Ribble Valley Ride this Sunday

[Stalbansclaret]

Anyone else doing this ? I’m a , usually, non cyclist who has been talked into a Vienna to Prague charity bike ride this summer and this is part of my “training”. Doing the 60 miler, not the 100 mind you.
Must admit I’m apprehensive about the thought of the ride up to Malham Tarn.

[Pstotto]

If you've got low enough gears and you don't try and go faster than your ability then it shouldn't be too much of a problem if you already have some levels of fitness. Mind you, I cycle about 30 miles a week and I wouldn't fancy sixty miles.

Average pace for touring is 10 miles an hour. Club cycling is about 14 miles an hour. Club cycling better riders is 17 miles an hour and that is tough. I couldn't do that, I'm a 10 miles an hour man.

[Lancasterclaret]

Sixty miles is tough, but if you don't try to go too fast you should be fine.

Any hills are hard, but you will be surprised how quickly you go up them when you get into the swing of it.

Good luck!

[Stalbansclaret]

Cheers,,,,,did 72 miles on a similar organised ride 3 weeks ago but that was around Essex where they pretty much don't know what a hill is.I seem to pootle along OK at 13 -14 mph generally...would imagine 2 mph up the hill at Malham.

[Lancasterclaret]

as long as its not a minus in front of your speed you will be fine!

[Rammy1968]

Most of going up hills is in your head, don't let the pain defeat you..............

[piston broke]

Good luck with both challenges but from nothing to 60 miles my best advice would be invest in some proper cycling pants. If you are looking at 6 hours in the saddle your arse will be shredded without them.

[Lord Beamish]

My ride from yesterday evening. It’s the third time I’ve done the Cragg Vale climb in as many weeks. It’s got easier each time.

[Stalbansclaret]

Two things have transformed my mindset re my planned long ride this summer from "S*** what have I done ?!" to " I reckon I might be able to do this" . These are:
1. Investing in proper cycling shorts. I wanted to resist the whole MAMIL thing and avoid the lycra but that padding is totally essential to making it even remotely bearable to cycle a distance.
2. Cleats ie "clipping in" to the pedals. The difference this makes is unbelievable, particularly when climbing. Mind you it's problematic if you stop at a junction and forget your feet are fastened to the pedals !!

[Lancasterclaret]

I've done 1) and completely agree with you.

Not done 2) yet - but if it makes that much difference I think I might well have to

[TheFamilyCat]

1. Go the next stage and get bib shorts. You will end up posing in the mirror pretending to be a 1970's wrestler but they are much more comfortable as the pad stays in place.

Which way does the route go up to Malham? I've ridden up the Goredale Road side and it's a brute of a hill - I believe the Cove road to the West is worse! The road up through Arncliffe from Kettlewell is much longer but generally a steadier gradient.

[piston broke]

1. Go the next stage and get bib shorts. You will end up posing in the mirror pretending to be a 1970's wrestler but they are much more comfortable as the pad stays in place.

They are great until you need a pit stop. A grown man can get in bother bollock naked behind a hedge.

[Stalbansclaret]

I didn't know there were any other shorts than bib shorts...i've obviously gone straight to defcon2 !
The ride directions say
"TR in Malham Village SP Gordale, Malham Tarn" if that helps.

[Leyland Claret]

I did this ride last year and it is quite tough! The climb up Malham Tarn is a bit of a killer and I've got to admit I had to push a bit of the way up!
Regarding shorts I would recommend bib shorts in a heart beat. Keeps all your bits in position and are very comfortable.
I would have probably done this ride again but I did a 100 mile Sportive last Saturday and I'm still trying to recover!

[Leyland Claret]

I've done 1) and completely agree with you.

Not done 2) yet - but if it makes that much difference I think I might well have to

Definitely go to cleats.
I rode 12 months on standard pedals then moved to clip in and the difference is massive. Just make sure your cleats are positioned correctly on the shoe. You can do it yourself with online advice or if you buy your shoes,pedals and cleats on the high street they would generally set them up for you. It takes a little time to get used to them but you will think to yourself after how did you cope without them!

