MOUNTAIN BIKE AWAY TRIP TO HEBDEN BRIDGE - 18th and 19th September

Hi all -

I propose to lead an away trip to Calderdale - on Wednesday 18th - Thursday 19th September, its an area you've probably never thought about for mountain biking - being bleak and uninspiring and full of run down mill towns. Think again - the trails here are as good as our local ones and some of those old towns have become desirable places to live. 

There are steep technical single track routes, trails over the high moors with extensive views, together with some really steep climbs (if you like them) and you will be following old cobbled and paved packhorse routes along the way; there is even an attractive canal side trail.  To get a flavour of the area look at the Flat Tyres mtb site http://flattyres-mtb.co.uk/route-guides/yorkshire-mtb-routes/, Pedal North http://pedalnorth.com/pennine-hills-mountain-bike-routes/ and Cycle Calderdale. https://www.cyclecalderdale.co.uk/route/category/mtb

Its all not too far away either; Kendal to Hebden Bridge is about 1hr 30 min to 2.00 hrs via the M6 and M65.

The plan is to go away for 2 days though if you like it you might want to stay for longer or even go down earlier and stay for 2 nights. Hebden Bridge has a range of accommodation but the favourite is the Hebden Bridge hostel (AKA Mama Weirdigan's) http://www.hebdenbridgehostel.co.uk which has a range of accommodation from £15 in a bunk room and £20 in a dorm to £55 for a twin and £75 for a 4 family room. A cereal breakfast is included. More upmarket possibilities exist nearby. The hostel has car parking (to be reserved at time of booking), though no indoor accommodation for bikes (they can be locked up, or accommodated on or in the cars). There is a hosepipe for bike washing, though no indoor drying room. It is a bit quirky as no meat or fish is allowed in the hostel (eggs OK) and indoor slippers should be brought.  

There are plenty of pubs to eat out in within walking distance.

I had originally thought about doing the Mary Towneley loop of the Pennine Bridleway over two days but this has certain logistical issues and would make for a couple of very long committing days especially with driving down or back on the same day.... so perhaps another year. By doing two shorter circular routes we will still get to ride some of the Pennine Bridleway route and get a flavour of the area; its all weather dependant and the precise routes will have to depend on who is interested and the  weather on the day.

However, plan A will be to drive down and meet at GR956247; this is a picnic area on the A646 between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge to do the Hebden Bridge Single Track route see http://flattyres-mtb.co.uk/route-guides/yorkshire-mtb-routes/hebden-bridge-singletrack-route/ or a variant of it; the full route is c 38km but it could be shortened. The meet up time will be 10.30 - hopefully ready to roll. The plan is to have a break in Hebden Bridge at the Hebble End Cafe for an early lunch or late 11ses with a further stop along the way for a picnic lunch. 

On the Thursday we could do the Hebden Bridge and Bronte Way route see http://flattyres-mtb.co.uk/route-guides/yorkshire-mtb-routes/hebden-bridge-and-the-bronte-way/ at c 34.5km or something shorter if folks want to get back earlier.

If you are interested, and I'll go anyway, please let me know asap - at the moment the hostel has plenty of space for the Wednesday night and if you want to share a 4 bed room with me I can sort that out with the hostel for the first 3 takers, otherwise book direct.

Pete  Ashby

TANDEM PILOT WANTED 12th,13th and 14th October - Way of the Roses

I am organising a group of 5 Tandems to cycle the Way of the Roses on 12, 13 & 14 October. The mileage each day is approx 50. Some of the 5 visually impaired people in the group have never done this kind of thing before. I have a support vehicle to carry overnight luggage.

I still need one tandem pilot. The stoker for this pilot is experienced  & used to riding with different people. The pilot need not have previous experience of riding tandem as some training can be given in the meantime which would involve a couple of half days cycling. There are a variety of tandems available to suit people of all sizes.

if you would be willing to help or know of someone who might be able to help can you please contact me by e-mail or by phone on:

Landline: 01524 388970

Mobile: 0797 6477602

Thank you.

Steve Bateman

Ride report - E- Bike experience with Eden-e-Motion and Scott Bikes

You might remember Bill's ride report of our last visit to Kirkby Stephen back on November 8th. This was a great day out for the MTB section of the club and was organised by Mike Sunderland (KDCS member) and Paul Clow the owner of Eden e Motion electric assist bike shop.

