Sunday 13th October – was the day of the White Peak Sportive.
6 MVH’ers joined the start line and wished they hadn’t.
At the start of the event – 0900hrs – The weather was damp, wet roads but not really raining. A good day ahead then… Once out the carpark – the route was flat, scenic and enjoyable. But that was soon to change. 55 of the 60 miles route being uphill is a long way. Okay so there was the odd descent – short in time and distance, the occasional flat section – also short but the lasting memory – climbing, climbing and climbing.
The views were often stunning. Miles and miles of rolling fields and moors.
The roads definitely challenging yet the White Peak route did reward – in that cyclists reached those roads deep within the Peak district seldom visited. And for good reason you might conclude…
The rain and wind driving at times was noticeable in the short and fast descents. On climbing – the rain was – yes – refreshing, the wind was not. But beating the pervading cold and wet clothing also meant that there was no opportunity to stop and enjoy any part of the route. Keep cycling, keep warm. Stop cycling, body temperature guaranteed to fall and fall quickly.
The hills seemed to be relentless. This was not your Marchington cliff or Hanbury hill. These hills seemed to go on and on.
30 miles in and a feeding station – except it wasn’t really. Ok there was high five, a few bananas, bars and gels but where was the tea and carrot cake or malt loaf? Short stop as cold was setting in. Another 30 miles then. Not long and back onto another hill climb. Where did they find all these hills? Fast ascent, really fast then no… down gears, no can’t go any lower, grind it out, keep going. Whaay hay, down we go. Head down, heart rate recovering, down gears again, no thats it, grind it out, climb and climb on. 10 miles to go. Nearly there. Great road surface on this climb – don’t you think? Conversations became a bit limited…
The finish arrived. A goody bag received. A delightful neck buff and a WD40 minature spray can and a medal. Ah well. Bring on the next White peak challenge.
Some MVH’er statistics… from the White Peak
60 miles
4 hrs 40Mins cycling
4000 calories
3.5kg of primarily liquid weight loss, replaced with 2.5kgs of liquid intake + 2 bananas, 3 bars, and several gels during the route.
and quite a few metres ascended.
Just another Sunday!
Good news. Steve Herriman logged all the roads and has this route planned for Weisbaden training in the spring!
Oh happy days
The MVH Six
