“This is the windiest day I’ve ever cycled”. Thus spoke the oracle. The Descender has an encyclopaedic knowledge of our day’s out, so it must be true.
And what a day! It started sluggishly at 6.30, and as I headed out to Keswick the car belonging to the casualties we rescued on last night’s callout was still parked up at the Royal Oak.
Dene was ready and waiting, and an hour later (and a minor navigation hiccup) we were heading out from Middleton-in-Teesdale in glorious sunshine. However, it was soon to change. As we headed over the moor to Stanhope we had our first experience of the wind. Blowing from the side, it pushed us all over the road. Fast descents were out, either because the wind was in our faces and slowing us down or it was from the side and pushing us over.
A steep descent into Stanhope, and our first tick of the day approached.
I’ve done Crawleyside Bank a few times now, most memorably with Ems on the C2C, but today the wind made it harder. The summit soon came though, followed by a slow descent into Edmundbyers. Blanchford was our next destination, with a great cafe, lots of mountain-bikers and a respite from the incessant gusts.
The second half of the day was a little daunting, with three hills in addition to the target of Chapel Fell. The pattern continued. Climbs with the wind in our face, and then descents where the wind threw us around and slowed us down. We were well behind schedule, but a stop in St John’s Chapel for Cadbury’s Creme eggs gave the energy for the final summit push.
The climb over the highest paved road in England passed relatively painlessly.
Then we had the best section of the day, a fast and furious ride back into Middleton. With wind at our back and a gentle downhill we were soon screaming along at over 30 mph. Six minutes saw three miles added to the speedo. The final five miles were not quite as fast, but just as good!
50 miles, 2055m of ascent
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