't, unfortunately, be using the village hall in Garthorpe for the mid-way food stop. Instead, we're going to the 24 hour McD's on the west side of Scunthorpe.
The stop is at about 75km so please make sure that you have enough food and drinks to get you there. We may make a quick stop at the 24 hour services at Airmyn, just before Goole, but I'd like us to be stationary for no more than 15 minutes.
Similarly, the low numbers mean that we'll be going to the Admiral of the Humber for breakfast. It's a Wetherspoons and it's very near to Paragon Station. I'm hoping that we'll get there around 08.00.
I'll ask the Friday's "treasurer" to refund the deposits direct to you.

Some "safety" points:-
When we stop to regroup, please get off the road as far as you can.
Point out hazards (gravel, hole, bollard, glass etc) by pointing and shouting. Please continue this through the group.
If you're not used to group riding, please leave a gap between you and the rider in front.
Be aware of the riders around you (front, back, side).
Don't overlap wheels: either ride side by side (but be aware of riders passing on your outside) or leave a gap of at least half a wheel diameter.
Only pass on the RHS and, if necessary, let the rider know that you're there. Saying "On your right" works for me.
Leave even more room on the off-road section around Horkstow Bridge.
As I said below, please walk across the bridge.
No flashing lights and angle any particularly bright rear lights down.

As usual, please check your bike over before the ride to reduce the likelihood of unnecessary breakdowns. Pay particular attention to the tyres.

If you want a copy of the gpx file, please let me know.
I'll happily send it out but there are two things to bear in mind:-
The route can change on the night.
We shan't chase you down if you miss a turn.

I hope this doesn't sound too draconian: after being safe, having fun is the priority on Friday's rides.

As ever, please ask if you have any questions,

Andrew

[Andrew Br]

Just sent out to tonight's riders:-

Good evening everyone.
Before I go for a lie-down some last points:-

In case it wasn't clear, please meet in front of York Minster, preferably by 23.45 for the safety briefing.
If everyone is there early, we'll set off since there's no point in waiting until mid-night and it will allow more time en route.
FWIW, my train is due into York at 23.06 and it's no more than 10 minutes to the start from the station.
The weather looks pretty much perfect: little chance of rain, gentle wind and not too cold.
Having said that, please bring an extra layer: experience suggests that it's cold out in the wilds and, particularly, when we set off after the food stop.

Please make a note of my mobile number in case you need it.

Hope to see you all later,

Andrew

[barakta]

Have a great ride all!

[Andrew Br]

Thanks barakta, it went swimmingly well.
I'll write a longer ride report when I'm less tired !

[Andrew Br]

Posted on CycleChat as well:-

Well that was a great ride, thanks to everyone who came along.
There was no way we were going to make the numbers to enable us to use the village hall at Garthorpe so it was always going to be the McD's on the Western outskirts of Scunthorpe. This was communicated to the group well in advance.
The evening started off, as usual, with the ride into MCR to get the train. DaveL (part of the Chorlton(CH) Massive) and I arranged to meet at the bus station in Chorlton(CH) to ride in together. It's not the quickest/shortest route for either of us but, by riding together, we could assist with any mechanicals/punctures and, hopefully, save time. Luckily there were no "incidents" either going into town or, indeed on the FNRttC itself. Result !
Into York on time, everyone showed up before midnight and we set off a few minutes early. Many thanks to those intended riders who had let me know that they weren't going to make it well ahead of time. It saved me having to make the "'phone call of shame" to see where you were ! Seriously, it saves a lot of stress just when the ride leader doesn't need it.
We got out of York very quickly with DaveL riding near me in case my Garmin started being "difficult" as it had on the route check. The route check was, actually, a really, really miserable day out.......
Thankfully there were no issues and we (I) even managed to get to the end of the Planets Path without my transmission disintegrating as it did 2 years ago.
As we got to Drax, one of the group decided that they were too cold and headed back to York. In retrospect, I and another rider should have escorted them at least part of the part of the way back to York and then blasted back to catch the group up: DaveL could have lead the ride (as he did 2 years ago....). It was a relief when the rider was able to let us know that they'd got back safely.
I'd factored in a stop at Airmyn services and, because we were ahead of schedule, we were able to have a leisurely coffee break.
On again through Goole and past the Vermuyden pub, we were soon onto the Isle of Axholme which, in my opinion, is the defining area of this ride: it's pan flat as it twists at the side (and below) the river. We stopped at one point to look across to Gunness and the route towards Hull about 500m across the river but several km along the road before we could get there.....
Arrival at the McD's was at 04.00, around an hour earlier than last year (my mechanical issues had held the group up for about 60 minutes) and it was getting really cold by then.
Mobile again after an hour's stop it really was cold when we set off but dawn was beginning to break and moral was high.
After very little time (or so it seemed) we were at Harkstow Bridge and everybody followed the instruction to walk across. There are large gaps between some of the planks and it was very, very slippery.
Heading on towards the Humber Bridge, several of the group opted for the road route rather than the COR section. The COR was delayed by a group of dog walkers (at 06.00 !) coming along the narrow section of the route but we were soon reunited with the others and, because we were still ahead of schedule, we went to the Humber Bridge viewpoint to the East of the bridge itself. Photos were taken and then we commenced the climb up to and over the bridge.
After that, it was a reasonably fast schlep into Hull and the Admiral of the Humber pub for breakfast. We arrived at 07.55, 5 minutes ahead of the hoped for arrival time.
After a reasonable breakfast the group started heading off with most respect going to Moodyman and his ride back to York. Great effort mate and well done on helping out the stricken rider. Loose a few points for being rude to the pedestrian though.....

Particular thanks are due from me to Domus for TECing so effectively, DaveL for helping keep me on the correct route and the group for their great company.
I was having doubts about organising this ride next year, it seemed a lot of effort, but I'm now having second thoughts. We'll see.

I mentioned it on the night:-
If you want a refund on your food deposit or if you would like the Fridays to donate it to the village hall, please let me know.
If you want a refund, please email me your bank account number, sort code and name and we'll process it asap.