After last week’s ride in the sun, the weather inevitably changed and rain was forecast for the 3rd end of season group etiquette training sessions.

 

However we picked up where we left off in terms of the weather as the sun was shining at the meeting point at Skidby where I was joined by Danny Posnett, Andy Carroll, Josh Ravn, Mike McAllister and Will Thomas – who was the latest rider to come down with a cold.

 

We set off with me and Mike at the front, navigating our way through Skidby, Little Weighton and onto Walkington, where a change at the front appeared with Andy and Danny taking the reins. They stayed on the front as far as South Dalton, where we took the unconventional route of heading east towards Lockington. We didn’t get as far as Lockington but instead headed towards Lund.

 

I decided we’d go through the village, across the main B1248 road, and head in the direction of Market Weighton using a section of road that I’ve rarely used, if ever. It was something of a drag which gave the impression the brakes were sticking. I wasn’t the only one coming to that conclusion, as Andy also suggested this as a reason for the hard effort. Mike clearly was in no real trouble as he came passed me and Andy to take some photos and a video. Not sure if the film was still rolling to show me comprehensively beating Andy in a two-man sprint.

 

After the shenanigans of this we merged onto the road leading up to the start/finish of this seasons Beverley Velo road race at the back of Dalton Wood. Danny clearly remembered this race well, and by the pace he was going, I think he thought he was still competing. I rode up alongside him with Josh in arrears but the pace was starting to get serious as I was hitting 177bpm at this point – well in the red in other words.

 

What was also getting serious was the clouds above, as the first drops of rain started to fall. We descended towards the start of the Etton TT course and as there were no cars we flew through the crossroads and up the hill. Danny started to put on some serious power with a huge effort. Josh fell away and so did I before the summit of the climb. Clearly I’ve got work to do before March if I’m to match Danny on the hills!

 

We ground to a halt to regroup once more, with Andy trailing behind due to a problem with his heart. Lets not forget Andy has a ICD (Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator) fitted and when his heart drops beyond a certain point, it can occasionally struggle to rise back up. This happened here, with the descent before the climb causing his heart to get to a low point only to see it not come back up when we hit the climb. He wasn’t too far behind though and was in good enough spirits to take a photo for the website.

 

The rain was now starting to come down harder as we headed into Etton. It was here where we passed some sportive riders taking part in the Movember Sportive, clearly relishing the challenge of the wolds and the grim weather as the passed us in the opposite direction.

 

 

Unfortunately Will decided to leave us at this point with his cold clearly causing him troubles. He took the short route back whilst we turned right and headed towards the village of Gardham. The wind was now in our faces meaning we were getting soaked. Me and Danny headed the group coming up the climb out of Gardham towards the A1079. The pace up the climb was hardly fast with the wind in our faces but the effort was still intense. This continued until the crest of the climb and the descent towards Newbald. I was soaked through by this point and my glasses were coated in mud and water, so vision was somewhat limited.

 

We split slightly before the climb out of Newbald partly due to an attack from Mike and also because Josh had to wrap up his gilet to keep the cold off. By the time we regrouped at the start of the climb the pace was fairly steady. Whether the rain had taken the spirit out of the group I don’t know, but I for one was keen on getting this next section out of the way. I pressed on with Danny in close pursuit and we reached the summit of the climb together. I tried to join Mike in the video business, but my phone was so wet that the images came out rather blurry once the rest of the riders came through.

 

At this point we usually partake in a bit of through and off but with the weather so bad, and just 5 of us remaining, we came to an executive decision to forgo the formalities and head home. Danny still managed to stretch his legs with a long and fast stretch at the front which acted as a great slingshot for me up the drag out of Raywell where I left the group to head home.

 

By the time I got in I’d covered 41 miles at an average of 17.8mph. Not too bad considering the weather and the hilly terrain.

 

My rider of the day had to go to Danny. In the absence of Graham, he took the role of powerhouse very well, and made all of us suffer. His climbing seems to have come on too and will no doubt be looking to build on his fine end of season performances for next year.

 

 

Hopefully the weather will perk up a bit for next week and we’ll see a few more faces.

 

Mark Walker
HTRC Road Race Secretary

 

Have a look at the photos from the even on our Flickr (thanks Mike!)

 

Mike McAllister emailed the following comments about the session…

 

Thanks again for the training session. It was my fave so far. I’m not quite recovered from my man cold. Getting my survival strategy in place along with the session not being as intense did my confidence a world of good. I averaged around 18 mph for 38 miles (50 miles in total) and felt fine by time I got home after a coffee at Sails Cafe.

 

Andy is amazing, he can definitely dish it out, I’m keeping my eye on him to spring an attack **winking smile**

 

Cheers
Mike