Peak 200 ride Sunday

[slarge]

I'm off to have a crack at the Peak 200 ITT on Sunday 9th, starting around 4.30am.

My Spot shared page is here:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... 3k2DDevvgM

Hope it works

If anyone fancies coming along for a bit feel free - I will probably be in a BearBones top on a black hardtail.

[Mike]

Good effort fella have fun

[ianfitz]

It's certainly a nice day for it!

[ianfitz]

By the time I could get out steve was at the base of the cut gate climb and I didn't have the time to ride across the loop to meet him.

Have to he home to make Sunday dinner!

Also I realised that Steve will experience the, ahem, delights of Gratton Dale quite late in his ride. Hmmm. Sorry about that...

[slarge]

Gratton Dale will linger in my memories for a while. At least there was a stream to ride down to wash some of the mud off. That was a tough ride!

[ianfitz]

Gratton Dale will linger in my memories for a while. At least there was a stream to ride down to wash some of the mud off. That was a tough ride!

When I rode it last year GD was set solid. Mud that had been trampled by cows then set as hard as concrete. It was pretty much the only time I regretted riding a fully rigid bike that day!

Hope you enjoyed the route overall though

[mikehowarth]

How did you get on Steve?

I've ridden various bits of the Peak 200 over the past year, thinking of having a stab it a bit later on in the year.

Gratton Dale was a horror show last time I rode it!

[PaulB]

I think you have to know the lines in GD that give least resistance. Having ridden both up and down it recently, once on the South Peak Loop, entering it with a positive mind definitely helps. I saw some photos of Cut Gate from the weekend, it looked a bit squiddgy!
How did Steve do? I will have a ride after the Fred Whitton has gone, and the new replacement frame arrives and is rebuilt. Ian, do you think your time could be reduced much?

[slarge]

Paul, Cut Gate wasn't too bad, but it is rare that it is dry anyway. Most of it was rideable. Gratton Dale was just dire, and at night any lines are hard to follow - there was 2 paths at times either side of a wall, and it was difficult to see which was better.
I did a slightly extended route in 19 hours 20 minutes, but I am sure 17 hours is possible - I was on track for around 18 hours before my legs stopped working. For an elite level rider I would expect 15 hours is perfectly feasible. My write up is over in "trips and adventures" - there might be some tips in there.
Good luck if you have a go, just be prepared for a big day out.

[ianfitz]

I think you have to know the lines in GD that give least resistance. Having ridden both up and down it recently, once on the South Peak Loop, entering it with a positive mind definitely helps. I saw some photos of Cut Gate from the weekend, it looked a bit squiddgy!
How did Steve do? I will have a ride after the Fred Whitton has gone, and the new replacement frame arrives and is rebuilt. Ian, do you think your time could be reduced much?

I think my time could be reduced a lot. On my ride last year I estimate I spent close to an hour faffing with my phone/charger as it had mapping on it, I spent at least 25 minutes in bamford garage while the guy looked in the back of the shop! Then several spell of minutes here and there having to remove the phone from its water proof case as the non standard lead wouldn't fit through the port on the case - than having to put it back in as the case is the bit that locked in to the mount! It was raining at times so it needed to be in my pocket, but then would come unplugged and stop charging. I use an etrex now! much less faff...

Also I'm far from the fastest riders out there, there are many who would go faster for sure. I'd agree with Steve that 15 hours would be doable, maybe less - look at Chris Hopes times for the Lakeland 200 or the coast to coast! 16:45 and 23:16 - both are staggeringly quick and have sections which are much slower/rougher/tougher than anything on the peak route, although there are some tough sections there too