The Training Diary

The day started with a short sharp climb out of Askrigg, followed by a nice little diversion across a river footbridge to rejoin or route towards Kettlewell to meet up with Cozza. After about 10 miles we hit what was probably the hardest climb of the whole trip (16% for far too long!). It was one of those climbs where if it hadn’t ended when it did, I’m not sure we’d have made it. Anyway, we did, and following a much more enjoyable descent we met up with Corinne who was sat on a bench patiently waiting for us to pass by. In Kettlewell, the guys bought me the Easter egg that I’d been fantasising over for the last 24 hours, which was a really nice surprise, and one which was rapidly scoffed. After a pleasant spell of riding, once more in some sunshine, we paused briefly in Skipton for some cash, before pressing on to Haworth for lunch. Fatigue and soreness were causing some irritation by lunch, particularly for Tom who’s right knee especially made it difficult for climbing. After some discussion and desperation for a break, we finally paused for lunch halfway up a long climb at a pub called the Bay Horse, where we dined (due to the absence of pub grub) on chips and mushy peas from the local chippy (brilliant!). Following the longest descent of the trip into Hebden Bridge, we climbed out of the valley into Sowerby where, because of Tom’s knee pain, we decided to follow a slightly flatter route to our destination. Since we were near my home town I took the lead and, despite one unavoidable long steady climb from Ripponden to the top of Saddleworth moor (turned out to be the highest point of our trip at 18,000 ft) we made such good time that we stopped for coffee and cake in Uppermill to prevent us arriving at my brother’s house far too unfashionably early. It was around this point that Jon’s front gear shifter stopped working (unsurprisingly: he had been warned, at least by me), a problem that was to delay our start the following day. Nevertheless, we managed to press on and after a final stop at Tesco’s to satisfy Jon and Tom’s peanut butter and toast craving, we made the final climb to our destination. Dinner, in the form of my sister-in-law’s (Julie) fantastic chilli and rice (two portions for Jon and Tom) plus cheesecake and/or lemon meringue pie, was wolfed down with the usual gusto before we settled down for the night; the guys wrapped in cling film (Tom’s cure for knee pain: has he really got an MSc in this stuff?). It was great for me to have a spell in familiar surroundings and to chat with family about our progress so far. I also got my second Easter egg of the day, courtesy of my dad.