Peak District Training Weekend
The first training weekend where all 5 riders would be united and go
forward as one group, or peleton, if you will. Preparation is key to the success of any
adventure, and this ride would be a chance for all the riders to prepare together for the
challenge of a lifetime. So Ged chose to prepare for it by drinking too much the night
before and turning up late.
With the strongest winds in 20 years predicted it was obvious that this wasn’t going to
be an easy ride. Add to that the intense climbs that the Peak District has to offer and
it’ll be a killer. And it was.
Around 4 hours after setting off the crew had covered an impressive 28 miles – all of it
into a headwind. This did not bode well, and people started to question their ability /
sanity. There was only one thing for it – pie. And what a pie it was. Now fuelled by a
week’s worth of calories, the crew set off once again, returning to the start point with
the advantage of a tailwind and a new lease of life. Spirits were high as the wind pushed
the riders up hills which they had struggled to pedal down with a headwind.
They returned to Stocksbridge with a belief that anything was possible, as long as there
was a complete absence of a headwind for the entire 10 days of LEJOG. And the right amount
of pie.