Katie Butcher

On Sunday, Nigel and I joined in on the ‘Trails and Ales’ ride organised by Chevin Cycles. It started in Gargrave, not far from Skipton at 10am and there were probably about 20 people. The weather was great, a little misty early on, but the sun soon broke through. The ride was around 25 miles and covered some absolutely stunning Dales scenery, such as around Malham (see picture). We both found the ride tough going, but considering it was our first ‘proper’ mountain bike ride, I don’t think we did too badly. Nigel and I were nearly always fighting (and usually failing) to keep up with the group, but fortunately the other people on the ride were really friendly and stopped periodically so everyone could regroup. They didn’t seem overly bothered that we were a bit slower. I’m still lacking in confidence (or more correctly, terrified) on technical descents and one nice gentleman stayed at the back with me and gave me a lot of help in how to handle a particularly rocky bit of downhill trail, which I thought was really nice of him.

I think both Nigel and I learnt a lot from the ride. I decided now that I should have drunk and eaten more. I didn’t ever feel that hungry, but felt really drained for about the last 5 miles and I’m not sure if that was due to lack of fitness or lack of energy. Probably a bit of both.

Although we were slower than the others in the group, I’m fairly confident that it won’t take us too long to be able to build up our strength and fitness and be able to keep up on a ride of that nature without too much difficulty.

It’s great to see Bradford in the news for a positive reason.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7054310.stm

This novel by Alison Weir is based upon the life of Lady Jane Grey. I have read and enjoyed other non-fiction books by Alison Weir previously, but this is her first novel, so I thought I’d try it.

Having had an interest in the Tudor period since I was young, I did know a small amount about Lady Jane Grey – that she was ‘Queen’ for a few days in between Edward VI and Mary I, and that she met an untimely end after being convicted of treason. I didn’t know the details or the politics surrounding what led her to become Queen for such a short time, and this book covered all that. The book was divided into small sections, each told very effectively by different people; sometimes Lady Jane Grey was the narrator, sometimes it was her mother, sometimes Mary I, amongst others. It made for a very interesting and compelling read, it was just a little disappointing that I knew all along that it would end tragically.

I do prefer Alison Weir to Philippa Gregory. I think she’s much truer to how things really were (probably because she’s actually a historian), and she doesn’t seem to feel the need to bring in ‘bodice-ripper’ elements every few chapters, which I think can sometimes be somewhat gratuitous in Ms. Gregory’s novels. A very well-written, well researched and most enjoyable book.

On Saturday, Nigel and I had a really good day on a beginners mountain biking course with Iain Johnson of Cycle Yorkshire. It was held at Otley Chevin Forest Park, only about 15 minutes drive away from our house. The day started at 9:30am when we met at the car park of the ‘Ramblers Tea Rooms’ near to the forest. We waited for 4 other people to arrive and get themselves ready. At 10am we first went through some basics, setting the bike correctly and safety checks, then we headed across the road to the forest.

In the forest we started by talking about riding position and had a ‘slow race’ where we tried to go as slowly as possible on our bikes but keep moving and not put our feet down. We rode around the forest trail for a bit then stopped periodically to have demonstrations of, and then practice, different techniques. We practiced ascending and descending, going down steps and over small obstacles. We also had a go at riding along tracks that had lots of tree roots in them (a bit tricky at times!). It was quite long morning and I was starving by the time we got back to the tea rooms. We had a sandwiches and a cup of tea for lunch. In the afternoon we went for a ride around the Chevin and had a good opportunity to have a go at what we’d learnt.

Nigel and I both thought it was a very worthwhile day. Riding off-road is certainly different to on-road riding, and although I would say I can ride a bicycle reasonably competently, I didn’t know many of the techniques we were shown. I admit that I probably would have learnt most things myself eventually, but I think that way of learning would probably involve a fair bit of falling off and taken much much longer. It’s good to be told how to do things, rather than guessing and then finding out the hard way.

I managed not to fall off on Saturday, but I now need to build my confidence up a bit, especially descending. The course has given me a good foundation to try and improve on. I also need to try and master looking at obstacles ahead rather than what’s just in front of my front wheel.

Nigel’s ordered some OS ‘Explorer’ Maps off Ebay. They are detailed maps specially designed for walkers, off-road cyclists and horse riders, so we’ll be able to plan some routes to go and explore. I think for a next trip we might head over to Howarth. I’m really looking forward to enjoying some of the fantastic scenery we’re lucky enough to have just a short drive away.

Some pictures are here. I’ve included some of the ‘action’ shots but most didn’t come out that well.