Swaledale Outdoor Club Cycling Section

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Swaledale Outdoor Club's Cycling Section - Join us for regular weekend and Wednesday rides and social events in Swaledale and beyond!

08/11/2026

7th Nov: A group of seven SOC cyclists left Richmond on a still, overcast morning. At Middleton Tyas we met up with two more cyclists who had enjoyed a cuppa at the Village Shop there. However, before this we had gained one and lost one crew member, Richard cycling home to swop his misbehaving bike for another. The lanes were very quiet as we made our way to Barton, through Cleasby and on to Manfield. Even the ride down the A68 to Piercebridge was pleasant with the absence of motor traffic. At Sam Turners we were greeted by Richard Graham who had ridden to join us for a social chat at the refreshment stop. Alex left us here and John Minto soon after to ride home to Sadberge. As the drops of rain turned into steady drizzle, so our speed increased and the return journey through Fawcett, East Layton and Gilling West saw us back in the clubhouse with plenty of time to dry out, partake of refreshments and chat before the Cycling Section Annual Meeting at 3pm. Ten more members arrived for the meeting and afterwards Maura and John Deighton plus Sarah and Alan joined us for cake and drinks and a slide show of past rides to celebrate the Cycling Section 50th Anniversary.

Barbara Gravenor

21/10/2026

Another ride from the Northallerton Sports Village. We were heading south and amazingly the roads were quiet for our journey through town. We had a bit of a head wide as we went up Sandy Bank and on to Knayton and Kirby Knowle admiring the autumn colours on the edge of the hills - a bit of sun would have made them look even better but no rain as yet so not complaining.

Despite a road closed sign we headed down from Felixkirk and only had to negotiate a bit of water to get through to Thirsk and on to the garden centre to place our orders for lunch. Here is where the fun began - some orders arrived by person and some by 'Petunia' the Robot - who I think we managed to confuse!! We all received our food and drink in the end and suitably refreshed we headed for home. A bit of drizzle as we left Thirsk but we cycled out of it and had a pleasant journey home through Kirby Wiske, Warlaby and Danby Wiske. The weather was much better than forecast - thanks all for coming.

Judith

18/10/2026

A glorious autumn day was forecast and two SOC rides to chose from??

Whether it was the flatter 40 miles - as opposed to Jills hilly 44 mile ride or the 2 promised cafe stops but 18 people joined me at various points along the way.

Initailly 8 of us left Northallerton Sports Village and headed out of town towards Danby Wiske where we picked up two further cyclists and headed through quiet lanes to Kirby Fleetham. Here we stopped at the Hub for excellent coffees, bacon buns and other refreshments. The ladies here did an excellent job serving us calmly and efficiently along with the other 8 cyclists who had arrived from various directions.

Here we split into 2 groups and continued through Crakehall and Bedale negotiating the cycle lanes around the A1 to arrive at Simply Dutch for our second cafe stop. Then onwards by an alternative route back to Kirby Fleetham where we split into smaller groups to head home. The Northallerton group were slightly delayed by Mike getting a puncture about a mile from his car. With John's assistance they managed to mend this before Liz had made it back to them in her car to recue them.

Thanks all for coming out and for Richard for leading the second group.

Judith

18/10/2026

17th Oct: Only 5 of us turned out for my ride from Redmire to Wharfedale and lunch at the Kilnsey Trout Farm Café. Most SOC cyclists seem to have been put off by the two long climbs as 18 went on Judith’s flat ride. I am more than a little disturbed that the lure of the Dales on a sunny Autumn day didn’t appeal to more cyclists! Our ride progressed steadily up Coverdale & down Park Rash stopping to take a few photos as the Autumn sunshine made for some lovely views.