The good news is that we were invited back for another demo day and ride on 18th April 2019 and of course all those wonderful refreshments post ride.
For this event , Paul organised eight Scott electric mountain bikes for us to try and use on the ride entirely free of cost.

 The weather was good for the ride, with 21 riders including 13 e-riders. For the electric riders the ride up to nine standards was a breeze, with minimum effort required on trail mode. However, there were a couple of locked gates and stiles en route which required a team effort to haul the bikes back on track.

Back at the Eden-e-Motion we had refreshments and a chance to look at the other bikes for sale.

Paul has an extensive stock of every type of electric bike. If you only ride road bikes he will have something of interest for you.

A quick de-briefing after the ride, with thanks to Mike Sunderland, Eden-e-Motion and Scott for providing the bikes.

Scott e-Genius 710 (Shimano) - £5799

Scott e-strike 920 (Bosch) - £5699

Summary of ride by Dave Wills:

I had a great day out on the Scott e-Genius 710 - Full suspension, electric with 4 modes (including walk mode.) The 25 mile ride up to Nine Standards was made really easy in trail mode. Max speed is 15 miles an hour with the motor. On the downhill I switched it off to reach speeds of 64km per hour (nearly 40miles per hour) on the tarmac.

At the end of the ride I was nearly out of power but had only started with 4 out of 5 bars. I still had lots of energy left though compared to the usual Thursday MTB ride.

The bike was a pleasure to ride, and handled really well.

If you don't want to buy one, its definitely worth hiring one for the day for the experience.

Thanks to all for a good day out.

Proposed MTB and Road bike trips June and July 2019

North Yorkshire Moors MTB Weekend June 8th 9th 2019

Accommodation

Nearest Campsite is Golden Square Caravan and Camping Site about 5k south of Helmsley.
GR SE603796.
Website www.goldensquarecaravanpark.com Rather expensive but cheaper than B&B.
There is a Youth Hostel in Helmsley and various other hotels etc

Rides

Two rides Planned.
Saturday is the Helmsley Loop. Approx.. 30k starting from Helmsley but easy to ride to the start from the campsite. 3 miles each way.

 Sunday start is from the visitor centre at the top of Sutton Bank. Parking charges apply. About 9k from the campsite. This is a shorter route of about 25k but will allow people to head off home a bit earlier if they wish.
Malcolm

MTB away trip to Teesdale, June 20th - 21st

I propose to guide a ride from Dufton to Teesdale again this year, on Thu June 20th.  Overnight at Langdon Beck and return on 21st.  An outline of the route is: leave cars at Dufton, up the access road to Gt Dun Fell, off piste to Cross Fell, track to Garrigill, then Tyne Head, Cow Green and Langdon Beck.  Return via Cow Green and High Cup Nick.

This is a month later than last year's visit so, for those interested, there will be a different flora and fauna to see.

I have arranged for a sherpa (ie. Claire) to take baggage from Dufton to Langdon Beck in the car, so we can travel as light as possible.  When I have numbers I will try to book us all for dinner in the Langdon Beck Hotel (pub). If this is not possible the option is either to book dinner in the YH or take your own food to cook there.  (I'm assuming everyone will want the pub meal if available.)

What to do if you want to come:

1.  Book yourself accommodation for June 20th.  The YH has beds in shared single-sex rooms or has private rooms for 2, 4 or 5 people.  All are available as of now.  The price is in the region of £25 pppn with a 10% discount for members.  If you require a bed in a shared room, or want a 2 bed room then go ahead and book now.  If you want a bed in a private 4 or 5 - bedded room I suggest you send an email asking for room-mates, since you will have to book the whole room (https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-langdon-beck)

Alternatively you might want to investigate rooms at the Langdon Beck Hotel (http://langdonbeckhotel.com/).  

(I would normally do the bookings for us but the situation is complicated by who wants what sort of room, who is and isn't a member and who wants breakfast or packed lunch.  The online booking process is dead easy.)

2. Meals.  When you make your booking, don't book dinner (see below) but do book yourself breakfast and/or packed lunch if you require these (they are cheaper booked in advance).  Alternatively take breakfast and lunch materials with you (that's what I'll do).

3.  Let me know that you are coming by next Thursday (April 4th), then I will know numbers and will see if I can book everyone in for dinner at the pub (which is a short walk or ride from the YH).

If the pub can't take us for dinner that night I can book dinner for everyone at the YH (cost c£10) unless you let me know you have made other arrangements (eg. you might want to self-cater).  There would still be time to go to the pub after dinner.

