Solo Gravel Safety

[FishFright]

It was only a 20 mile loop - I took a couple of bottles, a gel, a few spares and had a gilet in my jersey pocket. Then, round about the time I took the pics with the 'shaft' sign in (which was the summit of Great Pinseat) I realised that if anything went wrong I was a little under-prepared... hence this thread

I hope you take all the advice offered and I've prepared a rough packing list to help

Maps ( various scales and materials)
Compass +spare
GPS devices ( minimum 3)
Phones - these ofc don't work in an emergency
Enough layers to handle Artic to tropical conditions
Food - enough to cater for a reasonable sized dinner party ( you may meet someone else who's hungry)
A machete because those moorlands have a sneaky habit of turning into tropical jungle without warning.
Three forms of ID just in case dental records aren't applicable
A super duper watch for calling in Thunderbird 2
Spare bike

Also each of these need certified training to use so prepare your paperwork well in advance.

 

[uphillstruggler]

It was only a 20 mile loop - I took a couple of bottles, a gel, a few spares and had a gilet in my jersey pocket. Then, round about the time I took the pics with the 'shaft' sign in (which was the summit of Great Pinseat) I realised that if anything went wrong I was a little under-prepared... hence this thread

Great images and perfectly demonstrate how remote that area is, you could take a fall there and not been seen from 50 m, let alone further.

A Yorkshire bike on a Yorkshire ride, nice.

Seeing as you are aware of Planet X, their bike packing kit is cheap and robust. It’s mostly what I use, not saying you need to go this far though 😂

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Here are a few from the trip that inspired this thread

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Great up in those old mine workings isn’t it. I’ve biked up there when staying near Low Row.

 

[cougie uk]

Great images and perfectly demonstrate how remote that area is, you could take a fall there and not been seen from 50 m, let alone further.

A Yorkshire bike on a Yorkshire ride, nice.

Seeing as you are aware of Planet X, their bike packing kit is cheap and robust. It’s mostly what I use, not saying you need to go this far though 😂

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Nice. Looks like you were going further than 20 miles ?

 

[uphillstruggler]

Nice. Looks like you were going further than 20 miles ?

Yep, Milton Keynes to Croyde recently. Really need to trim down the kit 😂

 

[Joffey]

Great images and perfectly demonstrate how remote that area is, you could take a fall there and not been seen from 50 m, let alone further.

A Yorkshire bike on a Yorkshire ride, nice.

Seeing as you are aware of Planet X, their bike packing kit is cheap and robust. It’s mostly what I use, not saying you need to go this far though 😂

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That's some rig! They do a cheap 3 piece set for about £60 that I'll be getting when I can get it delivered without the wife spotting it

 

[Joffey]

Great up in those old mine workings isn’t it. I’ve biked up there when staying near Low Row.

I didn't realise there was old lead mines around there - the ruins of one are nearby and will be visit on a future trip. It's quite an eyeopener when you get off the main roads as to what is up there and the history behind it.

 

[Joffey]

Nice. Looks like you were going further than 20 miles ?

20 miles in the van and 20 miles on the bike

 

[uphillstruggler]

I didn't realise there was old lead mines around there - the ruins of one are nearby and will be visit on a future trip. It's quite an eyeopener when you get off the main roads as to what is up there and the history behind it.

Have you got a fox or similar route, it’s be good to have a look at the maps out of interest

 

[uphillstruggler]

That's some rig! They do a cheap 3 piece set for about £60 that I'll be getting when I can get it delivered without the wife spotting it

They’ve got their instant sales on at the moment, the detachable handle bar barrel bag is definitely a decent buy

 

[Blue Hills]

It was only a 20 mile loop - I took a couple of bottles, a gel, a few spares and had a gilet in my jersey pocket. Then, round about the time I took the pics with the 'shaft' sign in (which was the summit of Great Pinseat) I realised that if anything went wrong I was a little under-prepared... hence this thread

ah ok - I'd personally take more than a gel even so. Even if just to have something to chew on as I contemplate the beauty of the surroundings - gels I see as for emergencies/contemplating a near death experience.,

 

[Profpointy]

If, in an emergency you dial 112 rather than 999 you get to use any signal rather than just your service provider's. Not much use if no signal whatsoever from all the providers, but it does increase your chances.

It doesn't work like that. Either number does exactly the same thing. At the risk of being technical emergency call is a "service" in its own right, just as SMS is a service so it's not treated as a mere phone call; all kind of extra things are done

 

[Joffey]

Have you got a fox or similar route, it’s be good to have a look at the maps out of interest

There is a GPX on the link below - it's the Fore Gill & Great Pinseat route:

https://www.dalesbikecentre.co.uk/pages/gravel-riding

This is a map of one of the mines nearby:

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1015411

And some more info here:

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/her...ine-you-can-still-see-yorkshire-dales-1751413

 

[Joffey]

ah ok - I'd personally take more than a gel even so. Even if just to have something to chew on as I contemplate the beauty of the surroundings - gels I see as for emergencies/contemplating near a near death experience.,

I took my roadie mindset with me into the hills - I don't take food on a 50 mile ride usually, just stop at a cafe, so I was very lacking in the food department!! At least I know my mistake now!

 

[Blue Hills]

Thanks for the links joffey.
Have meant to check some of those places out for a while - I highlighted some on my OSMand.
If I recall correctly, during deep covid some folks were fined for freecamping near one of them.
(May have been Derbyshire police on an undercover deniable cross-border foray into Yorkshire)