GLOWING IN THE PEAK DISTRICT

 TEAM GLOW'S ANNUAL RIDE AND SOCIAL EVENT 

Hartington Hall Youth Hostel

Just like buses, there's an absence of cycling weekends then two come along at once. You'd think the recent jaunt up Holme Moss would be enough, but no, here we go again. 

Last weekend was Team Glow's Annual Ride and Social Event (I leave you to work out the acronym) featuring our very own BikeRight! MD as Guest of Honour.

The weekend was impeccably organised, sating 42 women's thirst for riding and networking, whooping and drinking with three differently graded rides on each day emanating from Hartington Youth Hostel and an evening event at the Village Hall. Fair play to all you women for the miles crunched, hills nobbled and hours socialised - you certainly know how to pack it all into a weekend.

Oops!!

On Saturday we went for a pootling 17 mile ‘A’ ride led by Yasmin Green - except you can't pootle anywhere on the Peak District, it's too damn hilly.  Severely undulating country provides a good whack of personal challenges: changing your attitude to climbing (it's no good dreading hills when there's one every 45 seconds), and  tackling the fear of descending (thankful for that bit of extra weight keeping you firmly in touch with terra firma).

The added thrill on Sunday was developing these skills whilst gusty winds threatened to blow us off our bikes at any unpredictable moment.  We ‘B’ riders handled it with aplomb; it was the ‘D’ women who called it a hurricane.

Staying upright this time

Sunday's 25 mile circular led by Glynis Francis, founder of Team Glow,  from Hartington to The Roaches took us up hill and down dale (hang on, isn't that a Yorkshire term? But we were in Derbyshire.)  It turns out the Holme Moss effort was just a practice for the testing gradients in Derbyshire - 2,885 feet of climbing narrowly beat the last weekend's 2854 ft.  Ok, it wasn’t all in one go, but toiling repeatedly up hill after hill requires its own level of stamina and determination.

A personal best for me was being housed in a room once occupied by my ancestor, Bonnie Prince Charlie in the historic Hartington Hall.  You may laugh (many do) but be aware: the force of the Stewarts endures.  

Many women plan to follow up the weekend with bike maintenance and ride leader courses at BikeRight!, and there’s a 2015 LEJOG (Lands End to John O’Groats) ride in the offing.

Go girls! Glow girls!

Ey up Le Tour

 BikeRight! conquers Holme Moss

We missed the climb of Holme Moss at the Skylark Sportive in March (too windy hence too dangerous). So we’d had to content ourselves with watching the unfolding drama in July on TV as Froome, Contador and co powered up the 2-mile ascent & encountered the spectacular Yorkshire-meets-Derbyshire summit, not to mention the eye-watering descent through dalesides to die for. 

Second hand excitement via a TV screen is not really our bag, so we were delighted when fit friends Jude & Simon announced not only had they bought a house in Holmfirth (congratulations) but also they were inviting us to join them and the other fit friends last Saturday on a 25-mile loop including up & down the veritable, the very same, the now notorious Holme Moss. 

You know what - October can be gloriously sunny and warm, and even when the cloud descends you know there's a rainbow and magnificent scenes over the valley and reservoir just waiting for you the other side. 

And that's how it all went. Yes we got a bit wet, but hey, up we rode, the steep bit out of Holme village, the flatter bit just beyond, the steady pull and then a couple of steeper efforts round bends (pushed aside by inevitable boy racers in souped up cars but fortunately only two of them).  The road markings reminded us that Froome had been here before, and Contador (although "you've got no fans" was not a nice way to send Yorkshire hospitality to our foreign friends), and Hull CRC.  

The motivational 1-mile, half mile and quarter mile road markers did their job. Yup we got to the top, and it was not too hard, despite our last ride being the Great Manchester Cycle at the end of June. 

Ey Up Le Tour!