The first stretch of the ride is the easy bit. Until the
Mini Massif takes a turn to the right and we are off on the Moors to Whitby.
It’s rock ‘n roll on the Moors. Rocks, bogs and holes. Sheep too. Lots of them.
There is a freakish building of the RAF. What do they do or hide in there?
Perhaps an UFO? With the splash station behind us, it’s a long run to the first
of two feeding stations. Hence the Camelback (2L) packed with bars and gels,
tools, rain jacket and spare tubes. Just the odd 3 kilo’s extra strapped to my
back to make it a little more difficult up the hills. I opted for semi slicks
today, praying for a mostly dry course, they will give me the advantage on the hard
pack surfaces. Better rolling, less resistance. 4 bar pressure, which will do
the trick nicely today.
The sky is a grey one and as soon as Whitby comes into
view, so is the drizzle. The sun was trying on the Moors, but to no avail. The
first feeding station is a rainy affair. Lucky there is room under the tent for
a dry bite of the very good stocked food on the table. Matthew checks his
damage of his earlier tumble. I missed that one. He seems to be okay. All in
one piece, everything in function. I had only one near miss myself. As we go
on, the route follows the old abandon train track. It’s like a rollercoaster,
more up then down, but never the less, FUN! Before I know it, we hit the second
feeding station and Phil. He is in good form. Next is a section with the
steepest climb of the day. Called Lang Gate road or something. As I zigzag up
this road, huffing and puffing, a lady walking her dog tells me: “If you think
this is heavy, wait until you round the next corner.” Boy was she right! 33,8%
is the highest incline my Garmin registrated. This one hits us at about 70km
into the ride. 34x28 was the recommendation as smallest option. I didn’t take
notice on that one and suffered for it. 38x28 is my last resort for the day.
With just 100 metres or so before the summit I have no more power in the legs
and have to get of the bike and start crawling the last bit on foot. I don’t
think the 34/28 gear would be any help today on this climb. Besides a little
part of woodland uphill, there’s no more walking today. At 5 km before the
finish line we overtake Phil. He is walking. Bike and chain in hand. He did not
bring a chain tool or power link to repair his broken chain. Matthew and I help
him out and we are swiftly on our way to the finish.
Was it all worth the trouble? Yep, nothing of the kind
does come close in Holland. Was it hard? Well, I didn’t much endurance stuff
this year, mostly short, fast crits. That made it hard after the first three
hours, but I kept it nicely together, didn’t overdo it. I had good company and
well organised support. And the landscapes…pfff. Fanfreekingtastic!!!
Next stop Wales or Scotland? Maybe next year…
My thanks to Rather Be Cycling, Phil Cook and Matthew
Bennett. A special chapeau to Manuel Pina. He did the ride on his heavy MTB on
floppy trainers!
1,270m Elevation
162W Estimated Avg Power
2,753kJ Energy Output
Avg
|
Max
| |
Speed
|
20.3km/h
|
66.6km/h
|
Heartrate
|
140bpm
|
162bpm
|
Calories
|
3,070
| |
Temperature
|
15℃
| |
Elapsed Time
|
5:07:12
| |
