This ride cancelled due to rain.
I am away weekend 7th & 8th so I won't be doing a ride.
I will plan one for weekend of 14th & 15th
Next planned ride will be Sunday 1st June. This will be a mixture of on road & off road riding. It is rather a hilly course but pleasant if the weather holds up.
As this will be an afternoon ride there will be no lunch required. This will not be such a long ride as last Monday. It will be much shorter but quite demanding due to number of inclines! I anticipate a 2 hour ride at a "brisk" pace.
Meet at 1:30 on the church drive. All welcome!
Heath & Stanley Ferry
Monday 26th May 2008 a very pleasant ride out comprising Steve & Joe McCarthy, Andy, Tom, Matthew & Joe Lowery & Martin Dearnley. The route was complex and one or two wrong turnings. The weather was fine but chilly with some strong winds. Packed lunch was eaten at Pugneys. We stopped at Sandal Castle to have a look round & some took advantage of the hills by rolling down them!
We then carried on into the beautiful Heath village and then to Kirkthorpe before following a path to Stanley Marina. Click "View Larger Map" & you'll be able to zoom in/out and switch between map & satellite view to follow the route.
View Larger Map
At Stanley Marina there is very large pub/restaurant (2 for one). It was very popular with lots of families dining on this Bank Holiday Monday. We all had a drink, a rest, and made use of the "facilities".
We carried on into Wakefield on the side of the river/canal & returned home via the Wakefield-Horbury cycle path which starts at Thornes Park.
As we were climbing up into Horbury Steve McCarthy had an unfortunate accident. No knowing his own strength he completely broke his chain. Unable to carry on - we had to abandon him and promised to return with a car.
A total distance according to Google Maps of 21.5 miles which with wrong turns etc is likely to be a cycling distance of 22.5 miles. We were out for 5 hours with quite a few stops for drinks & lunch.
Bretton & Coxley
Sunday 25th May 2008. We went down Storrs Hill to Horbury Bridge. Climbed up through Coxley Valley to Midgley. We passed through Yorkshire Sculpture Park at Bretton before dropping down to Crigglestone. Passing through Blacker Lane (which is narrow and we will avoid in future) we turned off before Netherton down Balk Lane to the canal. We then climbed up to Horbury & returned home via Matty Marsden Lane. I reckon total distance to be 12 miles which we did in 2 hours & 5 mins. The bikers today were Andy, Joe & Matthew Lowery, Chris Graham & Martin Dearnley.
This was quite a tough ride with some fierce hills & difficult terrain. Although windy the weather stayed dry. Conditions underfoot have much improved with the recent dry weather but we did encounter some boggy areas at the top end of Coxley Valley. Almost home we saw a goat with it's head completely jammed through a wire fence. We tried to release it but it was incredibly strong & we couldn't move its head enough to release it. Eventually the owner had to cut the fence to free the goat.
View Larger Map
This was quite a tough ride with some fierce hills & difficult terrain. Although windy the weather stayed dry. Conditions underfoot have much improved with the recent dry weather but we did encounter some boggy areas at the top end of Coxley Valley. Almost home we saw a goat with it's head completely jammed through a wire fence. We tried to release it but it was incredibly strong & we couldn't move its head enough to release it. Eventually the owner had to cut the fence to free the goat.
View Larger Map
Next Outing - Bank Holiday Weekend
MONDAY
The next ride will be Monday 26th May. We will be heading towards Wakefield on what should be an interesting ride. All welcome *remember* this is a bike ride for enjoyment not speed! Please bring a packed lunch and a drink. The majority of the ride will be off-road but there will be some parts on the road. A helmet is at your own discretion but is normally recommended. This will be a relatively easy ride with few steep inclines. There will be fewer riders than last time as I know some are away for the weekend.
Meet at 11:00 on the church drive. I expect to return at about 3:30-4:00.
SUNDAY
If anybody can't make Monday and/or wants a bit more of a challenge I'll be going on a ride heading south which will have more hills & at a bit faster pace on Sunday afternoon 25th. I'll be setting off from home at about 1:00 if you want to join me.
