Sussex-MTB

Breakfast at 9.00 in Castleton, Derbyshire meant leaving the house at 5.00am and heading off up the M1 to Chesterfield, followed by a bit of cross country shenanigans. After getting mildly lost, I was having a light cyclist breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, beans, tomatoes, black pudding, mushrooms, another sausage, fried bread, toast and marmalade by 9.20. 

I had two full days of Peak District cycling ahead of me with my friends Simon and Tom, and was looking forward to the challenge. After getting changed, (and letting my breakfast go down a bit) we were off by about 10.30 and headed up towards Hatton Cross. The gradual ascent developed into a full-on bike carry for the last 50 (vertical) metres leading up to the ridge. 

A quick breather to admire the view and we were off again. We followed the ridge along and up the stone flag steps to Mam Tor. These slabs were really odd to ride on, as they were exactly the wheelbase of the bike, making it an awkward bump up each time. We were still fresh though, and reached the summit with plenty of life left in us. Being with a Bi-cyclist (does tarmac and mtb) we decided to head down the road, very fast, to the stream at the bottom of the valley and then west to the beginning of Jacob’s Ladder.

Again the terrain headed upwards and ruckcycling became a necessity on more than one occasion; how some people manage to clean this was beyond me. At the top we passed Edale Cross at the gap in the wall and then began a blast of a descent down to Hayfield, and lunch.

Two pints and an enormous steak sandwich went down very nicely as we sat in the sun and complimented each other on our mtb prowess before finally deciding to jump back in the saddle and a long steady climb back to Castleton via the Pennine Bridleway and onto the road again. We were only a couple of miles from home now and at the top of the Winnats Pass – a steep road through the dramatic rock gorge. My mates left me for dead at the top and when I finally met them at the bottom, with glowing red brake discs and the strong smell of cooking brake pads I was told that Tom’s trip computer had registered just shy of 50mph!! He had to slow down because the cars were holding him up!!

Day 2 started with another light breakfast and were then off towards the reservoirs to the north; into Hope village first, past Eighteen Bikes and then left and onto the old Roman Road leading diagonally up the side of the hill.

The Beast was up there somewhere……

Another tough climb followed, with some pushing here and there, but no carrying this time. Eventually, we reached a crossroads. To the right was the Beast’s Lair. We gingerly carried on down the increasingly ragged path and arrived at a gate and then on, into the darkness of the wood and what lay in beyond…… 

The trail was an orgy of rocks, holes, loose stone to throw you off and boulders up to your axles. I headed down with trepidation, carefully picking my line. As my confidence grew I gained speed and leapt off the drops until I finally buried my front wheel into a hole that I hadn’t seen. Somehow I managed to get my weight right back, prevented myself from doing a somersault dismount and off I went again without a dab! At a convenient point I stopped to wait for my friends to catch up. I was breathing harder at this stage than I was during any of the steep climbs of the day before. My hands were shaking with the adrenaline surge. We had a quick “ ‘kin’ ‘ell” moment before clipping in for more of the same. The extreme nature of the trail just didn’t let up until we finally made it to the bottom. The Beast had been out to get us but we fought valiantly and made it out un-scathed. My God! Who needs drugs when you could ride that every day?

A bit more of a climb took us up another hill and over the other side was Derwent Water and Ladybower reservoir. A fast bumpy downhill took us screaming to the water’s edge, where to the stirring sounds of the Dambusters we headed towards the dam with its two towers. A brisk lunch stop at the café and we headed off towards Bamford around the side of the lake on the dirt tracks with a few pieces of cheeky single track thrown in for good measure. Finally we ended up back in Hope village at the Blue Apple Tea Rooms for a much deserved coffee and a slice of Mountaineer’s Cake.

Day 3 started with the usual breakfast, but unfortunately I had to head back to Haywards Heath. I had had an offer accepted on a house we wanted to buy in Horsham and it was my 20^th wedding anniversary! So I bade farewell to the fantastic scenery and my chums and headed back to the M1 and home with a big bunch of flowers….

Big Ade

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