tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54745696560713132912024-02-19T06:50:53.251+00:00Minipips and his Dad's Cycling AdventuresA Son and Father's adventures on their bicycles, fueled by a son's enthusiasm for cycling. Where are we going next daddy?Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-56006110947188762172019-09-23T12:19:00.000+01:002020-03-09T23:43:29.687+00:00Tour Divide Part 3Sheesh, we were nearly there, 125 miles to go. We rode into Silver City rich in many ways but not in food or water. The last couple of days had been borderline for sustenance. We were tired, thirsty and hungry.<br />
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The afternoon weather forecast was looking dodgy, and that was fine with me. All I wanted for the rest of the day was to eat food. <br />
By 1pm we had a hotel room and directions for some food downtown. <br />
The food was good in the restaurant. We tried to ignore the downpour outside. </div>
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Tom was adamant that tomorrow we’d ride the remaining 125 miles in one day, and of course, I’m up for it if Tom is.<br />
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We have the laziest of starts to the day though and arrive in Hachita, 45 miles from the end of the route around 5pm. There is a store there owned by Geoff who informs us that Jefferey who runs a Divide taxi service is on his way to see us.<br />
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We drink coffee, coke and chat to Geoff who’s had a go at riding the Divide. We also chat with the border police who ask if we are going to ride to the border tonight.<br />
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I’m all for swerving a late night, but Tom says we’ll be fine. The border guards warn us of illegals.<br />
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Lightning to the right of us and lightning to the left as we head South. Snakes in the road too. </div>
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My lights kept on cutting out. We manage with just Tom’s light. <br />
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Tired, but so happy. There was nothing that could stop us that evening.<br />
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Every now and then Tom would grab my attention and we’d fist pump like the cool kids or hold each other’s hands like the old people do.<br />
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We rolled up to the border gates around 10 pm. some 32 days after leaving Banff. A lovely warm evening and no one else around. I took some pictures. We then waited for our lift back to Hachita. We waited a good while, but our time there seemed not long enough considering the time it had taken to get there.<br />
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We’ve been on a special journey in the last 9 years since Tom’s first big ride of 35 miles at the age of 5. As we finish the Tour Divide our cycle odometer clocks 22,000 miles of rides that we’ve ridden together. <br />
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Tom has achieved so much with a seemingly endless quest to ride that bit further, but at the Mexican border for that moment we are content.</div>
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“My work here is done.”</div>
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We'll be riding the Strathpuffer 24 as a pair in January and We are going to race each other at the MegAvalanche in July!<br />
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Look out for a book that tells some of our tales which will be published by <a href="https://www.littlepeak.co.uk/">Little Peak Press</a> next year.</div>
Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-65881239717023338552019-09-20T20:55:00.001+01:002019-09-20T20:55:45.971+01:00Tour Divide part 2.<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-d9eb697e-7fff-cb1d-b48e-98e10aa82ee5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2019/09/tour-divide-part-1.html" target="_blank">In part one of our Tour Divide write up</a> I mentioned something that nearly put an end to our aspirations to finish the ride. Here’s part two. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After Tom’s blip in motivation, he committed to finishing the Divide. This in some ways put some extra pressure on me. I’m 53 and was suffering with saddle sores, and knees that took it in turns to hurt lots. I’d always thought of myself as the weak link on these trips in the last couple of years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d developed a bit of a sniffle and cough, the sort of thing that if you were at home it would stay for a couple of days and then clear up. Riding for 12 plus hours a day though gave the body little time or resources to repair what would normally be a minor complaint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I tried to keep my ailment to myself though on a couple of occasions Tom asked if I was going to die as my coughing threatened to eject my lungs on to the road.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was trying to take it easy, though I was aware that our planned goal of 30 days was reliant on big days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we rode towards the Great Basin I was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe after having a coughing fit. Surely it would be better the following day though?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I wasn’t riding I was OK, but as soon as I started riding again I’d have to be careful not to breathe hard or I’d start coughing. A particularly annoying type of cough where there was never any product or resolution at the end of the cough, just an itchy throat that itched the coughing to continue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was trying to ignore my situation, but the reality was that I was not getting better but worse. I’ve taken my daughter to hospital a number of times when she was younger as she struggled for breath as an asthma sufferer. A responsible adult should take me to hospital. I was determined that we were going to finish this ride. A conflict of interest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Would my body let me finish this ride? Was I being foolish and putting my health at risk in pursuance of this goal? Maybe. I kept all this to myself though. Tom was motivated again to ride to the finish, though he would have advised the sensible thing, and that was to stop riding and go and see a doctor as would my family and friends who were following our trip. I kept on riding though. Tom and I had a deal, and I was doing my best to keep to my end of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was struggling on the hills with my shortness of breath for sure, but on one particular afternoon the route was flat. Great? Yes, but there was a killer head wind which whipped up loads of dust. That combination of wind and dust and I was really struggling to breathe. I was also having dizzy spells. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn’t want to wreck our dream of finishing the Divide, but I also knew that I was not getting better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I made it to the next town Salida without resorting to having to press the SOS button on our satelIite tracker I was going to have to find a doctor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we rolled down the hill to Salida we were greeted by Brian Steele and Jacqueline (Billy Rice’s Mum) I was struggling to talk properly to them my throat was so sore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The following morning instead of jumping on our bikes and heading for the hills, first we had a sleep in. Tom liked that. Then we headed for the Medical Centre. The doctor after various tests decided that I had a lung thingy called pneumonitis. He explained the most effective treatment was at least a week of rest. I explained that this was a less than ideal treatment as we were riding to the Mexican border. He told me he was used to awkward patients and that he may be able to prescribe some medicine that may assist in my recovery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20 minutes on a machine inhaling salbutamol followed by a course of tablets and an inhaler to go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was happy that the diagnosis wasn’t anything more serious, though I was told that if I wasn’t better within 5 days that I must find another doctor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We left Salida some time after midday in the direction of Marshall Pass one of the big climbs of the Divide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The wind was in our faces again so we were pleased to see somewhere to stop for a drink, though only a few miles out of town. At the Elevation Brewery at Poncho Springs we stopped, relaxed and enjoyed the company of the staff and customers, and yes we had a few drinks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was beyond relieved that we were going to be able to continue our ride, but urgency beyond making sure we made it to Antelope Wells in time to get a flight home was waning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">That evening</span> we made it over Marshall Pass and onto Sargents, a half day riding but definetely a day of progress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Onwards.</span><br />
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Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-16260250043878491302019-09-17T16:09:00.000+01:002019-09-17T16:21:53.512+01:00Tour Divide Part 1.<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-5a5c71e9-7fff-9066-0032-adcd0644ce6a" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s part one of what occurred on this summer’s big ride, t</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 19pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he Tour Divide.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 19pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A bike ride we’ve been talking about doing for a number of years. 2745 miles in distance, it starts in Banff, Canada and zigzags it’s way South along the Continental Divide to Antelope Wells on the Mexican border.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tom (14) and I got on our Sonder Broken Roads and over 32 days (with none off for good behaviour) rode it all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I guess you are thinking, “Wow that’s amazing” which of course as an achievement, is just that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, “How was the ride, the pictures looked amazing?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tom and I have ridden a long way together over the last few years. Before we left for Canada, Tom had under his belt around 19,000 miles. Lots of 100 mile days, 24 hour races, a 200 mile ride, several multi day bikepacking trips. We felt ready and suitably experienced for the Tour Divide. In some ways, all those miles we’d previously ridden were training for this, the big one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We had an aim high goal of completing the route inside 25 days, with a fall back position of 30 days. Whilst I thought 25 days was going to be tough, I thought we’d easily make it inside 30 days presuming nothing much went wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were ambitious and confident before we started. Getting to the end was going to happen. I say that because Tom and I have always had a pact that if we start a ride, we will finish it. There are rides that we’ve talked about and not started, but the only reasons we’ve not finished rides which we’ve started are due to becoming physically ill. We might be determined, but sometimes our bodies have other plans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We rocked up to the start in Banff with some nerves though. Would we be struck by lightning, eaten by bears, crash out or get unlucky in some other way? Too many possibilities, most of which would be dictated by luck or chance. Best get on our bikes then and not worry about that which we’ve no way of controlling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once on our bikes, we fell into a familiar rhythm of riding our bikes, sourcing and eating food, and of course, sleeping. Business as usual.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is no exaggeration to say that the landscape that unfolded was amazing. Big mountains, big forests, and so much wildlife. On the first day we saw a black bear, the first of three we saw. There were loads of other birds and animals, and I mean loads. We felt so lucky to see such things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The way it usually goes on big trips is this. Day one, a sense of awe, elation and a lack of fatigue. Day 2 tiredness and maybe a niggle or two make themselves apparent. Day 3 is often a crux. Not enough food eaten on the preceding days, the makings of an injury maybe, or the most common one, gone out too hard too soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We knew these things, we’d done this before. We made it through the first few days OK.