On The Edge

The one where we rode 3 edges, I fell off, Matt's chainrings almost did, we negotiated some cows & had a top dinner.

Ride Date: 06/04/2014

Distance: 19 miles

Route: Froggatt > Eyam> Calver.

Weather: Temperature - 12°C, Wind - 37mph ↑, Humidity - 93%, Conditions - Cloudy.

Riders : Jake, Deley & Matt

Down to three again due to Birthdays, Paint balling & various other reasons, however we were not put off and Matt suggested starting from a different spot & trying some classic peak district trails before dropping back down to loop round Eyam & Calver. So we set off a couple of miles up the hill above Froggatt and parked up in a little lay by. Despite a forecast of heavy rain it was quite pleasant but slightly overcast as we started a steady climb up the road, turning off onto the first bridleway opposite the desolate Grouse pub. The bridleway continued to climb steadily up to the peak, where we turned and headed south along white edge for a good 3 miles of tough, rocky single track fun, which despite a few puddles & soft spots wasn't too bad given the heavy rain during the last week. It was along here that I had my "incident", still not sure what caused it, at the time I thought I'd clipped a rock, but the slo-mo seems inconclusive, either way I got some bruised ribs for my trouble.
At the end of the trail we crossed the road and headed West along Baslow edge, stopping for a refuel and drink at the Wellington Monument.

Deley admiring the Wellington Monument

We carried on along Baslow edge and after more rocky trail and negotiating some Highland Cattle we turned North again and rode along the 3rd and final edge, this one being Curbar, it's a cheeky trail at the moment, but due to be made into an official bridleway soon. Matt told us that his Thursday night crew like to race along these edges, and at night too. As we reached the end of Curbar edge, close to our cars we ran into a group of Satan's spawn (walkers) who looked to be heading down our next cheeky route, so we opted for the road down to Calver followed by a steep off road climb up to the top of the 2nd Eyam descent, this was it's usual fast action, I even shaved over a minute off my best time. A spot of refreshment at the bottom near the Roman Spring and we were off again up what is probably the 2nd steepest hill ever, after Starkholmes to Riber. This eventually took us to the top of Black Harry Lane, we usually climb this, but not this time, we rode it downhill for a change and round the sharp left at the bottom and onto Coombs Dale, again the reverse of our usual ride. This was a roller coaster 2 mile blast over undulating terrain giving almost constant opportunity for jumping, it also throws in a couple of loose, sketchy corners and a stream for added fun. This took us back into Calver, where we just had the road climb back up to the cars, which wasn't too bad (although it felt bad at the time!). The ride ended up being a nice 19 miles, it was hard going in some places though, due to the rough terrain and some very strong winds. It's a very good ride though, it would be nice to go back when the trails are dry and it flows a lot better.

Matt on Baslow Edge

We then headed to the Derwent Water Arms for a very well earned dinner & a pint, Matt & Deley going for the famous Pie, I opted for the char-grilled gammon, couldn't fault it again, service was brill, the food was superb! All washed down with a pint of Chatsworth Gold.

2D Elevation

3D View of the terrain

You may or may not know that this was our 10th weekend ride since we started back in September, we've done some great new stuff as well as some old favorites. So in order to celebrate this anniversary we have a small competition to win a semi-rare bottle of Status Quo's very own beer called Piledriver and made by the famous Wychwood brewery, it doesn't get anymore rock n' roll than that, does it?

To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is guess how many feet we have climbed in total over the 10 rides based on what my Endomondo says, I've hidden the workouts in question so you can't cheat, the nearest wins. You must either put your answer in the comments below or email it to me, you can only enter once, your first answer counts and it's only open to those that have been out riding with us at some point (even if it was a while back). Best of luck.

You could win a bottle of this!

View the ride on Endomondo - http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/319094225/151189