Rochdale - Tour of Britain 2010 start

I volunteered to help marshal at the start of the 2010 Tour of Britain on Saturday 11th Sept. As the instructions said car parking was restricted, I decided to park the car at Morrisons and ride in - its only about 1.3 miles from the centre of Rochdale. Then, it occured to me that the best bike for putting in the car was the folder... yeah, I know. I could have ridden over from Wakefield but the weather forecast said 'rain' and I was applying the first rule.

Co-incidently, I'd sold a computer monitor on Ebay the Thursday before and the purchaser lived near the centre of Rochdale. So I said I'd drop it off for him before the event. Which meant driving through Rochdale. As luck would have it, in my attempt to find his house, I went the wrong way and in doing so found a free car park. Only about 300 meters from the start line!

So I parked there and the folder never made it out of the car. Ha ha.... it chucked it down all morning too.

As a complete aside, I met Bradley Wiggins as he was exiting the portaloos - note to all competitive riders; even Wiggins agrees with my 'shit, shave and haircut' approach to lightweight cycling. So incidently does the HTC Columbia rider about to enter a cubicle. Don't know who that is, perhaps someone could enlighten. Anyway, Wiggins was kind enough to pose for a photo with a couple of youngsters, so I grabbed a quick pic with my phone....

Ossett to Scarborough (York!)

Maybe I was being a bit optimistic with the 'he'll be fine' comment?

We set off at 6:30am as arranged in a torrential downpour. I even had to put my 'waterproof' (sic) on, so that tells you how bad it was. The rain didn't let up until about 11:30am.

Despite the weather, we started well. After sorting Alex's ride position out to avoid knee problems, we were trundling along at about 10mph and got out of the traffic once we got through Castleford. Not long after, Alex started having problems with his back - at one point we stopped at a Tesco Express to get some pain-killers.

We arrived at Selby about 10:45 and stopped in the cafe for a cup of tea and a bite to eat. Alex indicated his back might not let him make it to Scarborough. Trouble is, once you've allowed the negatives in, they just don't go. As the route I'd chosen doesn't follow the railway line, I suggested we divert to York and get the train back home. Which is what we did.

So, instead of the 79 miles to Scarborough, we did about 50 to York. Add in the 4 miles from Wakefield to home and total about 55 miles.

(Alex sent me a text later to say he'd ridden a further 15 miles, taking his total to 69. Just 10 more and he would have done the distance to Scarborough. That's what I mean about letting the negative thoughts in!)

Oh well, always another day.

Ossett to Scarborough

Back in June, Alex mentioned he fancied riding to the coast. He's not a cyclist and the furthest he's been before is from his house to Leeds - about 10 miles. (I'm not sure if he rode back; I assume so, which means a max of 20 miles in a day) Anyway, I said I'd go with him and suggested the first week in August as I'm off work and, as a teacher, he has nothing to do in August anyway.

Given Alex's lack of experience and the fact that we'll be returning on the train, I thought I'd break out the folder again. Its about 80 miles from Ossett to Scarborough - mainly flat, although there's a bit of a hill as you approach the coast. Having never ridden that far before, Alex is a bit nervous about it. Well, anyone would but he'll be fine.

More tomorrow after we've completed it - along with some pics. Weather looking a bit iffy, so will have to take my coat - so I don't get cold, you know my views on wearing waterproofs!

Lancaster to Manchester done

What a nice day. For a ride with such a nice man.

I got up at the usual time, had my usual breakfast of muesli in yoghurt (I know, sounds disgusting but I really like it) and went to the garage. Such is the morning routine that I very nearly got the road bike out and went off to work. Fortunately, I remembered and got that thing out again. Rode down to the station - the speed wobble down Pildacre Brow was a bit of a worry. I'd forgotten just how much it shakes at high speed.