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The towns and villages we went through had the friendliest and most helpful people, the food was better than we’d hoped for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recall posting a picture on Instagram around the 700 mile mark. Tom looked happy and strong if a little dirty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy days. Truly living the dream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ride, eat, sleep, repeat. We’d got this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m done with this. My feet hurt, my hands hurt and I am tired” Tom had stopped at the side of the trail and was sat down unlacing his shoes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No problem Tom, let's have a look at your shoes, maybe it’s your cleat position. Are your laces too tight?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s get you some gloves at the next town.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are tired, let's have an early night and maybe a lie in tomorrow.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rapid fire answers which I’d hoped would staunch Tom’s sudden flood of negativity. Answers that would normally tick the boxes to get Tom back on his bike and riding again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, I received a look that truly said Tom was done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There have been a number of people who have said “Enjoy your time cycling with your son as one day it will be over. Tom will grow up and become a man who makes his own decisions. Decisions that have to be respected.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tom's a strong rider, there were never complaints, he was always the one who was happy to ride that bit further, but now he was the one who wanted to stop riding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was shocked and confused.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I guess if we were in a town, then that could have been the end of it. Home time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many years ago, on a ride, we were in the middle of nowhere and Tom wanted to bail, the only problem was there was no easy way out other than to continue our journey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I said the same words I said back then, “Tom get on your bike. We can't stay here.” That was a fact. He definitely wasn’t happy, but we both knew that we needed to ride somewhere other than a clearing in a forest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I talk about various things as we start riding again. All I want to do is draw Tom from the darkness which I hoped had only temporarily ensnared him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The conversation ebbed and flowed before settling on guitars. Tom tells me of his dream guitar, blue starburst maple, humbucker pickups and many other details. Tom’s eyes have regained their usual sparkle and he can see some good in the world again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later that day we discuss our Tour Divide ride again and decide that we’ll both do our best to finish the route and accept that it may not all be fun fun fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.999999999999996pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you make it to the end you’ll have achieved something that few have. Plus you’ll never need to do again.”</span><br />
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Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-83749260799711255742019-07-23T22:33:00.000+01:002019-07-23T22:33:12.795+01:00Tour Divide 2019 Gear ListSo, after years of thinking about riding the Tour Divide, our bags are packed and we are ready to ride.<br />
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The bikes we are riding are <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Sonder Bikes</a> Broken Roads on <a href="https://www.hopetech.com/products/wheels/" target="_blank">Hope 29er Hoops</a>. Tom's is a small, and mine is a medium.<br />
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Both bikes are equipped with <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/bikepacking" target="_blank">Alpkit bikepacking luggage.</a><br />
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Matt Tomlinson from Alpkit came along yesterday and took these great shots of our bikes, and the kit grids below.<br />
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I think we've packed cloth wise for some grim weather, which hopefully means that it will be baking hot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom's Broken Road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich's Broken Road<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tom is taking a Six Moon designs Lunar Solo with a <a href="https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop/?product=custom-length-carbon-poles" target="_blank">Bear Bones Carbon Pole</a>. Klymit mat, <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/" target="_blank">Alpkit</a> Pipedream 200 sleeping bag. <a href="https://findraclothing.com/" target="_blank">Findra</a> merino baselayer and some undies to sleep in. 2 pairs of <a href="https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/" target="_blank">Rapha</a> flyweight bib shorts. Rapha SS jersey. Rapha Arm warmers. Rapha Knee warmers. Rapha insulated gilet. Rapha Merino beanie. Alpkit Morphosis Jacket, Alpkit Filoment hoody down jacket. Alpkit Balance waterproof. Alpkit Pola Gloves. Supernova USB port and dynamo lights. </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 Zendure thru charging batteries. Garmin Dakota. USB cables. Hiplok. Spare pads, chainlink. Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite tool. </span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Park Tyre Boot, </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Love Mud Pump. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sealant, Tube</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Sawn off toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitising gel, sun cream, antihistamine, Immodium, Chapstick. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">500ml bottle, 2 litre bladder and water filter.</span></span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;"> Assos Chamois Cream.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-iXXKfCo7d-eQw-MMUDmalaIT5DAEWvZsHE4tJQMttofCE5H-ekjSADIHZknV_X5Q-9t5VJ3vDb4S2IZWbKi5_6ZmO8Pfw8YE0A6clJiZJZo8nZCLO2emge9PNswf4A-YQmnJkjALjw/s1600/_DSC2248+%2528low+res%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-iXXKfCo7d-eQw-MMUDmalaIT5DAEWvZsHE4tJQMttofCE5H-ekjSADIHZknV_X5Q-9t5VJ3vDb4S2IZWbKi5_6ZmO8Pfw8YE0A6clJiZJZo8nZCLO2emge9PNswf4A-YQmnJkjALjw/s640/_DSC2248+%2528low+res%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom's Kit Grd</td></tr>
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</div>
</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rich is taking a Zpacks Solplex with <a href="https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/shop/?product=custom-length-carbon-poles" target="_blank">Bear Bones Carbon Poles</a>. Klymit mat, <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/" target="_blank">Alpkit</a> Pipedream 200 sleeping bag. <a href="https://findraclothing.com/" target="_blank">Findra</a> merino baselayer and some undies to sleep in. 2 pairs of<a href="https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/" target="_blank"> Rapha</a> flyweight bib shorts. Rapha Brevet jersey. Rapha Arm warmers. Rapha Knee warmers. Rapha insulated gilet. Rapha Merino beanie. Rapha Brevet Insulated Jacket, Rapha Classic Mitts. Alpkit Filoment hoody down jacket. Alpkit Balance waterproof. Alpkit Pola Gloves. Supernova USB port and dynamo lights. </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 Zendure thru charging batteries. Garmin Oregon. USB cables. Delorme Inreach SE tracker. Sony RX100 Mk3 camera Hiplok. Spare pads, chainlink, Park Tyre Boot, Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite tool. Topeak Pump. Sealant, Tube, Sawn off toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitising gel, chapstick, sun cream, antihistamine, Immodium, Assos Chamois Cream. 500ml bottle, 2 litre bladder and water filter. Comb for my beard!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2R_oAPZVY8OKObH4AvCiHVNRo5fdMe2KkYvlVaoRpLn5ER1uaiBe9NwXlN6Mebo65AciSKe1S3mAYjbSa_zL7U3gDnLWHBnl0wW-IhmNfeR_koy3q45WKYB6qWEfl-5-zGuNICJl5woE/s1600/_DSC2266+%2528low+res%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2R_oAPZVY8OKObH4AvCiHVNRo5fdMe2KkYvlVaoRpLn5ER1uaiBe9NwXlN6Mebo65AciSKe1S3mAYjbSa_zL7U3gDnLWHBnl0wW-IhmNfeR_koy3q45WKYB6qWEfl-5-zGuNICJl5woE/s640/_DSC2266+%2528low+res%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich's Kit Grid.</td></tr>
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-57876468325987290882019-07-08T13:38:00.001+01:002019-07-08T14:07:26.163+01:00Jenn Ride 100 2019As usual, we've a list of rides that we are planning on doing this year and the Jenn Ride 100 was one of them. I had to miss out on our previous big ride a couple of weeks ago due to an injury.<br />
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Easily done, a slip off a path, and a badly sprained ankle. Bruising that covered most of my foot, and extended a good way up my shin. Very painful for the first few days to walk on.<br />
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Still, with some bruising two weeks later I didn't know how my ankle would fare over 100 Lakeland off-road miles. Though I did need to know, as we fly out to ride the 2745 mile Tour Divide in just under three weeks.<br />
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Friday evening we arrived at Staveley in time to catch up with lots of friends, and to hear some talks on other backpacking exploits.<br />
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A leisurely start on the Saturday morning, and we were away. A warm-up spin took us to the Windemere ferry.<br />
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Then followed miles of trails, some that we knew, and some that we didn't.<br />
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As you can see, we could not have asked for better weather.<br />
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We stopped at most of the resupply points as we only carried an emergency bag of haribo each. That gave us a nice excuse to stop and chat and catch up with friends.<br />
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At Seathwaite we decided that we'd continue towards Wastwater on the 100 mile route, rather than opt for the 70. Our aim being to get to Nether Wasdale for supper before riding a few miles further.<br />
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This descent down Miterdale was a real belter though I may have fallen off once, Tom nailed it without stopping on his <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/sonder-broken-road" target="_blank">Sonder Broken Road</a> (much steeper than it looks).<br />
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After supper, at The Screes, we headed up Wasdale in search of a bed for the night.<br />
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The valley was rampant with bitey things so we headed up high to pitch our tents near Burnmoor Tarn.<br />
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Up at 7:30, and away for 8:00 the following morning. An uneventful descent down to Eskdale to find breakfast, except eagle eyed Tom spotting this adder.<br />
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Out of Eskdale there was an up and over which took us back to Seathwaite.<br />
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Next came the big climb of the route, the Walna Scar road. Lots of pushing with not much riding sums it up.<br />
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Then came, a hoot of a descent down to Coniston to grab a toasted sandwich for lunch.<br />
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We got a bit lost, but not really lost on the next section, taking a wrong turn, but on to trails we knew hence our mistake. No worries though, we knew our way to Ambleside.<br />
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The guys at <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/" target="_blank">Alpkit</a> at Ambleside had put on a great feed station outside their shop. Thanks, Sam, Lucy and Viri.<br />
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Then it was just a matter of a few lumpy bits to take us back to Staveley where we had started the ride.<br />
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A big thanks to Rich Munro for once again putting on a great event.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-86543983666531796852019-06-04T21:34:00.000+01:002019-06-05T00:43:12.175+01:00A French and Belgian Half Term Bike Ride.As we approached Tom's half term at the end of May our plans were shall we say fluid. Sonder Bikes had recently sorted us out with a couple of <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/sonder-broken-road" target="_blank">Broken Road bikes</a> which we are going to take to ride the Tour Divide later in the year. So we decided to head over the Channel and do some riding in Belgium and France to see if our set ups needed tweeking..<br />
