Dales 01_4_12

Circuit of the Dales 50mile TT - A Grand Day Out - April Fool?

Unexpected clear blue skies heralded a fine morning for this early season April 1st toughie, the Nelson Wheelers promotion. The circuit is roughly triangular, starting at Ingleton in North Yorkshire, heading roughly north to Sedburgh, east to Hawes (the home of Wensleydale cheese - hence the reference to Wallace and Gromit), then back over moorlands to Ribblehead and Ingleton, crossing several county borders. It's a course familiar to quite a few in the Southport CC, but new to Dan Burdekin, and me. It was Alfie Shaw's brainwave a few months ago; you think he'd know better, having ridden it previously in the 90s, obviously his memory has faded sufficiently for him to think it was a good idea. And the last time I rode a 50 was in 1987, before Dan was even born. However, we were all aware of the need to prepare beforehand and treat the race with respect. Run out of energy before the end, and you'll be in big trouble, as the hills just keep coming all the way to the finish.

Clear skies, but the temperature for early starters such as Dan and I was only just above zero, so most folk wore gloves and were careful not to wear the Wrong Trousers.

The course, shortened slightly due to traffic lights - poorly surfaced here and there but a truely appalling road surface for a few miles from Sedburgh, on the road to Hawes. This had most people searching for the best bits they could find - me, I found a strip about 15cm from the white line in the middle. Fantastic scenery on the way to Garsdale Head, and the start of the first of the really big climbs, and really big, screaming, descents. Forewarned is forearmed; the right hand turn at Hawes had potential to catch people unawares and be over-geared and that was the start of the second major climb, uphill most of the way for the next 5-7 miles. The descent to Ribblehead was nullified by a rising headwind that got worse for the late starters (sorry, Alfie but Dan and I got away with that one). On a worse day (which would be very easy to imagine) I could imagine the true slog of finishing into the prevailing wind that gets channelled up the valley to the moortops. Views of Ingleborough were stunning but after the dip at Ribblehead there was a series of climbs for the last 5 miles to the finish to act as distraction and bring one's attention back to the strip of tarmac ahead.

The field - a full field, reflecting the event's popularity and classic status, and quality in depth as well. On the day, winner was professional Richard Handley in 1:55:38 with a clear margin of almost 3 minutes over some of the north-west's (and indeed national) finest Andy Wilkinson and Derek Parkinson. And the Southport lads - Alfie Shaw, on his heavy old Raleigh, not quite breaking the 3 hour barrier he had hoped for with 3:3:57: Dan Burdekin in his first outing at this distance 2:43:27 (including a 9 minute late start): Richard Cary 2:26:46. Aching legs and sore backs all round.

All downhill from now.

Richard Cary. Posted 03/04/2012

Website Designed by Taylored Web Solutions