Yorkshire Alps at the Mid-Summer Solstice

A Monday night in late December 2005 and a group of us met in the Ackhorn PH for a debrief (beer) the night after the Winter Solstice Tan Hill run (a "cheeky little ride" as Mac put it!). Some of us had ridden; others were inquisitive to see what sort of state we were in. I commented, in an off-hand way, that the symmetry would be complete if we tackled something challenging at the summer solstice.

A long debate followed. The open fire crackled and with a couple of pints of Timothy Taylors' finest nestling comfortably in our bellies, our optimism and bravado grew. Mac mentioned something called the "Yorkshire Alps"; we wanted to know more.

The route is a traditional Clifton challenge, popular in the 60s and 70s. The route followed the A1 north to Scotch corner where left up over Bowes Moor on the A66. At Brough it turned south for Tan Hill, Buttertubs, Fleets Moss, Fancarl and back along Nidderdale to finish at Exhibition Square. About 160 miles. The idea was that the Racing Secretary timed you out and timed you back and certificates were presented for beating either 12 or 14 hours. "The trick with the ride" said Mac "is to be lucky and get good conditions. You can leave York in nice weather in the summer and still drop for strong winds, heavy rain or hail over the tops. Ideally you leave York in the still early morning and pick up a tail wind north westerly to come home."

Keith Barker still holds the record from a ride dating back to 1975. He was a good tester at all distances and loved riding the hills, the steeper the better. Among other awards he is "Captain of the Cols" for riding many of the passes on the continent given by one of the French touring associations. He had good conditions, his first stop was a foot down at Tan Hill. He recorded a staggering 9 hours 20 mins!

John McSherry, always one for making things a bit hard, rode it overnight in 1979. at the age of 16.

Mac had us hooked and was playing us well. But what about the A1/A66; you couldn't ride up there now! I committed to go home and find an alternative route on the map following the original as closely as possible, but keeping out of the traffic. The following week, back in the pub, I laid it out - Helperby - Topcliffe - Bedale - Richmond - Marske - Reeth - Tan Hill - Buttertubs - Fleets Moss - Fancarl - Duck Street - Pannel - home. About 245km (150miles) and 3000m of climbing. Not quite as long as the original, but on heavier roads. Mac considered this new route slightly harder if anything. OK, we set a date for 18th June and Steve got another round in.

Early June 2006 was hot and sunny, but the morning of Sunday 18th dawned cooler, about 17°C, as we congregated in the Square at 0700. Mac was there to wave us off and riding were Steve Savage, Helen Scull, Willy Hoedeman, Andy Stanforth, Stuart Jones, Ian Kent and myself. Mac told me that he had ridden himself in 1980 when the great Ray "Ironman" Thompson had been in the Square to wave them off.

That day they had Mac (vet), Chris Nutland (sen), Nigel Lawson (jun, then 17 and now owns Haxby Cycle Shop) and Ian McCormick (juv, just 14). Their bikes were all steel, 10 or 12 gears (non-index). Ours were, well, 21st century!

So off we set with a gentle south westerly, tapping along through Shipton, Tollerton, Helperby, Topcliffe then onto that lovely lane by the weir to bring us to Skipton-on-Swale. Over the River, then under the A1 and north through Kirklington and Burneston, villages that have the air of the long gone importance of an old coaching route. After 39 miles in exactly 2 hours we rattled through Bedale before swinging off the A684 to Newton le Willows. It was clouding over now, but nothing disconcerting and we swung north again bound for Catterick Garrison.

It was on a steepish pull through Scotton that the SPD mechanism on my right pedal pinged off! This was a problem as all I could do was push the cleat down precariously onto what remained of the pedal and with all the climbing still to do it was an added challenge I could have done without. The ride became a test of smooth pedalling and shall we say that, at best, I scraped a "C minus". That evening my right ankle was swollen and bleeding and my left knee was black and blue after crashing into the top tube every time my right foot slipped. I apologise to my companions for my occasional profanities! But enough of that; my reconnaissance of Richmond 2 weeks previously had earmarked a petrol station with shop and park bench outside for our first 15 minute break. Spirits were high as we considered the route in front. Twenty six years earlier Mac's group may have not been as jolly as they rounded Scotch corner into the teeth of a rising headwind.

The obvious route to Reeth follows the valley floor first on the A6108 then on the B6270, but I led us on an unclassified alternative running parallel and to the north through Marske. This is important as there are two extra climbs, quite stiff, in place of the Bowes Moor climb on the original route. On the second of these two climbs it started to rain.

Those of you that know me from the clubruns understand that I always take a waterproof. But it had been so, well, hot! For this ride, without thinking, I'd just stuffed a windproof gillet in my back pocket. Others were in a worse situation; Andy was in just shorts and short-sleeved jersey and the temperature soon dropped to 11°C. Now it wouldn't matter much on an hour's training spin, but on an epic like this we could all do without wasting energy shivering. I was annoyed with myself.