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<br />
We worked out that it was as easy and near the same cost as driving to get the train to Dover, and then the ferry across with the bikes (£200 for the two of us).<br />
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We left New Mills just after 9:00 and arrived 19:00 in Dunkerque. We rode then along the coast to Bray Dunes where the French Divide route starts.<br />
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Our vague plan was to follow the FD route South then either reverse our route or head further South and get a train back for the ferry home.<br />
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<br />
We rode for a couple of hours and just before dark we put up our tents in the corner of a field and had a good night's sleep.<br />
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This was the first time we'd ridden the bikes any distance and my first job of the following day at 6:30 was to lift my saddle a few mm. I raised the saddle. I must have overtightened the seat clamp's bolt as the head sheared off.<br />
<br />
This was a major problem especially as I had a seat pack that was to be attached to the saddle.<br />
We'd brought some cable ties and with a few wrapped around the seatpost it temporarily stopped the saddle sliding down. Though it didn't stop the seat swaying from side to side.<br />
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The nearest reasonable size town was Ypres, and we headed there hoping for a solution to my problem.<br />
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It was Sunday, and in Belgium, bike shops are not open, but just maybe we'd have some luck.<br />
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We rode around the town with no success. Tom spotted a place called the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fietsbelevingscenter/" target="_blank">Biking Bar</a> which seemed like a good place to ask for advice.<br />
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The customers and the lady who worked there were all very helpful, and whilst there was definitely no bike shop open in the vicinity, they told us of a nearby hardware shop that sold "everything".<br />
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Some 3km out of Ypres and we found the hardware shop. It was massive, and it took the two of us a while to search out some possible solution.<br />
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A bit of lateral thinking and we seemed to have a fix. Two clips to try and crimp the seat tube, and a 3rd smaller one to grip onto the seat post. It seemed to work, but we bought another set just in case.<br />
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We'd sort of resigned ourselves to having to wait for a bike shop to open on Monday, so this was a win, though we were mindful we'd lost several hours of riding time. It seemed right that we should just enjoy the riding for the rest of the day without any particular urgency.<br />
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Below we stopped to buy some apples from the fresh produce vending machine.<br />
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We rejoined the French Divide route for a while, and the sun came out.<br />
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We ended the day on the Arenberg and camped nearby. We'd managed 130 km over the course of the day, which was more than we hoped for given my earlier misfortune.<br />
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Next morning we decided we'd head East rather than continue South for no other reason than we could.<br />
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Some busyish roads then a canal for several km. Most of which was into a headwind.<br />
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Come mid-afternoon my patience with the wind had lapsed and we headed back onto quiet roads which took us to a campsite for that night.<br />
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The weather the next day was grim, and we didn't have much wet weather gear, so we spent the day dodging rain showers and hanging out in cafes.<br />
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The weather improved in the evening, and we took advantage to eat our supper out in the open.<br />
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Next day we continued towards the sea.<br />
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<br />
A quick look at the beach turned into an exploration of the coastline. The wide and windy sandy beach went on for miles.<br />
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So much fun.<br />
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That is until we headed back towards the shore to find our way barred by a deep river.<br />
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We didn't exactly retrace our steps which was in hindsight a mistake, as instead, we encountered a load of gloopy estuary sediment.<br />
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<br />
A super fun day, which was only slightly tempered by us both getting a bit of sunburn.<br />
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The next couple of days we did as much sightseeing as we did riding.<br />
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Staying close to the coast.<br />
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On our last full days riding we headed back towards Dunkerque.<br />
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It was an absolute scorcher.<br />
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We covered around 700 Km over the week. Originally the plan was to do nearer twice that, but we settled for having a holiday where we rode our bikes a bit.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-62699251229549514472019-04-02T10:49:00.000+01:002019-04-02T11:04:49.523+01:00A Hill in Holland.Tom and I had done a couple of Everesting rides before. Each one either of us has done in the past has been in a different country. So whilst planning another such ride, a new country was needed.<br />
Holland has a few hills in the South of the country, and we decided that we would attempt an Everesting ride on one of these hills, the Eyserbosweg.<br />
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The ride had to be fitted in around school and work, so we were limited for time. We left the Peak District at midday on Friday, and we drove to Dover to take the ferry to Dunkerque. Our friend Gunther who lives an hour away from the ferry port in Belgium had offered us a settee to sleep on. After a beer and a quick chat, we settled down for a few hours sleep.<br />
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The Eyserbosweg was still a good two hours drive, so we were up just before 6am and away by 6:30.<br />
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The drive down the previous day and not enough sleep led to me stopping after an hour to have another nap. We hadn't started riding, and already I was tired.<br />
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We parked the car up on the hill, got changed and after a couple of last minute bike adjustments, we were ready to start riding.<br />
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The hill starts on the edge of a village which it soon leaves, heading for open country.<br />
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The mast is atop the hill marks the end of the climb. 86 metres at an average of 9%. We needed to ride 103 ascents.<br />
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We aimed to be a lot more disciplined on this ride to minimise the faffing time unlike when we <a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/08/everesting-kemmelberg.html" target="_blank">everested the Kemmelberg</a>, stopping every 5 reps.<br />
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The riding was easy though this was a busy road. There was more motorised traffic than we'd expected, but it was the quantity of cyclists that amazed us. This hill is obviously a must do for the local rider.<br />
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The first few reps passed quickly.<br />
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The weather was fantastic, and we'd soon done 40 reps.<br />
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I was feeling far more tired than I should have been at this stage, but I just kept on plodding up the hill as Tom was feeling great.<br />
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As the day went on the cyclists and cars became less frequent. As the sun began to set we rode a little further on to watch the spectacle.<br />
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As we descended the hill I started shivering. So much so that Tom thought I was going to fall of my bike. I felt sick, cold and very very tired. As we rode up the next rep Tom asked me if I was OK, to which I replied not really.<br />
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We kept on riding for another 4 reps whilst we discussed our options. I knew I could battle on, but I also knew that we had several hours riding ahead of us. I wasn't well, and knew that I could end up making myself really ill if I continued. Also of consideration was that I had 500 miles to drive to get back home. The only thing to decide then was if Tom was going to finish on his own. Tom decided that if I wasn't going to finish then neither was he.<br />
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So after 54 reps we decided to call it a day. Not a rushed decision, and one made for the right reasons.<br />
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A solid 10 hours sleep in the back of the car. Then we started the journey back to the UK.<br />
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We stopped at Gunthers girlfriend's on the way back for homemade Belgian waffles and a beer.<br />
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Then we lucked out and got an earlier ferry than we'd booked on. An uneventful drive, and we were back home just before midnight.<br />
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Not the outcome we'd hoped for with the Everesting ride, but I'm happy that we made the right decision on the day. As I type this I'm coughing and spluttering, but no doubt I'll be better soon.<br />
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Thanks Gunther for looking after us!<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-8874324131076245952019-01-02T23:58:00.000+00:002019-01-03T01:03:06.818+00:00Quality not quantity in 2018.2018 we've done some great stuff, but not the quantity of cycling that we've done in previous years.<br />
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Distance is of course a measure, but as I look back I reckon we've had a really good year that can't be quantified just by the miles.<br />
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Tom has spent more time with his friends after school and at the weekends, and I've been working more. There hasn't been the time to fit in some of the shorter rides we'd normally do.<br />
Still we've tried to fit some stuff in.<br />
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Stats -<br />
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2018 <span style="color: red;">3500</span> Km<br />
2017 <span style="color: blue;">8000</span> Km<br />
2016<span style="color: blue;"> 8200</span> Km<br />
2015 <span style="color: blue;">5800</span> Km<br />
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Strathpuffer in January, where once again we had a good ride. His first no sleep 24.<br />
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Followed by little riding until another successful<a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-index.html" target="_blank"> Highland Trail 550</a> ride in May. Tom's 2nd completion, and this time he carried all his own food tent etc.<br />
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No big trip in the summer this year, but instead a fun ride out to <a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/07/home-2-sea-2-home.html" target="_blank">St Davids in Wales</a> and back via a scenic Sustrans route over a few days.<br />
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A few trips to Belgium, one where we <a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/08/everesting-kemmelberg.html" target="_blank">Everested the Kemmelberg</a> and due to my poor planning climbed over 10,000 metres , another where we got very wet at the <a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/09/ghistele-epic-one-percenter-gravel-ride.html" target="_blank">Ghistelle Epic</a> , and one where we talked about our 2017 Tour de France trip.<br />
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Oh and of course the finale, a hilly 6th Rapha Festive 500 in Mallorca.<br />
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I have to say though that we've both had to dig deep a good few times.<br />
