RIDING IN THE RAIN! what excuse have we got for not riding in the rain? Learn from our dutch friends ....

The OMM - after a week+ of planning, lists, packing (6.5kg sacks), repacking and repacking again - - (mike took 3 hats after all that!) we were off to the OMM or the Original Mountain Marathon - this year the Elan Valley (where?) - Wales, somewhere north of Builth Wells with reservoirs. After last years disaster the organisers were taking no chances and had hired the Welsh Show Ground as race H&Q plus satellite phones - and with 3000 people to marshall .........

We went soft on the Friday night and had b&b in Builth - set us up for the day with porridge and full English .. the fish and chips the night before were pretty darn good too. We were in for the short score - 5 hrs / 4 hrs to collect as many points as you can from a selection of check points - challenging with lots of variables to consider - route, time vs. progress (penalty for lateness is 2 points a min). We finished with 15 mins spare both days.

The area is not particularly mountainous (more like our beloved West Pennine Moors) but it is almost entirely covered in rough tussocks (larger than your english tussock) many of which appear to be floating in water. Where there are no tussocks it’s either bracken, bog or crag and just to add to the excitement, there are few tracks or footpaths. If we fell over once it must have been a dozen times and more. I lost count of the times I made facial contact with a tussock, bending a finger or two back in the process. Mike's time at a rugby school was useful when he let go at of the map in high winds. I was downwind contemplating decapitation (this is a large laminated map with sharp edges) and he spectacularly launched himself thru the air to pin the map down. I followed that by a knee deep plunge in to a bog with the splash effect of a facial rinse in peaty water ....... lovely.

There were no real features to navigate by - we kind of just set the compass and ran/marched/fell over. It worked all but one time and in the end with nothing to relocate ourselves with, we passed on that check point. Don't we love re-entrants! .. the fact that the clag was not down is probably the reason we are not still out there. More nav practice i needed ..... On the Sat afternoon the autumn sun came out and the times I raised my head from the map and the tussocks, saw a beautiful wild landscape with autumn trees turning colour - only for it to turn cold and wet as we headed in to camp.

We ended day 1 with 14 hours ahead in a small tent in some high winds - tucking in to succession of treats .. could organic (yes, organic) tom & basil soup ever taste better? then on to habas frittas (salted broad beans), bean & veg curry, veg tikka, custard & apple, a chocolate treat, cups of tea .. no wonder our sacs were heavy! The evening was punctuated with some loud bangs .. there goes another balloon bed exploding ..we were not bitter ... just jealous given the paultry size of our sleeping mats - about 24sq inch. Sunday was dry and after a long night in the tent we emerged from yummy ready break to almost miss our day 2 start ... dozy or what!. We forgot is was a 10 min walk to the start .. doh! We had the wind behind us and the tussocks not too deep & had a good day if you don't count the re-entrant episode ("a narrow valley closed at one end, separating two spurs" seemingly).

Finished in one piece .. I tired a downhill belly slide to draw to a halt a couple of cm short of a rock - fine but winded .. and over the finish line. We came 68 out of about 187 starting teams (we think we covered about 35km over the 2 days) .. with a score of 245 (which gives us a silver certificate amazingly). The winning team had 570 points. We looked out their route on the OMM website - routegadget - clever tool that lets you map your route- how did they do that? . Wings on their fell shoes? ... balloons? .....

This is truly a wild area with large parts of desolate moorland with very few features. I don't think it makes for a fantastic walking area (take a look at this site - he does a backpack in the area) but would definitely recommend it if you require solitude - we have the maps for loan.... That said, it would be a nice area to re-visit on a cycle tour (National Cycle Route 8 passes through).

National FRA Relays: Oct 18th Ennerdale

A long drive round to Ennerdale on Saturday but in the glorious sunshine warming the autumn leaves. Time for a route recce which was well worth it, especially as my leg changed late last night. I'd even worked out the bearings for leg 2 but was now on leg 4 - it was shorter and I was running alone, last. 