I had promised a mystery theme to be revealed on the ride – this was photographing views that JWM Turner had sketched/painted on his Tour of Yorkshire in 1816. We did pose with our bikes on Conistone Bridge to recreate his watercolour of Kilnsey Crag from Conistone (Mike’s photos) but by then lunch at the Trout Farm was beckoning. At this point the ride became more trout than Turner as we all opted for various menu options of smoked trout, all of which were good. None of my fellow cyclists had been for lunch here before which is surprising as it is the café most cyclists go to since Zarina’s closed in Kettlewell. We turned around at Kilnsey to start the return trip up Wharfedale with the intention of visiting the other Turner viewpoints on the way back which were to be small detour to Cauldron Falls in West Burton, then Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle. In the event is was much colder in the afternoon as it became a bit more overcast and we were into the cold northerly wind so none of us had any inclination to faff with photos or detours and we whizzed past Aysgarth Falls without stopping.

Everyone enjoyed the ride – with beautiful scenery, nice views, good lunch , and entertaining conversations. The Turner theme can go on for most of next year as he seems to have covered every castle, abbey, waterfall, dramatic crag etc on his Yorkshire tour – plenty of scope.

Jill

15/10/2026

After last year's fierce storms, the grey sky and damp airport that greeted us on our arrival this time was slightly concerning. However, we need not have worried. It soon dried up and the weather remained sunny for our entire week. 😃

SOC members consisted of Anth Quinn, Marcus Johnston, Mike Palmer and Steve Saddington. Our numbers were bolstered by 4 other cycling friends.

On our first day of cycling, our warm-up ride was to the iconic Cap Formentor lighthouse and beach. With sweeping bends, dramatic mountain and sea views, this is always a treat to re-visit. Although on this occasion not so much for Anth who, in order to avoid a bus on the wrong side of the road, had to steer into the adjacent rock face! This resulted in a nasty graze and a bash to the confidence, but fortunately nothing that wouldn't mend. After a stop at Formentor beach, the ride was extended with a trip to Cala St Vincenc ☕️.

On our 2nd day we took on the renowned Sa Calobra. From Puerto Pollenca this is a long and hard ride of 66 miles and 6,650' of ascent, but the views and sweeping bends on Col de Batalla, Sa Calobra and Femenia are second to none.

This ride coincided with the 550 Challenge Mallorca Car Rally and our coffee and cake at Sa Batalla was accompanied by a procession of revving Porsches and other finely tuned race machines! Unfortunately the event was marred by the death of one of the drivers, and serious injury to his co-driver, when the car left the road on a tight Femenia bend. This news, added to our witnessing of a cyclist and bus collision on Calobra, made us more wary of our own safety.

Day 3 was a flatter and less eventful ride, to the picturesque Coves de Campanet for coffee. Then on to Buger and ultimately Muro for lunch, facing the impressive 16th C Joan Baptista church. Our route back took us in zigzag fashion through a variety of interesting agricultural land and peaceful lanes.

On day 4 we headed via Alaro and the popular Cycling Planet cafe ☕️🍰 to the Orient Valley. This had been closed for much of the summer, for long overdue resurfacing. However we were greeted with a silky smooth road surface to accompany a very peaceful ride through pine forest, fields and mountains. After reaching the summits of Col d'Orient and Col d'Honor, with photos to mark, we had a memorable descent to Bunyola. We decided it wasn't the best place for lunch, instead heading back to Alaro. Our return to Puerto Pollenca had us rescue 3 lost Canadians with a dead Garmin! Fortunately we were going the same way.

Day 5 and back up Femenia to the Lluc Monastery retreat ☕️. A quick explore and then on to the aqueduct and impressive Lac Blau, before down to Repsol Garage for lunch. The final part was the thrilling descent of Batalla and back to base through the quiet country lanes.

Our 6th and final day was a re-visit to Cap Formentor. The first 2 or 3 miles skirting the bay, looking across a calm sea towards Puerto Pollenca, was stunning. Although the road from Col de la Creueta was not overly busy, the queue for the lighthouse cafe was! So, after a recuperative pause, we headed back to CF beach ⛱️ and a leisurely lunch, looking out to sea.

