The Border Raid 600

[MSeries]

The Border Raid 600



I thought about packing twice on this ride. The first time was while riding up England’s second highest road in the rain for several hours, freezing cold with numb hands. I was shivering in the cafe and had started to form a plan: if the conditions hadn’t improved by Brampton I’d get a train back to Newcastle and Darlington. Things did improved, my breakfast helped undoubtedly. After that, things were better, we even saw some sunshine and the views in the Scottish Borders are spectacular in good weather. Clothes dried out, some strategic changes made sure everything was dry before dark in case I needed more layers later. All was well again.
I was riding with Deano who was on Fixed. It meant I had an easy ride as he was not able to go faster than me to put me under and stress. Maybe a little slower than I could go on my own at times but that’s OK, I enjoyed the company, I am too old to spend so much time on my own and with difficult conditions I’d be visiting all the dark corners of mind, I've spent far too long in that place this year already!. We had company of others at times of course, some new people, Dynamo Dan for example and some old friends. People come and go some people are more sociable than others.
This route is superb, some very very quiet roads with splendid views, easy to ride two by two and chat. In the dark though I feel we missed one of the best bits. The climb up to and into Devils Beeftub. A long gradual climb with a long fast descent, I really must pass through here in daylight, the dark descent was a little nerve wracking.
Easy run into Annandale Water Services where we slumbered for 3 whole hours on the floor. Other randoneurs came and went while we were there before we set off just before first light. I felt OK, not too hungry and quite alert. Five of us rolled down to Longtown and then to Carlisle and on the back roads to Penrith. We met Les coming the other way. He had got as far as Penrith then decided enough was enough and was heading to the station at Carlisle for a train back. He’d given it 400 km, considerable more than some folk who had packed in the rain nearly 24 hours earlier.
Breakfast at Penrith. Then the climb of Shap. It shouldn’t have been, we should have turned off sooner and not climbed this big hill. The others stopped behind us and I thought they’d realised the mistake and would have turned back, they didn’t though, then climbed this hill too. The descent was exhilarating, but then we had a most horrendous road to get us back on route. Steep and narrow in places. Poor Dean on one gear. Not much time for recovery on this roller coaster. I went on as our slow progress was starting to make me think that we may be getting close to the time limit. At Sedburgh we were one hour inside, I sat on a wall and had a drink. A passer by asked me if I’d cycled far, about 200 miles so far, he was flabbergasted like most people are !! Dean was about 15 minutes behind me, we quickly controlled and headed on up the road to Garsdale. It’s been a long time since I rode up here and I had no memories of it. It felt easy, I thought the headwind was responsible for our slow progress but Dean assured me it was up hill. He was cruising, slowly but I think my words sped him up a little. Garsdale Head crept up on us unannounced and I was pleased, I knew the roads from here on in and that always makes me feel better. My second thought of packing was starting to dissipate now. At Leybrun we were had hour and a half in hand. Thankfully a tailwind to Ripon. At least no more rain today and some sun. It turned out to be a lovely ride round the Scottish Borders and Yorkshire Dales.
We finally finished with two and half hours in hand. Just fine. I finished during a bad patch, I think I had mentally switched off about 30km too early, the last part became a drag. Never mind, we finished with no real traumas.

[toekneep]

I was beginning to think the two of you had been eaten by some grim troll of the borders or something. Well done, glad you made it despite what sound like some trying moments.  

[Deano]

I spent all last night searching for my damn camera.  It may be a text-only report!

Suffice to say, for now, it was a great ride.  The long descent of Devil's Beeftub is one I'll have to try on a freewheel, cos I was spinning out by then (I was knackered as well). 

Having MSeries cracking the whip like a slave-driver did goad me up Garsdale a leetle quicker than I would have otherwise gone.  I let him find out for himself how close we were to familiar territory, since it's always a grand moment when you rise over the top and see the viaducts and bridges on the Settle-Carlisle line.

Smashing food at the end, too.

[toekneep]

I spent all last night searching for my damn camera.  It may be a text-only report!

It isn't with those gloves is it? 

[MSeries]

I was beginning to think the two of you had been eaten by some grim troll of the borders or something. Well done, glad you made it despite what sound like some trying moments. 

It was a grand ride.  Some grim times at the start but after the first four hours it was really rather ordinary. Just lots of pedalling and some superb views. The camera phone pictures I took were apparently never saved, probably due to my headfnckedness !!!!! Thanks Deano for keeping me company, else I'd be having my legs ripped off by Ian or getting lost with Davey et al.

[MSeries]

anyhoo, that's another SR Series in the bag and another RRTY for me (subject to validations). The latter is very pleasing since when I crashed in 2007 I was on the 12th ride of a 12 month set. I started this recent set on the same route that I crashed on, and since that first ride last July I have done a randonee every month since. I am back.

