y o u r

w o r k o u to f ft h e

c h a i n

Whereto stay
andwhat toeat

fancy riding
it yourself?
here are themust-visits

As the Tour de France hots up,
Howard Calvert looks ahead tonext year’s race, which starts
in Leeds. By cycling Stage 1

The Chambers, Leeds
High-end self-catering
apartments right inthe city, with plenty ofroom for your bike(morethanjustabed.
com).

Tour deYorkshire
here are manyhazards tocyclists during
the Tourde France:
spectators (as Lance
Armstrong found in 2003),
policemen (Laurent Jalabert,1994), cars (Antonia Flecha,2011), even labradors(Marcus Burghardt, 2010).
As of 2014, Swaledale sheep
can be added to that list.
Next year, the Tour comesto Yorkshire, with T’Grand
Départ taking place on 5 Julyfrom Leeds’ city centre andending 190km later inHarrogate, after twisting
through some of the Dales’
most stunning, and lungdestroying, scenery. SoShortList sent me to see howmuch of a challenge it will be.

TDay 1“yes, i’m leading thepeloton! wait, where’s
the peloton?”

4 0w w w . S h o r t L i s t . c o m

Unlike the Tour riders, I kickthings off with an energygiving espresso from Laynes
in Leeds. It works: my climb
out of the city is quick (80kmlater, as my legs crash andmy vision tunnels, I realise

way too quick), and I’msoon flying past thedeer-filled surroundingsof Harewood House.
It’s at this point I should
say that, aside from mycommute, I don’t get out
on my bike much, so thethought of tackling 190km in
one go was never an option.
As much as I wanted to push
myself to the limit, the bestway, I decided, was to split
it in half: 100km in a day
sounded more achievable.
And I could have lunch (andmaybe an ale) in one of themany famously good
Yorkshire pubs en route.
As I start to clock up thekilometres, I am beginning torealise that cycling on myown is going to be tough. No
one to slipstream, no peloton
to soak up the miles. So
when a tractor overtakes on
the A65 to Skipton, I seize mychance and tuck myself
in behind it. The lack ofheadwind means I am
cruising with significantly
less effort. Until we hit anincline and the driver powers

Yorebridge House,
Bainbridge
This five-star hotel isjust over half way
round the course. It’s
also one of the few
places to still haverooms for the Tour:it releases themon 5 July(yorebridgehouse.
co.uk).
Brasserie Blanc, Leeds
As Raymond Blanc
was vocally behindYorkshire’s Tour bid, itwould be rude not tovisit his restaurant(brasserieblanc.com).
away, leaving me spluttering
in its wake.
Once at Skipton, the routeheads north and into theDales. Ahead lies someserious cycling: home to thelandscape that inspired theBrownlee brothers to climb
on to their bikes. As Jonnysays in Swim Bike Run, “I
loved the idea of cycling frombusy, urban Leeds into thequiet, empty Yorkshire Dales.
Wind in your face, pulling at
your jersey. Hedges blurring
past.” Major roads give way tominor, bordered by dry-stone
walls and rolling hills. It istruly spectacular, and I haveto stop myself braking every
5k to take a picture.
After three hours, I reachthe tiny village of Kettlewelland refuel via the Blue Bell
Inn’s Famous Meat & PotatoPie. It is, like the scenery, athing of beauty. An hour later,
however, during the toughclimb into Aysgarth, itfeels less glorious: it’s
the biggest ascent of theroute so far, with a steep
climb to 433m.

King’s Arms, Askrigg
It seems there’s a pub
every few hundred
metres in the Dales,
but this is a highlight(kingsarmsaskrigg.
co.uk).
The Fat Badger,
Harrogate
This is just roundthe corner from thefinish line, where
you can eat a Fat
Fat Fat Badger
burger, guilt-free(thefatbadger.co.uk).

In The Secret Race, Tyler
Hamilton talks about lactic acidfilling every part of his body: hisfingernails, even his eyelids.
“Sometimes you get past [thatlimit] and into a place wherethe pain increases so muchthat you disappear completely.”
I disappear. When I reappear,
I am at the side of the road,retching, my vision slowly
returning. And that wasn’t evena big climb (compared to, say,Mont Ventoux). But the pain
was worth it for the downhill,where I reach 63kmh (andnearly collide with a dry-stonewall). I finally arrive at mylodgings in Bainbridge, load
up on carbs and pass out.

Day 2

The ride begins with nervous
anticipation at what lies ahead:
Buttertubs Pass, whichcontains the highest point ofStage 1, peaking at 526m, witha 6.5 per cent gradient. I wastold by locals that Buttertubs –so-called because farmers
used to keep their butter coolin the limestone potholes as
they passed – is “England’sversion of the Alps”, and is “thecountry’s only truly spectacularroad” according to Jeremy
Clarkson. I try not to let thatdampen my excitement.
The pain eclipses theprevious day. With the sun
beating down, the sweat isThwaite

Gunnerside“it is truly
spectacular,
and i have tostop myself
braking every
5k to takea picture”
rolling off me and myheartbeat peaks at 168 (thehighest of the trip, according
to my Suunto Ambit2).
As I crawl to the peak,maybe it is the lack of oxygen,but I picture myself in theleading group in a year’s time,
the roads lined with people, allroaring, Yorkshire phrases

FeethamLow
RowMuker
Buttertubs
Pass“you can go mountain-biking
on this, right?”

letour.yorkshire.com

Reeth

GrintonBainbridge

LeyburnHawes

Aysgarthyorkshire
dales
nationalpark
Kidstones

scrawled across the asphalt inchalk, sheep wandering into
the road… Yes, sheep. With two
million of them in Yorkshire,
and little-to-no fencing, they’rea unique hazard, as I discoverwhen one lying by the side of
the road clambers up as I pass,
making me swerve as it bleats
its annoyance.
With 20km to go, I hit thewall. I have a long, unappealing
trek back to Harrogate, and mylegs feel like they have a bag ofsand wrapped round each one.
I’ve run out of Nectar energy
gels and water, and as I grind
my way down the A61 withhaulage lorries throwing gravelfrom the resurfaced road in
my face, I begin to hallucinate
about water. And then, there
it is, like a hazy mirage: aCo-operative petrol station.
I pull in and buy a huge bottleof water, which replenishes
enough energy to get me up
Ripon Road to the finish line.
Sure, it’s a sprint finish MarkCavendish would struggle tosuppress a snigger at, but, asI punch the air, Wiggins-style,and receive strange looks froma pensioner on a scooter, itdawns on me that if I were in
the real Tour, I’d still have 21
days of racing ahead of me.
To those racers, I doff
my flat cap.

photographs: JONNY HARRIS Boardman Sport road bike £599 and Boardman Pro Carbon helmet £79.99, both available atHalfords; halfords.com. Red Classic Jersey £130 by rapha; rapha.cc. Suunto Ambit2 £275; suunto.com, Nectar Sports Fuel Cell
£33 for 24 x 40ml energy gels; athletestore.co.ukm a k eThoralbyMiddleham
EastWitton
WestTanfieldBuckden

North
Stainley

Kettlewell
Kilnsey

northyorkshire

ripon

Threshfield

South Stainley
RipleyRylstoneharrogate

Draughton

skiptontheroute

Killinghall

Esscroft

ilkleyotley
harewood

Burley In
Wharfedale

Moortown

leeds
w w w . S h o r t L i s t . c o m

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