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.

Mirky, mucky riding

I managed to use up some of my holiday allowance last week. We were going to have a few days away but Cath had managed to double book a couple of events so we ended up just having one night away. I'd never visited Chatsworth House so we planned on a couple of rides in the area along with a look round the house and gardens.

I'd got a new rear tyre the previous weekend and was running it tubeless. At the top of the first hill I got the feeling that the tyre was a bit soft and as soon as we went off road I felt a thud. Out with the pump to put some air in. Unfortunately unscrewing the pump from the valve also unscrewed the valve insert, resulting in a completely flat tyre! With no way to inflate the tyre Cath nipped back to get the car and we headed for Chatsworth House.

The following day was again overcast and we did a loop starting from Calver and in to an area of the Peak I'd never visited before, partly because there's no crags in it. Unfortunately quite a bit of the ride had been "sanitised" so what had been an interesting descent was now little more than a blast on old road planings. There was one good bit along a rooty-rocky track to a ford but after that there wasn't much until the traverse above Baslow Edge which while not technical at least wasn't road.

Saturday was another grey overcast day and Cath was leading the club ride so I decided to have a blast along the Pennine Bridleway down to Widdop and back. The lane down from the house is really muddy at the moment and I managed to fall off within 50 metres - oops! Everything went much better after that but it was pretty muddy getting to Wycoller. I thought I might have problems getting up the fields out of Wycoller but I managed to get a decent line with some traction. The next couple of kilometres are the most technical of this part of the way and there's quite a bit of avoiding rocks, slots and holes. Before too long the surface improves and then it's a blast down in to Thursden (I saw the only other biker all day on this part).

The climb on the road over to Widdop felt hard with the slight headwind and also slightly worrying in the fog with drivers not switching their lights on so you didn't see them until they were a few metres away, it was a relief to turn off and cross the dam and start the climb up Gorple Gate. This was as hard as ever though the top part isn't as loose as it used to be. The traverse round to the gate is wet and gritty then it's the blast down the track to rejoin the PBW. Up, big down, big up and a big down get me back to Thursden and then it's back home the same way out with a cafe stop at Wycoller. I was so muddy when I got home that I needed to rinse my clothes twice before putting them in the washing machine.

Sunday was actually a nice day, Cath suggested a route out of the VP Dales MTB guide. I'd done most of the tracks before but nearly all of them in the opposite direction. The one track I hadn't done was the descent down in to Littondale. Most tracks in the Dales are rocky so are pretty much all-weather and all year round so apart from the odd big puddle there's no real problem in most of the first part of the ride. The descent in to Littondale is damp though and being both steep and either grass or limestone means that we need to take care not to let the front wheel wash out.

A bit of a bite to eat at the bottom and then it's road work to get to Arncliffe Cote and the big climb of the day. The bottom of this is again wet grass over limestone and it's basically a push as it's too steep to gain traction in these conditions. Further up we can ride more and more but it's heavy going. We get passed by a group of lads who've ridden over from Hetton and who are the first mountain bikers we've seen all day. Once on top there's a chill wind and there's no hanging around but it's a blast anyway down to Street Gate.

All that's left is the climb up to the Settle Loop and then follow this back towards Langcliffe. It's not all downhill though and there's a few short climbs before the final drop down to the road where I happen to bump in to someone I worked with at my last workplace so after a quick chat it's the final climb up the road before dropping back down to Stainforth on the Pennine Bridleway.

A total of 90Km mostly off-road for the weekend which does feel like hard work.

A Milestone and err, something else

On the commute home last night I clocked up 10, 000 Kilometres for the year to date. Well, this is the distance I've logged via Strava, the actual distance will be a bit more as most rides from home are started and stopped about a kilometre away. I've also climbed 133,000 metres of ascent and taken 340 rides to do it. Given that January and February were basically washouts in terms of activity due to recovering from my hip replacement (a year ago this coming Tuesday as it happens) it's not bad.

So what of the something else? Well last night was a pretty awful night and as I was descending the lane down to the house I began to realise that the brakes weren't slowing me down! I wasn't getting faster but I certainly wasn't slowing down, I was probably doing between 15 & 20Kmh. Our lane is about 25% and there's virtually no flat ground before the house.

I began to run through my options: run in to the back of the car - from personal experience I know that bodies tend to come off worse in such collisions; run in to the house - even less likely to result in a positive outcome; make a sharp right over a very slippery cattle grid in to the yard - any fall would be on to my operated hip and there were all the slots to lose an arm or leg in. The only remaining option was to carry on down the lane by the side of the house and hope that when the tarmac ended the mud would slow me down.

