Last weekend I was afforded the pleasure of having the thinking entirely taken out of my riding. It’s perhaps because this is such a rare event that I found it so enjoyable.
Quite often when out on the mountain bike I’m leading people round trails I know in the Surrey Hills, or I often find myself with map in hand when riding in unfamiliar territory. Training on the road can also involve a bit of thought – am I hitting the right effort levels? How am I going to make sure that I’m back in time for work/dinner/etcetera?
Last weekend was different though. Four mates and I went to Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, where one of our number, Matt, hails from. I’d never been before, but it’s a cracking part of the world. It’s no coincidence that the area is home to Singletrack, my favourite MTB magazine. Lots of old pack-horse trails, fire-roads and bridleways from a varied past centred on the textile industry mean plenty of riding options.
And the best bit of all of it was that Matt, aided and abetted by his local mate Andy, led us over two days of varied riding up hill and down dale. Don’t think, just pedal, and go where Matt goes.
The only downside was the weather… It was February in Yorkshire – what did we expect? 36 hours of rain from Friday night through to early Sunday resulted in the place being awash with water. Luckily it’s pretty rocky, so not too much mud, but many of the trails had effectively turned into streams. And then on Sunday I experience the windiest day I think I’ve ever had on a bike. Being tall and lanky and with a rucksack on, I got literally blown off my bike twice by strong gusts. Hopefully this will only add to the pleasure of riding in the ABSA Cape Epic in sunshine and warm temperatures!
I’d hoped that my MarathonMTB.com team bike (of which more soon) – ordered up particularly with the ABSA Cape Epic in mind – would have arrived in time, but unfortunately the vagaries of international delivery meant this wasn’t to be. So I was on my singlespeed. Not a great choice in an area of exceptionally steep-sided valleys. As Matt described singlespeeding around there, ‘it feels quite often when climbing as if you’re about to pull the handlebars off’. With my Schleck-like arms, little danger of that in reality, but I now know what he’d been getting at.
A weekend away riding when someone else is in charge of routes has a marvelous simplicity about it – turn up with your bike; ride; clean your bike; collapse in front of the Six Nations on TV; go to the pub for beers and dinner; repeat; go home. Brilliant.
[Thanks to Mark Phillips for excellent photos, and for risking his fancy camera by taking it out on a wet Yorkshire day]