We hacked through Reeth and into Arkengarth Dale, my least favourite approach to Tan Hill; it feels like you climb it twice. Climb 100m, drop 50m, climb another 100m then, you've guessed it, drop 50m again. Helen, Steve, Andy and Ian were setting a strong pace and I dropped back with Willy and Stuart. I was honoured to be with them. In case you didn't know, Willy fell off his bike at Easter 2005, shattering his right hip joint. After insertion of a fair mass of iron-mongery he was soon back on his bike and completed the Winter Solstice Tan Hill run just 8 months later. It's worth pausing to think about that! Stuart won't mind me telling you that he was carrying a couple of stones of extra ballast through the summer of 2006 and yet he drove himself around some of the longest most mountainous rides imaginable with never a word of complaint or self pity. Apart from the Yorkshire Alps he also completed the Dales Grimpeur 180k Audax with us as well as the Tan Hill Audax in August. An ability to suffer is rated highly in this sport.

By Tan Hill it was raining hard and true to my oft' spoke maxim "hypothermia finds it harder to strike a moving target" I shoo-ed the others out of the snug and on down into Swaledale. Past my favourite Youth Hostel at Keld (I can't believe they're closing it) and on down possibly the finest road in England towards Thwaite. The Farmer's Arms in Thwaite (oak-casked Theakston's by the way) has provided a few mellow evenings before the twilight ride back to Keld YH.

Meanwhile, back to the Yorkshire Alps and Buttertubs provided the next obstacle. The rain was fair lashing down now and we couldn't have been wetter if we'd jumped in the Swale. We were mixed up in some sort of classic car rally. A 1930s Bentley broke down on the 25% section and was towed up by a WWII Jeep. Stuart had found his climbing legs and Willy and I just rolled the gear around towards the Buttertubs at the top. The Buttertubs are a group of holes by the side of the road, reputed to be "bottomless". "Some more bottomless than others!" a Youth Hostel warden at Keld once told me. I'd suggested to the others that we regrouped in the cafe in Hawes rather than at the top of the pass and this proved to be a good call as the descent was perishing!

There was much hilarity in the cafe as a combination of shivering, wet flags and non-recessed cleats resulted in yours-truly doing a cross between the Can-Can, Swan Lake and the splits. Come on, you've all done it!

Fleets Moss was next and the hardest climb yet; not helped by the enormous sausage sandwiches consumed at the cafe. Willy had been up here a couple times in the last few weeks in the White Rose Classic and Dales Grimpeur. "Its getting like an old friend" he said. There was a pause and his voice lowered an octave; "hello old friend!" Ian and Andy nearly fell off laughing. 26 years previously Mac's party had romped up here by comparison with a steady tail-wind although the hang-gliders circling above had been mistaken for vultures. Over the top and, wehey, the rain stopped. The roads were still slimy though, as Helen and Stuart found at the cattle-grid half way down - no permanent damage done though.

Hubberholme, Buckden, Starbotton, Kettlewell, we were humming along on the gentle descent. On through Conistone and into Grassington for another "munchy stop". The Spa shop was plundered and I demolished a 6-pack of Eccles cakes even though I'd planned to save a couple until later - you know what its like; you don't realise what you've done ‘til after! I had my eye on 12 hours for the ride and it was going to be tight, so I rounded everyone up and pointed them towards Fancarl. There was a fair amount of late afternoon traffic which meant single file riding and with well over 100 miles covered the gradient bit hard. I tried to match Steve which was not my smartest move of the day - of all of us he was the one that was race fit and although too polite to ride away from me his shallow breathing betrayed the difference between us! I crested the summit with Helen, as far as we know she is the first lady/woman/lass to complete the Yorkshire Alps and she did it in some style, climbing very strongly and never in trouble.

We regrouped at the top and turned onto Duck Street then Pennypot Lane and it was now Ian's turn to tow the group. If I had a pound for every hour I'd spent staring at Ian's rear mech I'd be riding a Colnago now! It is said that Ian has one speed: hard, and on the flat to rolling terrain with 200km under the belt, he was in his element! Andy joined him on the front and between them they made light work of the run in. That morning Mac had given me an envelope with his phone number on the front and 30p inside. "Give me a call when you're an hour from York" he said. I fished it out in Pannel, it had turned to papier-mâche, but was just about decipherable.

Steve and I took to the front making frequent calculations about the ETA; 12 hours would be difficult. From Long Marston to the ring road we held it above 22 mph; OK easy on a chain-gang, but after that ride?! Luckily York was quiet and we hammered around the inner ring road finishing in 11hours 57 minutes, 151 miles Square to Square. A similar time to Mac's group 26 years earlier.

Mac was waiting for us, top man! He had bottles of mineral water for us; spot on, my stomach couldn't cope with anything else! I had a big buzz as seven had started and seven finished, together, in good order, with no melodrama and great team work.

So, if any of you want to follow in our wheel tracks, I'd be really pleased to explain the route to you in more detail. You obviously need to be "clubrun fit" plus a bit! But with careful planning and a bottom gear in the low 30 inches, it's probably not as hard as you'd expect at first. Go on!

Rob Osman (with thanks to Mac for the research)