The next ride will be Monday 26th May. We will be heading towards Wakefield on what should be an interesting ride. All welcome *remember* this is a bike ride for enjoyment not speed! Please bring a packed lunch and a drink. The majority of the ride will be off-road but there will be some parts on the road. A helmet is at your own discretion but is normally recommended. This will be a relatively easy ride with few steep inclines. There will be fewer riders than last time as I know some are away for the weekend.
Meet at 11:00 on the church drive. I expect to return at about 3:30-4:00.
SUNDAY
If anybody can't make Monday and/or wants a bit more of a challenge I'll be going on a ride heading south which will have more hills & at a bit faster pace on Sunday afternoon 25th. I'll be setting off from home at about 1:00 if you want to join me.
Bargains!
Aldi in Batley have loads of bike stuff at bargain prices like clothing, saddles, pumps, bags, tools, gloves, sunglasses, padded shorts etc. etc.
Looks good quality at less than 50% of what you'd pay in Halfords.
Looks good quality at less than 50% of what you'd pay in Halfords.
First ride!
Well, today was the first excursion of the St Ignatius Team Velo, the new cycling club of St Ignatius Church, Ossett.
The first intrepid cyclists were:
Martin Dearnley, Andy, Matthew & Joseph Lowery, Malcolm Kyle, Dominic Barnes, Chris Graham, Steve & Joseph McCarthy.
We started at 11:00 outside church. Headed down Storrs Hill Road to Horbury Bridge then cycled west on the canal towpath to Ravensthorpe where we joined the Spen Valley Greenway. After a lot of rain recently we were lucky with the weather which was fine and (almost) sunny. The wives & children joined us for a drink at the pub (The Perseverance) where Anne-Marie, Rebecca & Katrina Barnes, Maria Graham, Frances Lowery, Celia McCarthy, Debbie Kyle sat outside in the hazy sunshine.
We really enjoyed the day out & agreed that Kirklees had a better idea than Wakefield Met when it came to organising outdoor leisure activities & that the Spen Valley Greenway was an asset to be appreciated!
Unfortunately the return journey necessitated a climb of either Healey Road or Storrs Hill Road. We opted to try to avoid these hills & headed up the lane from Mitchell Laithes to the new housing development on the site of the former mill on Runtlings. This was a muddy route & steeper than anticipated!! (Click on the photo of Joe to see just HOW muddy!)
There were no fatalities & an enjoyable day out. We returned to St Ignatius at 3:00 having ridden for about 16 miles ( I think).
The next ride is planned for Sunday 25th May.
Email me on martin.dearnley@gmail.com with any comments or questions.
The first intrepid cyclists were:
Martin Dearnley, Andy, Matthew & Joseph Lowery, Malcolm Kyle, Dominic Barnes, Chris Graham, Steve & Joseph McCarthy.
We started at 11:00 outside church. Headed down Storrs Hill Road to Horbury Bridge then cycled west on the canal towpath to Ravensthorpe where we joined the Spen Valley Greenway. After a lot of rain recently we were lucky with the weather which was fine and (almost) sunny. The wives & children joined us for a drink at the pub (The Perseverance) where Anne-Marie, Rebecca & Katrina Barnes, Maria Graham, Frances Lowery, Celia McCarthy, Debbie Kyle sat outside in the hazy sunshine.
We really enjoyed the day out & agreed that Kirklees had a better idea than Wakefield Met when it came to organising outdoor leisure activities & that the Spen Valley Greenway was an asset to be appreciated!
Unfortunately the return journey necessitated a climb of either Healey Road or Storrs Hill Road. We opted to try to avoid these hills & headed up the lane from Mitchell Laithes to the new housing development on the site of the former mill on Runtlings. This was a muddy route & steeper than anticipated!! (Click on the photo of Joe to see just HOW muddy!)
There were no fatalities & an enjoyable day out. We returned to St Ignatius at 3:00 having ridden for about 16 miles ( I think).
The next ride is planned for Sunday 25th May.
Email me on martin.dearnley@gmail.com with any comments or questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)