Dirty Reiver 2022

 After last year, where I didn't really train for the Reiver- this year, I told myself, I very much would. 

Having broken my foot last September- and running on it until November (you didn't know? I didn't say?- ah, there's a blog post in there somewhere)- anyhow- the winter was basically spent on a turbo trainer, plugging away on Zwift. I can't necessarily say it was entirely "fun", but it was fun in a hard work sense of it. 

The training carried on right through until a few weeks ago when uni and placement kind of got in the way, and no real cycling got done in earnest for about 4 weeks- and certainly none in the last 2 weeks. Some might call that a taper, but it seems that if I stop cycling for even a week, my power just goes out the window. All this, is of course setting you up for me attempting the Dirty Reiver again. 

200km of gravel around the Kielder area, and this time, with a truely stonking Easterly headwind. Well, more like North Easterly, but it was pretty flipping headwindy. 

For those of you who don't know, Kielder is a full on Mobile Black spot, and both of the other times I have done this, I haven't seen a single person I knew all weekend, even though they were around. (except the first time, when I was actually staying with them, but that's another thing entirely. Anyhow, this time around, I parked in a field, went to get my number etc. and bumped into the guy I camped next to last year, got back to my van to find Phil and Ann parked literally 20 yards away, and later in the day managed to meet up with Matt and Al. Astonishing. 

Ann invited me for "sausage and nookie"... which took me a little by surprise, but once we clarified that gnochi is pronounced differently in different parts of the world, I was happy to partake, and joined them for tea- before turning in early. For some reason I was parked in the campervan field, despite being in a tent, and so the thing that woke me up was the sound of 60 or so heaters kicking in at about the same time at around 5:30 in the morning. Not envious in the slightest. 

The start

Up and did all the normal faff etc. and eventually headed to the start for 7:45. There must have been about 800 people or more this year, so the ride out was quite a protacted affair, eventually I passed the timing mats along with Matt and Al, with Phil on his bike with hovercraft tyres on not far behind. My strategy for the day was not to go too fast to begin with, get to the 96km feed station feeling ok, and try to build from there... and if possible, hold onto Matt and Al, coz they're stronger into headwinds than me. 

Off up through the first stage and it was all good fun. We swapped around a bit, saw Matt and Al, Phil joined us, then dropped back, we split up, and generally mixed and matched through the many people that were around us. The first feed station always seems to come a little too soon- about 47km, just before a nice big hill. I rode into it with Matt and Al, and we headed on out up the hill together. All was fun and we blasted through the roads. Matt was hanging back a bit on the descents as his bike was fairly twitchy- the new wheels apparently weren't helping, and his brakes sounded horrendous. Off we went, and after about 3 hours passed through the 65km mark which brought us literally right past my tent, and Ann (and Rocky) were there in the small crowd clamouring with cowbells and cheering us on. 

Feed zone 1

Soon after this the road kicks up, and I realised that Matt and Al were taking things at a pace that I couldn't sustain. Something wierd was going on with my Heart Rate monitor as well. It had been reading low since the beginning- somewhere around 100-110 for the most part, and then only hitting about 125-130 at an effort that I felt I couldn't sustain... somewhere around 30 beats lower than what I would expect to be seeing. At first I thought it was a glitch with the monitor- so I reset that... no difference, then I hoped it was a problem with with connection between the monitor and the computer- the alternative is that my Heart is having an issue, and I didn't want to think about that. 

As we headed up the hill, I told Matt and Al that they should go on ahead, I'd see them as and when, because I sure as hell wasn't keeping up with them now. So off they popped. 

Grinding up the hill I was happy to be going at my own pace for a while, but was contemplating the headwinds on my own. That was going to be fun- it was going to be a significantly longer ride than previously. Looking at my computer, I'd been out 3 and a bit hours... longer than anything I had done in quite a while. Hmm. Maybe doing a lot of short work on Zwift and neglecting long days out was not a cunning plan. I'd been hammering hard training, but not long- and this was looking to be a long day out. 

Not even 10 mins later, Matt and Al were on the side of the track, fixing a puncture. I stopped to check they didn't need anything and were ok- which they were, and said I'd head off- they'd catch me up at some point, most likely before the next feed station, which was in less than 30k. 

