JennRide 2019

Back to the Lakes and rolling in to the car park and the first four people we see we know. It's that kind of event. Tent up and it's off to Wheelbase to listen to a variety of short lectures ranging from bovine avoiding Highland Trails to windswept Asian plains.

Up early, well this is the Lakes in summer, breakfast in More then a bit of hanging around until around 9am we decide not to wait for the Grand Départ and set off. Familiar lanes lead to the top of a descent I've not done before, a bit blind and rocky and quite narrow, not one to be in a big pack descending really. Minor lanes lead to the ferry crossing on Windermere. We've just missed one sailing so by the time the ferry is back on our side pretty well everyone from the GD has arrived.

Rather a lot of cyclists on the ferry.

Once across I'm riding alongside Tony who's on an ebike and fairly shifting! He's only out for a short spin with his wife so after a couple of km he stops and waits for her. A check to see if Cath's OK before the climb over Claife Heights then I push on.

The first technical climb and I almost make it without dabbing, Stu Rider gets passed me and cleans it so now I've a target to keep up with. The descent past Wise E'en Tarn is fast, I don't realise how fast until I get home to discover I'm in the top ten on Strava! That never happens on a descent for me.

Riding round to the next bit of off-road I'm chatting to Alan Goldsmith about my bike and I make the stupid comment that I've finally got it dialled for climbing. "Now's your chance! This next one's tricky". And so it proved, I'd not done it before but got within a few bike lengths of the end of the difficulties. Annoyingly Alan got to within one.

A rocky descent into Grizedale before climbing up on The North Face trail and over towards Parkamoor.

A quick stop for something to eat and then on to one of the main descents of the route. This went well until about halfway down when I got the wrong line, stopped then as I tried to get going again went over the bars! Landing on bedrock hurts! Then I noticed something flapping on the bike - turns out the bolt holding my shifter to the brake had chosen that moment to disappear. A zip tie and a bit of tape from Mark (the chap in the shot above) and I was good to carry on.

Easy riding led to Torver and the deli at The Wilson Arms. Pete McNeil offered a bolt to fix my shifter but it was slightly too short. In the end Alan Goldsmith came to the rescue with a slightly longer one - "that'll be a DQ then" he remarked.

Up and over Torver Common, past Stephenson Ground and another rocky descent down to The Newfield Inn. Time for refreshments.

A couple of pints later and I was ready to go. Now the JennRide has a short option and a long option and the Newfield was the turning point for the short route. But it was only 3:45pm so way too early to start heading back. However I didn't really want to go over to Wasdale so decided to do a medium option of my own: Road up on to Ulpha Fell then cut right and take bridleways down to Boot then another BW along the valley floor to by the Woolpack Inn. Sorted!

By the time I got to my turn off the official route Stu Rider had caught me up again. The BW down the hillside was great, not technical but just nice fun. The one along the valley floor was a little different having been subject to some recent bulldozing in places to make it passable for farm vehicles.

There was a music festival on at The Woolpack so no stopping. On to the climb back over to Dunnerdale. This is basically a push for half an hour or so. As I reached the top of the steepest section I got a text from Cath - she was doing the same as me but using the roads in the valley as she didn't know the BWs. On the final track before the Wallowbarrow Descent I started with cramps which was a little annoying.

I got back to the Newfield three hours after leaving so time to grab something to eat. Tony Craig was there having come off on the rocky descent down to the pub - he'd end up getting a (expensive) taxi back to Staveley. I spent nearly two hours in the pub! There was no rush I was going to bivy on the Coniston side of Walna Scar so only had to get there by dark.

Chatting to one of the other riders it turned out that we'd both worked for the same building firm in Kendal many years ago so there was a bit of "what's X doing now?". He chose to set off with me and head up Walna Scar.

It looked like my timing was right, there were long shadows on the push up the bottom section.

My companion dropped back then another rider appeared and caught me up at the midway gate. We walked together up the next bit, my cramp preventing me from attempting to ride any of it. Finally at the summit we were treated to a great sunset.

It was a bit chilly on top, time to head down. I managed to ride more of it than the last times I've ridden it but I was still a bit shaken by my fall earlier in the day so walked a couple of sections of about 50 metres. Then it was just a blast down to the easier track.

There were plenty of people bivvying out but I thought I'd better find somewhere that Cath could find me. I ended up just on from Boo Tarn (more of a reedy swamp these days) and texted her to let her know. She arrived about an hour later having missed me in the pub by about fifteen minutes.

The morning turned out grey so we didn't get the matching sunrise. Ah well. A quick butty from the filling station in Coniston then it was time to start heading back to Ambleside.

There were a few bridleways in here that I'd not done before. The one below is a fairly steep lane leading up from Yew Tree Farm.

Round past Tarn Hows then another new to me descent towards the Drunken Duck. I'd done the bottom bit the other way some time ago but the main part of the descent was new. The last new to me bit was a bridleway from Outgate towards Brathay then it was familiar territory into town and breakfast.

All that was left was up and over Jenkin's Crag and the bottom bit of Garburn Pass (which has been pitched with stone since I last rode it, definitely much easier to try and climb now). Round by High Borrans where Rich the organiser and another rider caught us up which meant that we could sort ourselves out and take turns to open gates.

Then just the Three Rivers descent and back into Staveley in time for lunch.

All in all a good weekend even if I'm still somewhat battered and bruised from my low speed, as in 0 kmh, over the bars incident.

Preparing for the Highland Trail

How do you prepare for something that's outside your current knowledge and comfort zone? Not easy to answer, in fact I'm not sure I'm asking the right questions or even if I did that I'd fully understand the answer. Is it the mental equivalent of "If you need to ask the price then you can't afford it"?

It's entirely possible that you can't prepare for it, you can only hope that you've found sufficient pieces of the jigsaw to let you recognise the full picture.

Physical training will help but only get you so far. You need to know that you can repeat that 100 mile ride tomorrow and the day after and the day after that and ...

We'd done a recce of the Northern Loop at the beginning of the month over three days so a nod towards multi-day rather than simple day trips or overnighters, there's no point in doing full 200Km days as the stresses on your body and mind will take some recovery. I'd done a full refit of the bike: new brakes; new drivetrain; seatpost; very nearly a lot of money of new bits. Summer tyres fitted so all this needed some shakedown rides to ensure everything worked as intended. The first was a quick 80Km ride around the Dales but the second was the second edition of the JennRide in the South Lakes.

Last year I'd used this to test a different bivy system. Suffice to say: I've not used it again! This year I considered riding the route in one go but this would depend on how I felt, weather, etc. Bikes all packed up and into the car on the Friday night, drive up Saturday morning.

