I promised myself a ride today. We had sunny spells and I didn't want to waste them. The thing is ... I very nearly
did. I kept finding things to do rather than ride and the time was getting on. By 2 pm, I realised that I was going to run out of sunshine very shortly if I didn't get ready and go ASAP. So, I rushed about getting ready, topped up my tyre pressures, and set off at about 2:20. Oh, and I remembered to put warm water in my bottle. My teeth are becoming very sensitive to cold and it was going to be nippy out. I correctly figured that if I started with warm water, it would be just a nice cool temperature by the time I drank it.
One thing that had been putting me off was the thought of climbing to Blackstone Edge into a cold headwind -
again! I decided to do something a bit different today - cycle over to Haworth and photograph the route that the Tour de France riders will be taking from there to Hebden Bridge on stage 2 in July.
So, I set off up the hill with good intentions, but after 4 km of climbing I realised that I had left my camera phone at home! I didn't have enough daylight left to mess about going back for it so I'm afraid that you will have to wait for the pictures until I ride over there again!
I had wind assistance going up the hill, which was a nice change from the in-your-face wind that often plagues the top of the Cragg Vale climb to Blackstone Edge. Sure, the wind would be against me on the way back, but it was forecast to reduce in intensity later and I would be getting some shelter from the hillside as I climbed. I wasn't too bothered about the headwind I would get once I began the descent to Hebden Bridge. I have done it at 40 mph enough times to not be disappointed by only being able to do 25 mph today! But first I had to get to Haworth ...
I enjoyed the climb. A combination of wind assistance and my recent loss of weight made it feel much easier than it used to. I was surprised to notice that I had done the 7 km ride with its 330 metres of ascent in only 33 minutes, and that included time for my GPS to lock on before I set off, and about 3/4 minute having a drink at Pecket Well and looking around at the scenery.
The descent to Oxenhope had a huge windchill factor! I had four layers on top but my chest still felt a bit cold. As for the question of whether to wear an old pair of bibshorts under my 3/4 length knicks ... Er, yes, the ageing process seems to have removed the last vestiges of pleasure from the frozen genitals experience - I will be doubling up on days like this in future!
I was looking out for steam engines at Haworth station, but there were only old diesels there today. I'm sure that they will have steam engines there billowing up smoke and steam as the peloton crosses over the railway in July.
The climb of Bridgehouse lane leads up to the foot of
steep, cobbled Main Street. I have never ridden up it before because it is narrow, and usually crawling with tourists when I am there. It looked pretty quiet this afternoon though, so I thought I would ride up to see what the Tour riders will be tackling ...
My view: It won't bother them! It should be a great spectacle on TV though. I imagine that they will allow spectators on Main Street, but will hold them back with barriers which would leave a narrow tunnel for the riders to climb up. The cobbles are in very good condition so they will not be much of a factor unless it is raining, but even then, I don't think the climb is long or steep enough to cause problems. The cars will probably be sent round on the B-road below which joins back up at the top of Main Street.
Well, I didn't sprint up the 2 steep climbs, but neither was I grovelling. I just put the Basso in a nice low gear and twiddled my way up. People used to laugh at the pained contortions on my face when I rode up Bridgehouse Lane, but today I felt pretty relaxed and got a thumbs-up from a pedestrian near the top.
Time was getting on and I didn't want to be climbing back over the moor in the dark so I took a shortcut round the northern flank of Penistone (pronounced Peni-stone, or Peni-stun, before anybody suggests otherwise!) rather than going the longer harder way on the southern flank which the peloton will take.
I dropped down into Oxenhope and began to climb back towards Hebden Bridge. The climb is shorter from the Oxenhope side, but steeper, ascending 200 m in 3.2 km, an average of about 6.3%.
The sun was going down and the temperature was plummeting as I got to the summit. I stopped to put my lights on and then plunged down into the bitter headwind that I had been expecting.
I was 2.5 km short of my 32 km target when I got back to Hebden Bridge so I did 5 rapid laps of a 500 m circuit round the block containing the Market Place car park.
So, 32 km distance, 750 m of climbing.
My heart, lungs, and legs are coming on, but my back aches now. My back and core muscles need to be improved to take the strain of steep climbs.
PS Oh, I forgot ... A totally unforeseen consequence of losing so much weight is that I am now much more comfortable on the saddle. Not only do I have less weight to support, but my bum is much skinnier so there isn't so much flab getting squidged around and rubbed raw!
heh3
Looking at the Wrekin.
