The Mountain Goat rides are social rides for members who enjoy the challenge/fun of taking in hillier routes on quieter roads.
Our rides are not super-fast because of the hills involved but a rough guide would be 12 – 14 mph. A hilly ride would be classed as one where there is 1,000 feet of climbing for every 10 miles. On a 40 miles ride with 4,000 feet of climbing we would expect around 12 - 13 mph, maybe towards the bottom end of that range in winter and towards the top end in summer. The rides tend to be shorter in winter (30 – 40 miles) and longer in summer (between 40 and 70 miles).
Goat rides tend to go out on Saturday mornings and the normal meeting point is Buon Apps by the side of the river, this can change however so always check beforehand.
Sometimes in the summer we plan away days where we cycle to a destination and then get a pre-booked bike bus back or get the bus there and cycle back.
We have two really simple rules that help to make our rides fun for everyone:
- The first to the top of the hill gets to take photos of the beautiful views for the rest of us to enjoy later.
- No moaning about the hills, the route, the café, the other riders…just chill and enjoy being out on your bike!
Is there a coffee stop?
Always! The mountain goat rides are social rides.
Where do you ride?
There is a huge collection of rides on the Ridewithgps website, which can be found using the “OCC MG” prefix (better to search using a desktop rather the through the app). A good mountain goat route will involve plenty of hills, including the occasional pointless climb, take you on tiny back roads that you did not know existed, make use of car free tracks – e.g., the Cullingworth and Thornton Railway viaducts, the Harrogate Greenway and provide spectacular views!
Who leads the goat rides?
Club members offer to “host” a ride which means that they plan and post a route and café stop on the club website. Although someone is the host we all take shared responsibility for the ride. We hope that everyone who rides with us will at some point take a turn in hosting a ride, that way we keep the rides fresh and interesting.
How large are the groups?
The normal group size would be between 5 and 10 riders. If there is more interest in a particular ride then we may split into two groups.
Who joins the goat rides?
We have a mix of genders and ages and we welcome riders with E-bikes. What we have in common is a shared love for hills, for pretty back roads and for being in a socially supportive group experience.
