I used the night to try and keep me on a steady pace early on. Gratton Dale was great and relatively dry, except for the dew which soaked my feet causing an uncomfortable chill. Chatsworth was uneventful. I was expecting the day to break around 3.15, it was nearer to 4.00 but all was going well after a trip round Lady Canning Plantation. The sun came up and the sky was blue, but down in the valley was a cloud inversion and it was quite cold. Following the GPX Route and the OS 1:50K map the route follows the bridleway on Hope Brinks, not the Roman Road! (particular notice for the group start next month) the GPX/map is much much harder but not obvious. Going up 'The Beast' I met my first rider, a very pleasant older chap walking down so as not to do himself any damage, a quick chat then I bid him a good day not expecting to see him again.I got to Sickleholme filling station around 08.00, a bit later than I wanted but was feeling good. The sun was well up now and the heat was rising as i climbed out of the valley. All went well around to Mam Tor, the descent from Hollins was great as usual, but when I got to the lower gate I realised that my Garmin had switched off somewhere between the top and first gate, it had been connected to an external power supply and on restarting 100% power was showing (hopefully Ian will let me off with the error here). On the way up Jaggers Clough I realised I was quite empty, I was feeling good but moving slowly. I poured in a can of coke and some egg sandwiches, this did the trick and the speed increased all the way through to Fairholmes, and it got busier. A quick re-supply and off for Cut Gate. It was really hot ascending up on to the moor but plenty of riders around, the summit soon arrived and the descent was great. Lots of riders coming up which steadied things up, ~ 30 to40 of them, and, the old chap I had met on 'The Beast' I am not sure who was more surprised at seeing each other again. From 'The Flouch' onward, things slowed down. I couldn't get enough food and drink inside me, I felt nauseous, I hadn't had this before, but I hadn't ridden for this amount of time previously. The climb up from Dunford Bridge was awful, but the descent to Glossop felt good. I managed to get some Eccles Cakes and coke in me at the Gamesley Off License, the girl in the shop was great and let me have the bike in the shop
. I met a couple of locals that rode behind me until just before Lantern Pike where I left them (downhill 
). They caught me up on the next uphill, I felt painfully slooooow. From Peep O' Day I didn't see anyone to speak to until the end, I was on home territory but it didn't increase the climbing speed although the flats and downs were ok.The ride was and is great. I would do it again, it's a good mix of riding and superb Peak District trails. The Fred Whitton and a few MTB 'O' events quite close to starting this ride and very little recovery time didn't help the tiredness, but hey ho. Getting older and I need more time to recover, no s***t Sherlock.
I normally use HighFive products on long rides and don't touch anything else. I don't normally get stomach cramps or anything, but I just couldn't face any more gels or protein/carb drink, hence the egg sandwiches, Eccles Cakes and Coke. I need to review this nutrition situation.
I used my Endura MTR kit which was excellent as always, no saddle sores to speak of.
The bike was a Specialised Epic World Cup - love it.
Navigation wise I had my Garmin 810 & back-up power supply. Mapping on the phone (Backcountry Navigator with downloaded map and gpx track) and some paper maps as back-up.
I used a MTB Batteries Lumen 2200 and was still on 100% after 4 hrs on low, and on full for most of the downhills.
There was more cafe's than I had thought there would be, particularly if you get your timing right. Even though I am Peak based, I tend not to use cafe's much.
Thanks IanFitz for the route, hope your HT550 is going well.
PaulB GrandVet.