The rain began at Ingleton. Then stopped. Then started again. Ah, one of those days eh? Faces familiar and not milling around at the start, lots of talk. Then the shout goes up "Five minutes to go!" except we are in front of the start line so ride round to the back of the group.

Then they're off. Which is all well and good except we aren't as in riding round to the back we'd stopped at a line of traffic cones! No rush, steady away and we head up the first climb. A goodbye and good luck to Cath and I press on. I'm chatting to George for a while until he decides that he's now overdressed and stops to remove a layer or two of clothing.

Soon I'm in a group of three heading over to Longsleddale with not many in sight in front of us. Hmm. Things come to a halt at Sadgill with a hiss as my back tyre deflates, no idea what I'd run over. One of my companions has some of those olive/anchovy/string repair things and with a bit of elbow grease trying to reinflate the tyre I can continue. At the top of the hill I put more air in, the fix seems to be working.

Down into Kentmere, then up and down and up again before easier going gets us round to Troutbeck. We catch the edge of a shower as we approach Jenkin's Crag, a bit of dithering about whether to put on a jacket, I decide not, but we all decide discretion is the better form of valour on the descent as the rocks are very greasy. The next discussion is whether to stop at the Co-op in Ambleside, the vote is "no" but I decide to pop into Ghyllside Cycles to borrow a track pump to get my tyre up to full pressure. I'm on my own from now on.

The Coffin Road leads into the tourist trap of Grasmere, I'm glad to leave, but out of the frying pan into the fire as Loughrigg Terrace is heaving. One big climb onto the southern shoulder of Loughrigg then it's easy going as far as Stickle Barn. This is the only really easy bit of the whole route, everything else is ground that needs constant attention to ride.

I fail to notice my earlier companions having a snack at Stickle Barn so head on over the horrible path leading across the bottom of the fell to the ODG. More easy riding leads back to Elterwater, one stiff climb - sometimes I clean this, sometimes I don't. Today I'm on a roll and nail it, including avoiding the walkers. Little Langdale is over far too quickly then a new trail for this year, Iron Keld. This puts in one of those frustrating loops where after half an hour you end up five minutes from where you were.

I get into Hawkshead and check the pub - there's two bikes there, decision made. It's Burty and Martin so we chin-wag while waiting for our meals,  Martin's had a couple of nasty falls and is looking rather stiff in his movements. Just ten minutes waiting time for the food this year. More riders arrive and take a seat. Eventually I'm getting cold so make my excuses and head to the Co-op to refill my trail snacks then away again.

I find the start of the North Face trail this year, somehow I'd missed it last year, but it's not nice riding and it takes concentration to avoid sharp rocks and pinch flats. The climb out of Grizedale leads to the lovely but easy track to Parkamoor with its spectacular views across Coniston Water. I'm riding in and around another rider, sometimes he's ahead, sometimes we are together. Parkamoor is the furthest distance from Staveley so heading back now. On the climb out of Satterthwaite he has problems with his gears and falls behind.

It's just a case of pedalling when you can, which is most of the time unless there's a steep loose section when it's easier to walk. There's already riders bivvying out on Claife Heights, they made one or more of the many short cuts that the route offers to get to this point. "You are continuing?" "Yes, there's still a couple hours of daylight". The temperature is cooling as the night descends and fast fire roads aren't ideal at the moment. A more technical descent leads to the road. I startle a deer who had been standing in the road, obviously not expecting a smelly cyclist to be there at that time of day.

I skip the climb back onto Claife Heights as I know the descent is going to be really greasy and on pitched stone. Instead I zip down the road to the lake shore and ride along the path to the church at Wray, wash from a passing boat lapping at the shore.

With luck I'll get to the filling station in Ambleside before it shuts at 10pm, a coffee, text Cath to let her know how I'm getting on. Except it shut at eight! My phone's flat as well. Lights go on and it's a quick spin along the main road to Brockhole and a BW that I never knew existed. This leads ever upward in the night to rejoin the outward route at Town End.

High above I can see a flashing red light on the track over Garburn Pass, another rider! No way am I going to catch them, it's too close to the finish. My turn, it's uphill but there's only one more hill after this one. Again I ride what I can but in the dark the rougher bits aren't a goer. I start to ride down the other side but after only a hundred metres or so I get off and walk - I'm on my own, it's nearly midnight and the rocks slippy as hell, no time for heroics.

The angle eases and I'm back on the bike then almost immediately off it but not in a controlled way. Sod it! Just walk. By the midway gate it begins to chuck it down so on with both jackets. Fortunately the rain doesn't last long and by the time I'm in Kentmere it's clear again. The climb back up onto Green Quarter is frustrating, it's rutted and in my tired state I keep catching the sides and coming to a halt. More Jelly Babies, more walking. Finally the top.

The Jelly Babies are kicking in and the track across the fell goes easily. One descent and it's road to the finish, I remember that there's one drop in the track that in my tired state isn't rideable, fortunately I spot it in time. Down to the road then start clicking up the gears and head for Staveley. I get to the finish at 0045. 15hrs15.

Back in the field that's the car park and my first attempt at using the cuben fibre tarp and bivy bag. It goes up not too badly. Time to sleep.

As a shakedown ride it went pretty well. I've figured out most of what will and won't work and whether I've enough space (or even too much) on the bike. I've decided not to use the Lioness front pouch, the use of the small double ended dry bag in the Lion harness meant that it occasionally came loose as the straps worked their way over the ends of the bag. As a result I'm going with a top-tube bag instead. This will require a little rejigging of where stuff goes but one advantage is that the weight is now more evenly balanced on the bike with just over half the weight carried being between head and seat tubes.

So a week of rest before the drive north to Tyndrum and the group start at 9am on Saturday morning.

Jenn Ride

Cancer touches many people.

Last year the husband of one of my cousins died from cancer, eighteen months earlier another of my cousins died from pancreatic cancer, his father had also died of lung cancer some thirty years before that. Nearly thirty years ago my mother died of cancer. Cancer touches many people.

Jenn Hill wasn't someone I personally knew but her death last year at a distressingly young age affected many in the UK mountain biking scene. There have been several fundraising "events" for Manorlands Hospice who cared for her, as they have done for many others, in her last days. The latest of these, a 150Km ITT, took place last weekend in the Lake District.

We hadn't considered entering the group start primarily since it had filled up very quickly. As is often the case with online registration there were a few who then decided that it wasn't for them or had other commitments so there were some places available, a donation via justgiving and the organiser, Rich Munro, gave us the nod.

A look at the route showed a convoluted line that didn't stray too far from the start/finish point in Staveley but managed to include just about all the quality riding in the South Lakes. There was about 50Km that I hadn't ridden before. I wasn't thinking about racing the route so enabling distance markers on the web display showed some likely bivvy spots at about the right distance for a day's steady riding. With the route passing through or close to many villages there would also be plenty of opportunities for cafe stops and a pub meal!

