Friday, December 27, 2013

Rapha #festive500 Part 3.

This was the forecast for todays ride.



Minipips was ready for whatever the weather was going to throw at us.


The forecast proved itself quite accurate from the off. I struggled to get my car door open without losing a limb in the process.

We had elected to head straight into the wind on the first part of our ride.

Only a few miles down the trail, and we encountered the first of the winds victims.


Trees were not the only things that got blown over. Both of us on more than one occasion got whisked off our wheels. After the first couple of times it caused much amusement.

The railway embankments were the worse for this, and we elected on a couple of these to push our bikes across rather than go airborne off the leeward side.

At Ashbourne we stopped for a snack, hoping we'd then get blown back up North.


Unfortunataly for the most part, the wind had other thoughts. Including one particular phenomenon, that saw us travelling 20 miles an hour, then 4 miles an hour whilst heading in exactly the same direction on the same bit of trail.

32 miles done we stopped for lunch in an old workers hut. The wind howled outside as we drank our tea and ate our food. We were 7 miles from the car, and it would have been easy to call it a day.


Instead we headed South again. Back into the wind.

We were getting reasonably competent at staying upright on the bike now. The wind was turning out to be quite good fun.

That sign below that Minipips is looking at starts out "Dream of Noise....". There was no need to dream. At times we struggled to hear what the other was saying over the wind.


Just South of Tissington we turned round to head back to the car.

Minipips caned it on the way back substantially lifting our days average mph.

What a brilliant day!

56.5 miles today. 257/500 Kilometres of the #festive500 done with 4 days to go.



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