Thanks to all of you for coming and for the many kind comments. Apologies as usual for the hills
and the extent of the area. I’ve yet to find terrain in Wharfedale which does not involve a lot of
climb – hence my transition to ebike – and reducing the area would have limited the route
choice quite dramatically. I enjoyed checking out the bridleways and planning the course. The
excellent turnout suggests that you welcomed the challenge of the hills – despite the occasional
hail shower. (the weather was actually quite good after 9am Steve).
I was pleased to see that there was little consensus about the best route. Every control was
visited and the top 10 finishers all averaged around 55km – well done. Very few of you made
the dramatic descent to Skipton – not sure if anyone managed to ride it. But encouraging that
lots of you chose to check out my house. Overall I think my preference would have been to
ignore the controls N of Ilkley and in Skipton and make the most of the Leeds Liverpool canal.
One top competitor managed to bike off the map – a lesson in using a compass occasionally.
My thanks to Tim for map printing and helping with the organisation as always, and to Pete,
Dave, Rob and Chris who manned the start. And especially to Oliver and his team of mad bikers
(and sane partners) who helped in many ways, notably the food and drink and clearing up at
the end.
Tony Thornley