The weather was set to be fine (after at least a week of fine weather) though slightly cooler than of late and with chilly nights down to about 6C. I reckoned I'd be warm enough with just the quilt and a decent sleeping pad inside a bivy bag.

An early start got us to Staveley in good time. Park up, have some breakfast at the cafe, get the bikes ready. Near the allotted start time the organiser Rich gave a quick briefing - "there'll be lots of tourists after Ambleside" and Jenn's husband Tom said a few words. Then we were off.

The first Kilometre or so was a rolling start, a depart fictif if you like, before the first hill hove in to view and the fast guys were unleashed. No need to rush for me, I only needed to average 10kph to make it to my intended bivy spot accounting for a couple of cafe/pub stops. Chill, have a chat with other riders, take some photographs. In the event it didn't turn out quite like that.

It's a selfie!

Once the initial jostling for position on the first section over to Longsleddale is done, the riders start to string out with increasing gaps. Sometimes you are with riders, other times you are on your own, sometimes the elastic snaps and you fall behind, sometimes you snap the elastic.

Heading up Garburn Pass I hear my first cuckoo of the year. As I descend I'm enjoying it that much that I miss the turning for Dubbs Tarn - by the time I realise I'm actually on the return part of that loop. After a bit of umming and arring (well swearing actually) I decide to just carry on. It turns out that there are quite a few riders who end up being "economical with the route".

On the way to Jenkin's Crag with a fine view over Windermere

A stop to refuel in Ambleside at the filling station, a couple of minutes later I come across a large group stocking up at the Co-op so a bit of a chat then out towards Rydal. Heading round Loughrigg a couple of riders catch me up and we ride together until the steep climb on the south side of Loughrigg. One of the riders is riding straight through and I realise that his pace is much too quick for my strategy so I let him go and wait for the other rider.

"Bike behind!", the woman steps to the side and as I approach she makes another step, slips on some dead bracken and screams. We stop and check how she is. A couple of fell runners who were nearby come down to assist. After a while we try to get her to stand but she is in no state to move. Time to call out Mountain Rescue. After a bit of technical wizardry our position is determined and they are on their way. By the time they've arrived and dealt with her and got ready to carry her down an hour and a half has passed. http://www.lamrt.org.uk/incidents/2016/incident/44

Heading up Langdale towards the New Dungeon Gill, I pass a couple on road bikes who obviously take umbrage at a fully laden mountain bike overtaking them as I'm aware of them drafting behind. I slow up as I meet another rider and after taking on water at the Stickle Barn we begin the "interesting" track over to the Old Dungeon Gill. This is a mixture of hike-a-bike, riding and occasional boulders to hop around. The other rider is on a singlespeed so once we are back on the road the elastic snaps and he falls behind.

There's a lot of the next section that I've never ridden before, some of it's a push, some is rideable, the woods are full of bluebells and flowering wild garlic. I join another rider just before High Tilberthwaite and we ride together as far as Hawkshead via an extra unscheduled loop to get to Hodge Close, ah well. I had intended to eat in Sawry but with the MRT delay Hawkshead seems a better bet. The first pub we come to has rather a large number of bikes stashed outside - seems like a lot of other people have the same idea.

"Forty minutes wait for food love. We are a bit busy." It will have to do. Some riders leave, some more arrive. Tales from the trail. Non-riders looking puzzled at the variety of tyres on show. The food arrives in twenty. Needing water bottles filling I nip back to the bar and they are still "busy" so it's off to the Co-op and grab some there. It's only when I've begun to pour it into my bottle that I realise it's sparkling water - euchh!

I get lost in the ginnels trying to head up in to Grizedale Forest until a resident (kindly) puts me right. I get lost again in the forest and miss out the second part of the North Face trail but have quiet fire roads instead. As I head out of the woods towards Parkamoor the sun is ready to set. It's always stunning up here and this evening is no exception, I stop to take some shots.

Early evening on Parkamoor overlooking Coniston Water

The normally wet track back into the forest only has a couple of deep pools then it's a long technical descent to Seathwaite and a stiff climb back out. The bridleway on the other side is blocked due to forestry work so there's a detour down a footpath which suddenly gets very technical and steep so there's a bit of walking downhill. Another climb and descent and I'm out of the forest before dark.

Riding along the shore of Windermere there's only dog walkers for company. One last climb in the arboreal gloom to get on Claife Heights and it's properly dark by the time I call a halt - I've been riding by natural light up to now not bothering with my light. We've only one proper one person tarp between us so Cath's using that and I've a Tyvek sheet that I can use as a tarp - it's actually its first outing. I've just set it up when two riders pass by. One stops and asks if he can take shots of my bivy (!?), he's doing an article for the magazine that Jenn worked for. I hope that my efforts don't cause too much merriment.

My hi-tech bivvy!

It's a cold night, close to freezing and a few degrees cooler than my quilt is rated to. I spend the night half asleep getting woken at intervals by the geese on the tarn, really noisy and loud birds. It's starting to get light so up and make a brew. Nearby is another rider bivvying out, it happens to be the same guy who I was with on Loughrigg. The brew's just come to the boil when I knock the whole thing over! Sod it! I pack and get on my way.

An early morning vista. Somewhere in there are some very noisy geese.

One thing about being up and about very early is that there's lots of wildlife around that hides away once "normal" human life takes place. I see deer and small mammals taking advantage of the small amount of daylight that we permit them. Windermere has an autumnal mist hanging over it slowly burning away as the sun's power increases.

Breakfast courtesy of Ambleside Co-op then it's on to the climb up Jenkin's Crag and back down to Troutbeck. I get lost in Limefitt Park trying to find my way out of the maze of caravans. Steady riding now, round by High Borrans then on to Kentmere Park and a blast down to Kentmere Hall. Just one climb to go.

Not sure of how many of my five a day are in this lot!

Halfway up this I catch up with the lad on the singlespeed again - he had originally thought about riding through but had bivvied a little further on than I had. We ride together to the end.

Final time of 25hrs11mins but that's not the point.

Over the next few hours more groups of riders arrive but where was Cath? There are various reports of her, some from the previous afternoon but the last reported sighting was in Ambleside: "She'll be about an hour behind us, she's going well.". I'm just starting to get worried about her when she appears out of the final ginnel looking rather tired, she'd had a blue air moment on the last climb. She'd bivvied near Parkamoor so had three or four hours extra riding to do compared to me.

Cath about to finish.

Here's a short video.