Overall we crammed a lot of fabulous cycling into our week, in great conditions and with several of us covering over 300 miles and 22,000 feet of climbing. A very enjoyable and memorable trip.

Mike P

14/10/2026

Despite a blustery forecast, a hardy group of SOC riders turned out for today's hilly route to Ivelet Bridge. Seven of us rolled out from Richmond, picking up Jill along the valley road. At Marske Bridge, the group split briefly: some continued along the valley while a few brave souls detoured through Marske village to tackle Hardstiles, our first climb of the day.
We all reunited at DBC, where we were joined by Jenny, Keith and Richard G. The 13 of us enjoyed a relaxed morning coffee or, in my case, an early lunch, before splitting into two groups to head up Harkerside. After a quick regroup, we pushed on to Low Row and tackled the Crackpot loop - a new road for a few of our riders!
From Gunnerside, we headed up again towards Ivelet Bridge, waving to Jill as we passed by. The bridge looked stunning amidst the autumn colours, making it the perfect spot for another group photo. Barbara and I didn't get the chance to point out the historic coffin stone (sorry Steven, we clearly need your authoritative tour guide manner!) before everyone sped off back towards Reeth, clearly eager for a second stop (late lunch/afternoon tea?) at DBC. There, we had a lovely catch-up with Ian and Helen - great to hear you’re doing so well, Ian.
With a strong tailwind pushing us down the valley, we made fast time to Wathgill Camp, where we said goodbye to Jenny and Keith. Facing more tricky crosswinds, the remaining tired riders pushed on through Downholme and Hudswell. Final goodbyes were said on the approach to Richmond before our last uphill grind towards Maison Dieu.
My Garmin clocked 42 miles and 3,822 feet of climbing. Well done to everyone - time now for a well-deserved rest!
Mags

11/10/2026

10th Oct: was programmed to be Berni's ride but because Berni has not yet recovered from her fall I volunteered to lead a ride. Get well soon Berni!

The Famous Five (Jenny, Yvonne, Keith, Barbara and I) set out from Bedale. There should have been another two but they suffered a puncture on the motorway - not I hasten to add whilst on their bikes but in Peter's car. Richard phoned to tell us to go ahead and they would catch us up. So we did and they didn't until lunch time.

It was chilly and windy but sunny and we reached Fountains Abbey ahead of schedule where we were joined by Graham B recovering slowly from his altercation with a 🐑 and walking rather than cycling.

We were also joined by Richard and Peter and for the return journey the Famous Five became the Secret Seven or as some might say the Magnificent Seven.

With no major incidents and unusual in recent times with no hospitalisations a good day was had by all.

James

09/10/2026

7 October 2026: Catterick Garrison – “Tour of Duty”

Our route was a tour of Catterick Garrison and the army training areas. During World War 1 the land at Catterick was that shown in red below; after the end of the war the area expanded very significantly to the west. Our route zigged and zagged, and went up hill and down dale.

To allow people to catch their breath history lessons started early on Plumer Road. Like many of the roads on the Garrison it is named after World War One figures. Field Marshall Plumer had a number of claims to fame including setting off what was then the largest man-made explosion in history at the Battle of Messines in 1915, and inaugurating the Menim Gate at Ypres in 1928. Later on the cyclists stumbled in identifying that Field Marshall Haig’s family had been wh**ky distillers. An accidental stop at Wandesford Grove reminded us that one of the largest landowners of the Catterick land, before the MOD, had been a family that made its money from Irish coal mines.

Lunch at Tesco was a relief for most of the party, although the self-service ordering screens sorted out the technophiles from the technophobes. Two of our party are believed still to be in the café at Tesco figuring out how to order the all-day breakfast and black coffee. After lunch we headed out over the ranges to Heartleap Well (at the Green Hut). We moved from history to English literature. This spot was the focus of a poem written by Wordsworth in 1800, and echoes his dislike of hunting. The leader refused to recite the poem – it is 50 verses long. Wordsworth was from an age before social media influencers.

