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

Lakeland Terrors

Here's the finished Jersey straight from the factory modelled by Ellie. She'll grow into it!!!

Just need to do the challenge now!

The Lakeland Loop

Well I'd paid my £20 so apart from only having about 2/3rd lung capacity half a voice and a annoying cough I did the loop.

Andy and Keith and I set of from my house at about 08.30 giving us just enough time to drive to the start at the Old Dungeon Gill in Langdale and get riding by 10.00.

68 miles isn't that far. Well the first 58 is great, its the last 10!

Hardknott comes just before Wrynose which is just before that Bas***d climb at the end (think its called Side Pike).

However I love the last 3 climbs as climbing on a bike is what I'm good at so even with whats was left of my cold I passed more people in the last few miles that I had seen all day.

The route

The video below is mainly Hardknott taken hand held while still riding, so the steepest bits are missing. This picture is Great Langdale from the top of the last climb (Side Pike) just before you drop down into the valley.

A great day out.

lakeland loop 2012.wmv

The Lakeland Terrors

This is the final version of our new jersey, inspired by:

1. Beer.
2. The tourists who think as they own a Range Rover they have the right to drive it down the middle of the road so they don't mark their alloys. Not the ones that actually respect where they are and get their wheels dirty.
3. Doug and his love of beer.
4. People who make beer.
5. People who drink beer.
6. Riding bikes, especially while doing inspiration 7
7. Overtaking people who drive Range Rovers down steep hills too slowly.
8. People who don't take life and inspirations 2 and 7 on this list too seriously.
9. Oh and more beer.
10. A combination of 2, 6 and 7 with 1 and 9 is only acceptable if performed consecutively. Wrynose heading east is good for 2, 6 and 7, stopping at the Three Shires for 1 and 9 and to socialise with 4, 5 and 8, whilst reminiscing over 3.

Well I say final the finished version should have the climbs of the Lakeland Terror on one side and the Valleys on the other but they wouldn't show up on this any way. So all we need to do now is decided when we're going to do the challenge now the jersey has sparked a crazy idea! - I'll blame Phil for that one.

The Lakeland Terror

180 ish miles, 17 major climbs.....ohh, forgot to say.......on a bike.