Back o' Skiddaw

Before I began looking at the Bob Graham Round I'd done no walking in the Northern Fells of the Lake District. Even then I only visited the summits of Skiddaw, Great Calva and Blencathra that are on the round itself, Mungrisdale Common was visited as a default since the route passes within a few metres of its "summit" (probably the least prominent summit of any of those in Wainwright's books).

In the last couple of years I began visiting the remaining fells as part of getting all the Wainwrights done and last year I completed the Northern Fells book with a day on the mountain bike ticking off the last four. Of course concentrating on the fell tops means that you leave the valleys largely untrod so with a ride organised around the bridleways of the area it was a chance to put that right.

Over the years there has been quite a bit of mining in the Lake District - the lead mines of Newlands and the copper mines around Coniston being the best known examples but there were several mines in the Northern Fells and these lasted until quite recently, the tungsten mine in Grainsgill    for example closed in 1981. One of the legacies of these workings are a series of tracks that are ideal for mountain biking.

A bit of road work to begin with then the tracks began. One thing about the Northern Fells is that they don't peter out in to lower ground, they just stop so you get great views from the Pennines all the way round to the Dumfrieshire Hills. The track snakes its way around the fell sides undulating along but generally upwards weaving its way in and out of sets of old mine workings. Eventually there's no more up and it's a blast of a descent to the next little bit of road.

A short climb up this then another section of track, greener this time, leads down to the longest road section leading round to the start of the track to Skiddaw House. I've walked down the first tarmac bit of this when fell bagging but other than crossing the tracks at points when on BG recces and attempts the next fifteen kilometres was going to be all new to me.

The challenge on the first part is blindingly obvious: the climb up by the side of the waterfall of Whitewater Dash. Fortunately it's mostly up a bit then recover on a flattish section then up again. Unfortunately the last hundred metres or so steepens and becomes loose so maintaining traction and forward momentum begins to take too much energy so it's just easier to get off and push. From just short of the gate however it becomes rideable again. Once at the high point of the track it's a fast blast down to a ford across the beck. Left line or right? Cath chooses right so I follow her and we both come to a halt in the middle of the beck! Not the only ones apparently.

A short climb up to Skiddaw House and it's an enforced wait as one of the riders behind punctures both tyres. There are a couple of teams out reccying the BG that I can see, obviously I know where to look. With the wind it gets pretty cold by the time we are moving again. The track following the Calder is singletrack for the next four kilometres or so, constantly interesting chosing the best line around and over rocks and boulders until eventually it becomes landrover track then tarmac and it's freewheel back down to the cars.

Wet Feet

A slight change of direction. This blog started out as a way to ease the boredom and to record my recovery from a climbing accident. It moved on to bits of climbing and then in the last fifteen months or so, the lead up to and recovery from a total hip replacement. So to (belatedly) avoid becoming stale the focus is shifting to individual facets of my general activities rather than a blow by blow account of the activities themselves.

Most sports require gear and the participants in those sports tend to accumulate and compare gear. Now these aren't gear reviews with their "this only weighs xxx grammes" and "You can really feel the extra strength in ...", they are reviews about gear. While makes and models might be mentioned, that's more to stress a particular point than praise or damn the kit.

On Saturday we were in Ambleside for a group ride over in to Langdale and round Tarn Hows and Loughrigg - here's the Strava trace. At this time of year you have to take whatever weather gets thrown (literally) at you. Cath had been in Manchester for the week on a course so I drove up to meet her at Windermere station. I was on time but the connecting train wasn't so she was an hour late. The weather was horrible, driving rain at just above freezing, the UK speciality. On the way back from the pub the skies had cleared and the pavements were already icing over.

Crinkle Crags and Bowfell from Waterhead

The morning dawn crisp and clear with the temperature well below zero. The car park was patchy black ice - lovely. We set off at roughly the designated time and managed to stay upright and by the top of the first climb it was snowing. Over the course of the next few hours we road through snow, slush and water and by the time we got back all seventeen of us had very cold and wet feet. The YHA drying room was a popular location to get changed!

We'd all got a variety of shoe/sock combinations from dedicated mountain biking shoes to full on hiking boots; wool socks to Sealskinz; some had overshoes. So basically nothing had worked or rather coped with the conditions.

The mountain biking industry is dominated by North America - not surprising really since it's the largest market - so a damp corner of north western Europe is not going to figure highly in the design of products. I'm reminded of a conference call we once had with a supplier of safety sensors (who were based in Israel):

Us: The sensor's fine except for one point, the casing doesn't protect it from horizontal rain.

A moment's silence ...

Supplier: You don't get horizontal rain.

Us (in a resigned voice): Oh yes you do.

In a country where the limited rain falls straight down why would you even think that it could come at you from any direction. In a similar manner much of US designed kit is designed for dry dusty conditions, consequently it struggles in UK conditions.

I was wearing Sealskinz inside Merrill walking shoes - in my switch to flat pedals I haven't got round to purchasing a cycling specific flat shoe - which I thought would stand up to the conditions. Obviously not. I'd used a similar setup when training for my Bob Graham Round, on one occasion we started from Wasdale in rain, climbed through sleet to above the snow line then spent the day climbing and descending through the freezing level and yet still had dry feet. Something was obviously different.

What I think caused the difference was that my running shoes have little to no padding and they are designed to let water out rather than keep water out. Newcomers to fell running often ask about waterproof shoes thinking they would be ideal. If the shoe is "waterproof" then if you get water inside the shoe it has no means of escape. In the case of walking shoes and MTB shoes it then soaks the padding from the inside. Now rather than being damp, the foot is continuously immersed in water.

So ...

What should work is a lightweight shoe that is oversized to allow loose fitting socks so as not to restrict circulation, mesh outer so that water can get out. Something similar to a fell running shoe but with a flat sole that can engage with the pins on flat pedals. Add either a loose fitting overboot or a gaiter to keep wind chill down.

Tour de Coniston

Following on from the last posting about mountain biking in the Peak District I've also done very little in the Lakes. Although I grew up there I didn't take up mountain biking until some time after I moved away (to North Wales) so I've only done maybe four or five days of riding in the area. Whereas the Peak ride was before my skills session, this was the week after so hopefully I'd be able to put things in to practice.

With good weather forecast for the weekend it looked like it was worth heading over. As it happened the Saturday was pretty poor weather wise and we didn't get out at all, apart from a quick drive up on to Pinhaw to watch the Lancaster bombers fly by which was cancelled because of the bad weather. So an early start on Sunday morning saw us heading up the A65 through the morning fog hoping that we didn't collide with any of the idiots driving without lights.

Our intended route was a tour of Coniston Water and took in two of the classic Lakeland descents: Walna Scar Road and Parkamoor. I'd found it on the PedalNorth site () as one of the harder routes. Parking up at Blawith (pronounced Blah'th) it was still pretty cold so I decided on a full jacket rather than a simple short sleeved jersey - big mistake!