I managed about fifteen metres before my increasingly comical swervings saw me off, fortunately I landed on my left side and didn't land on any of the various rocks that stick out of the ground. Apart from a bruise and a slightly pulled muscle in my leg I got away with no injuries. There was one broken spoke on the bike and the brake lever on the left side had been knocked round a bit.

So why had the brakes failed? They are Avid BB7 disk brakes and have been pretty reliable but I think they have somehow loosened themselves off during my commutes as the canal bank is pretty jarring at times, I've checked them this morning and was able to turn in the adjustment pads so that the brakes worked. It was probably a combination of the gradient and the rain, on lesser slopes I have been able to stop. I'll have to keep an eye on them to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Bonfire Night

After a couple of failed attempts to get out for a night ride this week we finally managed to get our act together to head out on Wednesday night which just so happened to be Bonfire Night. In recent years it seems that bad weather has plagued this traditional celebration of home-grown terrorism but with clear skies and a near-full moon it looked like it was going to be worth getting out.

Our earlier ineptitude reasserted itself as we were parking the car at Threshfield - Cath wondered if she'd put her cycling shoes in the car. Of course she hadn't so since she was using flat pedals I suggested that she use the Crocs she was wearing (other hippy plastic shoes are available). It seemed to work so off we set, twitching occasionally when a particularly loud firework detonated nearby.

With the clear skies it was pretty cold and it was with some reluctance that we rode past a large bonfire at the bottom of the lane leading on to Boss Moor. My hands still hadn't warmed up by the time I reached the top though a minute or two's rest allowed the warmth to return. The bridleway over the moor was resurfaced a few years ago and old railway sleepers put in to span drainage ditches and frost was already beginning to form on these - the cold air can attack from all sides so they cool quicker.

At Bordley Lane we had a choice: down towards Kilnsey and up Mastiles Lane (the opposite way to how we'd ridden last time up here) or head up the lane, on to Mastiles Lane and round to Lee Gate Farm before heading back to Bordley then southwards towards Hetton before getting back on to Boss Moor. Cath didn't fancy the climb up Mastiles so up the road it was.

The moon was so bright that we kept thinking that there was a car behind us, understandable on a road but we kept thinking it when off-road as well! At the drop down to the end of the road we cut right and climbed steadily to Mastiles Gate then left and along the open lane until we could cut left through the fields to Lee Gate. Things were a lot muddier than the last time we were up here and it was with relief that we got on to the hard surface of the bridleway back to Bordley farm.

Going past Bordley was a little tricky as there's no option but to go through the farmyard and wake the dogs up but we did the best we could. Getting across the beck below the farm meant that we both had wet feet to some extent - not good in the temperature at the time. The track down past Lainger House is fast, well once the sheep get out of the way, and there's just a short steep pull on tarmac until the next bridleway cuts left over Boss Moor.

Soon we are at the top of the initial track and the tricky part is making sure to hit the wooden water bars square on as they are now pretty frosty. I'm thinking I'm struggling to see and it's a while before I realise that the light on the handlebar has come loose and is pointing nearly straight down - oops!

The bonfire is nearly out as we pass it again but it's still pumping out plenty of heat and we grab a minute of warmth before coasting down to the car. The bikes are filthy and I grab a rag out of the car to wipe the worst of it off but it's all frozen to the frame! Cleaning will have to wait. It's now ten o'clock, time to get something to eat.

Night Rides

The evenings are definitely drawing in now that we are past the autumn equinox which leads to a quandary: hit the turbo or sort out the lights and head outside.

Actually it's not so much a quandary as when to actually start night rides, there's still some light at around 1830 - 1900 so unless you wait for an hour or so you end up with half the ride in daylight and half in the dark. Riding in the dusk is either quite risky if you are on the roads (drivers are even less aware of what's going on) or hard work off road since you don't get the benefits from your bike lights and the natural light isn't quite enough.

Last week I nipped out for a quick blast round the local bridleways to check that the lights worked after a summer's holiday. This Thursday Cath was going to go for a road ride but the weather looked a bit iffy with a strong breeze and showers blasting through so I persuaded her to go mountain biking instead.

The loop over to Earby that I'd discovered a few weeks ago was going to be ideal and hopefully the recent rains hadn't turned things to gloop. The initial road section was done in the twilight so by the time we turned on to the bridleway it was just about dark. The first field had cows in but they weren't interested in these strange creatures moving among them. The bridleway was firm and straightforward and soon we were on the lane leading down to Earby.

The climb was steady, one thing about biking in the dark is that you only see a small part of what's ahead because of the limit of the lights but this means that you just take everything as it comes, there's no looking up and seeing another 400 metres of climbing to dishearten you. Once off the lane and on to the moor it was going to be a case of seeing how boggy things were: generally not too bad but keeping off bare earth was the key to keeping forward momentum.

