WHO ARE YORKSHIRE'S FINEST
Firstly despite what it says in the banner headline at the top of the page we are not a cycling club, at least not in the traditional sense. We are more a fairly loose collection of ex – Rugby players who come together a couple of times a week to cycle the highways and byways of North Yorkshire by way of a decent café or two. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and aside from a couple of half decent club cyclists, we are as interested in the coffee and cake as we are in the latest Strava time or who is the fastest or best climber. That said there is a natural competitiveness in the group which always makes the rides fun. We have two group rides, the first a small group of 4/5 on a Wednesday morning, which tends to be a sub-40 mile cycle on the flat lands to the south and west of York, with the emphasis firmly on where we are stopping for coffee. The second a Saturday ride, tends to be a little further, around the 55 mile mark, with more climbing and a slightly faster tempo.
But we never leave anyone behind, unless they are being particularly annoying!!
OUR STORY
We “formed” some 10 years ago when a group of ex York RI rugby players, decided it might be a good idea to have a weekend away cycling. Thus a fairly disparate, “rag-tag” group of cyclists on a mixture of mountain bikes, hybrids and road bikes set off in search of some hills, some chat and a beer or two. The first trip was a classic “coast to coast” with 14 fine Yorkshire men on board, some of whom never cycled again. Since then there have been nine other trips including Coast to Castles, finishing in Edinburgh, trips to Middleham, Masham, Robins Hoods Bay and Beverley. Over 31 different, mostly ex Rugby playing cyclists, have taken part, some just the once (we will not be naming and shaming) and others who have been converted to regular road cyclists. In the last couple of years before the COVID pandemic, we branched out a little further and had two trips to Majorca in the early Autumn and have plans to resume these trips once restrictions allow.
MEMBERSHIP
Firstly as we are not a proper cycling club, we don’t have a membership or any club rules. In fact, it is still not clear to most of us why we even have a website!! But, given that we have finally committed to joining the digital world, perhaps we should explain what we do and if you wish how you can get involved.
Many of us are on Strava, and whilst we secretly love to set and break a PB, we are not racing to be KOM on any segments or become a “local legend”. At present we have two small groups rides both setting off at 8.30 on a Wednesday and Saturday and if you want to join either then please contact us using the email address below and we’ll be in touch. But please don’t expect too much and if you are a serious cyclist then there are plenty of local clubs in York and further afield.
Contact email cycle@yorkshiresfinest.net