On Blawith Common with Caw and the Coniston fells on the skyline

The route headed west over Blawith Common towards Green Moor before cutting north towards Torver. We'd done a few of the trails on here some years ago in April. Now though the bracken was fully grown and the stony singletrack felt hemmed in. Even on this first easy section I was beginning to warm up, about the only benefit of the long sleeves of my jacket was not being scratched by the bracken. At the first high point of the day I was waiting for Cath and noticed a fox running away through the bracken, you quite often see them early in the morning before the numbers of walkers and bikers increases. The first descent was fast and ended with a great splash through a ford - no dry feet today then.

Making a splash!

The next bit we'd done before and was basically a traverse bashing through bracken to reach a steepish vehicle track. Not technical but you did need a bit of oomph to get up it. From the top there's a great view of the Coniston fells as well as a view in profile of the next big climb up to Torver Common. The descent is fast and rocky and leads to a small tarmac lane before we cut across to the main road and head back on ourselves to find the start of the bridleway.

The climb is steep from the first gate and becomes indistinct after a short while whereas the footpath is more pronounced but steeper forcing a push. Eventually we figure out we've gone wrong and get back on the track. It's a long climb but again is about lung and leg power rather than anything technical like rock steps. By the time the angle eases we are a long way above the road we've just left. The last bit to the next road is much easier.

Climbing up towards Torver Common

Then it's in to the first of the wooded sections and even on the fireroad it feels distinctly claustrophobic in comparison to what we've done so far. There's a couple of bridleways that cut corners and these provide a technical interlude. The described route takes you to Stephenson Ground then follows the west side of the wonderfully named River Lickle towards Walna Scar however Cath had done this before and reckoned it was a bit much as a climb so we stayed in the woods and followed the fireroad to Natty Bridge.

Snaking ahead on the fellside was a ribbon of hardcore, obviously some path "improvements" had taken place but it looked distinctly out of character. Fortunately it ended at the top of the slope, unfortunately it didn't provide a way across the first boggy section. A bit of walking and we were soon back on terra firma and heading along a great piece of easy singletrack that contours the western side of White Pike. In front was a magnificent panorama of the upper Duddon and Esk valleys, the skyline consisting of the Scafell range round to Bowfell and Crinkle Crags.

On the bridleway above Dunnerdale with the Scafells, Esk Pike, Bowfell and Crinkle Crags forming a magnificent backdrop.

Heading down to the old mine workings.

After another boggy interlude the track sped us easily through the old mine workings to the Walna Scar Road. This is now shut to motorised vehicles and was resurfaced about ten years ago. It's still steep though. I make it a short way before having to get off and push again but it's only for a short distance before the angle drops enough to make it rideable. Well, just about, it probably took more energy to ride than push. Even so I couldn't ride the last steep section to the col.

Cath on the last bit of the climb up Walna Scar

There was quite a breeze on the col so for once I was glad for my jacket. Cath arrived a few minutes later. As we were grabbing a bite to eat and admiring the view a mountain biker came up from the Coniston side, surprisingly he was the first person we'd seen since setting off. A bit of a chat about the state of the track on our respective descents and we were ready to roll.

The first couple of hundred metres of track was smooth and fast and I began to wonder if the tales of the trail being sanitised were true. Then it began to get rocky, not excessively so but it was obvious that the elements had been at work. As the track steepened there began a set of zig-zags and it was a case of taking a line that used the widest radius turn for each even if that meant heading through some rocky territory. A temporary respite from the hairpins only lead to a steeper section of open bedrock, fortunately there was a good run-out so it was a case of look ahead and let the bike run and do its stuff.

Cath descending Walna Scar. Grizedale Forest and Parkamoor just beyond Coniston Water.

A rock strewn channel followed by more hairpin bends (this time with attendant walkers) and the angle eased and the surface dramatically improved down to the old packhorse bridge over the outflow from Goat's Water. Below this the track surface was loose rocks again and I knew there were two "rock gates" coming up. The first was straightforward being just a simple double step that you could take at any reasonable speed. However there was a walker coming up who then stopped in the gap. "There's another cyclist coming down" I shouted to him so he promptly moved to the middle of the gap! I repeated the warning and he suddenly realised what I was saying and moved to the side just in time for Cath to come through. The second rock gate was a get off and walk but it was easy after that and a long easy descent threading our way through the walkers to Coniston.

Time for a cafe stop and some well deserved grub! It was also really warm so off with the jacket for the rest of the ride. The next mile or two was easy being on the roads round the head of the lake but having "memorised" the route description I wasn't sure just where the bridleway leading in to Grizedale forest left the road and it was just off the edge of our map! We managed to get the right one and began the climb. Pushing at first until the angle eased we took guesses at which track to take all of which proved correct and it wasn't long before we were on the ridge.

In to Grizedale Forest. Coniston Water, Coniston and the Coniston Fells behind.

Again the feeling of claustrophobia returned along with pure guesswork as to which track to take. Luckily some mountain bikers appeared and gave us directions, well "Keep going on this track to the sharp left bend then go straight ahead at the sign". About a mile later the sharp bend appears and we bear off on the old singletrack to emerge from the forest high above Coniston Water with fantastic views.

On The Park leading to Parkamoor.

The track to the old farmstead at Parkamoor was fast and not too bumpy. This must have been an amazing place to live. There's a short pull up to gain the start of the descent down to High Nibthwaite though to begin with the track traverses the fellside undulating in and out of the various small becks. "It gets rocky" says Cath and soon we come to the first of the rocky sections, somehow I manage to get a good line through this and roll out the other side. Cath had come to a halt but went back and gave it another go.

On the descent to High Nibthwaite.

The next rocky section was a walk though watching videos of this we should have taken a sneaky line off to the side, ah well, next time. More traversing of the fellside led to the longest rocky section, 100 metres at most, in three parts I got the first and third but messed the line on the middle bit. Things started to get faster and soon we were in to the bottom hairpins which began to get steeper. Before I'd chance to drop my seat I was rattling over rock steps trying not to brake and also not let the bike buck me off. Finally we are at the gate. All that's left is to follow the road and cross back over to our starting point.

Only 37Km or so, this felt like a big day out, including all the food and navigation stops we were out for about 6 3/4 hours but knowing where to go would cut quite a bit of this out, six hours is probably a reasonable time.

Bike and Hike

Well, Saturday was a first for me, I rode to the summit of my first Lakeland Fell! Actually I managed four.

With just twelve fells in Wainwright's list to do I noticed that those in the Northern Fells section had bridleways or vehicle tracks passing close to their summits but getting to the actual summits would be a little bit cheeky. Plan on!