[Lord Beamish]

I did my ride last night in a pair of cotton shorts and a linen shirt. No cleats. I reckon I’ll live without Lycra and specialist footwear.

[NCClaret]

This is the first year me and my son have missed doing this ride since it began. I've done the 60 miler and the last couple of years the 25 miler. I did lots of riding in preparation for the 60 and needed it! Both rides are in absolutely stunning countryside and the event is excellently organised and for a very good cause. Enjoy!!

[cricketfieldclarets]

Did coast to coast a few years ago. It wasnt the hills that killed me it was the flat. Just a boringly relentless 'normal' pace. I liked the hills as it mixed it up and you knew you would come down at some stage.

Good luck.

[Garnerssoap]

Given you can pay on the gate, going to have a blast at this on my mountain bike. Do the massages have a happy ending

[Stalbansclaret]

Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread.
An excellent day out today in beautiful weather, though a bit hot from around 11am onwards, and over 500 people had booked in advance with a good number more registering this morning.
Massive thanks to the mechanic at the start line who fixed a puncture in my bike wheel which I somehow picked up before the ride even started ! Did it in 4 hours 47 mins average speed 13mph though I am claiming an additional 4 miles travelled owing to missing one of the route markers at Giggleswick !
The hill up to Malham Tarn was ridiculous and had to stop for a breather twice on the way up. Impressed and humbled by how many people managed it without doing this.
A bonus in doing this ride is that the food stops, at Gargrave and Stainforth, are tremendous with as much pork pie and well-filled butties as you can eat. I reckon I only just exceeded calories in with calories burnt !
Massively harder than the slightly longer ride I did in Essex the other week and , of course, superior on the scenery front as nice as thatched cottages and rolling fields can be.

[Lancasterclaret]

Well done!

I'm off and about the outskirts of the trough later to test my climbing skills.

I'm defo getting some cleats now I think

[TheFamilyCat]

Well done StAlbans. An average speed of 13mph for a "non-cyclist" is a very good effort.

Will you be back next year for the 100-miler?

[Stalbansclaret]

Hmmm ...I’ll get back to you on that Familycat. I may not have a bike by then as I have a feeling that if I actually do make it from Vienna to Prague next month I will be hurling it off the Charles Bridge.

[deanothedino]

Well done!

I'm off and about the outskirts of the trough later to test my climbing skills.

I'm defo getting some cleats now I think

They make a massive difference. Feels wrong to me to ride a bike without being clipped in now.

[tattsbfc]

Thanks to those who posted on this thread as I wasn't aware of the ride until I saw it on here. Was a really well organised ride, as has already been mentioned, the food stops were excellent.

[karatekid]

Well done StAlbans. Done a lot of cycling in my time and one thing to remember when doing a specific distance ride like the sixty miler is that you won't actually be pedalling the whole sixty miles as there will be downhill phases and a lot of flat where free wheeling will come into play so sixty mile could only actually be fifty miles of pedalling depending on terrain.

[piston broke]

Well done!
I'm off and about the outskirts of the trough later to test my climbing skills.
I'm defo getting some cleats now I think

The secondary bonus of cleats is when you get thigh burn on long steady climbs you can use different muscles to pull the pedals UP. You can’t do that in flat shoes.

[piston broke]

The hill up to Malham Tarn was ridiculous and had to stop for a breather twice on the way up. Impressed and humbled by how many people managed it without doing this.

You’ve had a super ride don’t sweat those who climbed it none stop. They might have had a lot lower gearing than you. Since mountain bikes came in they have been giving you a much lower gear on modern road bikes.

[Billyblah]

Up until a couple of years ago this event was staged cycling the other way and dropping down into Malham which was a much faster route but in 2016 there were a couple of incidents where cyclists over shot the hair pin bends resulting in broken shoulders.
Cycling up out of Malham has added over a half hour to my time and yes, I'm finding myself pushing up those steepest sections as the road climbs steeply.