You are reading a single comment by @youramericanlover 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.
@youramericanlover
Well that got a little out of hand. I hold my hands up and say that route was ridiculous, a game of pure bike wrestling, but in my defence it was public so you all had a chance to tell me to fuck off and change it! But yeah more than 8k of climbing in 70 miles fixed is OTT, sorry about that (kinda, but not really).
Anyway, it was an awesome day. Weather forecast changed daily but we ended up with cold, bright sunshine and a tailwind up (just about) every big climb. Huge respect to the five others who winched their way around. Thanks to @cagimaha for backstopping, hugely appreciated (and under-appreciated). The first 8 miles had more than a 1k ft of climbing which I think was a bit of a shock to everyone's system, but alas it did set the tone for the day. But other than some possibly mutinous under the breath cursing at different points during the day it seems you all thought it was worth the hard work. I did. The vistas did not disappoint, the sun glittered off Ladybower Reservoir, and we had a fortitous regrouping above Bamford and clear views at the top of Mam Nick. Far and away the most miserable climb for me was the last, Ringinglow Road out of Hathersage which had a properly brutal headwind. I think I was at 16 RPM (65 gi!) or some shit 10 mins all the way to the top. But when I managed to lift my head off my bars and look off my left should I saw a burnt umber sunset with five giant bands of sunlight beaming down on the valley, and the moor had a diffused glow for me, @Po and @falconvitesse as we climbed to the top. 'Worth it' doesn't come close to expressing how glad I was to have been there.
@Po was easily the strongest and best rider on the day. But if I'm doing the Hard Day format for merit thing then @falconvitesse gets it. He was in the drops and with incredible souplesse on his vintage bike and was strong on every climb. Absolutely well done.
Anyone wanna help me with next years route?!
1 Attachment