An early start meant that I was the first car at Latrigg car park which was ideal as I didn't want to be annoying walkers by biking past them. I'd only ever been to this car park when running this leg of the Bob Graham so it was a bit odd to be starting off from here. One thing - it was bloomin' freezing! After the warm weather of the past month or two you really felt it. It was also blowing a hoolie, on with a long sleeved thermal. I wasn't sure where the path up Latrigg went - there were several wide trimmed areas through the grass but then I noticed a gravel path that had been put in for disabled access to the viewing point. Looked good to me. Five minutes later I'm on the rather non-descript summit, a quick look at the view (which is very nice) and then blast back across the grass to the car park.

There's a bridleway up Skiddaw, it's just rather steep on it's way up Jenkin Hill. I managed all of 100 metres before I reckoned it was just as easy to push. About halfway up there's a footpath that cuts off right, most people won't notice this as it's only faint, and heads up to the col to the west of Lonscale Fell. More pushing up this before I can finally ride again for the last few hundred metres to the summit. With the cloud down there's little to see so it's payback time!

Back down to the col is wide and grassy so little problem, the footpath is slightly harder as it traverses a slope so occasionally has slipped away leaving an off-camber surface, then it's on to the main track. Basically this is as fast as skill, nerves and the number of walkers allows. It's not particularly technical, well it isn't technical at all, the only real difficulty is not focussing on the loose rocks. Today there's very few walkers but a strong side wind that constantly threatens to push my front wheel to the left. Even with my cautious descending it's just four minutes to the bottom of the hill (from the summit of Lonscale Fell it was eleven minutes).  Part one done.

The next two fells were Carrock Fell and High Pike which lay in the north eastern part of the group so a drive round past Mungrisedale was needed. A quick bite to eat and then I was away. A bit of road work first since I'd parked at the wrong sharp bend in the road but not a problem. Then turn left and head up on a bridleway following an old mining track. This was right in to the wind so was quite hard work.

Even harder work was the climb up to the col: the first bit was just a steep push but the remainder should have been rideable but for the wind. After a hundred metres or so I resorted to pushing. Despite the recent rains the summit ridge was still quite firm so I made good time until I got to about two hundred metres from the summit of Carrock Fell when it became too rocky and much easier to continue on foot.

Carrock Fell is unusual in the Lake District as it's the only one composed of Gabbro and is the only one with an ancient hill fort on its summit. Today though I could hardly stand up in the wind so it was back to the bike and press on.

Now it was much harder riding as I was heading straight in to the wind. At one point as I headed towards the track contouring High Pike I was blown to a standstill, a bit of pushing required for a hundred metres or so. Riding up the path to the summit I was having to aim the bike windwards and lean in to the wind so that I had a chance of staying on the path. Once again the summit was wild and no place to hang around. There were two paths ahead, I figured the right hand one was the one I needed and so it proved.

Lovely and grassy, just worn in enough to give bite to my tyres, I had to stop once out of the wind to clean my glasses as the rain and steam meant I couldn't really see where I was going. Then it was downward to the contouring track. I knew that I had to leave this at some point to pick up the upper part of the track I'd used on the outward leg. For once it was quite obvious and after dropping over some of the old spoil heaps I was on the track.

Nowhere technical it was just a blast with the occasional slowing down for a tight corner or a section of loose stones. Without realising it I was soon on the outward leg as I began to recognise features I'd passed before. For a track that I'd thought was only slightly uphill on the outward leg it seemed rather steeper and I was going at a decent speed. Just ten minutes after leaving the summit of High Pike I was at the road (that included the stop to clear my glasses), average speed of around 22mph!

All in all an interesting experience. It's hard work getting up on to the tops when you've 12Kg of bike to push/carry but once you are up there then provided it's firm underfoot it's great going and of course the descents are just a hoot especially since you aren't putting any strain on your knees. It's just a shame that out of two and a half hours on the go there was just 20 minutes of descent.

So, another book completed. Just two books to do now with eight fells remaining, six in the Central Fells and two in the Southern.

New bike

I'd never tried a mountain bike with either 650b or 29inch wheels so wanted to try two bikes that other than the wheel size were as similar as possible. I've been thinking about getting a hardtail for a while, partly to use to get in to remote Munros and partly to have something much simpler to ride than a full suspension MTB.

After some prevaricating (posh word for faffing about) a few weeks ago I arranged to ride a couple of demo bikes at Dales Bike Centre in Swaledale. This was actually the same weekend as we did the Bowderdale loop in the Howgills. We did a couple of rides, one on each wheel size, one up Harkerside and one round Low Moor. One bike that I didn't ride out on the trails but did have a play on in the yard was a Cotic Solaris it was actually Stuart's,  the shop owner's own bike. I didn't see much difference if any between the handling of the 650b wheeled bike and my current bike - it happened that the 650b was a full suss bike rather than a hardtail.

Decision made! It was going to be a 29er. But which one? Two weeks ago it was a wet Saturday so I headed back up to place an order. I was after a simple bike and one of the simpler features I was after was a 1x10 drivetrain, this removes the front derailleur mechanism for a single chainring but has a wider range cassette. I also wanted tubeless tyres and a dropper seat post.

There was really only one frame in the running - the Cotic Solaris, somehow it just felt right. After some discussion we settled on me being suitable for a medium frame, then it was on to all the bits that a bike needs, like wheels and handlebars. Just the matter then of paying a deposit and waiting for the build.

This weekend it was time to pick up the bike. As it happened it was another wet Saturday. Some final fitting out (and for Stuart to take shots of it) and it was time for a ride.

I'd asked for a Hope 40 trex to extend the cassette range even more but even with this I ran out of puff near the top of Fremington Edge. There was a headwind though :-) Once on the moor top it was horizontal rain for the descent to Hurst and the long steady pull up to the top of the descent from Fell Top to Storthwaite Hall. The last time I'd done this (on a full suspension bike) I'd had to walk a couple of sections of rock steps. This time no such problem - it was an absolute hoot blasting down, the only thing slowing me down was not knowing the best lines, oh and the gate halfway down. Rather than head back on the road to Reeth I did the Low Moor loop again as the off-road bit began only about a kilometre from where I'd hit the road at Langthwaite.

Again it was just a blast, the hardest part for me was knowing when to drop the seat as I'd get in to a technical section with the seat up and be concentrating on getting through the difficulties. This will come though.

Back at the shop, it was time to pay. The other staff said that Stuart was lusting after it and was considering converting his own Solaris to 1x10. There's still a little bit of work to do on it as the rear tyre isn't the one specified as there don't seem to be any of that particular model in the country at the moment. I'll get that sorted out when I go back and get the first service done.