Interesting evening at a lovely inn but without cook, cleaner or receptionist.  So it was DIY! the plus was I paid myself for cleaning the bathroom.

The next day (after the cold shower) the clag was down and got further down throughout the day and the drizzle turned to rain.  I stood around cheering people in and out and trying to keep warm and fed.  

Fell running is very friendly and inclusive.  I watched Alistair Brownlee leg it down the last fell and come panting beside me.  What other sport could I  be competing alongside the elite. He just won the world Tri championships. I was doing the same leg as him but needless to say he was back before I set off (most people were).  

Thank goodness for the recce. The clag was right down. I trotted up the first fell and managed to overtake 4 women.  One man overtook me.  Got to the first checkpoint then darted off across the rough and down under a summit along a trod, others were going over.  I could hear a bloke behind me all the way along and up to the next summit checkpoint.  Turned round then down the first gill.  I slipped on the wet grass and banged right down til my teeth rattled.  I let the guy overtake and decided not to follow him towards the waterfall. I went through the trees which was full of dead wood.  At one point I climbed over a large fallen trunk but fell right through it. I decided to get back in the clearing and luckily found the trod and took a steep descent to the track.  (another man behind me tried this and was later airlifted to hospital). 

I then enjoyed a stretch out along a forest track to the base of the last summit - crazily steep and by now a mud slide.  Hands on knees I kept going to the top, ran along to final check and did a good descent down that last hill to the showground.  A sprint in to finish and all my clubmates were still there to cheer - which was great.  I then watched several people who had been infront of me arrive in, even the first guy to pass me!  I then heard that Alistair Brownlee and the first 2 winners didnt even get checkpoint 1 - not only did i do the same course as them, I beat them! (technically).

My day ended with a chat to Joss Naylor.  Lovely.  I'd just finished reading his biography.  Like many fell runners, he is my inspiration. He's 73 and a few months ago marked his 50 years of fell running with a quick dash over 20 fells.  He set a record in 1975 with 72 peaks in 23 hours 11 mins.  But at aged 70 did 70 peaks in under 21 hours. Of course he is the greatest runner that ever lived. And there he was in his wellies turning up for the relays. And not many folk know him outside of Cumbria and fell running.  Last week at the BG dinner, Richard Askwith was there, having his book, Feet in the Clouds, made into a film so that might sell the magic, if it makes it out of Kendal Mountain Film Festival.

Fabulous, 

fit, 

fun, 

fifty 

and 

fell-runnin

sunshine & birthday wishes..

what a puff..or are those cheeks full of cake
a party complete with toy trainset
bubbles on the move

Happy 50th Birthday Martine...xxxx

Yorkshire ... hills and dales .. a clear, warm day with views to the Howgills and beyond. We clocked in at the cafe .. "will you be round quick?" they asked, "hopefully" we replied, "well we shut at 5:30, if you're late knock on the door..."

We were back in ample time for a pint pot of tea and crumpets plus membership of the "3 peaks of Yorkshire" club (exclusively for those sub 12 hrs - gents can sport a rather natty tie with the emblem... perhaps not)

• 3 peaks
• 6 hrs
• 23 miles
• 1608m/5200ft ascent
• 2500/3800 -hers/his
• 2 snickers bars; flapjacks; pbut sandwiches; 2 bananas ... and the rest

We did take photos of the start and all the 3 peaks but they get progressively less flattering. Here is one of us early on at Pen-y-gent early on with an alien in blue. Suffice to say were were totally bushed at the finish (and for the next 2 days!)

You can take the girl out of Yorkshire ..... but is the defection complete when you put her in LRC gear ?????

SEEING CORNWALL ON A FOLDING BIKE

26th June 2009

Pure leisure, plenty of pleasure on two 15-mile round trips. Resting the bikes against Philps pasty shop in Hayle (reputedly one of the best), passing children shout “Look at those bikes!”

