I got myself booked on this ride at the same time last year and it was going to be one of the first ever sportive rides I would do.
Unfortunately last year I ended up in Hospital at about this time with a complication of pneumonia in the form of Pleurisy!
At the time less pleasant than running naked through a field of super prickly cacti whilst smothered in honey and being attacked by a swarm of very stingy wasps.
However as unpleasant experiences go the ride this weekend would be up in the top 10 of all time "Hmm I didn't really like that and wont be doing it again on purpose" experiences.
It went something along the lines of this.
6am (on Sunday morning) I woke up and very quietly got dressed in my cycling gear plus a pair of jeans went downstairs and sat down to have my breakfast. I checked the weather and to my shock and horror it would be raining quite heavy for most of the day.
Now being a good hardy cyclist and always going by the rules of cycling, I just applied rule 9 and went mega bad ass!!!
So will my waterproofs in hand (even my Gortex trousers) I set off up to Wardle in Rochdale to the ride HQ for what would indeed be an emotional journey...
Now as I drove up to Rochdale the wind and rain felt like it was slackening off and I was hoping that perhaps my luck would hold out and the even would be bathed in unseasonable good warm sunshine and a light breeze.
At Ride HQ you could tell that the participants parking cars in the car park and putting on helmet were all thinking the same thing, "Am I really going to do this? Will this weather get worse not better?". The event organisers had thought better than letting a load of lunatics like ourselves wander around on the high exposed Moor's of West Yorkshire and had cancelled the long route plus redirected the Medium route.
After getting registered I went back to my car and climbed back in to the warmth. As I sat there I did have one of those am I really going to go and do this moments. Deciding that I indeed must be completely crackers I stripped off my jeans and jumper (not really cycling attire) pulled on my waterproof jacket and trousers, got my bike out of the car boot and with a few final checks that I had not forgotten anything vital (apart from common sense) I set off around to the start gate.
The guys had done a really nice job of setting up a very posh looking gazebo will all the computers in to clock the riders out at the start and back in on return. After a quick briefing then (on the wind rain and don't be an idiot the locals wont like you if you are) it was off back through the car-park and out of the school grounds and Right down the hill towards Halifax Rd
It was a Quick Dash eastwards down the A58 then following the fork Northwest up Calderbrook road, through Clough and on to a little known village called Summit just a little rise of the day to get you warmed up and make sure the legs were working.
From there we dropped down onto Todmorden road/Rochdale Road for a fast(ish) run up to Gordon Riggs garden centre. All the time the rain was pouring down and I was starting to think that I was feeling quite damp and could do with turning around at some point. But onward and upward I went turning east onto Lambutts road skirting around the south side of Todmorden, the low clouds temporarily clearing to give a fantastic view of Stoodley Pike, a monument that is one of the more memorable landmarks (to me anyway) in this area. The sight of Stoodley Pike always makes me feel at home as I grew up in this area and you could nearly always see it sitting like an ancient silent guard on the hills above Calderdale. A great sight indeed.
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| Stoodley Pike in better weather |
From there it was just a case of follow your nose and head towards the home of the coiners, my mum and the longest constant single gradient in England, Crag Vale. Now this was the whole reason that I had come here, to cycle up this long hill 5 1/2 miles (8km in European money), plus it is one of the crown jewels of the Tour de France visits to Yorkshire. I just wanted to say I have ridden it.
I turned off the main road and headed up Crag Road. The start of the climb is even marked with a sign stating that this is the longest single gradient with a distance to the top marker telling you how far you have to go painted onto the road. Fab I would be seeing one of these every km just to destroy your moral and soul!
The battle begins!
Crag Vale isn't the steepest of climbs and in places is really quite nice. However the thing that really does make it hard is the distance. It really starts to wear on the legs after a while. Meanwhile the rain was still bucketing down and the wind really howling. I could feel myself getting colder and colder even though I was working hard and thankfully keeping my core temperature up. As I passed the 4 or 5 km to go marker (I wasn't paying attention at the time) I found that the protection the houses and valley had given me had been slowly stripped away and now I was quite exposed to the elements. The wind was constantly pushing me sideways. I was leaning hard into it to remain on my bike. My legs started to burn from the effort. My arms, hands, face and feet soaking started to freeze. The rain was coming down with such force it was stinging my hands though my gloves and even making my eyes sting as it forced its way behind my glasses.
I was trying to make my mind up now whether I should go the medium route that involved getting to the top of the hill and then re-tracing the same route back to the start, or just turning right at the top and heading straight down to Rochdale. I decided that how cold I was would be the biggest factor for this ride.
Finally I reached the top of the hill. I had no time to appreciate it though as by now I was so cold and wet that I could hardly think! I knew that unless I got back soon I would be going down with exposure or even worse hypothermia. I could see some riders coming back to do the long route already, but also some opting for the shorter option in an effort to just get back fast. I chose the shorter option as I was starting to see the really bad signs in myself. I was shivering, my reactions were slowing and I am sure if I spoke to anyone I would probably have been slurring my speech too. All the classic danger signs!
I turned down the hill and found straight away I was going to have a problem. In a moment of keen road resurfacing the local council had applied a beautiful smooth new tarmac surface to the road. Which usually wouldn't have been an issue. Today however it was! The rain was being driven head on into my face. The water on the slick new road was being driven up hill. Every time I touched my braked my wheels locked up threatening to throw me off at any second.
I actually found the wind was so strong that I had to pedal to keep moving downhill. At practically walking pace I proceeded down the hill into the wind then things got really emotional. the road bent to the right and as I turned with it I found this strong headwind that was helping with my braking now became a killer side-wind that was trying to force me across the road and also made me speed up.
I wrestled my bike down the hill and finally into a more sheltered built up area. I was really shivering again though. I was just willing the miles by unable to feel a thing just hoping that my legs could work on autopilot as I had lost all feeling. Not a moment too soon came the final turn back up towards Wardle High School and the finish.
Once I got back to the start/finish point and I checked back in I realised how bad I was. I couldn't use my hands. I was shaking and I really needed to just get my wet kit off before the situation got any worse. Back to the car and then a shivering strip in the car park, wet kit off dry kit on! Finally I started to feel a little warmer. A free cuppa soup later and I was back on form ready to drive home.
After this ride I learned, my current water proof jacket isn't waterproof at all.
It is possible to still cycle whilst leaning at nearly 45 degrees.
Speed downhill is not always your friend
And finally if the weatherman predicts the end of the world, then he is probably right and best wrap up warm before heading out on your bike for the next ride!
Now looking forward to one of the biggest sportives in my calender "The Cheshire Cat" can't wait!!!
Happy cycling! :)