A bit more road leading back to the top road. "Road back home?" asked Cath, "Straight on, it should be firm". Again the lack of a view ahead meant that you just got on with the climb. At the summit I made Cath look round and take in the view, it was one I'd see a lot a few years ago as this was my turning point when I did night runs after we got the Hope headlights.

We took the descent steadily, dismounting for the sleepers crossing ditches - no point in taking a flyer. Rather bizarrely we passed a couple of tents pitched for the night, presumably they were bemused by a pair of bikes trundling past. Down at the road we decided to skip the last off-road section as it does get very boggy and headed home on the road.

One point we realised is that just having a light on the handlebars isn't quite enough - it lights where the bike is pointing but often you need to look in a different direction so having a light on your helmet adds an extra dimension. A bit of internet searching and a light was ordered (all of £20 including mount and posting) and arrived this morning so we'll see how it works on the next ride.

MTB Endurance - sort of

Most mountain bike rides are pretty short, last week's ride in the Lakes for example was just 37Km for example, they feel a bit more intense as the terrain isn't conducive to rolling along but that of course is part of the attraction. With Cath away riding on the Seven Stanes I'd free rein in getting out for a longer ride.

The Pennine Bridleway passes quite close to us so I worked out a route that picked that up and headed north in to the Dales then back via other trails. Most of the outbound route would be new to me but the way back was on known trails, we'd actually done most of them when riding the route back from Garsdale Head earlier in the year.

The morning was foggy, really foggy and some of the early road sections up above the house were quite worrying but once I was on the trail leading down to Earby the visibility improved and the stress level reduced. A bit of main road along to Sough and the start of the PBW part of the ride.

Climbing almost immediately on steep grass felt hard work, I still hadn't warmed up, but once that was over the trail followed hard packed ginnels and lanes to gain the edge of Barnoldswick. The climb up from the main road was a bit of a shocker - I'd expected a steady ascent but it began with cobbles at 20%. Fortunately the angle soon eased and I climbed steadily to cross round to the road leading to the top of Weets. All this was new to me, but the route was easy to follow for the moment, the tarmac gave way to an old track dropping down towards Gisburn. This was quite wet and muddy and I was filthy by the time I gained the roads in the valley bottom.

The next section hadn't made much sense when I had looked at it on the map as it looped in and around Gisburn Park (which is a rather grand looking stately pile) but by dint of following the most obvious way I didn't get lost even though I didn't really have much clue where I was! From here to Paythorne was a bit frustrating as there were quite a few gates to negotiate. The gates continued all the way until just short of Long Preston. This was probably the hardest section as even though it was flat(ish), riding over pastureland is much harder work than you might realise, it was relief to get on to the climb out of Long Preston.

The bridleway over to Settle was really quite nice, you are on the very edge of the Craven Gap so have a great view over to the Forest of Bowland and the Southern Pennines, or you would if the weather was clear. A blast down in to Settle and time for some food. I'd been on the go for just over three hours.

The climb out of Settle is hard work on a recently filled stomach but soon I was descending back down to Stainforth and a section on tarmac up to Helwith Bridge. This was my turning point and from here on I was on tracks I'd ridden before and knew that they were fast going.

First though was the little matter of a big climb back up on to the tops. This was a long loose track fortunately with a few easy bits to get your breath back. There were a couple of bikers coming down (only saw six MTB riders all day and not many more roadies) so a quick hello and it was onwards and upwards. The next bit was on road and possibly had the steepest climb of the day out of Tongue Gill then it was on to Malham Tarn and an ice cream.

From here on the end was in sight (for most of the time) or would have been if it hadn't been so mirky. On to Mastiles Lane then cut through to the short steep climb up to Weets Top. The last time I was here it was blowing a hoolie and you had to pedal to keep moving downhill. No such problems today and the descent towards Calton was a blast.

By the time I got to Gargrave I was in need of more refreshment so a quick trip to the Co-op was in order. The next few miles were easy in that I followed the Leeds-Liverpool canal for a while before roads and old railway line lead back to Earby. All that was left was the climb back over Pinhaw. I stopped the GPS with 104Km of riding done in 6hr45. I don't think I'd have liked to have done much more with my current level of fitness but it was good to find out what a long distance ride feels like. 

I think a hardtail is best for longer rides like this - lighter and less faff, but against that is the constant minor bumping of the saddle against your backside, non-technical tracks seem to be worst for this. This for me is the only real downside of hardtails vs full-sussers: you tend to be out of the saddle for the bigger bumps so don't notice them as much.

No photos as it was such a mirky day.

I just went for a steady spin over to Clitheroe and back on the Sunday to get some of the tiredness out of my legs.

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.