Back on the road! (26th May)

So, after a couple of weekends off completing the Fred and the Keswick Tri (and yet again getting the Science Dept Gold!) I’m back on the road ticking hills.

Today found me down in the Peak District. I stayed last night at Chapel-en-le-Frith and spent today completing a ride through some stunning Peak District scenery. I’d forgotten how beautiful this part of England is, and it brought back memories of the time I spent here when I was teaching in Ashby.

So, after a stunning cooked breakfast at The Roebuck, I set off about 9.15. The first climb was Peaslows, up to Sparrowpit. After a slight routefinding problem which found me heading the wrong way up a dual-carriageway I finally got on track and completed a fairly straightforward ascent. 

Then, a lovely ride across to Tideswell, and some more navigation problems, found me at the foot of Monsal Head. This was a great little climb with some fantastic views from the top.

Those of you that know me well will be surprised, but I choose not to avail myself of the Monsal Head Ice-Cream.

Instead, I headed down to Bakewell and on to Rowsley Bar, which was a cheeky little climb with a kick at the end.

Onto Matlock, and after a little detour I got onto Bank Road. What a great climb in the middle of town. Constantly challenging, with no respite.

However, having made the top I swooped quickly down to the foot of Riber Road and headed up to Riber Castle. This route was a toughie, and I was chasing a couple of horses most of the way, but made no headway on them or their riders.

From Matlock, it was quite a drag to Curbar, but the trip was enlivened by a stunning descent into Beeley, and then the road through the Chatsworth estate.

The climb up Curbar was hard, as I was running out of energy, but the top soon came and I could look forward to a cafe stop.

The climb up to Eyam was hard but the reward of the food and ice-cream was well worth the effort. From there, the 15 miles to Castleton passed really quickly, apart from the drag up Small Dale.

And so the final climb, Winnats. I’ll be here again tomorrow with Quigs on the Tour of the Peak sportive, but today I had lots of tourist cars for company!

The final swoop down to Chapel was fantastic and I arrived just before Quigs. Time for a beer!

69 miles, 2416m of ascent.