Planned to ride the Peak District North + West of Buxton this week. Thursday was nice and dry [essential when riding moors to prevent damage] but got to Buxton only to realise that I'd left my water bottles behind. I was already a bit concerned about carrying enough drink around as it was, with places to top drink up a bit hard to come after 15km, so I binned ride.
So I went back the next, even hotter day, but circumstances meant that I wasn't able to start ride until 12.30pm. But I optimistically reckoned 8 hours of daylight should be enough for a 88km ride even with the slow average speed in these parts.
I had planned the hardest part to do when still fresh. Straight up to the moor top above Buxton and then down the other side. But after getting to bottom I found a big locked and barbed wired gate there which was definitely not for passing.
I wasn’t the first to make this fruitless journey.
This meant a reroute and back up the very steep hill...
...and then climb further along ridge to get around.
[This is looking back down, with lots more technical climbing to go.]
Two hours into ride and I was still climbing the ridge line, but had only covered 9km since I set off. I reckon I was in first gear for the majority of that time on my CX too. Lowest average speed yet! The ridge line climb/diversion was a very narrow and technical narrow sheep track with rocks, that combined with sunshine and amazing views made for the sort of awesome MTB ride I love. So luckily it was a diversion that was better than planned route by far.
It took about three hours to get close to the 8km marker part of planned route and nearly had to turn around and go back up the hill once again, just before I got there because this time the road was completely blocked by two telegraph pole lorries. Luckily there was just enough room to squeeze through the stingy nettles at side.
Now back on route, I pumped tyre up because I had a very slow puncture. Valve got unscrewed by pump and then the slow puncture became a lot less slow, going soft in just 10 mins Vs the previous 6+ hours since being pumped up. Luckily I was in the only area of route with some shops and there was a bike shop close by. I suspected it was a sealant dried up issue which I could simply top up Bike got cooked in car previous day and I had noticed sealant bleeding through walls of other tyre - which doesn't normally happen months after set up.
I had a spare tube BTW, but with handy bike shop nearby…though it actually turned out the tubeless valve was leaking air from rim, regardless of how tight lock ring was or wasn't. The instant deflation when valve popped out finished it off it would seem. Weird!
Wheel all sorted with new valve, but now I've done just 13km of the route and I’m 4.5 hours in. Time to cut my losses and head back to Buxton. Plot a route to maximise any tiles and back to Buxton I go. So just 37km and 870m of some very challenging climbing to get a mere 23 tiles. But this was a ride I really enjoyed nonetheless. Had it been bad, weather though, it would have been rather unpleasant and potentially quite dangerous. Another reason why I only ride moor tops during good weather.
