You are reading a single comment by @buttrockanthem and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@buttrockanthem
We had to push our bikes up a big rocky hillside, but were treated with a nice rocky pathway for a few miles. This nice rocky pathway soon became a sneakily disgusting climb, but we were treated with a road descent, which we zoomed down, pulled down by all our pot noodles and flapjacks.
After this descent we re-joined the TPT, and it was here that Fraser started to fade away, like Frodo carrying the ring. From this point on moral started to drop, although there must have been something in the chocolate covered chickpeas I bought from ASDA because me and John were hyper as fuck. The fellowship trundled on, back on roads with some serious inclines. Sam nearly got killed by a tosser in a car going around a corner too fast, and after the last gruelling climb, we got to the next off road section. It was a path with a large swathe of forest to its right, and I could see that Sam and Fraser were categorically over it, so I suggested we camp in a nice secluded spot in the woods. We were only at the 35 mile mark at this point, 15 miles short of where we wanted to be. Over scran there was mention of just getting to Hathersage in the morning then getting a train home, but we decided to just think about it in the morning. Turns out we camped next to a house with five bastard dogs who barked all fucking night, and myself and John heard two massive explosions which both Sam and Fraser claim to not have heard...
The sunrise was lush, and we set off into the mist. Lord of the rings vibes were high, even though I got scared shitless by a massive bull. From here we did a series of three road descents and ascents, climbing around 1200’ and then losing 1200’ each time. The marin gobbled up some of these 14% grades, carrying me up there with a strong granny gear steez. More single and doubletrack followed, along with some road sections, but tbh this bit is all a blur now so I can’t really describe it. We eventually got to Hathersage, bought some food and got the train back to Manchester, where me and John re-couped later in the evening for a post ride curry.
All in all the route was amazing, and I really enjoyed time spent cycling with my mates. The route we did ended up being 56 miles and close to 7000’ of elevation. The Marin was perfect, it handled all the off road bits really well, carried all my gear confidently, and the gearing was perfect for some of those stupid climbs. I personally felt really proud of myself for not pushing up any of the climbs, and only eating shit once on an off road descent. I was feeling pretty nervous for the ride as I’ve not been riding much recently and I am so inexperienced with camping, but I was pleasantly surprised. I would like to go back and try the whole route again, but I do think that it’s a little harder than described in that bikepacking.com article.
5 Attachments