The bikes are decent – Dahon and Dawes – so climbing long hills the back way from Hayle to St Ives is no problem. Negotiating the descent to the harbour is equally steady. The receptionist at the Tate Gallery won’t let us bring them in until we point out that they’re folders – she points us to the self-service cloakroom and we stow them next to a couple of wheelchairs.

Before that we’d sat in a harbour-side restaurant, our bikes leaning up on the pavement next to our table while we slurped mussels and mackerel.

Another day, another short trip, this time following off-road track and lanes on national cycle network route 3 from Hayle through St Erth to Marazion (my first view ever of St Michael’s Mount) and over to fog-shrouded Penzance.

This was the day of the pasty, and later a cream tea, with cream so deliciously clotted it was well on its way to becoming butter. The bikes sat in the café garden with us and – confessions now – got folded up later on as we sleepily bummed a lift off a friend. Whether it was the cream, the jam, the carbs or the sun, something set us off yawning and succumbing to the pleasure-combined-with-leisure aspect of our trip.

So unlike our other cycling experiences. No helmets, constant sunshine, seaside shorts and trainers, rolling gently between hedgerows, walking the bike up steep cobbled streets. The only problem was taking a topple over the handlebars in soft sand on a road behind the dunes. But we have to have some stories to tell.

Tartan Lassie & Laddie on Tour
To say we had a good time would not do it justice .. it was brilliant .. absolutely brilliant ... every day was fantastic views, good laughs and a day spent on a bike in the sun .. does life get any better, i think not.

You can click on the photos for full effect (visit www.autostitch.net to make your own panoramas) - use the browser back button to return to the blog.

Beach at Morar (mainland)

The Quirang (Skye)
Cuillins from Sleat Peninsula

Day 1 Ardrossan - Lochranza (Aran) 42m
Day 2 Lochranza - Ford (Argyll) 55 m (+8 for meal!)
Day 3 Ford - Oban (Argyll) 56 m
Day 4 Oban - Salen (Mull) 42m
Day 5 Mull circuit 47m
Day 6 Salen (Skye) - Morar (nr Mallaig) 64m (+10 for meal!)
Day 7 Morar - Carbost (Skye) 58m
Day 8 Skye north circuit 95m
Day 9 Carbost - Ardvasar (Skye) 61m

Total 538 miles
Average 12 mph
Cycling Time 45 hrs (av 5hrs a day)








Red line is pedal power, black Scotrail











Trip highlights ..

• realising our wiggly route would stretch the length of Scotland
• seeing osprey, sea eagles plus some golden ones
• the smell of the sea at the tip of your nose all day
• riding the length of the "awe"some Loch Awe (23m longest loch in Scotland)
  
• eating a "full scottish breakfast" with no worries on calorie expenditure vs. intake
• ditto shortbread and Tunnocks carmel wafers (4m a day worldwide - it said on the pack)
• ditto ordering extra evening food after finding no cafes en route
• eating apples in the sun looking over to the paps of Jura
  
• wondering if anyone in Scotland had been on hospitality training ...
• pondering the merits of Scottish architecture .. one design = lots of bungalows
• getting money off the back of a van .. okay, so it was a mobile bank
• a fantastic train journey to Glasgow - no leg movement required!
  
• wondering whether or not to go round again when we arrived back in Ardrossan
• and views like above .... every day, all day ............

Best piece of kit award goes to the elasticated washing line ... amazing how inventive you can be as to where you hang your washing!

The rest of our photos are here if you are dead keen to have a look ..

www.flickr.com/photos/heatonriders/sets/72157619753109877

Liz and Jo after the Manchester 10k on the 17th May and before this interview.