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Who would have thought that if you didn't ride your bike every week that it might hurt riding a bike all day or for a few days?<br />
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So looking forward, our 2019 plans so far.<br />
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We are riding in a team for the first time at Strathpuffer instead of solo. with some other fellow Alpkiteers.<br />
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Kielder Chiller 24 as a pair.<br />
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Another Everesting challenge during Summer half term.<br />
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#jennride in the Lakes in early July, then the Tour Divide starting late July .........<br />
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Best wishes for the New Year and thanks to our sponsors for their support!<br />
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Any fun rides you know of before July, let us know.<br />
<br />
Rich and Tom.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-11926704899364157112018-11-01T23:14:00.000+00:002018-11-01T23:14:57.300+00:00Badger Divide part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since Tom started this cycling thing in earnest, we've had a bit of a tradition of going on a trip at Autumn half term. The clocks have gone back, the days are shorter and the weather is more likely than not going to be cold, wet or both.</div>
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We could put our bikes away until the weather warms up and the days get long again, but that is not how we roll.</div>
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The vague plan for this year was to follow a route devised by Stu Allan that starts at Inverness and ends in Glasgow. We booked train tickets for there and back, and headed North.</div>
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Jenny Graham, messaged us to say lets meet up as we were in her city, and that is exactly what we did before we set out on our little ride. Lest you didn't know Jenny is just back from riding round the world in under 125 days. If Roy Castle was still around he'd have played her a tune on his trumpet.</div>
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A fine start to the day.</div>
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We left Inverness with no particular urgency, just a vague idea that Fort Augustus would be a good place to supper.<br />
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The morning mist soon cleared and the sun accentuated the autumn colours.<br />
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We came across a cafe in the woods after a couple of hours. An unusual place which did massive slices of cake which we didn't leave a crumb of realising that we'd neglected to pick up any supplies in Inverness before we left.<br />
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We were riding at a calorie slow burn pace, so I wasn't too worried. In fact we were too busy chatting to worry about food.<br />
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Once we made it to the Loch Ness we knew that Fort Augustus wasn't too far.<br />
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Fire roads for the most part, with the odd fun descents thrown in.<br />
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At Glenmoriston, we were running out of daylight, so opted to take the direct route along the road rather than the forest route which we'd ridden before.<br />
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At Fort Augustus, we spent some money on snacks for the next day before going to the "Pizza place" that Highland Trail 550 riders try to get to on day 1.<br />
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We were starving. Pots of tea, soup, and pasta filled us up though.<br />
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Then it was time to head up the hill. The Corrieyairack pass to be specific.<br />
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We'd not brought a tent, so there were two options for a dry bed. Tom voted for the nearest. We arrived just after 9pm, and were soon readying for bed.<br />
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Findra baselayers and Alpkit sleeping bags ensured a good nights sleep in sub zero temperatures.<br />
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A not particularly early start to the next day. But, hey Tom's on holiday.<br />
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It wasn't long before we were above the snow line.<br />
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October snows until the very top were no problem on the Sonder Frontiers.<br />
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<br />
Over the top.<br />
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Then down towards Laggan. We'd hoped to pick up some food hereabouts but the route passed nothing. We could have diverted but, Corrour station wasn't too much further.<br />
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The wind was proving to be more than an annoyance as we left Laggan, and the weather was definitely changing.<br />
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Not long after us reminiscing about the last time we rode over this beach, the rain came.<br />
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Waterproofs on, we took to the aero bars with our heads bowed. As the rain fell harder it started to get dark, and we turned our Exposure lights on.<br />
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Nearing the head of Loch Ossian we spied lights on at the Youth Hostel though we rode straight past though to Corrour Station for food. We ate our starters and warmed up a bit before riding back in the rain to the YHA for our Firepot meals and a great night's sleep.<br />
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Next morning, up early to catch the train back home.<br />
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I had to scrape my saddle of ice before we left. Brrrr.<br />
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As we arrived at the station we were pretty lucky to be so close to this fella.<br />
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A great trip. A relaxed few days up in Scotland. I don't think we made it half way on the Badger Divide, but the company was great.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-79164659422645054402018-09-24T21:32:00.000+01:002018-09-24T21:32:59.214+01:00Ghistele Epic One Percenter Gravel Ride.Epic is a word that means different things to different people. It's not a word I use generally, as for me it conjures up visions of literally hanging on to life by a thread.<br />
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So when an invite to the Ghistele Epic One Percenter turned up in my feed, a 222km ride in Belgium, I was initially interested though in a don't use the "Epic" word kinda way.<br />
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Reading the <a href="https://www.echatlon.com/#the-rules-of-the-ride-section" target="_blank">Rules</a> though suggested that Epic, maybe a word that was used tongue in cheek. You must wear a lumberjack shirt and sport a moustache were a couple of the rules that suggested that this was a ride that was going to be about fun rather than death or glory.<br />
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Buy tickets for the event, book ferry, ask for a day of school. Done.<br />
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Fast forward a few days, and then we begin weather watch in earnest. It was definteley going to be wet. One of the forecasts suggested 50mm of rain, but this screenshot below, taken the day before suggested things might not be so bad.<br />
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However, no matter which weather channel you looked at, the thought of camping after a big wet day out, did not appeal, so we booked a couple of nights in a hotel.`<br />
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Plenty of room for us and our <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Sonder</a> Ti Caminos.<br />
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An early start to register for the ride. Though coffee and pastries were supplied.<br />
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It was great chat to some of the other riders at the start. A group picture, then at 7am we rode.<br />
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The pace at the start was fairly mellow, as was the weather. Within the first hour though the only riders we were left in contact with were Ruben and Rik.<br />
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There were 4 checkpoints on the route, and here's Tom at the first.<br />
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At the checkpoint like at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkley_Marathons" target="_blank">Barkley Marathons</a> there is a book, from which you tear out the page that corresponds with your race number.<br />
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A witty title "Playmates".<br />
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It was raining, and though we saw a couple of signs saying it was 13 degrees C, it felt a lot colder.<br />
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Not playtime.<br />
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At around 80 km there was the first of two feed stations. A camper with a pullout canopy. The smiling crew were counterpointed by a guy stood there shivering, wrapped in a blanket, and the rain sheeting off the canopy. Hot soup, yes. Coffee, yes. Oh and gummy bears.<br />
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A warm van to get in to, a lift back to Gistel, these were thoughts in our minds.<br />
We did though, head back in to the rain.<br />
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An hour after the feed station and the heavy rain showed no sign of stopping. The route was a sort of "out and back" affair, and we weren't at the furthest point.<br />
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Puddles, and mud, the going had become slow.<br />
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I was cold, and we were both at least partially wet. Can you have an Epic in Belgium? We had the makings of one.<br />
We left a message with the organisers.<br />
We were diverting and riding back to the start on the road.<br />
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The sun made a brief appearance winking at us to berate our decision to turn back, then the rain returned.<br />
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Rain now accompanied by a strong block wind.<br />
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As we rode the last few Km in we formulated a hasty plan for getting the bikes stowed and ourselves into a hot shower.<br />
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143km done. Oof.<br />
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Later that evening we met up with our fellow One Percenters for a beer though.<br />
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Apparently we missed the best part of the course, including the <a href="https://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/08/everesting-kemmelberg.html" target="_blank">Kemmelberg</a>.<br />
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Maybe next year, though only if it isn't going to rain.<br />
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A ride put together by witty passionate bike riders.<br />
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Thanks.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-55247760856808448202018-08-22T12:37:00.001+01:002018-08-22T12:46:05.992+01:00Everesting the Kemmelberg.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last couple of summers we've been on long multi week bike rides, but this summer we've had other things on. So nearing the end of Tom's school holidays we were both itching to do something of magnitude.<br />
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We were heading over to the North of France for a few days. As we were away with the girls, we were good to disappear for about one day, and originally Tom had suggested that we revisit the Paris Roubaix cobbles.<br />
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The talk of cobbles moved over the border to the Belgian 'bergs. I told Tom about the Tour of Flanders cobbles I'd ridden, and Tom reminisced about the time we rode up the Kemmelberg on the <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Sonder Bikes</a> Tandem back on our <a href="http://www.frenchdivide.com/en/" target="_blank">French Divide</a> trip in 2016.<br />
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Tom joked that we could "Everest" one of the 'bergs, which to be honest I thought was crazy idea. Riding up any of these hills once would not be a problem for us, though Everesting one?<br />
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Simon Warren of <a href="https://www.100climbs.co.uk/books" target="_blank">100 climbs books</a> fame, has also written a book Hellingen, that lists 100 climbs in Belgium. We had a flick through the book and shortlisted 5 climbs to go and have a look at.<br />
