![\"North](\"https:\/\/www.sloeburn.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_5372.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe event was ‘organised for North Yorkshire CTC by VC167’ whose members were conspicuous in their blue and yellow jerseys, as well as their large (to me) groups riding together. \u00a0Not being a club member I am not comfortable with group riding but unfortunately those who are tend to assume that everyone else is, and will happily surround the individual rider expecting\u00a0you to understand their calls, and occasionally they will empty their noses when in close proximity. \u00a0Also I find that while\u00a0such groups ride faster than me they also stop frequently, resulting in a tortoise\/hare situation. \u00a0One person, dawdling at once such pause while I came by, exclaimed “a tourer!” as if I had shown up to a\u00a0100 km road ride\u00a0on a downhill mountain bike. \u00a0I did<\/em> enjoy riding up the hill on the straight (presumably Roman) road near Castle Howard using my triple, while others walked.<\/p>\n Enough grumbling. \u00a0I got talking to a guy on a Surly with what I think were On-One Mungo bars; he said they were always mocked by his club. \u00a0He was doing an ECE from Durham; much respect.<\/p>\n The first control was at Malton Morrisons where I felt surprisingly good and bought a pear and some cashew nuts. \u00a0Then west, north and west again to the second control at Ampleforth College<\/a>. \u00a0I hadn’t looked this up so had no idea that there was an Abbey and Catholic boarding school here. \u00a0It was very peaceful, the sort of place you would normally take time over visiting, so it seemed a bit incongruent to have a bunch of sweaty cyclists descending and eating everything in sight. \u00a0The cafe, where stickers for brevet cards were obtained, was not only busy but had that smell of institutional catering that gives me the pure dry boak. \u00a0So I settled for an ice cream from the shop.<\/p>\n The next section was my favourite, heading just into the North York Moors National Park and through Wass, a section I recognised from an ODL youth hostel weekend. \u00a0Past Byland Abbey, and the route gives a view of the White Horse near Kilburn. \u00a0Too far away to be worth stopping for a photo, but I tried using the GoPro whilst rising to capture some fellow riders up ahead.<\/p>\n With about 10 km to go I had a bit of a bonk and ate my emergency naked bar, which did the trick. \u00a0I suspect I wouldn’t have needed it if I hadn’t had the ice cream sugar-injection at the last control. \u00a0The last stretch was a fast ride along a B road into Wigginton. \u00a0All day I had been passing and being passed by a guy on a Moulton (since revealed as ‘Dave’ on yacf<\/a>) and a woman on something nice-but-unidentifiable which was orange with white sections and very audax-looking, and we arrived at pretty much the same time. \u00a0I was also happy to catch Surly-guy in the last km and finish together – although he quickly headed off (presumably a pootle back to Durham) whereas I sat around with tea and cake before slowly rolling back to York.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n