So fun time. Cath wanted to do a bit of riding on the Bank Holiday so we decided to head over early to Staveley and do some riding round there. It was before 9am when we got there and there were only a few cars in the park, other mountain bikers by the looks of things. Our planned route was over the Green Quarter to Longsleddale then back via the track up from Sadgill and down to Kentmere before climbing over Garburn Pass and sussing a way back from Troutbeck.

We'd set off on something similar to this last December but the track over to Longsleddale was sheet ice so we'd cut it short. Everything was reasonably dry this time though and good flowing track with the occasional technical section. Slowly the speed picked up as the gradient changed to being generally downhill. Once through a gate it became very steep and fast and increasingly loose and rocky before arriving at a farm. Down the track to the road and up the valley.

Descending to Longsleddale

We got the wrong bridleway leading out of the valley so the first half was a definite push but we rejoined the route at about the point where the angle eased so the rest was mostly rideable if a little hard work. The descend down to Kentmere was fast and only interrupted by a couple of gates. Rather than return to the village by the road we dropped down to the lane used by the fell race which was much more pleasant.

Dropping back down to Kentmere, Garburn Pass visible on the hillside opposite.

Then it was time for Garburn Pass. The lower section is definitely rideable but it gets increasingly rocky and loose, this happens at about the same time as the gradient steepens so unless you are good at track stands and hopping your way up it's hike-a-bike time pretty much all the way to the top. The descent down the other side used to be reasonably technical but it's been "managed" presumably to stop erosion so now it's just a speed blast slowing down to avoid spraying walkers with stones from your wheels.

The lower, easy, part of Garburn Pass

At the top of Garburn Pass

All too soon we are on the road heading towards Ings. Cath checks her GPS and figures out that there's a bridleway leading back on to the common above High House. This turned out to be lovely flowing hard packed track, a few small climbs here and there but apart from the few gates there was little to slow you down.

The ford at the top of the final descent.

Finally after a ford across a beck it was time for the last descent. Known as the Three Rivers (we'd just forded the top one) we'd done it back in December when it was a bit wet. No excuses this time though and we got down in one go, again last time I'd had to walk one or two short sections.

Supposedly Garburn Pass is a classic of the Lakes but I felt it was the most disappointing part of our entire ride, possibly enjoyable on a full downhill rig going west to east, but otherwise it's a push followed by a rather boring wide track. A full set of shots here.

I suppose that the seven years of development in the mountain bike world since I got my last bike show through but it may also just be a better bike. It may be the bigger wheels or that the bike fits me better but I'll go for stuff and I'm far more confident about getting down technical stuff on this bike than I was on the old one. I think the gearing of 30T on the front and 11- 40 on the back is just about right for me. By the time I can't push the dinner plate of the Hope 40T I'm just about ready to push anyway and by the time I'm spinning out on the 11T I'm going fast enough that I want to freewheel. The dropper seatpost makes a big difference in being able to adjust things on the fly.

Overall the new bike is in Spinal Tap territory, the grin factor goes up to ELEVEN!!

Something Different

After a few short rides the other week I was keen to do something a bit different for a change so headed over to the Lakes to grab a few more Wainwrights.

I'd last done some fell walking over a year ago and had been stuck on 199 fells since then. One thing that has been a constant for some time is that the Northern Fells have taken up the majority of those fells left to do, usually they accounted for over half of the remainder.

With seven fells yet to do in the group this was still the case. As seems inevitable they were spread out in to three groups, two of these groups formed the eastern most fells with a group of three and one of two. A fine target for the day.

After a leisurely start I parked up in Mungrisedale at around 10am with quite a breeze blowing. Wainwright's recommended route up Bowscale Fell was at the other end of the village so a bit of road walking later and it's a steep climb up through the gorse. As I got higher on the ridge, the wind got stronger and stronger, by the time I was on the summit it was comedy "lean in to the wind at 45degs" strength. It was also pretty cold - so much for the nice spring day promised by the forecast.

The walk to Bannerdale Knotts is pretty uneventful being just a broad depression across boggy ground. Somehow I got my line wrong in dropping off from the summit and ended up traipsing over tussocks to gain the bridge over the beck. Though there were lots of people on Blencathra, the fells I was on were fairly quiet - I met maybe a dozen people in total. The last of the group and the lowest was Souther Fell, just a long broad ridge to the summit then a steep descent back down to Mungrisedale with a long detour to avoid a field.

Bannerdale Knotts from Souther Fell. I think it's a currick in the foreground.

I was fed up with the wind so rather than head for the next two fells just to the North I decided to head over to Thirlmere and climb Raven Crag. I'm sure I'd been to the top of this before (the summit is very close to the top of the crag of the same name) but hadn't noted it. It's a completely different walk to the northern fells - enclosed rather than open, short and steep rather than long and gradual. As I approached the summit area a couple were heading down. A quick chat, they were Wainwright bagging like myself, and the father says: "I follow you on Twitter"! Really quite bizarre, rather embarrassingly I didn't recognise him nor did I ask his name.

The summit of Raven Crag, Brown Cove Crags just below the clouds.

It's a long while since I've suffered from DOMS but being totally unused to fell walking I had sore legs for the next three days. Oh well, just 11 tops to go.

Autumnal changes

Autumn finally appears to have arrived, that mixture of crystal clear and dull dank days where you are never quite sure what the morning will bring. November has never been my favourite month, memories of snagging cold wet turnips on the farm and increasingly short daylight, it always feels like it's a stop gap between the good weather of summer and the hope of winter.

As a consequence I've always used November as a recovery month, just let the body catch up, whether that's letting my fingers rest when climbing or my legs when running or cycling, it's just time to chill before the next ramp of effort. With my operation now very close, it's also quite important not to push things and potentially have an accident. Open wounds or scars aren't particularly welcome in the operating theatre.

A couple of Sundays ago I decided to skip the A group ride and go for a spin up Wharfedale to Kettlewell. My main rule was to stick in the small ring all day - the day was a clear one and pretty cold so pushing the speed would only produce extra windchill. Having set out late enough for the frost to have thawed away there weren't many of the local riders out and I only saw a handful all the way up the Dale.

At Kettlewell I had a choice - either head in to the cafe straight away or head up Park Rash. Of the five roads out of the head of Wharfedale, Park Rash is the hardest though not the longest - that's the southern part of Fleet Moss; next year's Tour de France will head over Kidstones which is the easiest; the other two head up Arncliffe Cote and out of Halton Gill. Now I'd only ever ridden down Park Rash and according to the 100 Climbs book it is meant to be equivalent to Fleet Moss from the north. Time to find out!