Stephen

30/09/2026

We departed Nuns Close car park on schedule at 10:00am, heading up Sleegill and through Hudswell village. Our first stop was the Downholme viewpoint for some lively conversation and the obligatory team photo.
From there, we continued on through Downholme village and around the Barden loop. Heavy morning showers tried to dampen our spirits, but the unseasonably warm weather kept us all comfortable. We continued on through Bellerby (no sign of Jenny!) before climbing up and over Grinton Moor just as the skies cleared. The group decided to tackle the Harkerside loop before lunch which worked very well as the midday sunshine nicely dried us off before we arrived at DBC.
It was lovely to meet up, as planned, with four other SOC riders for a relaxing break. With Clapgate Bank closed, we opted for the valley route back to Richmond. We said our goodbyes to "Steven from Marske" at Marske bridge, and a few more riders peeled off as we arrived in Richmond, somehow resisting the temptation of a post-ride coffee!
Steven S, Mike, Roly and I finished the day at The Station, taking in the beautiful Richmond Falls en-route. We were delighted to be joined by Barbara and James (who was successfully rescued from his computer having working all day!) for a relaxing, well-earned post-ride drink.
Thanks to everyone for a brilliant day out.
Mags

27/09/2026

26th Sept. Whorlton Bridge

It’s always good to have an interesting objective for a ride so Saturday’s objective was to cycle over the newly re-opened Whorlton Bridge. I planned a ride from DBC, breakfast first then the intrepid group of four - me, Richard S, Steve S and Greg D set off just after 09.30 for Marske, Clapgate, Feldom. Then via the A66 villages to Barningham, A66 underpass then the direct route to the bridge picking up Jenny and Yvonne on our way. We met Roly at the bridge and also Mick who said hello and then continued on his way.

Meanwhile Richard H’s mighty group of 4 – him, Mike P, Peter, Richard G were heading out from Darlington to meet us at the bridge – his group of 4 arrived c30 mins after us but we didn’t mind the wait as there was quite a festive atmosphere at the bridge with numerous cycling and walking groups, a horserider and quite a few motorists also having had the same idea as us. After the obligatory photos my group departed via Winston and Egglestone Abbey to Cross Lanes for a relaxing lunch. Richard’s group went to Thorpe Farm for their lunch – then I think they came back and actually cycled over Whorlton Bridge and back to Darlington.

We’d noticed when we cycled west from Whorlton that the wind was much stronger than we’d anticipated – that was nothing to what was to come after lunch. Jenny, Yvonne and Roly opted to avoid the 600 metre death run on the A66 to get from Cross Lane to the Stang turn and they returned via Brignall back to Greta Bridge and onwards. Meanwhile the intrepid 4 set off to conquer the Stang, the wind was a South westerly which made for tiring and occasionally scary riding as the cross winds hit us as we battled our way to Stang Foot Farm. From there we did get some protection for a bit through the forest and the hairpins, then faced the full wind onslaught on the leg sapping top bit. I was convinced I’d get blown off my bike on the descent to Arkengarthdale – weight was definitely an advantage here as the heavier members of the group seemed to descend very fast and comfortably, whereas I was pedalling hard and felt like I was being blown backwards!

There was a collective decision not to do the further climb of Bouldershaw Lane as that was even more directly into the wind. So we sailed down Arkengarthdale in relative calm then I turned right to battle home up Swaledale and the others went back to DBC where I bet they had cake!

My Group cycled 41 miles. Richard’s group cycled 42 miles, though they did seem to like the 2 mile stretch of road between Thorpe Farm and Whorlton Bridge cycling it more times than was strictly necessary.

Jill

Address

17 New Road
Richmond
DL104QS

Telephone

01748 821738

Website

http://www.swaledaleoutdoorclub.org.uk/

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