Holiday training- There was some - honest!

You may be wondering where on earth have my training updates have got to? Christmas is always a busy time. What with works do's, parties, visiting relatives and delivering present and having the folks round on Christmas day. I think of the week and two days off work I must have had two days where I could get out on my bike. I also took the opportunity to get my road bike in to The Bike Factory for a winter fettle. The gears had got themselves all out of sync and I am a bit ham fisted at repairing that sort of thing. So I leave it to the trusty spanners of Damien 'Damo' Tonge.

The Bike factory works do.
Damo was warned not to put superglue on his thumbs

Damo is my hero! I take my bikes in to him in all states of disrepair, usually covered in 'mud and bullets'. Damo fixes them for me and gives the bike a good 'minting'. They always look brand new when I pick them up. He is also the most cheerful guy I know (Steve Williams a close second). Nothing seems to phase him. Congratulations are also in order as he and his partner are expecting there first child in a couple of weeks. Good luck and all the best Damo!

So I had to ride my mountain bike most of the Christmas break. Which is fine. It is great for strength and aerobic training. However the weather over the holidays was atrocious. I think we got one full day where there was no rain. The hills were a complete mud bath. So the first day I got to do any riding was how do we say....a bit interesting!

Steve, Mark and I had planned to ride over to Edale. However with the rain almost sideways outside, the general consensus was that 16 miles over some of the most difficult MTB terrain in the country was a no go. The vote was 2-1 against Edale.

Steve and Mark on a previous Edale trip. 

So we decided on a loop of Hayfield. The good thing about this ride is that at any point you can break off and go home without being too far away. Its also a really good ride (in normal conditions). However these weren't normal conditions, as you will see in the photos below - (taken through a plastic bag btw)

Me at the top of Coldwell Clough - a wee bit wet

Mark and Steve in some mud -  also a wee bit wet

Mark and Steve at Broad clough - now very wet

Some bits are just unrideable in the mud - unless your name is Nick Craig.

Notice the reservoir at the bottom of the climb. It was absolutely brimming.

 At the shooting cabin - the track was more like a river by this stage.

 Next stage was across and down to Carr Meadow.
Note the 'Do not trespass' sign. It was on these hills that the famous Mass trespass of Kinder occurred in 1932
which eventually led to the Countryside and rights of way act 2000

Famous plaque at Bowden Bridge car park Hayfield

This is normally a gentle little stream that we ride across. 

We all chickened out on this occasion.

and used the bridge.

At this stage the lads had had enough and peeled off home. I decided to carry on and ride the steep climb up to Matley moor. The rain was horrendous and so was the climb. It's a nasty long hill that doesn't give up.  I've no pictures as the rain was so bad I feared for my camera and left it in my pocket. From the top of Matley moor I carried on along the flanks of Lantern Pike and headed home.

Map of area we covered (double click to enlarge)

Needless to say, we were all glad to get home and dry. Riding in this sort of weather is ok as long as you can stay warm. You are always going to get very wet. It's a case of keeping moving so your core doesn't get cold. There is nothing worse than being cold when you are wet. Things can quickly turn nasty and hypothermia can set in very easily. The correct kit is vital for safety.

   

Kinders' 2000foot Plateau - the wind is so strong sometimes the waterfall goes up

I was chatting to one of the Kinder Mountain rescue chaps the other day. Some of the stories he was telling me were unbelievable. Incidents where people have gone onto Kinder Scout and the surrounding hills in jeans and a summer jacket in similar weather to our ride day. Kinder is a mountain and it can really bite. We regularly get the RAF rescue helicopter scrambled when the weather is bad.