Our final hilly long ride before the trip to Pyrenees. We had been eyeing up a jaunt out to Teesdale for a few weeks and things had conspired against us on a number of occasions. Finally a window of opportunity arose when my parents visited for the weekend. They went off to Church on sunday am, leaving us a few hours to fill before meeting them for lunch and a walk.
Up early and on the road by 10am (after forgetting bike shoes! Doh), we headed north to tackle the middle section of the new High Moors Sportive - full ride on 19th Sept. Its certainly a challenge with climbing or descending the order of the day for most of the ride. A slightly easier section from Edmundbyers to Blanchland. But the rest mixes some superb moorland climbs and fast (Max 70Kph) but not too technical descents to link the dales.
We were blessed with a dry, almost breeze free day, and saw plenty of other cyclists enjoying the quiet roads and dodging the many lazing sheep!
We both were spinning nicely and knocking out a good pace ~ 14mph, until the last and toughest climb of Langdon Common. What a brute. A short sharp bank to start with then contour and drop slightly before hitting the main drag to the summit. It starts at 10%, and gradually increases upto 16, then 17 and 18 %, without much in the way of bends. Even with a 34x29 it was tough and we both fought the bikes to make it to the top gasping for breath.
After a short respite to take in the stunning view down into Teesdale, we hit the descent of 10 miles back to Middleton and a much needed rest and refreshments.
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| Karen about to collapse at top of Langdon Common |
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| Karen meets her match! |
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