Brief interview.
Glynis: so how did you do?
Jo: I am disappointed with my time, it was slower than last year
Glynis: perhaps you were still tired from the Dales ride last week-end? (sympathetic tone)
Jo: We tried the Dave Rowlands approach to race preparation
Glynis: and that is?
Liz: it is ok to have a pint the night before
Glynis: just the one?
Jo: well, um we had two out and then......(somewhat sheepishly) had another when we got back
Glynis: OK three pints and you expect to do a PB - (string of expletives....followed by door slamming)

Richmond Cyclosportives 2009

4 Dales 80 m and 3 Dales 50 m

Trio over Tan Hill

Cyclosportives[1] - what’s the point?
We missed out on a Bronze medal by one minute – 80 miles in 6 hours 31 minutes was one minute too long. Looking back over the day it was easy to say where we lost that minute – top of Birkdale, waiting to get my heart rate down to something I had seen before, the girls false wee stop to shake-off a young man stealing a ride, or was it the extra moment spent in denial of the task, sat in the sun, with a pasty, in Hawes? I did think M and M were being a bit slow on the descents but there again they probably thought I was being a bit slow on the ascents.

I know my role in this trio.

Is this what semi-competitive means? One half of you just wants to complete the ride with your mates, get your certificate and wallow in self-satisfaction for the next however many hours, days or even weeks. The other half wants to out- do them and break a record.

So just for the record I recorded:-
· a max heart rate of 222bpm. Beat that tyre suckers. By rights I should be dead so I guess that heart rate belonged to some young fitter thing nearby or interference from the surrounding military zone. There are not many roads in the UK where you get ‘Tank turning’ road signs.
· 2335 metres of climbing. This compares to cycling over Hellvelyn followed by Ben Nevis. Who would have thought The Stang, Tan Hill, Birkdale Common and Mallerstang of the Yorkshire Dales could muster that many metres.
· average of 22.2kph (under 14 miles an hour)This exceeds the overall average speed of 12 days cycling in Mallorca so I must be fitter
· 75.6kph descending from Birkdale Common. That is over 47 miles an hour for you imperialists
· 3229kcals burnt. That is the equivalent to 161 jelly babies, or 32 bananas, or 10 flapjacks, or 6 vanilla milkshakes or over 14 cans of lager!

Whichever way you look at it, it is not a race but neither is it a walk with a ‘picnic in the park’! Only one person in our 4 Dales event was fast enough to complete their 80miles (135kms) in the golden time of under 4hours 50 minutes (16+ miles an hour or 25 kms an hour, and that is 3 kms an hour faster than us.) That is a lot of jelly baby power.

So what is the point? Being able to wake up the next day and know that the one think you don’t have to do is ride 80miles but that you can have a ‘picnic in the park’. Or sit in a sunny English apple orchard, with your friends, feeling wholly satisfied with having completed the challenge, drinking tea, sharing a yoga session, reading papers and chatting, and, eating what ever you fancy without a care for intake over expenditure, cos’ yesterday you ……did a cyclosportive.
[1] Cyclosportives – a mass participation, semi-competitive, one day cycling event and challenge of both distance and climbing! http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/cyclo-sportives/training-for-cycle-sportives

Bike Right! directors on a day off. Liz and Jo go over Tan Hill and successfully complete the 3 Dales 50 miles in 4 hours 46 minutes.

OVER THE EDGE 10th May 2009

We took our Majorca legs, topped up by a 60-mile Cheshire ‘Ride of the Meres’ with Glynis and Dave on May bank holiday, to Hollingworth Lake for a 55-mile challenge – the annual Over the Edge ride organised by Pennine Cycle Club, to which our mate Pauline belongs. We opted for the Gold route (Liz’s idea).

The day was freezing (the forecast long hot summer has not yet begun) but starting with a two and a half mile climb cured any complaints on that front. Ascending was the theme of the day: time after time we looked out over vast swathes of moor and rippling, chilly reservoirs; valley floors and hillside populated by scruffy sheep and chubby lambs. We weaved back and forth, being welcomed into Lancashire and Yorkshire respectively as we took in Mytholmroyd, Heptonstall, Mereclough, Holme Chapel (not the Cheshire one, that has an ‘s’ on the end), Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and finally back to Littleborough. This was true England, the antidote to satanic mills.