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We took an overnight ferry to Dunkirk to arrive early but with not a lot of sleep. The plan was to find a climb on Day 1, ride it on Day 2, and on the 3rd evening of our holiday, meet up with some friends near Antwerp for a drink.<br />
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The nearest climb to Dunkirk is the Kemmelberg and that is where we went first.<br />
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The Kemmelberg is the highest hill in the West Flanders region. An important vantage point during the first world war. The memorial at the top (the Angel) is to the fallen French Soldiers in the 1914-18 war. At the foot of the Western cobbles is an ossuary containing the remains of 5294 soldiers only 57 of whom are named. A hill with history.<br />
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We arrived mid morning, and walked up from the East passing the now empty restaurant Belvedere on the way to the Angel. We then walked over the top to the West.</div>
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The West side though steeper in parts looked to be a better option. We left and went to put up the tent at a nearby campsite. We returned later to ride both sides, and our initial thoughts were confirmed.</div>
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We had a plan.</div>
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Just before 8:30 the following day, we parked the car at the top of the hill.</div>
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We were both riding <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/sonder-colibri" target="_blank">Sonder Colibri bikes</a>. Lightweight carbon frame and forks that would be appreciated on the ups, and disc brakes to control the steep rough descents.</div>
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At 8:30 we were at the bottom, and the GPS commenced recording.<br />
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From the road junction where we started the road rose gradually from a gradient of 6%. Heading through the trees the gradient starts to steepen.<br />
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Then the gradient steepens further and the cobbles begin.<br />
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Then the gradient keeps climbing to over 22%. There is no easy line.<br />
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It's not a busy place, but there are walkers, fellow cyclists and cars to avoid at times.<br />
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Tom and I have both done Everesting rides before, but this is a whole new level of hard.<br />
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The plan was ride 5 climbs and then stop to mark the sheet at the car and eat some food.<br />
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Below, Tom grabbing some food after climb number 40.<br />
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Neither of us had ridden the bikes before the previous day, but they were proving great for our crazy little ride.<br />
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Late afternoon we were greeted by an Instagram follower from Lille, Pascal, who rode a lap with us before bidding us good luck for the rest of our ride.<br />
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A short while later whilst grabbing something from the car we saw Kristof ride by. He'd ridden over to see us, and had brought some Twix bars, and Tom's favourite, some Coca Cola. It was good to hear Kristof tell of his double Everest tactics, that is, it wasn't even planned. He just kept on riding.<br />
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As the daylight dwindled, so did the number of people.<br />
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We were alone.<br />
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Then as we climbed our 67th climb, Gunther, another friend turned up at the top of the climb. He'd also ridden over to greet us. Again he rode a lap with us, we chatted and then he rode home.<br />
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A little later one of the local residents came out with a bottle of coke for us, and the question.... "How many times are you riding up and down our hill?" I answered 137.<br />
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He said someone once rode 79 circuits of the hill I asked why 79. He answered "That's all he could do."<br />
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Around climb 80 it came, the thing that we dread on these rides, the lust for sleep.<br />
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We nearly collided once on the way up, a moments inattention, or maybe sleep.<br />
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We'd stop, eat, drink more coke to try and shake the sleepmonsters. We'd then shiver uncontrollably as we rode back down the hill into the cold night air.<br />
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Even though we were past half way I was unsure if we'd get to the end.<br />
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Tom was tired, and I was tired too.<br />
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We'd sit in the car for a rest and set the alarm for 5 minutes on repeat, to make sure we didn't fall asleep.<br />
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If only morning would come sooner. We knew with daylight came salvation. We just had to keep trying.<br />
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So after the longest night on a bike ever, dawn came, and like magic, and nearly like we'd had a nights sleep, the want to sleep left us.<br />
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6ish in the morning, and Alan Goldsmith, Mike Toyne and Steve Heading called by to cheers us on. Thanks.<br />
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Not long after, the guy who'd brought us out coke the night before, made us some coffee.<br />
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27 hours in and we are back up to speed. Below Tom on the 22% section of the climb.<br />
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What was really cool in the morning was that Kristof turned up again with more snacks, Coke and encouragement. Star!<br />
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Then the girls brought us drinks, pastries and sandwiches.<br />
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They then counted down the final 10 climbs with us......<br />
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.....which we savoured in the sun.<br />
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Job done.<br />
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Again a big thanks to my wife and d<span style="font-family: inherit;">aughter</span>, Pascal, Kristof Allegaert and Gunther Desmedt for your encouragement and snacks.<br />
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Postscript.<br />
<br />
I use a Garmin Dakota which needs a computer and cables to upload big rides like these.So I didn't get to upload this ride until 4 days after we'd finished it. There was always a little niggle at the back of my mind that maybe we'd not completed the 8848 metre target. Not exactly sleepless nights territory, but you get the idea.<br />
Early this morning when I arrived home I uploaded the ride and to my surprise I found out that we'd climbed a total of 10,034 metres.<br />
Tom says that this apparently makes us <a href="http://highrouleur.cc/the-rules/" target="_blank">High Rouleurs</a> ie. riding more than 10,000 metres in a single ride.<br />
Tom is very happy!<br />
The "oversight" was caused by me referencing a segment on Strava that was 9 metres shorter than the actual climb on my phone.<br />
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What do they say about poor planning?<br />
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Stats. 221.39 Km 10,034m Total time 31:18:55<br />
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Tom's Strava - <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1788941214" target="_blank">Everesting Kemmelberg.</a>Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-74259419278461691442018-07-30T17:59:00.000+01:002018-07-30T17:59:22.279+01:00Home 2 Sea 2 HomeTom's school holidays have started, and to celebrate the start, Tom wanted to do a big ride.<br />
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We picked a suitably distant destination, St Davids in Pembrokeshire, and let <a href="https://www.cyclestreets.net/" target="_blank">cyclestreets.net</a> work out a route. Cyclestreets has three options for route planning - fastest, balanced and quietest. We opted for balanced.<br />
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We left later than planned, but there was no rush. Above, we stopped for a bite to eat near Crewe.<br />
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Below the view from Long Mountain which straddles the England / Wales border.<br />
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Quiet roads, disused railway tracks and canal towpaths made up our route.<br />
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At Newtown we stopped for a chicken kebab.<br />
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As the sun was setting we stopped and put up the tents. 113 miles done.<br />
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Day 2 and it was drizzling. We packed up quickly and rode to Llanidloes where we stopped for a bite to eat at the Great Oak Cafe where we met Phill from <a href="https://www.mtb.wales/">mtb.wales</a>.<br />
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The first part of our ride through the Cheshire lanes was flat. In Wales though the terrain was distinctly lumpy.<br />
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At the bottom of the hill we sheltered from the rain to eat a snack.<br />
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At the Cwtch Cafe at <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pont-rhyd-y-groes we stopped for more food. The home made pizza was excellent.</span><br />
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We left stuffed, but a few hours and hills later we stopped at a chippy for chips.<br />
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Day 3 and we were woken by the sun on our tents. It was going to be another scorcher.<br />
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As I was getting ready I found a tick in my leg which the campsite owner kindly removed for me.
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We had a leisurely ride the last few miles to the seaside taking in the views.<br />
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Below Friend Wood's Tryane 2.<br />
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We spent the afternoon pottering around St. Davids, eating chips and ice cream.<br />
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That night we stayed at a campsite, and watched the sun setting over the sea.<br />
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Day 4, and it was time to head for home.<br />
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We changed a few bits of our route on the way back though. We followed Sustrans route 4 to Fishguard, and then the 82 to Aberteifi.<br />
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A refreshment spot on the way to Newport.<br />
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It's a good thing I had my <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/products/snapwire-spoon" target="_blank">Alpkit snapwire spoon</a> to hand for that afternoon's ice cream.<br />
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Yes, more chips.<br />
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As the sun started to fade and we started to look for somewhere to put the tents we found a bird hide for shelter instead.<br />
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Day 5 and after a brief route diversion that nearly took us to Aberystwyth we breakfasted at the Cwtch Cafe.<br />
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Above heading into Cwmystwyth.<br />
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Then back over this brute of a climb.<br />
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Another century ride which took us back into England.<br />
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Day 6 we woke in the corner of a field near Whitchurch.<br />
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The sun was mostly out, but best of all there was a strong south westerly wind which assisted us the last 50ish miles home.<br />
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The route that <a href="https://www.cyclestreets.net/" target="_blank">Cyclestreets </a>planned for us was excellent. Very little traffic for most of the route though it was quite hilly with 29,000' of climbing.<br />
