Another ride for me today! That's 3 this week already! Only just under 10 miles but I managed to get right into the moors....the perks of living on the edge of town
I'd strapped the new 38c Voyager Hypers on this morning and planned a route that took in a lane I'd never before used and an trail up the side of Winter Hill that I hadn't used in a good 12 or so years and was last ridden on a mountain bike....today would be interesting.
Leaving the house and making my way to the main road was lightning fast (OK 20mph
) thanks to a nice tail wind.
Boot Lane was a pleasant surprise as while it is literally 0.7 of a mile from home, it felt like I was right in the countryside. There's even a farm next to it.
Turning right off that it was uphill for a while, across the main road and onto another country lane-ish type of road where I faced a little more climbing and a not-too-strong headwind. After a short downhill I turned left onto Edge Lane and some serious (to me) climbing.
Before I'd reached the first bend my MP3 play list had finished and I couldn't be ar**ed finding another one so the earphones were packed away and I enjoyed the piece and quiet that is "middle of nowhere" silence. Wind and a couple squawking crows...that's about it.
Bend after bend after climb after climb followed (I friggin hate climbing!) but the views were becoming more and more spectacular. One of the joys of being high up.
Still more climbing to come. Grrr.
3.5miles into my outing and I was about to enter off roading country. Woohoo! I'd brought the wrong bike! Whoa! But god I was loving it. The bike was bouncing all over the place. The tyres slipping and sliding everywhere. The wind trying to pick me up and take me away. WTF??? Where did that wind come from? All of a sudden I was very much aware that the breeze formerly pushing me along was now a fricken hurricane and at one point while I was trying to take that all so important pic, I was standing with my feet apart struggling to stay upright. I had to lay the bike on the ground as it literally wouldn't stay upright on its stand.
As I rode further the trail got bumpier and soon I was navigating my way around fist sized rocks. Nothing to your average fat tyred rig but bloody rough to a touring bike. One couple who were walking their dog moved to the side for me and as I passed, I thanked them and said "Shoulda bought a mountain bike!" I'm sure I heard them laugh.
Eventually I reached the transmitter tower service road and started the long slow slog up to the Manx Air disaster memorial. Once there, I sat down and stuffed my face with a Kelloggs Strawberry Nutrigrain bar and a Mars bar. Good honest down to earth health food. As I munched away, I pondered how I was to make my way back down the road. The wind was really strong up here and whilst it was a tail wind of sorts, the road was bendy. The wind would inevitably hit me from the side at some point. I wondered how the emergency services would find my mangled body in the long moorland grass. Maybe my recently polished stem would reflect the sunlight? Unless the bike was mangled too. Jeez what a thought!
I set off and within a few pedal strokes was freewheeling along at 20 odd mph. 25 came. 30 came. 32.5 came. I chickened out as the bike was all over the place and I slammed the brakes on. 15mph was sane.
I reached the bottom and got back onto the main road home. Via a detour along Boot Lane
As soon as I saw that bike I thought of Hopless and Hill Wimp too. And that's before I saw the caption. 
