Poor preparations.....

[Richpips]

So my plan as mentioned in a previous thread was to cycle from Bainbridge to the Tan Hill Inn last Friday.

I'd plotted a route on my Garmin based upon Phil and Bob's advice, packed a bag with cycling clothes and of course fettled my bike.

I woke up a bit late and in an attempt to get out of the house on time (my wife had a work meeting to attend) I neglected to eat any breakfast, oh and I picked up the wrong Garmin, you know the one with the route on.

The traffic was heavy on the way up so stopping at a shop to grab some food didn't happen. We arrived in Bainbridge with a few minutes to spare. I dressed quickly had a quick look at the map on my Garmin and headed off in what seemed to be the right direction. Things were going well and rather than micro navigate from the map on the gps, I went with the "this road/track appears to be heading in the right direction" style on navigation.

This approach seemed to be working well. From Carperby I found Peatmoor Lane which I followed over the moor to Apedale Rd. Fantastic non tech tracks. At Hargill Lane instead of looking at the map I followed my instinct and descended to the village of Redmire.

I'd been enjoying the riding so much that I hadn't kept track of the time, and most importantly hadn't done anything about food. Not to worry though, googlemaps told me that Reeth was only 10 miles away.

Googlemaps also told me that to get to Reeth I would have to ride back up the hill I'd just done 30 mph down. My figurative wheels started to fall off. The hill and the wind magnified my hunger. I struggled back up the hill making myself do just enough to make forward progress without digging too far into my rapidly depleting reserves. By the time I summited I was nearly 3 hours into my ride. I also knew Tan Hill was more than an hour away still.

I rolled into the Dales Bike Centre just outside Reeth and was absolutely wasted. 35km and 850 metres of climbing on no food or drink for that matter. I ordered food then phoned my wife to come and meet me there instead of at the pub.

Tan Hill would have to wait till another day.

[Bearlegged]

Oh dear. Now I feel slightly bad about teasing you on Instagram for being too early for the pub.

Still, you'll know for next time, eh?

[thenorthwind]

I've been there*. It happens, especially when you're trying to riding into busy lives, and work around other people. You got a ride and didn't die, it's all good. Nice to hear about people's "failures" (though that's not really the right word) as well as heroic deeds.

*not literally, though I have... make sense?

[Richpips]

Yep, I just wanted to show that whatever your background or experience you can still make a couple of mistakes that can really affect your day out.

[voodoo_simon]

Think everyone at some point has been there,I’ve certainly had my fair share of poor preparation.

Still, at least you got a ride in