Ride Reports
Saturday 3rd November 2018
B2 Trough of Bowland - Steve Hopkinson
In cloudy, breezy but relatively mild (compared to the previous week) conditions, nine B2 riders left the cobbles heading for Butt Hill. It became obvious that Luke, as RC, was not feeling his best, suffering from a cold. At the top of Butt Hill, he decided he was not fit enough to complete the ride and wisely turned around and headed home. Yours truly was asked to step in as RC.
At this stage, I have to say that all decisions to vary Luke’s route were made democratically (no Russian money was involved!). The first decision made was to avoid the descent and climb at Brock Bottoms, where the road is almost invariably wet and at this time of year covered in leaves. So, on we rode the usual way to Chipping via Bleasedale, where the second vote was taken, whether to go via the Wild Boar Park to Dunsop Bridge or via Whitewell. The vote was unanimous to take the second option. The road past the Wild Boar Park is not particularly difficult but the road surface is particularly nasty.
At Dunsop Bridge, we started the main climb of the day up the Trough. The ascent from the south side starts off fairly gently but ramps up nastily the higher you get. Unlike the ascent from the other side, there are no sections that level off a little, where you can recover somewhat. On the way up, Dave C pointed out the memorial to a former Club member, who tragically lost his life some years ago whilst descending that road. (I’m sorry, I don’t know his name as it was before my time with the Club. Perhaps someone can post below?)
Suitably recovered and regrouped at the top, we all enjoyed the long descent, and followed the route through Abbeystead to Dolphinhome, where several separate decisions were made. Mindful of the increasingly strengthening wind and the imminent forecast rain, half of the group decided to head straight home, with the other half electing to stop at the Daisy Clough Tea Room just outside Scorton. I can thoroughly recommend their sausages.
Suitably refreshed, it was then just a short hop back to Garstang.
Sorry, Luke – we avoided good chunks of your route. We still managed 2600 feet of climbing in the 38 miles at an average speed of around 12 mph.
At this stage, I have to say that all decisions to vary Luke’s route were made democratically (no Russian money was involved!). The first decision made was to avoid the descent and climb at Brock Bottoms, where the road is almost invariably wet and at this time of year covered in leaves. So, on we rode the usual way to Chipping via Bleasedale, where the second vote was taken, whether to go via the Wild Boar Park to Dunsop Bridge or via Whitewell. The vote was unanimous to take the second option. The road past the Wild Boar Park is not particularly difficult but the road surface is particularly nasty.
At Dunsop Bridge, we started the main climb of the day up the Trough. The ascent from the south side starts off fairly gently but ramps up nastily the higher you get. Unlike the ascent from the other side, there are no sections that level off a little, where you can recover somewhat. On the way up, Dave C pointed out the memorial to a former Club member, who tragically lost his life some years ago whilst descending that road. (I’m sorry, I don’t know his name as it was before my time with the Club. Perhaps someone can post below?)
Suitably recovered and regrouped at the top, we all enjoyed the long descent, and followed the route through Abbeystead to Dolphinhome, where several separate decisions were made. Mindful of the increasingly strengthening wind and the imminent forecast rain, half of the group decided to head straight home, with the other half electing to stop at the Daisy Clough Tea Room just outside Scorton. I can thoroughly recommend their sausages.
Suitably refreshed, it was then just a short hop back to Garstang.
Sorry, Luke – we avoided good chunks of your route. We still managed 2600 feet of climbing in the 38 miles at an average speed of around 12 mph.
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