The Cobbled Climbs
To quote myself from last year:
I will beat Shibden Wall. It was the first of the climbs and I was wary of burning myself out ahead of the potential 8 following climbs, so rather than muscle through I walked the last section. In hindsight, I think it's entirely feasible for me to get up this.
I will beat Trooper Lane. I stopped and couldn't get started again - lesson here, don't stop!
I will never get up the Buttress on two wheels. Jack struggled with it (walking the start) which tells you everything you need to know. This is the one I walked almost all of the way, and carried my bike CX style.
I beat Shibden wall. Last year I had to stop, but I did manage to restart without having to walk. This year, I not only went straight up it, I also out sprinted JH at the end, setting myself a new max HR of 201 in the process. Ouch. 80w more power than last year, 1m35s quicker.
I beat Trooper Lane. Although I almost didn't. I'd got much further than last yeat, but Bob, my Chimp, was telling me all about how it would be much easier to hop off and push the bike up - much less unpleasant. And he was sounding quite convincing. And then I noticed that Will had stopped. I dismissed Bob, and mentally and physically (but not mechanically) went up a gear, and pushed on. I'm told my body language visibly changed when I saw him, so the video should be amusing to watch! 1m41 quicker than last year (which included the walk break), and 70w more power.
Next up, Old Lane. I almost beat it. Got half way up, wandered into a stream of water, and then had no grip. Stopped. Started. Stopped. Started. Stopped. Walked. Oh well. 1s slower than last year.
After that, The Buttress. It was stupid last year, and stupid this year. Walked pretty much all of it. But that was the sum total of walking for the day - 1.5 climbs in total.
Then Heptonstall. I did this last year, and was racing Will. This year, I was in preservation mode, as was aware we had much further to go. But it seems that I still put out a higher power, so _might_ have done it quicker than last year, without the effort of racing Will. Unfortunately it seems I stopped at the top of the hill, which is short of the segment end, so don't know if I was quicker or not. D'oh. EDIT: Looks like I beat last years time by 30s.
This was the end of the cobbled climbs we did last year. From now on, pave wise, I was into uncharted territory.
Butt Lane was next. Chappers and Ewan were told they should be around the minute mark for this - a short but bumpy sprint. I started off, with the 2 mountain goats just behind me but the soon caught up. I realised I was in the wrong gear, so changed down and hoped the chain didn't jump - thankfully it didn't. I think I held a reasonable account of myself up this climb, only losing the whippets some point past the half way stage. I do like the short and nasty ones - I can put out the raw power to keep up with better climbers... for a bit, at least!
Then into Haworth, which was a more leisurely jaunt through the tourists. Very picturesque.
Thwaites Brow - in hindsight, I think I liked this one. I was neck and neck with Jack for the first half, until I got my wheel caught in a rut and had to stop. At this point I had to wait for 3 or 4 cars to pass before I could get started - I reeled Jack back in, passed him, and went onto the top. Probably only possible because of getting a short breather. I look forward to trying this one again without the stop.
Finally, Hainworth Lane. By this point, I was feeling fairly spent. The cobbles weren't too bad, but they were part of a much longer climb. And one where you think you're reaching the top, until you realise the dry stone walls are hiding yet more hill that you have to climb. Not fun.
The other climbs
It wasn't just cobbles, oh no. There was plenty more climbing to be had, including the A6033 - I put in plenty of effort on this one last year, but it was because it was the last significant climb of the day. This year, it was the half way point. So I took it fairly easy - chatting with Jack on the first half, before he dropped back a bit, and I pushed on to catch Si, and then on for the summit. Ewan, Chappers and Will looked like they'd got frostbite from waiting around in biting wind for 10 minutes!
Then there were some shorter but truly evil bits. The last "do or die" hill in particular was included demonstrating Jack's mile wide masochistic streak. After this I was almost as grumpy as Will, and just wanted to get back to pie and a pint.
The non climbing bits
As last year, some utterly amazing descents. Some easy, some technical. All fantastic fun, heart in your mouth, or just head down and pushing on. Loved these. Although it's worth pointing out here Trevor's experience - the descent into Luddenden. Very fast, very twisty. Lots of braking points. Got to the bottom and could smell the cooked brakes. Just then, from behind as the others arrive, is a noise that sounded just like a gun or back firing car. We thought it was a puncture, but no - 18 inches of metal rim had shot off Trevor's rear wheel. Looked like the heat had exposed some manufacturing defect (the wheels were only 2000 km old). Trevor was extremely lucky that this freak incident hadn't ripped through his leg, or happened when he was going much faster. I touched my brake rims to find the front unbearably hot. I can see the sense in road disc brakes now, at least for that kind of riding.
The rest
Unfortunately the weather wasn't as kind to us as last year - it stayed dry and was just about warm enough, but there was plenty of mist, so we didn't get to take in the vistas in the same way we did last year. I suspect it'll rain next year, but I'm already embracing that likelihood as an attempt to get into some true Flandrian style racing.
The food - the pork pie at the end was manna from the (cycling) gods. I'm not a pork pie fan usually, but this was absolutely superb - full of meat, and so tasty. Many thanks to Jack's friend John the butcher, who provided them, and the pub who heated and served them.
The company - a great day out with some like minded masochists, some I knew, and some new friends. We shared in some truly funny moments, some truly painful moments, and some good hearted piss taking too
And finally, to misquote Michael Stipe, "Every(part of my)body hurts".
Legs - obviously
Glutes - also obviously
Hip flexors - well, they would
Feet - blisters
Triceps, forearms, and wrists - bracing myself on the climbs, I think. It's arguable that my arms currently hurt more than my legs. I should probably have been more relaxed
Lungs - another obvious one
Chest - don't think my body's too happy at the new HR max
Back - erm, unsure
Oh well, it was fun. Grim, painful, fun. Here's to 2015!
