Post date: May 24, 2015 4:13:47 PM
[See official photos of Clifton CC members in the 2015 Pock Pedal event in the slideshow at the bottom of this post.]
The 2015 Pock Pedal was held on Saturday, 24 May. 320 cyclists lined up in great cycling conditions. Andy J had kindly arranged some nice weather, with lots of cloud cover early, moderate temperatures (Andy: note for next year - I personally prefer a few degrees higher) and little wind. The start was located at Pocklington Town Football Club, a fantastic facility for a popular event such as this. I booked onto the 100 mile Mega route. Plenty of other Cliftonites were spread across all routes, including the 60 mile Midi Route and the 25 mile Mini Route – hope everyone enjoyed their day!
As we prepared in the car park before the event, Dr Joe and I spotted a bloke applying chamois cream in a manner which would have got him arrested in most public places. Unbeknown to the bloke in question, his application technique, which lasted far too long, ‘went viral’ in the cars around us - huge laughter ensued! – I suppose it’s a case of each to their own when it comes to preparing for a cycling event.
It was fantastic to catch up with all the Inters regulars for this ride. Seven of us headed through the transponders at 8.00am on the Mega route– John B, Graham T, Dr Joe, Craig B, Rich C, Maple Leaf Tony and me. Everyone rode exceptionally well, especially on some of the tough climbs. The group stayed closely together all the way round, despite also having to drag other interlopers at various times.
The Pock Pedal is a great event because it is super-well organised, lots of high-vis arrows placed at every corner along the route and generous feed stations at 37 miles (Norton) and 75 miles (Stamford Bridge). The ride takes in some of my favourite Yorkshire landscapes - the panorama from the top of Settrington Bank, the valley through Thixendale, the view from the top of Kirby Underdale down onto the Vale of York and the ride through Millington Pastures.
About 15 miles out of Stamford Bridge, the Clifton train picked up a few rival groups who jumped on the back for a free ride – Surely their accepting help from rival teams should have resulted in them all being docked 2 minutes each! ;) We had our revenge by racing them through a narrow lane near Buttercrambe which contained more potholes than the main road through Helmand Province. Two blokes in particular were the biggest guys I have ever seen on bikes, they looked like the Dad from the ‘The Incredibles’ – 6’ 7” tall and the same width across the shoulders – they actually did very well to get through all the climbing too because they were carrying three times the weight that I was.
Big thanks to Dr Joe who was on hand to address various health issues throughout the day – all appreciated the support, including the guy who flipped himself straight over on a jammed chain in front of the main door of the village hall at Stamford Bridge and did a pile-driver into the concrete step! I also had a finger blow-out at the top of Leavening Bank – my raised blood pressure must have opened a deep cut in my finger from a couple of days earlier and the blood was spurting like a Z-grade horror movie. I stopped and did what most blokes do, wiped it on the grass - but the flow wouldn’t stop. Thankfully Graham came along from St Graham’s Ambulance Brigade and found a 50 year old band aid at the bottom of his puncture kit - thanks Graham! All the blood on the hoods and drops of the bars made us Clifton blokes look well ‘ard! Tony also had his issues with leg injuries from a fall earlier in the week and Dr Joe had him flying by the end.
Everyone looked out for each other all day and that made for an extremely pleasant ride. A few of the boys also impressively displayed the Clifton fighting spirit in the official Teeth Gritting Hour towards the end as well.
Everyone had disposable transponders for timing purposes and we were only just edged out of the Gold standard - by about an hour and a half! The last time I did this event, I recall this ride had more climbing than I expected and this day was no exception with over 6,000 feet of elevation over the 100 mile course. It was nice to ride across the line together in Clifton formation which prompted an official photo call. Andy J then directed us upstairs to the Football Club for tea & cake, which we duly obliged. One of our lot then noticed there was a guy behind the bar!...which prompted something I never thought I would ever write in my lifetime – “Remember the day the Clifton boys had a beer at the bar together after a long ride, I think it was the same day the Aussies nailed a top 5 finish in the Eurovision song contest!!"
It was a sensational day on the bike and big thanks go to Andy and his team for organising a great event. I was so hyped up when I arrived home that I was able to zero-sum the brownie point ledger by mowing the lawn – that’s how you do it boys!
See here for slideshow containing more snaps of Clifton members in the Pock Pedal event:
Nb. Please note that this slideshow is not compatible with mobile devices, such as mobile phones and iPads.