Garz said:
Looks like old colin is still recovering.. that or his mudguards blew off and hes still searching for them!
Cheeky!
I said hello to longers and a few other people I know at the start but was all set to do the ride alone since they are all fitter and faster than me and I rarely find other people who are happy to go at my (slowish) pace. However, I'd just turned up the first climb to Heptonstall when a rider named Jim came up alongside me and said that he remembered me from last year's event. I'd saved his ride at the top of the Nick o' Pendle when I saw him walk to the top with his broken chain wrapped round a twig. I whipped out my chain tool and fixed it for him, and we did the rest of that ride together. Jim had been impressed with my GPS-assisted navigation and asked if I'd like some company for today's ride; naturally I said yes!
We weren't out to break any speed records and took fairly long stops at Waddington and Coldwell. I also stopped several times to take photographs. We still managed to get round in just over 7 hours which I was fairly pleased with given my current lack of fitness and the severity of the route. Even better - I managed to not get the usual cramp in my left foot, only developed a very minor saddle sore and a slight backache. I'm not even that tired this evening so I must be slowly getting fitter. If I keep riding through the autumn and winter, who knows, I might even be able to keep up with longers, trio25, PaulB, Svendo, goodspeed et al on next year's Spring into the Dales?
I thought I'd misjudged the weather when a heavy shower blew over us early on, but that was it for the rain. Much of the rest of the ride was done under blue skies.
At the finish, Jim and I had just gone upstairs at event HQ when the heavens opened up. By the time we came back out after attacking the remaining food and drink supplies, the rain had stopped again - jammy, eh!
The Crud Roadracer guards worked very well. They are really light (only 180 g) so I couldn't tell they were there when riding. The roads were still wet for the first couple of hours but the guards kept the spray off me. I did hear some rubbing sounds which I assumed were the little pile brushes used to keep the plastic guards away from the rims. Turns out that I'd not adjusted the Roadracers properly. They were too close to the tyres so any debris stuck to the tyres was rubbing against the undersides of the guards. I think they'll be okay for the next wet ride now I've readjusted them. If you are thinking of buying some - make sure that you have at least (say) 5 mm clearance front and back - the guards are slimline, but not infinitely so!
The route was brilliant I thought, especially on a good day like this. Plenty of new hills for me, had a good chat with a couple of folk I know on the way round and plenty of strangers. AndyWRX caught me up before Waddington and we did a few miles together which was pleasant.
