“Ey up lad, good effort”
I honestly don’t think there is a better place to ride your bike on a sunny day than in Yorkshire. Whether it’s the often breathtaking scenery, the plethora of hills & climbs, endless supply of decent coffee and cake stops and of course the locals.
They really played their part as me and a friend decided to challenge ourselves on the medium route of the yearly sportive. 50 miles and over 4000ft of climbing is definitely a good ride out and featured two stinging climbs towards the end of the ride, East Chevin Bank and Black Hill Road. Category 3 and 4 climbs respectively.
As the ride started and ended in our home city of Leeds, it felt wrong not to sign up. I really enjoyed my first sportive last year and the fact that I would get to sprint into Leeds to crowds of people sealed the deal for me.
My brain told me to take my road bike but my heart said Brompton, so I arrived at the start slightly nervous about the fact that riders on super light carbon bikes admitted to not looking forward to the final two climbs. What they didn’t know is that I had defeated the worst of the two earlier in the week mwah ha ha….
What I didn’t know is if I would be able to get up every hill without stopping as was my main aim. I expected that attempting the route on a Brompton would raise a few eyebrows but I was blown away by the number of positive comments from fellow riders. The weather was fantastic and the route showcased what Yorkshire is all about. Locals setting up their spots by the roadside ready for the pro race later on in the day, clapped and cheered and rang bells in support and encouragement.
As we descended into Otley, we took a deep breath and headed up East Chevin Bank (1.2 miles – 545ft). It’s a brutal climb as it’s pretty much dead straight after the initial turn so you just have to get your head down and get through it. Halfway up the climb, a young boy from a local house had a hosepipe directed in the air to give us a cooldown and we slowly crawled up. Many riders were forced to walk probably due to the heat but I soldiered on.
Black Hill Road was up next (0.7 miles – 357ft) and although shorter, featured a nasty ramp of 20% which I knew was coming but still almost brought my tired legs to a standstill. Hurrah, the last of the major hills were done and all that was left to do was head back into Leeds city centre. The crowds were already growing and were encouraging tired riders to sprint through the finish banner by cheering and banging on the hoardings, so I obliged and finished the ride with the biggest smile on my face. A day I will remember for a long time. The finishers medal was nice too.
Thank you Yorkshire!
Tall Man, Small Bike 