Andy

 KDCS 3 day mountain bike trip in the Dales 3-5th July

 Proposed 3 day MTB trip based around Reeth in the Yorkshire Dales. Lots of road riding and walking options for partners or those not wishing to ride all 3 days. Tourist options include museums, 2 YD National Park Centres, Hawes Creamery, Aysgarth Falls, Castles, Abbeys etc.

 Date - Wed to Friday 3rd-5th July 2019

Rides

 Day 1 ride 10.30am start Arkenthdale 16.25 miles
 Start Langthwaite GR NZ005022 free village car park.
  Ride starts with a climb up to the old lead mine workings and on to Whaw Moor, Whaw, mine works around Booze Moor, Moresdale Ridge, Washfold Hurst, Booze and back to Langthwaite - 3265 ft of climbing grade red.

 Day 2 ride - 10.00 am start for tour of Swaledale 20 mile ride
 Start Reeth Village Green ( free parking with honesty box ) GR SE038993
 From Reeth head up through Grinton and up onto Harkerside Moor, Low Row, Gunnerside, Winterings Edge, Bunton, Great Pinseat, Helaugh and back into Reeth. Ascent 4165ft grade red.

 Day 3 ride 10.30am start from the Green Dragon pub Hardraw GR 866913 free on road parking nearby 2 loops from Hardraw Loop 1- Abbotside Common and Sedbusk 10k 1000ft of climbing Coffee / tea stop in Hardraw ( Cafe or Pub ) Loop 2 - Hearne top and Cotterdale 12k with 1000ft of climbing.

 Accommodation

 Orchard Caravan and Camping Park
 Black Bull pub and other pubs / hotels in or near Reeth Grinton Lodge
 YHA Low Row Bunk Barns Dales Bike Centre - 14 bunks available in 2x 4 bunks room, 3 x 2 bunk rooms.
 All bunks booked pay for only 13. Room rates for 2019 are £58 for a 2 bunk room but this includes breakfast. Single occupancy 2 bunk room £39 including breakfast, 4 bunk room £116 includes breakfasts, whole place £377 a night. Showers, toilet and bathroom shared. WiFi, bike storage, bike wash.

 Steve

Another visit and ride at Kirkby Stephen on 18th April.

You might remember my ride report of our last visit to Kirkby Stephen back on November 8^th. This was a great day out for the mtb section of the club and was organised by Mike Sunderland (kdcs member) and Paul Clow the owner of  Eden e Motion electric assist bike shop.

 The good news is that we have been invited back for another demo day and ride and of course all those wonderful refreshments post ride.

For this event however, Paul has organised eight Scott electric mountain bikes for us to try and use on the ride. If you have never tried an electric assist bike or been on one of the club's mountain bike rides, this is an opportunity for you entirely free of cost.

Another reason for me bringing this to the attention of the club as a whole is that Paul has an extensive stock of every type of electric bike. If you only ride road bikes he will have something of interest for you.

Why not come along, even if you don't join the mtb ride you will be able to try out different makes of bikes, both mtb and road.  I am sure you will be impressed and see the many benefits of an electric assist bike.

To save time on arrival, and for mtb riders to make sure you get your hand on one of those brilliant Scott mtbs give Paul a ring 07483901529 or e mail him to

eembikes@gmail.com  Let him know what you are interested in:

Scott e-Genius 710 (Shimano)

Scott e-strike 920 (Bosch)

and your frame size etc. I know you will have a super day.

Cheers and best wishes, Bill.

Chesters by the River - Talks

Ghyllside Cycles have a couple more talks coming up at Chesters by the River which we thought some KDCS member s may be interested in

These are

Tuesday 26th Feb
Ann Wilson - A Senior Cyclist Tours the World

At the age of 59, Ann decided that there was no time like the present and gave up her job to cycle round the world.

The trip began as an open ended round the World cycle in an Easterly direction and Ann finished having covered 1000miles.

There were several challenges along the way to deal with, but what stood out for Ann was the depth of human kindness she experienced throughout her travels.


Saturday 30th March

The Worlds Longest Climb

Start: Dead Sea 420m below sea level

Finish: Summit Mt Everest

Paulines story will take you from the team’s starting point at the Dead Sea in Jordan, through Syria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Nepal and finally to Everest Base Camp in Tibet. There, they exchanged bikes for crampons and climbed the great mountain itself.