The first climb out of the village was covered in leaves and a few skids ensued. There then follows a section along the valley floor before the main event: around 200 metres of 20-25% followed by a long section of 18% before an easing and the final 20% to the summit. In to next to bottom gear (always gives me that psychological boost knowing there's another gear left) and hit the slopes. The steep section isn't actually too bad and since there's no traffic I can take it wide on the hairpins. It's the 18% that I find the killer as there's no respite from the effort below and I hit bottom gear. Then it's the easing and soon the final rise is done and the summit reached.

Four cyclists at the top ask if the descent is icy and there's a large icy pool on the road where I turn round - they'd all hit the deck several times coming up Coverdale and were a little worried. So it's a blast down to the village and the cafe. The ride back down the Dale was pleasant in the afternoon sun with just the climb up Park Lane to get home. There was hail still on the ground and it felt as hard as the climb at the other end of the ride.

This last Sunday was the Cumbrian Cracker Sportive: Grasmere; over Red Bank and down to Coniston then along the east side of the lake and down to Cartmel. Then it's back via Bigland, Grizedale, Hawkshead and Ambleside. There were thirteen of us but after Red Bank we split in to two groups, slow and quick. The quick group then split again as we went down the east side of Coniston Water. The problem was that there were now only four of us (Andy, Rick his brother, the Herb and me) and we could do with more bodies to share the work especially along the speedy section of Holker Mosses.

There was a group of three riding in and around us and by the time we got to the start of the Mosses we were riding together. It turned out that we did the majority of the work anyway with just one of the others taking a turn on the front. There was also another rider just wheelsucking - definitely poor form. A few bumpy bits and we arrived at the food stop in Cartmel.

We'd just sat down when a voice spoke up: "Bob!" It was Nick Wharton who turned out to be one of the group of three that we'd teamed up with. I'd climbed with him in the 1980s and Andy went to school with him. Really quite a bizarre meeting. His mates hadn't helped with the pacing as they were struggling to keep up!

Food eaten we headed on our way. The problem was - it was one of the dull dank autumn days and the drizzle was getting heavier, not only that, I'd forgotten my waterproof and only had a gilet for protection. Time to crack on.

The return journey was quite eventful. First a rider fell off trying to avoid a car that simply stopped in front of him (he wasn't too hurt and kept up with us for most of the way home). Then Andy had a couple of punctures so a bit of easing up rather than hang around and cool down. One steep descent to Hawkshead was taken with care then push on to the finish. As we approached Rydal there were blue flashing lights ahead - a rider had collided with a car and was out on the ground being attended to. It turned out he hadn't broken anything. Just the main road back to Grasmere and the wheelsucker was back - but a bit of determined pacing soon dropped him. We rolled in to the finish in just over 3hrs30 which is my best time for this route so quite pleased.

After food it was time to get changed before the damp got through and chilled me. By the time I got back Cath had finished, also in a good time. Then it was time for the pub - my last alcohol before next week.

Cumbrian Cracker

The weather round here is a bit depressing, though nowhere near as bad as for those who've had their homes flooded. The dampness doesn't help when things clear out and frosty mornings return as everything is so wet that you get patches of ice here and there as Cath found out last week when she took a tumble on a bend near home.

This Sunday we headed over to the Lakes for the Cumbrian Cracker Sportive. This used to be known as the Christmas Cracker but bad weather (read snow) for a couple of winters led the organisers to move it slightly earlier in the year. Not that this guarantees good weather of course. As we drove over it was raining heavily and there were lots of short flooded sections of the A65 but by the time we got to Grasmere it was fine, if cold.

There was a large group from Skipton CC so we headed off together at about 9:45 apart from Cath who had set off a few minutes earlier. First up was Red Bank - as soon as we got to the steep bit I dropped to bottom gear and attempted to spin up it, OK until the 25% section when it became the usual grind. One of the group had a flat tyre at the top so after sorting that out we dropped down to Elterwater when someone else had a puncture! Fortunately this was the last of the mechanicals.

By the time we got through Coniston and were heading down the east side of the lake there were just three of us on the front and with the twisting roads soon lost sight of the others so after a bit of slowing down to see if they'd catch up, they didn't, we pressed on. The fast bit of the course is along the Holker Mosses and with a bit of teamwork we made good progress though by the time we got to Allithwaite and the climb up the hill there, my legs were feeling quite tired.

Cath was at the food stop in Cartmel when we arrived - she'd set off about twenty minutes before us - she was outside as the place was packed. By the time we got our food she was cold and ready to go. After about ten minutes the rest of the gang began to arrive in various small groups.

Getting cold ourselves we set off about ten minutes after Cath. The other two dropped me on the final part of the climb up to Bigland but I managed to pick them up on the descent and we remained together until just before the finish. We didn't catch up with Cath until Satterthwaite so she'd made good time. With just the pull out of Grizedale left we pressed on, got our photos taken and blasted down to Hawkshead. Shortly after this a determined group passed us so we jumped on to the back of them and blasted along the road towards Ambleside, we were doing over 20mph up the hills! 

All that was left was the small road round Loughrigg Terrace and the main road back to Grasmere. I got dropped here and it was only the speedy gang catching up after they'd had a stop that got me going again - though it was a bit of a cheat hanging on the back without doing any work. My final time wasn't brilliant - 4:33, slower than last year's 4:06 but we'd had the mechanicals so not too bad. Sat in the village hall with a cuppa I was just wondering where Cath was when she appeared in the meal queue, she'd not really lost that much time.

Once partially refreshed we headed back to the car and home.

Wheezing and Walking

Despite my best efforts last week I succumbed to the current lurgy doing the rounds. This led to a couple of days in bed feeling pretty lousy. Quite unusual for me - I normally only take days off work for things like physical injury or being hospitalised. Fortunately it struck early in the week so I was on the road to recovery by the weekend.

With good weather forecast for the weekend I decided to head over to the Lakes to grab some more Wainwrights. The Northern Fells seemed like the place to go since the number of fells I had never been near has always been far greater than in any other book and nearly 2/3rds of the remaining tops were in this group. 8:15am saw me at Longlands on the edge of the Uldale fells and ready to go. It was all very easy walking and very quiet - I was passed by a solitary fell-runner as I approached Brae Fell and met another walker as I dropped down to Trusmadoor from Meal Fell but apart from these two I was on my own. With six tops done I headed round to Dodd and just managed to get back to the car inside the time allotted by the car-park ticket.

Sunday was another bike ride - Skipton - Ilkley - Otley - Greenhow - Appletreewick - Skipton: about 60 miles including the bits to and from home. There were just seven of us but there were lots of other cyclists out enjoying the autumn sunshine. We held a steady pace but even so I struggled quite a bit on the bigger climbs like Norwood Edge so my lungs haven't fully recovered.