A wind farm was spectacular in its majesty and power, catching gusts up in their sails on a day where we rolled unimpeded by the elements. Okay, it did rain for half an hour, making grey Todmorden look grimmer than ever and drawing comparisons with Wuthering Heights. But on the whole our four and a half hour outing went swimmingly (excuse the mixed metaphors), especially when a local resident handed me an oat bar and a bag of jelly beans laid out for his son who had whizzed past without stopping.

The real tough bit was the 35-minute pull up past Heptonstall, but with the help of good muscles and a granny ring, we made it and celebrated at the final top with a banana. The other major hill – five and a half miles up Cragg Vale – was, if you’ll excuse the vernacular a piece of piss. We did decide, however, that next time we’re in the area we’ll go down that way, as it is undoubtedly a lot easier to coast for twenty minutes than push pedals for twice as long.

Arriving back at Littleborough having hit speeds of 37mph (fearless Liz) on the same hill we had toiled up four hours earlier, we collected our medals. For some reason, people presumed we had been doing the silver ride. “I thought you were a long time”, said Pauline.


JO and LIZ

Manchester Mini Run 16th May 2009
Eden wins his first running medal....with grandma Glyn and supported by Jacob, Eve and Libby.

MAJORCA 2009 – the experience according to Jo

The week in numbers: 75 / 70 / 90 / 84 / 89 / 67. That’s kilometres on each of our bike rides. Total: 475. Maximum speed: 52 kph. Dead bodies: 3. (We heard that a 79-year old cyclist had a heart attack on the road; next day we saw a pair of stockinged feet sticking out from a covered mound in the car park at Lluc monastery – wondered where the ambulance that passed us on the way up was heading; and a cyclist apparently keeled over on the toilet at a party on their last night).

Names of the week (in no particular order): Campanet, Buger, Muro, Petra, Seycelles, Lluc, Puy Major, Cala San Vincent. Not Randa, not Soller, not the Orient, not the lighthouse. They’re for next time.

Smiles of the week: silly things like Mike’s buns, bananas stolen from the breakfast buffet, everyone’s nicknames: Stealth, Donut Dave, Rocket.

Triumphs of the week: finding myself fitter and abler than predicted, but still learning to ‘dig in’ on a hill; keeping up with the others on a slight gradient (hill to me); finding my pace and keeping at it till the top, rewarded by coffee and cake or bocadillo con queso e tomate; descending smoothly and fearlessly (the latter is an aspiration not an achievement).

Staying at a place with a 30 metre pool was amazing and meant the Pollensa Park hotel was teeming with triathletes as well as cyclists, and even some iron women who did Iron Mans but looked and sounded very ordinary close up.

Next year: I’ll see if I can beat my record for piling mounds of salad into my bowl, and a steady four on puddings. Only to load up for cycling so I can get out there and bust some ass on those hills of course.

Clarion Club House ... we had a cycle ride out here today - 65 mile round trip from Horwich to the Clarion Club House at Roughlee. Set up 99 yrs ago by the Nelson Independent Labour Party and still run by volunteers, it offers an open fire, an even warmer welcome and credit crunch beating pints of tea @ 50p (last price rise in 2007). You bring your own sandwiches (Sainsbury's at Burnley supplied ours) - they sell sweets and minerals - and then it is lunch looking out over Lancashire from the veranda. No finer way to spend a day! Only open Sundays and some bank hols. Martine

Cheshire Cat Sportive.. kitten or tiger?
66 miles and 5000 ft of climbing

Black ice at 8:00am left us huddled in our various vehicles waiting for the sun to rise. And it did. Miscalculations on the clothing front had me with surgical gloves over my inadequate ones and Jude lamenting her collection of warm tops neatly folded in draws.

At the first feed station Dave became Donut Dave but did not give in to Mike goading him to eat a 3rd. By the time we caught our first sniff of Mow Cop, donuts, nerves and sun had warmed us. Any lingering chills were seen off with the effort it took to ride up the 25% incline. 3 came away with medals for a clear run. As always, i was spurred on by the sight of men pushing their bikes. Sort your gearing boys!