Pauline puts the secret of their success down to ‘lots and lots of laughter, positive attitude and belief in the goal’.


Info for both talks can be found at

https://www.ghyllside.co.uk/whats-on.html

All talks include a drink and Pizza Meal in the ticket cost.

Minutes of the KDCS Committee Meeting 23/1/19

Minutes of the KDCS Committee meeting held 23/1/19

Attendees - Steve Warner, Anne Brooks, Martin Slader, Brian Woodward, Dave Wills, Mike Pezet.

As Chairman Steve welcomed all to the meeting and thanked everyone for making it a very successful year for KDCS. He appreciates the amount of work put in to provide members with a great range of regular rides and social events. The Christmas meal was initially oversubscribed demonstrating the support we enjoy from our members and we have had high numbers out on our rides during 2018.

1.   Finance Report and move to a modern on line account

Martin advised that we have £337.18p in our Skipton Account. This account can be accessed at Branch level only and requires any 2 of our 3 named signatories for withdrawals. A recent donation of £10 was made to a non passbook holder and the process to pay it in was a little long winded. Further expected expenditure for 2019 is a small sum of £23.98 to cover the KDCS domain name for the next 2 years plus the Cycling Uk ride leaders insurance of circa £75.  It was agreed that we now need a more modern account that gives an on line facility. Following subsequent enquiries with the Skipton it was confirmed that there is the facility for members to pay monies into the account on line using the BACS method. There is however the need to provide the title KDCS, the branch account number, our account number and sort code. There is no facility for a reference name so members would need to e-mail a named committee member to advise of any payments made. All amounts will appear in the passbook once it is updated. Given that we have such an on line pay in facility there is no need to change our account.

2.    Income generation

Given that we will be left with just over £200 in our account after this years costs it was agreed that we need to generate further capital. All stated that they were not in favour of charging a joining fee or collect annual subs but rather that we seek to raise the money through a voluntary appeal supplemented if necessary by requesting a small top up to next years Christmas meal cost. There was a debate around requesting donations at social events and whilst this is to be considered it was felt we needed the direct appeal as this would go out to all members not just those attending events. The introduction of an on line account would also assist in facilitating such payments.

 3.    Membership awareness

Mike advised that we had around 14 new members last year quite a few being MTB riders. Anne advised we have over 120 members in total. All agreed that we are a unique club that appeals to people not wanting to join the more competing type club such as KCC etc. Mike has an article shortly going into the widely circulated ‘in focus’ magazine and we agreed that there wasn’t a need to formally advertise wider.

4.    Social Events

It was agreed that we should aim for 4 quarterly social events again this year but that we should also seek to introduce talks / slide shows appealing to members who would like share their experiences. A suitable venue at nil / low cost to be sought for this. Some members put on quirky rides last year
including a trip to a pizza venue and an Arnside Fireworks ride. These additional trips just add to the great ride experiences provided for members and it will be left to individual members to decide whether they want to put such events on.

5.     Additional trips

The MTB Group have already met to plan a range of multi day trips but in addition there will be an all comers long weekend trip to North Yorkshire in June this year. Members who wish to organise any additional trips are welcome to do so.

6.      Authorisation of content for the website,Facebook site and e- mails to members and layout of our web pagesFollowing last years changes in data protection we have already advised members that content and communications will be appropriate, relevant and kept to a minimum. The regular monthly newsletter issued by Anne provides relevant and up to date news as well as ride details. It will not include members contact numbers or e- mail addresses unless permission has been given. After discussion we agreed that some posts were more appropriate for the website rather than by e-mail to all members and that we need to ensure we are not contravening data protection principles on content sent to members.

In terms of layout it was noted that our front page (LHS) should be used for details of immediate and at times urgent information. These posts often go out of date quickly although several posts have been removed / archived recently resulting in the top post being quite out of date. Dave to look at layout options that could facilitate sale items / archive / delete options.
The issue of ride reports was raised. Bill Jackson recently produced a good article covering a ride organised in conjunction with a Kirkby Stephen based e- bike business. It was agreed that whilst ride reports are interesting they should be on a voluntary basis only. Dave will look at a location for such
reports whilst reviewing layout options.

Some of the news could have their own dedicated pages with links from the front page. We may perhaps need to write to members if we make changes to offer direction on where to find items include recipes, bike shops, mechanical services etc.

7.     Any other business

There being no other business the meeting was brought to a close.


Steve Warner
Chairman of KDCS