At the top in the gale force winds that were up there, Kaiser bravely standing up against the force of the breeze. I attempted going for a pee up there, first time I've ever had the "flow" coming out at a 90 degree angle
But it was OK as we were looking at this
Then back down the way, which oddly included lots of ups, but the the descent proper starts, our one lady rider tearing it up down the first part of the red descent.
And then the view from the top of the final drop down. A lot of descent distance in very little distance if that makes sense. I happily minced down the first part as the big drop offs gave me the fear, especially as my arms felt dead by then. Cadon Bank was a hoot though once past them.
A grand day out for all. From collecting Velo on the way to the first cold sip of beer when I got home. Lots of mud, lots of loose stone tracks, lots of puddles to take childish pleasure at splashing through. The car park was the usual round of wandering about introducing yourself to people and looking at some gorgeous bikes that people actually use as they were intended to be used.
I managed a glorious 50 yards before the first crash of the day I'm proud (ashamed?) to say. It then proved to be a tough day to reintroduce myself to the joy of clipless pedals, having fooled myself I was back up to speed with them after a few half hour commutes without mishap. The main improvement being I got better at emergency dismounts as the day went on, landing in heather? Check. Landing next to a puddle? Check. Landing on my side on a rocky step up? Check. Thankfully always uphill.
The muddy sections were soupy to say the least, some of them were more like school dinners custard. And It looks like Ritchey ZMax tyres are a fantastically unsuitable weapon for it. Straight line being next to impossible to maintain as they let the mud steer me as opposed to me steering through the mud.
A good ride with a few vital lessons. The main one being that by the time you get to my age (46) even two months without meaningful time on the bike destroys any fitness you have at all. The long drags killed me to be honest but you can't have the fun of down without the pain of up. The upside was I got a few chances to chat with Geoff and hear some of his fascinating ideas about cycling techniques. Everyone that tried his bike were quite taken with it, Mikee in particular.
And the weather was deceptively sunny it appears as I have very pink arms today, which isn't a good look when you have been wearing gloves all day. A real farmers tan going on now.
The chip stop on the home was a great idea and I got home via the shop to get a cold bottle of beer. Drank after a long shower that included having to use a nailbrush to scrub the mud off my legs.
I then fell asleep in front of the telly until 2 in the morning. I think I deserved a nap.