"Team EITB" are raising money for the British Heart Foundation in recognition of the AMAZING work they do.
One of our team (Big Nige) has undergone a stroke and Aortic Valve heart surgery THREE times recently and we are ALL very thankful for the exceptional skill, support and dedication of everyone who has been involved in his recovery - A HUGE THANK YOU !
The EITB friends decided to train and tackle the 170 mile ‘Way of the Roses’ Coast to Coast bike ride (Morecambe to Bridlington); a tough task for most seasoned cyclists but for the EITB guys and especially Nigel, the level of difficulty was significantly higher as most of the team hadn’t ridden a bike for more than 20 years!
So, on Friday 12th April 2019, the 7-person team comprising Nigel and Rachael Winder, Alan Roddis, Donald Wilkinson, Andy Reeve and Duncan Scott with a support car driver Ellie France, started the first half of the Day 1 route from Morecambe to Settle.
Day 1
Day 1
After the customary photos next to the Eric Morecambe tribute statue and the 'Way of the Roses' start point signs we took our bikes onto the sand for even more photos.... pretty tiring stuff I can tell you!.... its a good job we got up at 6.30am.
Finally at 8.15am we were on our way, East bound with a flat first 10 miles along the country path that was the old railway line coming out of Lancaster.
After an hour in the saddle the we were cracking on. Unfortunately things didn’t go quite to plan we missed a ‘turn left’ signpost about 4 miles after Lancaster. Unknowing, we all carried on following the 'Way of the Roses' route signs feeling pretty confident with ourselves after covering the first 20 miles in 2 hours.
It wasn't until we stopped for some flapjack at a country park cafe at Crook 'O' Lune near Halton-with-Augton that we realised we had missed the turn and accidentally picked up (and been blindly following) the signs West bound - back to the start point!...... the signpost at the cafe said 4 miles to Lancaster.
After a few choice words, we went back on the route that we had been down just an hour earlier ... Deja Vu
This mistake resulted in an additional 8 mile ‘loop’, which was far from ideal given the terrain around that area, however we pressed onto Settle covering 42.8 miles in 4 hours dead with 2,549 feet of elevation gain.
After a pasta bolognese lunch we re-saddled and started the huge hill climb out of Settle and towards Pately Bridge.
Once we got to the top of the Settle hill we grabbed a few minutes rest. The views were stunning although it was starting to turn cold. As we descended we past through a number of small villages.
The Red Lion Hotel in Burnsall was very inviting and we took 20 minutes break and sat outside the pub to soak up a bit of sunshine before tackling the last 15 miles of the day. There we ate both Devon cream scones and Cornish cream scones in an attempt to refuel before the final push of the day.
The last 15 miles were hard especially as the temperature was dropping. We were forever ascending upwards and upwards, and just when we thought we had reached the top of the hill, another hill confronted us. Eventually we reached the top and then descended the huge, steep downhill section into Pately Bridge.
At 6.30pm we eventually reached Pately Bridge, cold, exhausted and looking forward to a meal in the local Italian Restaurant (Olley's Ristorante & Pizzeria).
Day 2
Day 2
After an excellent sleep and full English breakfast at Lyndale Guest House in Pately Bridge, we were ready to tackle the next 45 miles to York, this time taking extra care to look for route signs.
After 12 miles of even more hills we reached Fountains Abbey and descended through their stunning grounds before stopping off at Ripon for coffee and snacks.
At the Ripon we met Walter Chambers in the market square, an retired ex-Barnsley Road Riding Club Champion.
After 20 minutes rest we cracked on. Unfortunately, the signs out of Ripon are't that clear and we again did a couple of extra 'bonus miles' as we looped around the city trying to find the route out to Boroughbridge.
Once we arrived in Boroughbridge, some of the teams family had driven the 100miles from Chesterfield to cheer us on. We stopped and had afternoon tea with them at Cafe Chez-Nous in the afternoon sunshine. Seeing our family, friends and supporters was a lovely moral boost although a little bit overwhelming at times for the lovely cafe staff.
After a short break, at 3pm we pushed on the last 20 miles of the day to York, arriving at 5pm, in good spirits although a little sore on the knees.
We checked into a lovely Victorian House and walled garden Air BnB in York centre, washed and went out to the Rose & Crown pub on Lawrence Street, (10mins walk from York centre) for a great evening meal.
Day 3
Day 3
After another great nights sleep, at 9am we set off on the final section of the route; 62 miles to Bridlington - 'flat as a pancake' !
We stopped off for a coffee in Pocklington around 11am, then pressed on to Driffield for lunch at 'The Bike Cave'.
On route to Driffield we encountered what seemed like gale-force head winds for at least 10 miles. Even the birds in the vast, open rapeseed fields were finding it hard to fly!
After a 30 minute lunch break in Driffield we pressed on for the final 18 miles to Bridlington.
We arrived at Bridlington at around 5pm to a warm welcome from friends and family at the route's finish point on the North side of the town.
Needless to state, that we were all ready for our Fish and Chips dinner.
After 3 days hard riding and a couple of “slight deviations” to the offical route, on Sunday 14th April the team completed the 'Way of the Roses' Coast to Coast and arrived in Bridlington, clocking up 180 miles …. 10 extra “bonus” miles further than the official route!
The photo of the trip was when we were in the Fish and Chip restaurant in Bridlington and Rachael and Nigel Winder met their granddaughter. All of a sudden the pain of the last 3 days went and the family enjoyed the Teams incredible achievement.
A HUGE Thank you
From everyone at Team EITB we are very thankful for the exceptional skill, support and dedication of everyone who has been involved in Nigel’s recovery. We would like to specifically thank the Dr. Lawrence O’Toole and staff at the Northern General and Hallamshire Sheffield hospitals for the long periods of high-quality care, work and support over the years.
We would also like to thank the guys from ‘MONSAL TRAIL CYCLE & eBIKE HIRE’ who have been a valued supporter and sponsor of Team EITB with training advice and the loan of Mountain bikes for training through the Autumn and Winter of 2018/19 and the amazing work of the CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) Charity.
In April 2019, so far Team EITB has raised over £2,000 for the BHF and is hopeful of exceeding £2,500 over the subsequent few weeks.
You can help us achieve this target, and more, by donating to the link below. Thank you!