Training session No 1 - Peak District 12 Jan 08

On a cold January morning (when I should still have been in bed) 4 of us met in the car park at Minorplanet Headquarters, Leeds to load up the car with 4 bikes and 4 tired looking riders, Pete, Elliot, Adam and Mark.

3 other riders, Justin, Marc and John had already set off from Bristol for the rendezvous at Hope some 2 hours before but still managed to arrive almost 2 hours late for the meeting time of 09:30.
Once everyone had arrived at the quaint and cold village of Hope in the Peak District and prepared for the ride, which included bacon butties and a pint of tea at the Woodbine Cafe for the Leeds mob, the first training session for the challenge commenced. Following Marc's GPS we left the village, erm, that way.


After the first hill had been negotiated everyone was certainly warmed up, which was preceded by an extreme downhill section producing smiles all round. But oh boy was the next hill a climb and a half. "Don't worry chaps" called Marc, "just another 57 waypoints to go!" But the icey puddles (ok small lakes) and the smattering of snow along with the threatening hypothermia if you stood still long enough to get your breath back, could not dampen morale.

The remainder of the ride that took us to dusk, consisted of inclines that only goats could negotiate, followed by rocky descents that occasionally required ropes, oh and of course the mud. I dont care what anyone says, mud can be very hard to negotiate and could have anyone over the handlebars and into a Gorse bush, but all in all and enjoyable day, which you will hopefully see from the selection of photos.Bring on session No 2!
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HOW STEEP??







HA HA NOT FUNNY!