very last minute I know, but I’m going on a ride round the dark peak (starting from Edale) tomorrow (Saturday 16th April). If anyone wants to come along they’re welcome.
It’ll be about 12 to 15 miles depending on enthusiasm 12 miles minimum, big hills (up Jacobs Ladder then round to Rushup Edge etc.), quite technical and rocky bits of riding.
If you’re interested give me a call 07905 696427 this evening. Don’t post here because I’m camping so I won’t read it.
cheers,
Joe
Wow, that was an epic ride. I camped over and woke up to find tents with snow on them and tons of snow on the tops.
Whilst they’re great for riding with, Vans aren’t the best shoes for climbing up Jacob’s Ladder in when it’s iced up and covered in snow.
Some pictures in my emunicyclists events album under here http://gallery.unicyclist.com/album485
It was awesome being on top of the dark peak with full on snow and stuff, a bit bad on some of the rocky bits, I had to walk a few bits because you just couldn’t see where the rocks were. I loved the Chapel Gate track (the old road to Mam Tor), I think it’s my favourite downhill in the country, it’s basically an old road, where all but a tiny strip of the tarmac has eroded away down to about 6 inches to a foot below it, so you’re riding along a 6 inch strip of tarmac on a steep downhill and every so often it gets narrow or disappears and you just get forced to jump off into a narrow rocky muddy track, it’s really technical, more precision than big jumps or anything. I also managed to ride the road up to mam tor, which I am feeling very smug about.
Joe
Re: UK: manchester / sheffield riders - dark peak ride tomorrow (sat)
On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 14:54:37 -0500, “joemarshall” wrote:
>Wow, that was an epic ride.
It looks epicly uncomfortably cold. I presume you ended up riding solo
and camping in a bivvy bag which still adds to that.
What wheel size and tyre were that? Is it a 26" Gazz?
“When it comes to the family jewels, you won’t be having fun until they’re having fun. - Jake D”
No Bivvi bag, I took a proper tent, a nice toasty sleeping bag and a thermarest. I was doing a round trip, so I could leave it at the start point, so no worries about an extra 2kg of weight riding from the train station to the campsite. I considered bivvying up on the tops, but decided not as there was heavy rain forecast for Friday daytime and it’d be not so fun.
Tyre is a 26"x2.6" gazz.
I was actually quite glad to be riding solo this time, it was cold enough for stopping and faffing to be not an option and that pretty much inevitably happens if you’re in a group. I saw no-one for the first couple of hours, which was weird, and half the catches on the track gates were frozen up so you had to hit them to open it.
I somehow managed to stay not muddy for all of the ride I’d planned, then I added in a little loop up to Mam Tor on the road and back down on a bridleway, which I remembered as being quite easy, but a little technical from riding it in the dry. In the wet it was incredibly difficult, the slippyest mud I’ve ever found, combined with lots of little bits you have to drop off, so inevitably you dropped off onto the mud, then the unicycle slid away from you. I ended up absolutely covered in mud. I can’t wait to try the ride again in the dry.
Joe