Train was packed, but as I had a reserved seat I was OK. Bike was folded on the train, so not in danger of being in anyone's way. When I arrived in Manchester, I couldn't be bothered unfolding as the next train to Lancaster is only 1/2 hour wait. However, my train arrived at platform 2 and the Lancaster train leaves from platform 14. If you know Manchester Piccadilly station, you will know that platform 13 & 14 are over the footbridge. So I had to lug the folded thing up the stairs across the gangway and down the other side. By the time I got there, my arm was about dropping off!

Anyway, rest of the journey was uneventful and I arrived at the appointed time. It takes me so long to unfold the Space Genie that I think Alan was beginning to think I'd not come. He came to meet me on the platform.

His friend Cliff showed us the route out of Lancaster and we were on our way. Traffic was not too bad, and we were soon trundling along the lanes enjoying the warm June weather. The sun was trying to make a show, but high cloud meant it rarely came out.

When we got to Garstang, we stopped to consult the map and ponder the best route. As we were doing so a local 'proper' cyclist stopped and asked if we were OK with where we were going . He then offered to ride with us to take us through Preston without too much city centre cycling - and so we set off with him. I think Alan may have been a bit concerned our new friend would be too fast for him, but he slowed his pace to ours.

As we chatted along the roads, we found out his name was Steve and he works at a nuclear reprocessing plant near Preston. Thanks for your help Steve, without it I'm sure we would have ended up on a main drag through the centre of Preston.

Steve left us just before we stopped for lunch - which we had at a very nice garden centre cafe just outside Leyland (on the A49). After a leisurely lunch we headed off south again towards Wigan to pick up the A577.

The intention was to follow this almost to Manchester, but to turn off after Atherton and go through Eccles and Salford into Manchester central. However, we must have missed a turn at some point, as we nearly ended up in Bolton. But we realised in time and turned down the A6 into Manchester - arriving at about 3:40pm.

It made a real nice change just to pootle along at about 12mph and Alan is great company. Support his charity if you can - www.torturecare.org.uk.

Until next time....

Yes, I think there will be a next time!

Lancaster to Manchester

I thought I'd closed this blog, but I'm joining Alan Brice on his ride from Glasgow to London next week. You may know that he was one of the Folding Bike Challenge riders from last year.

Anyway, he works for a charidee that helps people who've been subject to torture and is raising money for them by doing this ride on his folding bike. I offered to ride one of the sections with him and he's said yes, so here goes. Its only 55 miles, so we should be finished by about 2pm - I'm assuming 10mph - I seem to recall Alan wasn't one of the fast set...

Friday 25th June, starting from Lancaster station at 8:39 (if the train arrives on time!)

Pictures and story to follow. Good news is; the weather looks set fair for it.

Here's his fundraising page if you want to make a donation:
http://www.torturecarefundraising.org.uk/alanbrice/donations

Or, view the progress here:
http://www.torturecare.org.uk/news/events/2949

Closing this blog

As the event is over, I have decided to close this blog. It has served its purpose well but now is in danger of becoming more about things I may or may not do in future. If you want to keep in touch, there is already another blog about the walks me and my brother do every month. It can be found at:
http://gastrowalks.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your support and interest.

More rides on a folder

I'd hate to think I've become a 'folder fanatic'. But some of 'the guys' who took part in the challenge live in the south and so don't get to see the wonderful scenery in the north. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of nice views in the south, and, as I found on the ride, a number of quite steep hills too. However, there isn't the rawness of the Peak district or the remoteness of places like the Yorkshire dales hence the idea of a ride in t'north.

Due to the limited number of gears on some of the bikes I've picked a relatively easy route from Buxton out to the Derwent reservoirs and returning through Monsal Head and Litton Dale. Let's hope the weather holds!

By the way, riding home the other day (on the road bike) I made the trip in 50:13 seconds. Although the target is inside 50 minutes, I didn't really believe I'd ever make it - the previous record stood at 53:14. Now I'm within a whisker of achieving target - which means it will have to change.

I don't quite understand how I managed to knock 3 minutes off because it didn't feel particularly windy - it was a tail wind, but going home it often is and it wasn't blowing excessively hard like today.