Tour of Britain 2015 stage 2

Steve, book me in that empty seat please!!

I'm in all being well and good

Count me in!
I can take two people, if you need a lift let me know. We will meet at the Bus Station car park near the shop in plenty of time to get to Whalley for 8am

Sorry Steve, just read the post properly. I'm still away next Sunday. I thought it was in September!!

Ste F & Colin Clark are traveling in the HMCC Edge bus,  .

I will PM these two to sort out timings so that we get to Shackletons Garden Centre, BB7 4JY for 08:00am

I'm up for this, will sort out own transport as all HMCC buses seem to be full! See ye in the morning...

What a ride!

After a number of aborted attempts to continue our rides further from the shop, in the last few weeks our luck changed and we managed the Peak District ride and then on Sunday Ste D’s ride around the best part of stage 2 of the Tour of Britain.

14 of us met under grey skies in Chatburn and headed out at a nice relaxed pace, pretty much on time towards Whalley. Ste D took the front for the first part of the ride, rather astutely given this was pretty much the only flat part of the whole ride. However he spent the first 20 minutes fighting with his Garmin to get the route up, which failed him. Luckily Steve Williams and I had it on our much cheaper (and more reliable) Mio so we were able to guide the group around for the rest of the day.

The morning pleasantries didn’t last too long as we soon hit Whalley and the first climb of the day, with much relief we rode past Whalley Nab instead taking on the long drag up Whalley Old Road. Ste D’s chain came off and being caring individuals we all raced off eager to test our legs on this climb. The theme of the day was set as Phil and Luke quickly opened a gap and played cat and mouse up the climb leaving the rest to us grinding our way up. Ste F seemed very eager to test his form with a number of attacks out of the saddle but no one was bringing the two mountain goats back.

After regrouping we descended down through Wilpshire and then Ribchester taking in some beautiful scenery, then onto some more familiar roads around Longridge and then onto Chipping. By this point Ste F and Luke had taken the front and the pace had definitely been lifted, the sun had also started to make an appearance and arm and leg warmers were being removed to cope. After avoiding Whalley Nab we were delighted to turn away from Jeffery Hill and head down into the trough past the ever upmarket Inn at Whitewell. We arrived at Dunsop Bridge and rather than take a left turn to climb out of the trough we followed the road round, past the Puddleduck Café and onto Slaidburn for the café stop of the day.

The café at Slaidburn by the river was small but the owners were very friendly with quick service and good food. Talk quickly turned to the coming miles, with Ste pointing out that the bulk of the climbing was still to come. He wasn’t wrong! With our stomachs full and legs cold we hit the road and within 30 seconds were faced with a long climb hitting 13% and a hair pin that wouldn’t have been out of place in the Dolomites.

With our legs fully tested we regrouped and Phil and I led the way over the tops taking in more incredible views, the rolling terrain was taking its toll so the pace was kept steady but still brisk. One factor that the councils need to sort and obviously are trying to was the number of potholes, with many roads signs saying the roads would be closed for resurfacing. Ste D’s route took us off a main road and down something that wouldn’t look out of place on Dan Monaghan’s classics ride. How someone didn’t puncture is beyond me but is quickly decided that this must have been a mapping error as there is no way the pro’s will be cycling down such a road. This was confirmed when the route wanted take us up something that even our knobbly tyre brethren would have objected to. We took a detour using James’ Garmin, claiming a point back on the Mio vs Garmin debate, getting us back on track.

More amazing scenery and lovely small villages before he headed into Barnoldswick and then Earby. The sight of a shop to allow some riders to fill up bottles led to a slow down and a touch of wheels with hitting the deck and her rear mech taking a battering. Some tinkering got her bike sorted and on we went, leaving Earby to a fearsome climb. 1.8km at an average of 11.2%, with a section so steep I was fighting to keep my front wheel on the tarmac.  One prediction will be that the peloton will be smashed apart here, when the pro’s take this on in one month’s time. At this point all everyone wanted to know was if that was the last climb, unfortunately it wasn’t, by a long shot. For the next 10 miles we hit some fast descent followed by nasty climbs, regrouping at every summit. We then went through the village of Barley past some pubs full of sensible people who spend their Sunday afternoons eating good food and enjoying the sunshine, as we left Barley we narrowly avoided getting wiped out by a black Audi on a blind bend and then the penultimate climb began, the long arduous climb up Barley Fell, something that after 75 miles really took its toll. A quick descent before a final leg breaker and we were home.

A tough ride with nowhere to hide – a real one day classic kind of course that I doubt will end in a bunch sprint, one to watch out for when the pro’s take it on.  

Huge thanks to Ste D for organising another great trip out – cannot recommend rides like this enough, keep your eyes peeled for them next year, as I am sure they will be repeated.