After Mow Cop that we knew that hills were the order of the day ... and so their were ... relentlessly. Macc Forest had us threading the bike thru the eye of needle to avoid ice on the road but we gobbled up the challenges .. hill we love 'em! and yes there were even more boys pushing as i danced on my peddles. And that included Swiss Hill - a cobbled hill climb. The hardest bit was avoiding the charlies who gave up but then just stood where they stopped. Jude and I gave them clear instructions - MOVE! NOW! We got some unwelcome info from a guy at the top... cobbles played havoc with his manboobs seemingly.

The home stretch was flat and world champ Glynis powered us home for a 6hr finish - including stops - 5:15 worth of riding.

The "goody" bag was interesting - nothing to eat and mainly leaflets on how to torture ourselves some more . Any takers?

Noon Stone - Todmorden
Following my frustration at not being able to take part in the Anglezarke I decided to enter this event on 28th February at noon. The course measures about 9 miles, includes 2300 feet of climbing and is regarded as a true test of fell racing due to the terrain, stamina needed and navigational demands.

On arrival at the race HQ (Top Brink Inn at Lumbutts) I duly signed on and handed over my £4 entry fee (bargain compared to such delights as the Manchester 10k!). It was now time for the nerves to kick in for the next hour as I faffed around getting changed and sorted my 'stuff' out. My fears grew as looking out to the tops of the moors all I could see was cloud - yes, the dreaded pennine 'clag' had descended and map and compass were got out and bearings taken. On this occasion, injury was to sideline Martine, much to her frustration, but she did do an excellent job in support!

The atmosphere at the starting line was jovial and very friendly, the starter wishing us 'Good Luck' with our navigation for the section with no markers across the top of the moor (nervous laughter followed) and then we were off! A brief warm up along a lane and it was straight up a hideously steep hill (virtually unrunnable), back down, up Stoodley Pike and then up and down through endless mud and bogs which sapped the energy from my legs causing a couple of dives in to the mud, peat and heather! Luckily, the clag had lifted for us so navigation was not an issue at all.

For the last few miles I managed to keep with a local lass (Cath I think) who had lots of encouragement from marshalls, but I had my own from Martine near the finish which did raise the spirits!



Nearing the Finish after the last climb exhausted, but its all downhill from here!



Have I ever run so hard? No.
Have I ever put myself through non-stop agony for 1.5 hours? No.
Have I ever been so utterly knackered? No.
Have I ever been so muddy? No.
Have I ever felt so satisfied after an event? No.

Will I be back for more? Yes!!

For the record, it took me 1 hour 38 minutes which I was chuffed with!



Post race washing facilities were basic but effective and much needed.

Anglezarke Amble (finishing with a hobble)! Long standing ambition achieved this Feb to run the 25 mile Long Distance Walkers local event - around Anglezarke, Darwen and beyond. Hooked up with running club folk at for the first half (who needs a map when you have friends!), grabbed a cuppa and cake at the check points and sped round in 5:08. Ran the Darwen moor section more or less alone ... now where did that Tower go ... very grateful for the jelly baby when i finally got there. Well pleased .. even it had cost me a couple of blisters and a left knee ligament. Hot pot and peas went down a treat and the glow of the hot bath and satisfaction lasted for days ... as did the blisters.... spent the afternoon making good use of the TV remote. Martine

January 2009
Martine and Mike completed an off road half marathon out of Hebden just to start the year off in style!!!

Jude having missed role call for the event didn't want to waste her prep and went and did the same mileage, on her own out in the peaks!

Aspirations for the year - Jude is off to Patigonia next week, M and M are off skiing in Switzerland next month, Martine has joined Horwich Harriers and Liz and Jo have joined Chorlton Runners. Jude, M and M and D and G are signed up for the Cheshire Cat (102 miles) in March, just as a warm-up to all of us being in Mallorca for a week's cycling in April. M and M are working on doing Lands End to John O'Groats and M and M, Jude and Dave and Glyn are signed up for the saunders mountain marathon in June.

December 2008
Liz and Jo completed their ten day trek to Annapurna basecamp and have a fab slide show to prove it!