Easy Evening Ride

Carol and Steve Charlton kindly came up with an evening ride to encourage new cyclists to the road rides. I did my bit by dragging Linda along who, having only used her bike as a "driving license friendly" way of getting home from the pub, wasn't too confident about completing the thirteen mile ride. This is a common fear among many members who are quite happy when faced with a thirteen mile walk but would never consider a similar length bike ride. Cycling is much easier, trust me or ask Linda!

Having said that, Carol and Steve had managed to attract a very good turnout of sixteen. Having checked everyone was equipped with water, first aid kit and emergency rations we got under way. Unfortunately I wasn't told till after the ride that I had to do the write up so I wasn't taking notes. I vaguely remember us turning left in Melsonby. Everyone was doing fine so far probably because it had all been down hill. As we approached Caldwell, the going got a little tougher and we had to start using our pedals. The group started to become strung out, so strung out in fact that we had to stop for a re-group. With sixteen cyclists it was far too dangerous to wait at the side of the narrow road so we pulled into the car park at the Brownlow Arms. Carol took the hint and allowed us twenty minutes. As the bar was busy, it was a bit of a struggle but the last person managed to finish their last pint with twenty three seconds to spare!

Although this was a beginner's ride there are some S.O.C. rules to be adhered to, one being after a pub stop you must head up hill. At Forcett, Fossit if you're a local Paul informed us, we had to wait while Vic fitted the chain on Janet's bike. I was very impressed that Janet had managed to keep up for so long without a chain! I'm not too sure of the route we took back to East Layton but I do remember it involved a couple of steep climbs. At this point the chit-chat stopped to be replaced with the clanking of hurriedly selected gears.

Everyone made it back safely to be invited back to Carol's for soup. The wildlife lovers amongst us chose to eat or drink (I'm not sure which you do with soup) our soup in the back garden, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the owl that apparently regularly perches on a nearby chimney pot. Excitement reached fever pitch as the normal time of the owl's arrival came and went. We were still stood patiently staring at this chimney pot when Steve happened to mention, "mind you we haven't seen it for four weeks"! Luckily there was some bats swooping around for us to watch. These were the small variety with turned up noses. For those interested, Alison not only knows the name of these bats but she does a very good impression of them, I suppose you learn these things when you're into caving.

One thing mentioned during the evening, which very much concerns me, is the latest attempt by some cyclists to try to impress their mates by fitting a second magnet to their front wheel. This has the effect, so I'm told, of doubling the mileage and speeds recorded on your cycle computer. I very much hope S.O.C. cyclists do not indulge in such despicable behaviour.

For those interested we managed 25.6 miles at an average speed of 23.6 mph and the maximum speed attained was 52.8 mph.

Thanks very much to Carol and Steve, not only for the pleasant cycle ride but also for the extra effort to make it such a social evening.

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	Swaledale Outdoor Club

Easy Evening Ride

Dave Neesam