This was a ride of two halves. At the start were Captain Alex, Sky John, President Phil, Metal Mike, Martin Lucas, John, Geoff and me. The pace was steady as we went out to Glossop. This was a fine route – a long way round to Uppermill. It was lovely scenery almost all of the way. Well done to Mike – I am guessing that this was his longest ride yet on his road to recovery – but I, for one, was very impressed with his determination. To ride a bike with his “device” on his lower leg is some accomplishment. Roll on the day it comes off!

We stopped at the petrol station cafe and fed our faces. This was very nice scran indeed – beans on toast with an egg on top and a pot of tea.

From there we split up. Alex and I were determined to go over Snake
Pass and the Strines and invited anyone else who wanted to come along. Sky John didn’t know what to do – he had seen the Strines , but only from the “easy” side; and he had seen the profile of Snake on some You Tube thingy or other. He sat, frozen, on his bike outside Barclays Bank in Glossop whilst the others went out towards Woodhead and Alex and I headed up the road. I turned back and said to him “Don’t be a p**f, come with us”. And he did. It’s amazing what a few words of encouragement can do!The route over Snake and Strines was thoroughly enjoyable. I hammered it up Snake, followed by Alex, and John was left to pedal a couple of minutes back – but he did it with ease. We regrouped at the top and descended into the valley and up to Strines. John obviously had some mental block about Strines Moor, but when it came to the tough bit he did just fine. We rode up together, side by side, letting Alex off the leash (!) and all the trepidation was forgotten as he nailed that hill! To reflect on the day’s climbing we had a pint of coke, crisps and coffee in the pub beer garden in Langsett, overlooking the reservoir. The staff in the cafe had been obnoxious, once again, as we queued to get served, so we turned and left! It was a good decision.

From there we hammered it home. 85 miles, 15.3mph average speed. Well done to Mike and Sky John on this one – good ride from both lads.