CUCC/OUCC Touring weekend - Hawes, Nov. 02
Some selected photos can be found here
MTB write up Road write up
The Roadies perspective
About 20 CUCC riders loaded cars and vans and left Brookside late on Friday
afternoon. 3 hours later we where still stuck in slow traffic stretching
from Cambridge to Newark (only a cyclist would have thought of setting off
at that time). Obviously we weren't the only people who recognised the
general superiority of the north to the south.
After six hours and a slightly dodgy service station burger we arrived in
Hawes in good time for last orders. An hour later Oxford arrived with the
maps for some route planning (how many steep hill chevrons can we fit into a
day's ride) before we retired to bed.
The next morning we where up early to wander into town in search of the
breakfast we had all forgotten to bring. When we where eventually ready it
turned out we where missing three Oxford riders had decided that a youth
hostel just wasn't good enough and where staying in a bed and breakfast
instead. Eventually an impressive 30 riders set for a steady ride up the
valley to Ribble Head, then down towards Settle.
Our first major climb was a minor road up Pen-y-Ghent, one of the highest
fells in the Dales but after stopping to refuel and fix punctures we lost
all the height we'd gained down a spectacular descent into Littondale. We
followed the road down the valley to Kettlewell where we stopped for lunch
(or All Day Breakfast for Tim who's obviously not training hard right now).
An hour later we set off up Langstrothdale towards the next major climb back
towards Hawes. This time it hurt a lot more, especially the multiple false
summits and my lack of gears. Rob was particularly pissed off that the road
went right over the top of the fell rather than the sensible route round the
side. The sun came out and we had a great view though.
After the climb all that was left was the descent into Hawes - which was
steep and dead straight for about a kilometre and perfect for breaking speed
records. Several riders topped 50 mph and Tim managed 56 (apparently his
brakes didn't work too well right then and he didn't have too much choice).
We where all full of adrenalin when we arrived back on Hawes so when someone
suggested climbing the infamous Buttertubs just 'cos it where there we
decided to give it a go.
Buttertubs consisted of several short, steep and painful climbs out of Hawes
with a great view back down the valley from the top. However most of us
where too knackered to keep up the tradition of riding until after dark so
we finished our day by rolling back down into Hawes.
We spent the night drinking Theakstons and learning Bar Billiards in the
pub. Oxford couldn't keep the pace though and soon retired to bed while
Cambridge stayed up until last orders.
The next morning is was grey and drizzling and we set off back up Buttertubs
in the clag. Someone managed to break a chain and when we waited for them
the clouds condensed on everything they touched. We descended slowly into
Swaledale with lights on and headed up the dale and another climb while the
weather improved. Eventually we arrived in Cumbria, where the sun came out,
the headwind died, and the road surface improved for a great descent into
Kirkby Stephen for lunch.
After lunch we set off down the valley at a faster pace than before that
turned into a race over the last mile before a junction where the group
split. Someone from Oxford assured us that their was only one climb on the
longer route and it wasn't as hard as Buttertubs. They where lying and we
where soon crawling up something which felt much steeper than one in four
and went on for miles. It would have been easier to get off and push but we
all managed to reach the summit before collapsing at the roadside. The
descent featured lots of straining of brakes, wet leaves, and a bit of sheep
dodging (of course any mbker could have predicted they would decide to jump
out right in front of a cyclist). The ride wasn't over though and after
speeding back up the valley we discovered a second hill to climb, almost as
bad as the first.
Eventually it was downhill all the way to Hawes and for the last twenty
minutes we found enough energy to race to the youth hostel where we
descended on the kitchen to eat everything we could find (mainly breakfast
cereal and two hundred of Oxford's scones) before heading home (I'm glad I
wasn't driving) after a great weekend.
Thanks to everyone for driving, organising, beer, etc. See you all next
year!
Tom Botterill
The mountain biker's viewpoint
A large group of 20 riders from CUCC gathered in rush hour on Friday evening to make the journey up to Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales. The reason? To join Oxford University CC on a touring weekend which they had organised! A great opportunity for some epic riding both on and off road and a chance to exchange banter with the Dark Side. After half an hour of stacking bikes, people and kit into a variety of vehicles ranging from Matt's cool VW camper van, Chris' Landy and a broad cross section of cars, we were off...
After a fairly congested journey, we all arrived about six hours later and after stacking our transport in the car park we found 'The Crown' - a place that was to become our debriefing (!!) centre! A quick pint, a chat with the Dark Side and then off to bed... ...Sleep came upon most of us eventually, despite the best attmempts of the pressurised water system to keep us awake...
Saturday dawned bright and almost warm; some fantastic weather really for the time of year. The roadies had been scheming together to do a llooonngg ride, so us MTBers started out on a route a la Jones. A cruisy road section started us off from Hawes to Bainbridge before taking the narrow lane up to Water Ling pasture. This soon turned into a decent byway and with it came our first obstacle. A puddle. 100 yards long but quite shallow looking... ...but no! A few of us attempted to ride through and got about two thirds the way across before we found the four-foot deep section and were duly tipped off our bikes... Quite cold! Onwards we went however down (and what a down it was!) to Stalling Busk and across Crooks Beck, which had burst its banks and had decided to use our byway as a river bed...! From there we had a climb to Countersett and then up to a bridleway which joined the Roman Road across Wether Fell. Quite a climb, but the view over Semer Water was well worth it. A bit of rocky track bashing followed before we popped out on a small, narrow road which then led us to the west side of Dodd Fell and the Pennine Way. This was to prove the most challenging descent of the day as a fairly benign track turned into a boulder strewn maze halfway down... Apart from Chris' attempt to castrate himself, everyone got down unscathed. A short trip back to the YH followed (which was enough for someone else to come crashing off their bike) before hot showers and the pub became the order of the day
A few pints followed and soon we were all yarning about our days riding. The roadies had found a hill down which some had clocked over 56mph... And we thought we were mad...
Sunday dawned drizzly and grey, oh well, never mind. Our route for today was to the NE - the same road stretch as we started with the previous day up as far as Askrigg before tackling the long road climb over Summer Lodge Moor. A 1 in 4 followed by three sucessive 1 in 6s followed. By the time we were recovering half way up the third, it came to 11. Since it was Rememberence Sunday we duly stopped for two minutes silence to contemplate the sacrifices folk had made to allow us to our freedom that we were so much enjoying today. A bleak, sombre, foggy and somewhat chill hillside proved to be a good place for reflection. Our silence was shattered just as we were coming to the end of it by a guy in a car enquiring whether we'd lost a white van...! However, we continued along to Whitaside Moor and after a grinding climb and a screaming descent we then stopped for lunch at an old mine workings. By this time the sun had come out and it was almost warm! Nice... Our route from here headed along Appledale Beck before swinging south to Castle Bolton and the long bridleway which then followed across bog, wet grass and mud. Quite energy sapping but satifsying riding, underneath and alongside some awesome limestone scenery. Eventually we popped out back at the top of the 1 in 4 road climb we'd cleaned earlier that morning. A gentle ride back into Hawes, a stop for Fish and Chips and then packing...
All in all a great weekend! Many thanks must go to:
Chris Jones, Tim Melville, Andrew Cockburn, Jon Ellis, Matt Webb, Russel and Tom for driving
Chris Jones for route planning and guiding
Tim for bringing beer
and above all Rob Campbell from Oxford for organising the whole affair
Bart Hallmark
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