Great Dun Fell

As pre Pyrenees training we headed out to the Pennines on Sunday. The start of the ride was a quick excursion to the top of Great Dun Fell and the radar station then back down the same way. I say a quick excursion, its reported to the the highest tarmaced road in the UK and at about 2800 ft, its high! Its also steep and long at 4.5 miles and with just above 2000ft of climbing its hard work! We were incredibly lucky to get a great day with hardly any wind. So after just under 40 mins of climbing we were at the top.

Keith and me at the top, the road snakes away behind to the south.

Great Dun Fell .wmv

Free beer

Just reading My brothers blog and noticed thats he's giving away free beer to anyone who writes about his beer in some way shape or fashon. So it made me think that for once I'll diverge away from my normal style which is potraying life more with pictures than words and write something thought provocing.

To set the record straight right from the start. I don't expect to get any free beer from my bruv, infact I can only remember him ever only giving one bottle free, which I promptly forgot and left in his pub. No I'm not writing this for free beer, more in lines with Malory and Everest..........because (I can)... its there.

I don't expect free beer and not even sure I want any anyway. Why?....................

My thoughts on beer.......

Beer, in my life, is about where, when and more specifically who its drunk with, how it tastes is not that important. Not important..... I did say not THAT important. The best pint I ever hand was in the Kirkstile Inn on a spring evening after a long day out with a load of friends, Andy told a story about a mobile phone, a trip to the lav for a no 2 and an inadvertant phone call. I have no idea what the beer was we were drinking but bloody hell it was good.

I like good beer yes.... but I like the company its drunk in much better.

On our new cycling jersey we have a logo 'born the ride.....and drink beer'. I actually think it should say 'born to ride....then drink beer' you see its even better when you've got that weary glow from a hard day, you can relax and look back at what your've achieved especially if you've a tale to tell. Thats where the beer realy comes into play. A good story needs the performance enhancing boost a good pint gives.

So is Daves beer good, well its beer and when drunk in good company its at least as good as the rest. When drunk in good company, with a good story, after a hard day, next to the fire, its bloody brilliant. Would a pint of Stella drunk in a bar in Bourg d'oisans after climbing Alpe d'huez be just as good?

I know the answer to that one.

Hardknott Pass

We're off to do some cycling in the Pyrenees at the end of the month, I've spent the last few weeks getting fit and doing some hills on the bike.

I've also become addicted to a web site 'Strava.com' that uses GPS data from my bike computer and compares you to other riders that have done the same route. So naturally, for a competative person like me, you end up riding up hills as fast as you can!

I went to try and better my time on Hardknott last night. Managed to do it in under 14 mins - just.

You think thats fast.....I'm still 2 mins down on the fastest!

Hardknott is on of the hardest and steepest road climbs in the country at over 25% in places, climbing just over 1000ft in 1.5 miles. The video below does not do it justic, in the slightest.

I filmed the ride from top to bottom and back down the other side. Here it is speeded up x4.

Hardknott in 16 minutes at 4 x speed.wmv