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An excellent start to the holidays!<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-90758280280640485642018-06-06T18:15:00.001+01:002018-06-06T18:17:07.058+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 Index.This is the index page to our Highland Trail 550 trials and tribulations for 2018.<br />
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Tom's 1st group depart, and his 2nd completion. Tom is 13.<br />
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Each opens in a new window I think, and I've published them backwards so excepting the Intro page, if you start on Day 1, "older post" will take you to page 2 etc. Hopefully.<br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-2018-introduction.html">Intro.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-1.html" target="_blank">Day 1.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-2.html" target="_blank">Day 2.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-3.html" target="_blank">Day 3.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-4.html" target="_blank">Day 4.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-5.html" target="_blank">Day 5.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-6.html" target="_blank">Day 6.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-7.html" target="_blank">Day 7.</a><br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-day-8.html" target="_blank">Day 8.</a><br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-67719138895316258202018-06-06T18:04:00.006+01:002018-06-06T18:04:52.619+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 1 <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sR7LjhLm-WX7Cc3on2CXWtc3i2YEgcOuQIgyeH3J4JnfNVcpbHSqyuPWhpgDwlT-MgjxD-iYqtRBF7M3VtIqX8xkgLAn3nVowjVfLU5jnjx5AslWaGOmPQCurjl-v4EQ90cJljSX5g8/s1600/DSC00232+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sR7LjhLm-WX7Cc3on2CXWtc3i2YEgcOuQIgyeH3J4JnfNVcpbHSqyuPWhpgDwlT-MgjxD-iYqtRBF7M3VtIqX8xkgLAn3nVowjVfLU5jnjx5AslWaGOmPQCurjl-v4EQ90cJljSX5g8/s640/DSC00232+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pre Start Happy People.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">OK. So in the <a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-2018-introduction.html" target="_blank">Intro</a> I explained that our preparation for the HT550 in terms of fitness was less than ideal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Let's add to that on the drive up the day before, and the morning of the depart, I was struggling to get any food down. I wasn't really ill, my stomach just wasn't interested in food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tom as you can see above was in good spirits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our one advantage, a pyschologocal one, was that we'd ridden the whole route before, forewarned, is forearmed. One niggle though would be on the first day last year we'd set off some 3 1/2 hours earlier, so we'd seem to be late arriving at places.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The lovely Jenny Graham sent us all on our way, and fairly quickly we were, as was expected riding alone or occasionally with a couple of others.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjhOGdjfHjTStAuUPP6SHRVjm2jvNlH_cJ-CPQDly59UQUDQPi37RdROGVm_6-1vwSrH6NXjC-RplbOF6iyUD-6ROpm9n3EyGxCCSoNpSgW0SItbpsL49xZgQXKucpJEVIgoB5tBIl7E/s1600/DSC00238+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjhOGdjfHjTStAuUPP6SHRVjm2jvNlH_cJ-CPQDly59UQUDQPi37RdROGVm_6-1vwSrH6NXjC-RplbOF6iyUD-6ROpm9n3EyGxCCSoNpSgW0SItbpsL49xZgQXKucpJEVIgoB5tBIl7E/s640/DSC00238+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">Michelle Dulieu and Liam Landers</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The weather as forecast was glorious, and we slathered the sun cream on. We stopped for a scone and a drink at Bridge of Balgie. I forced the scone down, but my stomach still wasn't wanting food. I did however make sure I drank plenty of water.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The riding conditions were excellent, our progress less so. Tom was slow up the hills, and I was only marginally quicker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We both knew what needed to be done though. Heads down, we plodded on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Loch Ericht in the distance meant we were not far from the first bit of hike a bike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We stopped at the loch side and ate less than we should. Later we realised that Tom was used to eating when I did, and I wasn't. We were both in calorie deficit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Passing Ben Alder cottage we'd bumped into Michelle again minus one of her pedals which wasn't a problem in the hike a bike boggy tussocks. Later that day though she'd push her bike 9 miles straight on the usually rideable singletrack.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tom and I though not fit had retained some bike handling skills, and we made reasonable time on the section to Loch Pattack. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our original goal for the day was to get over the Corrieyairack Pass, but that would have meant riding several hours longer. I was spent. At mile 62 we set up camp just short of Laggan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We both fired up our stoves and ate a Firepot meal each. I still wasn't hungry, but I did force the much needed calories down.</span></div>
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Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-88521887366622593002018-06-06T18:04:00.005+01:002018-06-06T18:04:47.167+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 2Day 2 we awoke not particularly early as we were hoping to grab some food at Laggan.<br />
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A lack of fitness and a lack of food the previous day had left us tired.<br />
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On arrival at Laggan we heard Michelle who had already sourced a pair of replacement pedals, and was ordering coffee.<br />
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We also grabbed coffee and some bars to fuel the first climb of the day, the Corrieyairack Pass.<br />
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Above, we near the bothy which we've stayed at or passed on our 3 previous attempts on day 1.<br />
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Wow, we are slow.<br />
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We stop for chips and gravy in Fort Augustus, cake in Invermoriston, and generally get back on top of eating food.<br />
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It is hot, and we take plentiful breaks.<br />
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A bit of sightseeing. at Corrimony.<br />
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Yes, and more food.....<br />
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We were way behind were we wanted to be, but we were still making progress.<br />
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Camping just before Orrin Dam, we planned on hitting Contin Stores for a resupply of food and breakfast next morning.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-10464889166553384642018-06-06T18:04:00.004+01:002018-06-06T18:04:41.269+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 3Before we started we'd discussed at length where we could save time compared to our ride the previous year. There had been hopes of being at least a day quicker.<br />
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It was Day 3 and we were looking that we were going to be slower rather than faster than last year. Outside 8 days maybe.<br />
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I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more, but I was on a bit of a downer.<br />
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Still the sun was shining.<br />
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There was no snow at our camping spot at Strathpuffer (pictured below).<br />
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Oh yes, and the views.<br />
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We cooked our supper at <a href="http://www.croickchurch.com/clearances.htm" target="_blank">Croick Church</a> after a quick look at the names on the windows.<br />
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Then on to Oykel Bridge Hotel for a drink before heading on to the Northern loop.<br />
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Past Rosehall and into Glen Cassley we ride. Tom's tired, so we start to look for somewhere to pitch the tents.<br />
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We were fussy at first for pitches, then, well, stupid.<br />
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A site sheltered by trees on both sides proved within 30 seconds to be just the place that the Scottish midge favours. We were covered in the wee beasties as we quickly pitched our tents. As we lay in our tents we could hear the little monsters over the sound of the river.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-55958576118219207602018-06-06T18:04:00.003+01:002018-06-06T18:04:34.440+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 4Morning, a reprise of the midge dance whilst trying to pack everything away back onto the bikes.<br />
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Then, the climb through the mist then down to Loch Shin where we cooked ourselves some breakfast.<br />
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Mid morning, it was hot as we climbed up through Glen Golly and on towards Bealach Horn.<br />
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A tough few hours of pushing, but we had made it to the top of the North loop.<br />
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Steady away we rode down the hill.<br />
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Some food and then the Achfary climb. Always drinking water.<br />
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At Kylesku there was only one course of action after such a tough day.<br />
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A few miles further down the road, up a hill, and a nice windy campsite to avoid the dreaded midge.<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-77924383184558597882018-06-06T18:04:00.002+01:002018-06-06T19:18:52.854+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 5Drumbeg stores for breakfast and a resupply was the morning's first plan.<br />
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We arrive at the shop an hour before opening time, but Wendy and Steve saw us, remembered us from last year and kindly offer to open up for us. We breakfasted and stocked up on food for the rest of the day.<br />
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Another stunner of a day.<br />
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From Lochinver the Glencanisp traverse was bone dry.<br />
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It still requires plenty of walking though.<br />
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We'd made good time to the end.<br />
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Back to Oykel Bridge for some food, then on towards Ullapool.<br />
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Our fifth day, and at last we were feeling strong.<br />
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Just before Ullapool we camped. The midges ate us again.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-45921921360691544042018-06-06T18:04:00.001+01:002018-06-06T18:04:20.654+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 6We reckon as we leave the shop in Ullapool that we are about 3 hours down on last years time, so a decent day will give us a chance of beating our 2017 time.<br />
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How things change given a bit of perseverance.<br />
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The first challenge of the day the Coffin route over to Dundonnell. Steep up up up.<br />
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Next over the hill towards Strath na Sealga.<br />
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Shenavall bothy which was busy though long before nightfall.<br />
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No wet feet getting to the river crossing, nor in crossing it.<br />
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We rode most of the valley climb this time before the proper steep stuff.<br />
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Then after the delights of Fisherfield, we have the Postman's path to Kinlochewe.<br />
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The midges chased us to Kinlochewe, and the toilets there were locked.<br />
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Camping again was a midgetastic nightmare.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-86862697876672986152018-06-06T18:04:00.000+01:002018-06-06T18:04:10.137+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 7Throw tent in bag on bike GO. Aargh midges.<br />
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Over the Coulin pass and down to Strathcarron for food.<br />