[Deano]

anyhoo, that's another SR Series in the bag and another RRTY for me (subject to validations). The latter is very pleasing since when I crashed in 2007 I was on the 12th ride of a 12 month set. I started this recent set on the same route that I crashed on, and since that first ride last July I have done a randonee every month since. I am back.

Congratulations again, and thanks for your company throughout most of these rides.  Even the bit from Sedbergh to Leyburn which everyone else found hard into the headwind seemed to fly by, cos there were two of us, and cos I was feeling the pressure a bit.  It made it more fun than a depressing solo slog. 

I don't remember any really bad patches - having company all the way probably made the difference!

[Deano]

I spent all last night searching for my damn camera.  It may be a text-only report!

It isn't with those gloves is it? 

Oy!  You'll earn me a reputation

[Deano]

I was buzzing by the end of this ride, filled with the glow of achievement and sharing tales of the road with the organiser and the other riders.  I had been looking forward to it since September, when I happened to speak to an Irish chap of the organiser's acquaintance, who mentioned the Border Raid.  I had heard of it, but I confused it with another local ride, the Border Bike Ride, which used to describe a rough circle of Darlington.  Someone had tried to tell me that it went all the way to Scotland and back, which I had dismissed out of hand as being too absurd a concept...

The weather, first.  It was hoying down all Friday, so I nipped into town after work to buy some suitable gloves.  The lad in the bike shop tried to sell me some overshoes, and mentioned that snow was predicted on the tops overnight.  I didn't believe him, and left with only my gloves.  He wasn't entirely full of it, as when Saturday morning came, it was still raining, and there was sleet as we reached the summit of Yad Moss, nearly 2000 feet up.  There were a few non-starters, and in other circumstances I might have woken up, looked out of the window, said "Sod it" and gone back to sleep, but I had been looking forward to this particular ride for nine months, and the thought of quitting never entered my mind.  Well, not seriously.  The first 70 km were miserable, we set off in the rain at 6 am and it didn't stop for four hours.  As for my gloves, well, "waterproof" is a good advertisement, but they were sodden by Middleton-in-Teesdale.  They were, however, thick enough to keep out the wind on the ascent of Yad Moss and the long descent to Alston.

Apparently, a couple of people quit around here - although I sympathised, as the conditions were grotty, I did comment later that they must have felt like the people who leave a football match at half-time when their team is 2-0 down, only to hear later that they fought back to win 3-2.  MSeries was so cold that it took a full five minutes before he even started shivering.  Hardcore marks to Alan M, who tackled the conditions in a pair of woolly gloves he bought at the pound shop.

To our relief, the weather improved as we rode north, and the roads were dry as we went through Brompton and Longtown. I had a Royale with cheese at Newcastleton, then we rode the marvellous, scenic road over Wauchope Forest, with views towards Jedburgh like visions of Middle Earth.  The whole of the route between Newcastleton and Kelso was hilly, and it took a lot out of me, especially riding into a strengthening easterly.


Scott's View: worth seeing, but not worth going to see. Not on a bike, at least.


MSeries and I at Scott's View.

Apart from the wind, the weather was very benign for the rest of the route - it was behind us as we chased back through Galashiels and Traquair and over the Devil's Beeftub to Annandale Water.  Relaxing a bit here, I had chance to admire the borders, spotting landmarks such as Wallace's Monument which I hadn't seen for about 25 years, and Smailthorpe Tower, which was scarred by previous border raids.  These English marauders could only bring back a few receipts, some scraps of Scottish money, and some hard-won information (how to pronounce "Traquair", for one).

We'd met up with three other riders in Peebles, and shuttled along almost together through the sleep stop and Penrith to Shap Fell, where we finally left them behind.  We rather assumed that they'd realised our mistake in coming over Shap, and decided to turn back to take the correct turning.  We carried on, like manly men, to make the route about 1000 feet harder than it had to be.  I picked up a bit of Kendal mint cake as proof of passage

The narrow, steep road from Kendal was a brute, and I just managed to get up it, but I had no time to recover, so I was pushing the bike up a couple of bits of Lambrigg Fell.  Magnificent views of the wind farm, though, which was a consolation.


Randonneur hair: MSeries at Leyburn, after 550 km.

After Sedbergh there came the aforementioned tough roads of Garsdale and Wensleydale.  We made up time here, so we can't have been going too badly, despite the sharp hills and the easterly wind flailing at us.  We didn't stop much all the way back to the finish at Aldbrough St John. I really hated the 50k between Leyburn and Ripon along the A6108.  But the last 50k or whatever was along nice, easy lanes, and was the flattest bit of the route.  Like MSeries, I was heartened by the news that the three lads we had been riding with were still behind us.  

I was bouncing at the finish, already plotting my next rides.  Had someone challenged me to do it again in reverse, I would have.

[simonp]

If you think Devils Beeftub is a hairy descent in the dark, try it in the dark & driving rain.

 

[MSeries]

Should have said this before, big thanks to Nigel Hall, the organiser, for putting this on an opening his home to us.