RSF - The Off Road Cycling Club

The Adventure Starts Here

2020

“Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.” — Mark Twain, US author and humourist

 

All content in the journals is copyright either of the RSF or the author or indeed both. It's use without permission will result in a stiff memo. If you would like to use an article or images please contact the general secretary in the first instance

There’s something to be said for solo cycling, particularly in atrocious weather. There is no waiting for tail-end-Charlie to breast the hill and waiting some more while his/her breathing recovers and all the time shivering in a cold, wet wind while all this waiting happens. With a large group, there’s the endless procession through gates as each rider files through with a well-mannered “thank you". You could lose an hour on a ride just processing. My oh my, what about those frayed tempers – cycling in extremis tests friendships to the limit
An early start at Breamar. Sipping coffee at The Bothy cafe and reading The Scottish Bothy Bible. What used to be an adventure for the happy few seems now to have turned into AirB(othy)nB for the unhappy many. Fortunately you can’t book a bothy, yet. Turning left at Bridge of Dee I headed north, climbing up Craggan Rour. A pleasant start indeed, with a mixed bird choir assisted pedal rotation. The music more or less abruptly stopped after having left the woods so I had to use a lot more energy to keep the bike moving up Bealach Dearg.
I went to the National Cycle Jumble again in January. Primarily I was looking for a ‘hack’ for my son Jake to ride when at University. Nothing too flash, maybe a fixie or an old, quality steel framed bicycle? The prices this year for most ‘collectors’ bikes were ASRONOMICAL!!! Hetchins, Berry, Colnago, Bates, Bianchi, Mercian, Bob Jackson et al – and yes the Bob Jackson ‘Yorkshire comment’ reared its head yet again! 5 or 6 ‘older grey haired men’ were gathered around a lusty Italian stallion – commenting on its style and beauty, when from behind them came a gruff northern voice that echoed these quite correct words...’Eeeh up lad, but its not a Bob Jackson is it?’
Grassington National Park Centre is based on the edge of the picturesque town of Grassington in the heart of Wharfedale. (grid reference: SE 003 637). There is a large car park and toilets (small charge) as well as spaces for coaches and a picnic area. We met up in the car park just before 9am on an overcast Saturday in September. The forecast said that it was not going to rain, but we were a little worried about this ride, as the previous week had frequent downpours and the ground was very wet. Andy had brought his trusty hybrid bike with him, and I had my Galaxy tourer. I realised I may have made a mistake as my tyres were 32mm, whereas Andy had the wider 35mm tyre - this was to prove a wise move!
For a forty mile round trip from home national park De Sallandse Heuvelrug (Salland Ridge) is always a good choice (see my article in the July-August 2019 Journal). The more so during the 'Intelligent Lockdown' we were in during May 2020. With plenty of routes to choose from I now first followed a quiet path along the Overijssels Kanaal heading north. This canal forms part of a larger network of canals which were dug in the province of Overijssel from 1855 onward and were mainly used for all sorts of transport by boat between the various towns in the region.
On Thursday 25th April 2019, my- self and fellow RSF member Si- mon Wild, plus two friends, set off on our first "Grand Tour" together, looking forward to four days cycle tour- ing in North Wales. We had planned to follow the northern half of Lon Las Cymru (National Cycle Route 8), the long-distance cycle route through the heart of Wales that uses traffic-free paths and quiet roads. The section we had chosen would take us from Llanidloes in mid Wales to Bangor on the north coast, and because of the terrain, we had decided to use our adventure bikes, complete with gravel tyres and low gearing.

Categories Menu

Search The Archive

 pdf