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Tom replaces his brake pads. Yes, he bought the right ones this year.<br />
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Always drinking.<br />
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At Dornie we make and eat some sandwiches, then it's up and over toward Kintail.<br />
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Tom has got used to the weight of the bike, and we hardly stop as we thug the bikes up the hill.<br />
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We arrive at Camban not long after 9pm which is early to stop. Especially as we want to be finished the next day.<br />
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However there are no midges in a bothy, and we'll have a chance to cook an evening meal.<br />
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Decision made.<br />
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An early alarm is set for the morning.<br />
<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-47637196335418285022018-06-06T18:03:00.001+01:002018-06-06T18:24:02.785+01:00Highland Trail 550 2018 - Day 84am the alarm goes. On our final day we have 110 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing to do.<br />
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Get. Up. Tom.<br />
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We are away by 4:30. It is cooler and misty.<br />
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A quick drink in Fort Augustus in the sunshine before riding down the Great Glen towards Fort William.<br />
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Time for a bit of balance practice (3rd time lucky).<br />
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Then not long after this there was a massive rainstorm and we got wet.<br />
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Grabbing a couple of doughnuts at the Co-Op in Corpach we rode on. From Fort William we climbed up and over to Kinlochleven.<br />
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More supplies at the shop, and then up the Devil's Staircase.<br />
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The weather had come good again, but our sodden feet were given us some pain because of our old friend trenchfoot.<br />
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As we neared the top the sun was away behind us.<br />
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From the foot of the Devil's Staircase to Tyndrum is around 22 miles. In the dark, tired and with feet that were throbbing with pain this took some 4 1/2 hours.<br />
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7 days, 18 hours and 8 minutes our time. A couple of hours faster than the year before.<br />
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The result though off no training, is that we made it back at all.<br />
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A big thanks to -<br />
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Our <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Sonder</a> Frontier bikes which were equipped with <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/" target="_blank">Alpkit</a> luggage.<br />
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We wore <a href="https://www.rapha.cc/" target="_blank">Rapha</a> shorts, jerseys and gilets.<br />
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We slept in <a href="https://findraclothing.com/" target="_blank">Findra</a> merino baselayers<br />
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We were illuminated by <a href="https://exposurelights.com/" target="_blank">Exposure</a> Toro lights.<br />
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Cheers to Stu at <a href="http://www.kirkbylonsdalebrewery.com/" target="_blank">Kirby Lonsdale Brewery</a> for bringing us all a bottle of his Highland Trail 550 beer.<br />
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Congratulations for all those who came and rode, and those who made it to the end.<br />
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....and of course, thanks Alan!<br />
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Oh and I must add that the trip has reinvigorated Tom's love for this sort of trip, he has plenty of plans for the future!<br />
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-34562789080524899172018-06-06T11:10:00.000+01:002018-06-07T00:26:40.696+01:00Highland Trail 2018 - Introduction.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A friend said to me some years ago to enjoy my time cycling with Tom, as once he was a teenager he would most likely divert his attentions away from cycling with his Dad, to hanging out with his mates.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE09yas35FnmvMO1mN-q9xu9HD5LmfGFcotGcxIktCg2IaLBJKrm0nOrvEA_VJv1Y_J53FsP_JAOyEPoAnatRm1_4vO7Vu5PcaTTcxEVvxXZ-8ZLvYFVR3GA0s-4WXCJ1UmZjsGpNJqX4/s1600/DSC00363+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE09yas35FnmvMO1mN-q9xu9HD5LmfGFcotGcxIktCg2IaLBJKrm0nOrvEA_VJv1Y_J53FsP_JAOyEPoAnatRm1_4vO7Vu5PcaTTcxEVvxXZ-8ZLvYFVR3GA0s-4WXCJ1UmZjsGpNJqX4/s640/DSC00363+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fisherfield hike a bike.</td></tr>
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I can confirm that after riding at Strathpuffer, cycling with Tom became less frequent.</div>
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"Where are we cycling this weekend Tom?" often received the reply "I've already arranged to go to the skate park with my scooter to meet my friends." </div>
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I was cool with this, in fact I'd usually drive Tom there and pick him up. So not much cycling time for me either. Life isn't all about riding bikes when you're a teenager.</div>
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I did mention to Tom that he had a place on the start line of a rather long bike ride at the end of May, but he always assured me we could do some big rides next week.</div>
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That "next week" eventually arrived, that is the last week of May.</div>
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As we lined up at the start in Tyndrum, including the miles we had ridden at Strathpuffer, our 2018 cycling mileage stood at 200 miles!</div>
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Oh, and this year, Tom was expected to carry his own set of kit. So no shared equipment meant that his bike would be noticeably heavier than in 2017.</div>
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Frankly I thought are chances of finishing were tiny, though maybe lessons would be learned.<br />
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<a href="http://minipips.blogspot.com/2018/06/highland-trail-550-2018-index.html">Click through to the index by day.......</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snickers = Energy</td></tr>
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-20982231462643073862018-04-16T09:19:00.000+01:002018-04-16T09:19:03.018+01:00Running from Hayfield To Hathersage.Tom and I have a new pair of running shoes each. We went out earlier this week and ran 5 miles which incidentally is the same distance we ran in total in 2017.<br />
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We were going to Hathersage for Alpkit's shop 1st Birthday party on Saturday, and Tom suggested that we should run over there in our shiny new shoes.<br />
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I asked Tom if he realised quite how far it was, and his guess turned out to be only a couple of miles short of the 19 miles that I plotted on the map.<br />
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19 miles, and 3500 feet of up and down. We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it had been a while since we'd had an adventure.<br />
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The plan was to head up on to Kinder, follow the plateau's Southern edge before dropping down to Hope for refreshments. "Refreshed", we would climb again up to Shatton Moor before dropping down to Hathersage.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBv5LSAQ1t6OxDWHWKxWY80Yt547mtfFe-2mc02ycYDXo3VMZth1zLrZxbHTWNbOJ7TudO-9UFe2xIwZYFK6Dg42htoMs98pYUVMsYxWOYPXEoIOvduyL1Cqx72N3B4ph08hZcTdQcfk/s1600/20180414_204444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBv5LSAQ1t6OxDWHWKxWY80Yt547mtfFe-2mc02ycYDXo3VMZth1zLrZxbHTWNbOJ7TudO-9UFe2xIwZYFK6Dg42htoMs98pYUVMsYxWOYPXEoIOvduyL1Cqx72N3B4ph08hZcTdQcfk/s640/20180414_204444.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing Kinder Low End</td></tr>
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We left mid morning as planned and other than stopping to shed layers we kept moving.<br />
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Fuelled by homemade pancakes for breakfast, we didn't stop to eat until we'd already covered 8 miles. Our view below above the Edale valley.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSg82QjHdDofRe8GY0tMijiViTNx0zUgcEW4J4HciYv_Dl5PJkqtUBpdQZIe9V0hidiju462o4O0BsL7a6GW-0p49Yn4GYjFbjkkC-6xTM2ga7I7EiaJjxpqV1QmWmJ5DFBkmOJEO6rbg/s1600/20180414_130203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSg82QjHdDofRe8GY0tMijiViTNx0zUgcEW4J4HciYv_Dl5PJkqtUBpdQZIe9V0hidiju462o4O0BsL7a6GW-0p49Yn4GYjFbjkkC-6xTM2ga7I7EiaJjxpqV1QmWmJ5DFBkmOJEO6rbg/s640/20180414_130203.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our shiny new shoes, now not so shiny.</td></tr>
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For the first time in ages, the sun was out and we were having a great time, whilst trying to ignore the pains of cyclists do running.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfs0MXxZgZoOqKuGE28Yf4GsYNRQgPlpR7VJvdVInv5SQT7RgC0Pr7XZfzVOD5IgQ6ljLUQ8DONOwXlkGlJW2nMP1TyRERkIR-S-Yvt-vv_5EXSDbafdYrhf1tL44uB3KruzU5KN37_8/s1600/20180414_124603_013_01+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfs0MXxZgZoOqKuGE28Yf4GsYNRQgPlpR7VJvdVInv5SQT7RgC0Pr7XZfzVOD5IgQ6ljLUQ8DONOwXlkGlJW2nMP1TyRERkIR-S-Yvt-vv_5EXSDbafdYrhf1tL44uB3KruzU5KN37_8/s640/20180414_124603_013_01+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kinder</td></tr>
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As we descended down towards Hope, our arrival at the Adventure Cafe couldn't come quick enough. 13 miles in and we were both suffering a bit.<br />
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An ice cream each and a drink of water, and we were away again though.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mYTLY9ZdxV3s6vCGKjV032eNUIrcAY0t0n_CydSKg0XQdHd2SoDeURaPT7sQbCRXHkruvAdDFEBIZAbi4kxrhkVcDm1bRcu3JQdQf4sH8X2SkeJsoptVJf2rt1RFiqpMyeXKc5gR944/s1600/20180414_143423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mYTLY9ZdxV3s6vCGKjV032eNUIrcAY0t0n_CydSKg0XQdHd2SoDeURaPT7sQbCRXHkruvAdDFEBIZAbi4kxrhkVcDm1bRcu3JQdQf4sH8X2SkeJsoptVJf2rt1RFiqpMyeXKc5gR944/s640/20180414_143423.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom eyeing up my ice cream.</td></tr>
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After being sat down for a few minutes, standing up was painful. The last few miles were going to hurt a bit.<br />
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We took the opportunity to cool down our feet in the river below. In retrospect not the brightest idea unless you're a fan of blisters.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OSpFmHUOQjFhA5j7Vqe3wxJ9MqTbK5rE9DQg2Gy_QHYYuKmUHEP-1vnRSwfXSzh7lajtq6Wc7jbz85GBfAM6b6fFEG61QeIFg6UDGDUkjVAMpliB6XTFaBNxbA_KI3RW9ShQt7csbIQ/s1600/20180414_153941+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OSpFmHUOQjFhA5j7Vqe3wxJ9MqTbK5rE9DQg2Gy_QHYYuKmUHEP-1vnRSwfXSzh7lajtq6Wc7jbz85GBfAM6b6fFEG61QeIFg6UDGDUkjVAMpliB6XTFaBNxbA_KI3RW9ShQt7csbIQ/s640/20180414_153941+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temporary pain relief.</td></tr>
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From the ford a climb up to Shatton Moor from where we could see our destination Hathersage in the distance.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qmQCInluBB9__H74KZQIZkVmtauMIz7Dweh8-hI7Fa_OW6EI0I50Aovft6r_jZ35EKpJ6I3mI-XqE-IKwtP4DZzaQ9wa5xXp3AfBWyZ9vC5J-f-t5K79M3EKqlHVxp0Vf1Kry6ZCEac/s1600/20180414_160751_016_01+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qmQCInluBB9__H74KZQIZkVmtauMIz7Dweh8-hI7Fa_OW6EI0I50Aovft6r_jZ35EKpJ6I3mI-XqE-IKwtP4DZzaQ9wa5xXp3AfBWyZ9vC5J-f-t5K79M3EKqlHVxp0Vf1Kry6ZCEac/s640/20180414_160751_016_01+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly there....</td></tr>
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We were now running a bit, walking a bit, and hobbling a bit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65iZjv2NweD9d5khI7eGluiO11TizwxGmsQf30FNGdIhPwzBGmj3-eZhiyRLPKfp2pjOsWDvTFyxxdBinpm1EAG1Hug91GWyXQ2BlCStHqidPMH29WhcmCxT_qaLQuN0JzDTWWZEpr90/s1600/20180414_172130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65iZjv2NweD9d5khI7eGluiO11TizwxGmsQf30FNGdIhPwzBGmj3-eZhiyRLPKfp2pjOsWDvTFyxxdBinpm1EAG1Hug91GWyXQ2BlCStHqidPMH29WhcmCxT_qaLQuN0JzDTWWZEpr90/s640/20180414_172130.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks James for the photo.</td></tr>
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On our arrival at Alpkit's shop they had suitable refreshments awaiting us. The usual for Tom and a Jaipur for me.<br />
