Saddle sore

Rides have been somewhat steady since my last post, 2-3 hour’s in the saddle enough to start building a little fitness back and not overstress the knee’s. The weather hasn’t always helped but the last week has been milder and dry which is always a bonus. A ride round Kentmere on Wednesday night with Stu went down well and we discussed posting a ride up for Sunday. With some interest showing we hatched a route plan starting from the Youth Hostel and taking in Iron Keld-Hodge Close-Parkamoor-Moor Lane-Breasty Haw-Great Wood-Devils Gallop, around 20 miles.

I opted to ride from home and take the ferry over to Hawkshead, with things going well with the knee’s and needing to get back into riding some big mileages again. After some last minute faffage I finally set off, taking the Whyte 46 out for it’s first proper trip out for a long time as the E120 is back in Wheelbase with BB/crank set issues again. At least the 46 was quiet even if the tyres weren’t really going to be the best choice for the 15 mile of road. It took around an hour to reach Ferry Nab where I had to wait for the first ferry of the day before the 4 mile stretch to the Hostel. Ray had cycled from Windermere, going round the lake as the ferry wasn’t running as early as he would of liked. Matt, Tony and Alex were already there too and before long everyone else was present and ready for the off, nine in total was a good turnout.

The first climb of the day Saw the fitter riders flexing their muscles and forging ahead, some of us opted to plod at a steadier pace. I knew I would certainly be feeling a little tired by the time I was done so was in no hurry to try and keep pace with the whippets. Shifting problems had surfaced with my bike which was to plague me for the day, climbs were somewhat dodgy with ghost shifting creating problems and at one point leading to a near over the bars moment coupled with a pedal on the shin on one uphill

The familiar trails were as enjoyable as ever, the weather whilst very kind led to copious sweating on the hills and a chill whenever we stopped or eased off. The sun shone on us though which was great and made the scenery ever better. The first mechanical of the day was a puncture on a water bar for Matt at Low Yewdale. It gave me chance to swap out the Superstar brake pad that had come adrift on my rear brake……..

Another sweaty climb up Lawson Park led us to Parkamoor and the great descent down Moor Lane. With gates already open it was a cracking ride down to Satterthwaitte, the sanitised rock outcrops now take away the tricky bits but water bars claimed another tube this time for Alex. Ian assited him whilst we waited, glad it was just a puncture causing the holdup. A water refill at the pub was a welcome relief for me before the climb up Bresty Haw where Stu showed us all how to clean the rocky step, everyone else spun out despite the dry trails. The final descents were a fitting end to a great ride, I’m sure everyone enjoyed it.

All that remained was a further 15 miles back home for me. Ray split off with me and we headed back to the ferry. My legs were feeling the ride now so the trip over the water was a welcome break. Ray dragged me up the climb to the golf course before splitting off home. Once back I shoveled food down and being a good boy stretched off a bit before collapsing. It was a good day but some bits aren’t used to being sat in the saddle for so long again…….

No pictures due to my broken Fuji and the credit crunch

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