"I thought that I had arrived nice and early, only to find riders already setting off as I pulled in to the school grounds that were to be Sportive HQ for the day. Richmond is a beautiful Yorkshire market town that sits alongside the River Swale and is an ideal location to ride out from. Registration was a slick operation; once parked I joined a queue identified by surname initial, received my SportIdent dibber (a small square piece of plastic on a ribbon and worn Medallion Man style), entry number, a couple of cable ties and full instructions on what to do. It literally took only a matter of seconds.
Outside of the registration room a small crowd had gathered and were murmuring appreciatively about one of the many bikes standing there. What was it I wondered? Was it the latest cutting edge example of carbon fibre technology? No. It was a steel-framed Mercian finished in a rich metallic green. No unnecessary “Look at me!” graphics, just a stylish paint job that oozed class."
Thank you David from Richmond CC 3/4/5 Dales Sportive