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A great day out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAksqbfbavfPk7GXl7Hw813cAYhPmni-7z3_7tDoBxhwOqkzZ6GGNVeJ8nkzwpUWG1RB916hAtPdmj_a-J9tUBv7E_hxe29TTWQtviQ33JZnZWWqaurncLhuydWzb3dGYT_uP69SMErhA/s1600/Screenshot+2018-04-12+at+8.53.02+PM+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="1062" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAksqbfbavfPk7GXl7Hw813cAYhPmni-7z3_7tDoBxhwOqkzZ6GGNVeJ8nkzwpUWG1RB916hAtPdmj_a-J9tUBv7E_hxe29TTWQtviQ33JZnZWWqaurncLhuydWzb3dGYT_uP69SMErhA/s640/Screenshot+2018-04-12+at+8.53.02+PM+%25281%2529.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and no, we didn't run back.</td></tr>
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-21772460617541693642018-01-25T10:40:00.004+00:002018-01-25T10:40:45.586+00:002018 Strathpuffer 24 hour Mountain Bike Race.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuiXaip0npUoe-fZVo_TR4Rw4M0hG32j4ggVqlyQhsrO4Sn8gAK1NRZclhJ_yODC_-ZET0iVYyTOG29F4b2zujov2Hro5oBiXwKgZWmz8Wil07z5Xqud4twBVEHFo2VpGNRurHsbKnFw/s1600/P1020645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuiXaip0npUoe-fZVo_TR4Rw4M0hG32j4ggVqlyQhsrO4Sn8gAK1NRZclhJ_yODC_-ZET0iVYyTOG29F4b2zujov2Hro5oBiXwKgZWmz8Wil07z5Xqud4twBVEHFo2VpGNRurHsbKnFw/s640/P1020645.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic courtesy of - Rachel Sokal</td></tr>
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Above, lining up for Tom's fourth solo <a href="https://strathpuffer.co.uk/" target="_blank">Strathpuffer</a>.<br />
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We love this race. It may be billed as one of the toughest 24 hour races, though Tom has only done one other to compare it with. So as far as he is concerned Strathpuffer is the standard.<br />
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The weather is always a major factor at this event. Happening in winter, it is always going to be some degree of cold, though in our experience in previous editions, at least for some of the race the temperature is above freezing. This year though things would be different.<br />
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The weather the week before had left a layer of ice on most of the route, which had since been covered by a fresh fall of snow. It was below freezing when we arrived on Friday, and that is how it stayed for the weekend.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJRVmSoeqNif5_Obzm0KLUynGoZxJaQJ9OUKlb4fgrWck_TICK24FW-DGe34eV9jEbimaw6X5y4eCT4iBjUPJR66r07fXhha5OkGM6s1dKSa0GSInAEW8xKM9Lewtxi_631ZCp_WaLZs/s1600/DSCF9075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJRVmSoeqNif5_Obzm0KLUynGoZxJaQJ9OUKlb4fgrWck_TICK24FW-DGe34eV9jEbimaw6X5y4eCT4iBjUPJR66r07fXhha5OkGM6s1dKSa0GSInAEW8xKM9Lewtxi_631ZCp_WaLZs/s640/DSCF9075.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic courtesy of Keith Bremner</td></tr>
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Sunshine greeted the 10 am start. We rode initially on the <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Sonder</a> Transmitters with 27.5+ tyres. History says that ice spike tyres are not needed for more than the odd lap at this event. But having the choice, after 5 or so laps we switched over to our <a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Sonder</a> Frontiers with Spikes, and for us the extra control was immediately noticeable.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPOK483yUfkFeilwU_ST0GUXzlLCoyO-8InvRK2EQ5nVBgyAlLYhi2fwdUFmf1rCDdtHhjplKknqzh_pYxfINqIKB943t9cc6CWkCUGZ3x1WcctxSkWDSemZLCWtpPDI-ZJXV6sW0dlI/s1600/DSCF9077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPOK483yUfkFeilwU_ST0GUXzlLCoyO-8InvRK2EQ5nVBgyAlLYhi2fwdUFmf1rCDdtHhjplKknqzh_pYxfINqIKB943t9cc6CWkCUGZ3x1WcctxSkWDSemZLCWtpPDI-ZJXV6sW0dlI/s640/DSCF9077.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic courtesy of Keith Bremner</td></tr>
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There were approximately 3 water splashes unlike the usual mud, so for the most part we stayed clean.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeOwKm10jqUQxyZQOfAOkldbFdmfW1zWVoi_beqSkgtSd4-itXls5mmmfLazFKHmtfGvi2xxjb0ZdZ8hyiYbeT4BPLaXl0I0JLISP240-xZmOST_-C8bs-ChqypJR9QinuyJj-pBWJ2I/s1600/27141101_1831477970218703_2107634640_o+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBeOwKm10jqUQxyZQOfAOkldbFdmfW1zWVoi_beqSkgtSd4-itXls5mmmfLazFKHmtfGvi2xxjb0ZdZ8hyiYbeT4BPLaXl0I0JLISP240-xZmOST_-C8bs-ChqypJR9QinuyJj-pBWJ2I/s640/27141101_1831477970218703_2107634640_o+-+Edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic courtesy of Norman Agnew</td></tr>
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On most parts of the course eventually a rideable line appeared. Though there was some pushing for most people at least a couple of times a lap. One slip, and you were off.<br />
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Blue sky in a winter wonderland. Yes, and then around 6 hours after the start it was dark.<br />
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If you like night riding, you'll love the Strathpuffer, as there are 17 hours of darkness.<br />
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With our <a href="https://exposurelights.com/bike-home/" target="_blank">Exposure</a> Toro lights fired up, we keep on rolling. The plan for this 24 hour race unlike any that Tom has done before was to not stop. Sure we'd pause between laps for food and drink, but this time we planned on no sleep.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
"No sleep 'til Sunday"</div>
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As the night progressed it got colder. Our <a href="https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/" target="_blank">Rapha</a> merino layers were now up to three topped with a hard shell to keep the freezing air at bay.<br />
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Every lap we'd stop for a cup of tea and a bite to eat. Then back up the snow covered fire road where we'd shiver for a few minutes before we warmed up again.<br />
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Tom's sleep monsters arrived about 10pm. We'd learned that chatting about something interesting would keep him awake. So for the next few hours we chatted about all sorts. I was really interested to hear that he'd been reading Whymper's account of climbing the Matterhorn. By contrast he was also explaining to me about what to look for when buying a second hand Datsun 240Z drift car.<br />
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Over night our lap times dropped off a bit for various reasons including that we we were both unsurprisingly tired.<br />
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We tried putting our usual pick up Coca Cola in a water bottle to drink on the way round. Even though it was in my pocket it froze near solid.<br />
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Just after 5:30am we decided there would be time for another leisurely two laps if we were going to keep riding until 10am.<br />
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Not long after this, unusually for me, the sleepmonsters came. Tom returned the favour of geeing me up, and soon the near overwhelming desire to sleep passed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn17fltBdQDvC1iztU85-yZIlxGyqONA71-GzWUcaAzomO6wQwyA61V7GslUoA8Myqh8MKzC_zVS0pSkIHtcQ0gCsbnayAXh3-mMsk3YEMRP_W9LVNwfhy-Z5pBvBmi9Y6FC9Vr7k4K5E/s1600/AP5Y0841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn17fltBdQDvC1iztU85-yZIlxGyqONA71-GzWUcaAzomO6wQwyA61V7GslUoA8Myqh8MKzC_zVS0pSkIHtcQ0gCsbnayAXh3-mMsk3YEMRP_W9LVNwfhy-Z5pBvBmi9Y6FC9Vr7k4K5E/s640/AP5Y0841.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Gary Williamson</td></tr>
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At almost exactly 10am we rolled over the finish line. Tom's total was 13 laps. We'd ridden a smidge under 100 miles together. Finishing 40th of 103 riders.<br />
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He was happiest though, that he'd managed to keep riding for the whole of the 24 hours without stopping to sleep.<br />
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A true 24 hour soloist.<br />
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Below, two very happy, but tired boys (and Dave).<br />
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Thanks to Ann for feeding us and staying up all night to help with all the other things that we needed. Hmm, and apologies to Ann, Cat, Dean and anyone else who had the misfortune to assist in the saga that was "just swap these tyres over please"<br />
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<a href="https://www.alpkit.com/sonder" target="_blank">Alpkit's Sonder</a> bikes didn't miss a beat. Thanks to Karl for bringing them North. <a href="https://exposurelights.com/bike-home/" target="_blank">Use-Exposure</a> Toro lights as always were just the job for the long hours of darkness.<br />
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To the marshalls with their fires jelly babies and garibaldi biscuits, thanks.<br />
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Finally thanks to the organisers of the 'puffer. It was great this year to see so many more youngsters taking part, boys and girls. The youngest soloist was 10. This can only be a good thing for endurance cycling in the future.<br />
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Look out for the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0071mxr" target="_blank">BBC Adventure Show</a> program in March.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFujssfA4-TnJDWgiSpFSfWHc_fAQh_M8hDKcMMazOUJkvvURKqqd1GDJdrX7agMVcEftpHOnjc42JxOpmZ6eEUnc5EjpGghg9TNBJLRxmFeFmWTyRpFiH-hqVu6NBMg6xqoZnQfqPws/s1600/DSCF8744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFujssfA4-TnJDWgiSpFSfWHc_fAQh_M8hDKcMMazOUJkvvURKqqd1GDJdrX7agMVcEftpHOnjc42JxOpmZ6eEUnc5EjpGghg9TNBJLRxmFeFmWTyRpFiH-hqVu6NBMg6xqoZnQfqPws/s640/DSCF8744.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic Courtesy of Keith Bremner</td></tr>
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<br />Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5474569656071313291.post-1016825382792717852018-01-11T15:41:00.000+00:002018-01-11T15:41:30.164+00:00Rapha Festive 500 2017.Tom and I have done the Rapha Festive 500 a number of times now. This year though my daughter Skye wanted to have a go at the challenge.<br />
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Skye doesn't generally do bikes, so it was great that she wanted to come along.<br />
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Like last year we had come to Mallorca. Unlike last year though, there was now a Rapha clubhouse to come and drink coffee and ask advice as to where would be some good flat riding.<br />
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The first day we headed out along the coast and Skye was loving it. Tom made it his job to look after Skye, and make sure she was having a good time. <br />
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The next day Skye's legs were feeling the 89km we'd done the day previously, but she was back on the bike nonetheless.<br />
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Our half way for the day was Andratx, and by then Skye's legs were not happy. By the time we'd got back, Skye had cycled 166 km in two days. Quite an achievement for a non cyclist, and that was enough for her.<br />
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The next day Tom and I headed into the hills in somewhat changeable weather.<br />
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It was good to come across some of our Instagram buddies <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brigs222/" target="_blank">Brigitte</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jbraynard/?hl=en" target="_blank">John</a> who we'd not met before.<br />
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Day 4 and we met up at the Rapha store for a guided ride. An international peloton made up of we two Brits, 2 Dutch and a Finn.<br />
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Day 5 and we rode out again with some guys from the Rapha shop, before peeling off after 50Km to do some exploring.<br />
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It wasn't really ice cream weather but that didn't mean it didn't go down well.<br />
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Day 6 was the day before we were flying home, and there were less than 40km left to ride. We ambled along the coast, then back to the Rapha shop for coffee.<br />
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Our Festive 500 was done.<br />
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Back home, the following weekend, we picked up our badges from the Rapha store in Manchester.<br />
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Festive 500 number 5.<br />
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A big thank you to the staff at Rapha Mallorca for showing us round, and being so welcoming.<br />
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See you next year!Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08597261261913925826noreply@blogger.com0