Feed zone2

Very soon it was the "timed" part of the course, where you can win, oh- I have no idea- some semi-pro probably won something that he doesn't need and will ebay it, so I ignored the whole thing. Not much to remember about this section- just a lot of battering around, catching on with some people, taking time on the front, then behind others. Down through to the lake and along the single tracky type bit along to the feed station, where I stopped for a bag of crisps and some fig rolls- and filled up the water bottles. .... And got caught up by Matt and Al. We shared some cold pizza that Matt had put in his drop bag, hung around for a bit and then headed out to the split point.

In the section previous, I was still a bit wierded out my my Heart Rate, and not feeling entirely on top of the world and there was a short moment when I was actually contemplating doing the 130 instead of the 200. Now, however, I was just going to try to keep with Matt and Al for as long as possible.... this was the section that went into the headwind for the longest distance- the longer I could stick the pace, the better. 

True to expectations, the headwind blew up pretty soon. Matt came to the front and just sat there churning out the watts. For someone who, until about 3 weeks ago was saying "I'm not very fit at the moment, I might bail and do the 130" he was certainly looking like an absoluite train. Al and I kept having to tell him to contain his enthusiasm as we kept getting shelled... Still, he stuck to his guns, and everytime a headwind section appeared, there he was, cranking away... we'd start a section with 3 of us, and by the end, everyone we'd overtaken had joined on the train behind us. At one point, I think he was towing about 10 of us. Ridiculous. 

Inbetween the crazy headwind sections, I was able to hold my own on the downhills (confidence in the bike says a lot), and holding on to Al on the uphills. A couple of times I thought I was a goner, but managed to just about stay in touch. 

Al and Matt

 

This entire section was basically me- trying to keep up with the two from Cholton Velo. It's a real eye-opener when you *think* you've done a load of training on your own, you *think* you're fit, and then some people come along and totally blow you out of the water. 

We rolled into feed station 3 at the far eastern point of the route- so hopefully not too much in the way of headwinds from now on, and chomped down on some more real food. (cheese! they had cheese!). unfortunately, no decent coffee like they did the first time around- only instant. eugh. There were some comments about "who the heck was on the front of that train in the grey?"- (oh man, lets not let Matts head get any bigger- he'll be even less aero- not that he needs to be). 

Beautiful day.

 And off we went on the last section. I'd managed to keep up with Matt and Al for as long as I could, from now on it was "eat haribo and see what happens". As we went up the first hill, there was a weird clinking sound comig from my bike... a stop to rattle it around, tighten the headset etc... nope, not that- ah.- it's the zip on my food bag clinking against the frame. Idiot. Obviously getting tired. 

We stayed together for the entire section back to the dam, and across it to the final big hill where Matt and Al powered away from me. Well, I say powered, I think my legs just decided it was a hill too far. I grovelled up it, and to my surprise, I caught them on the way down. Inside the final 10k though, along the flat section back to the castle, they bashed out a rhythm that I couldn't follow, and so I slogged out the last bit on my own, and came in a few minutes behind them- somewhere around 9:34 or so. 

Considering the first year was only 180k, and I did that in 8:13- I must have been really going some that year! Still, I was very happy to have got around this time, though it really wasn't up to my legs this time around- the really hard work was done by Matt. Hats off to him- that was a ridiculous amount of time to spend blatting into the headwind. 

Phil came in behind us by a ways- having done ALL the hardwork himself. Those long straights into a headwind must have been absolute purgatory. What an amazing effort. I also finally managed to catch up with Scott Swaling who I haven't actually seen in about a decade- even though both of us have done this event 3 times- so that was good. (fabulous effort on a single speed again!). 

Minor issue was a lack of showers, that I wasn't expecting considering the amazing showers last year- so I ended up washing in a 10 litre washing up bowl- such is life. 

Generally a fantastic event, made all the better for actually being able to meet up with people who I knew were there. One of the few things that could make it better (as with many events) is if the visiting trade stalls could give out less plastic tat that just goes straight into landfill. Yes, I know everyone "loves a freebie"- but those awful blue and white shimano hats? Really? If you're going to give something away, make it useful- a whistle, a water bottle, a spaceblanket, whatever. 

Grumbling aside- what a great event. There were so many amazing views to see and pictures to be had, but if I'd have stopped to take them all, I'd still be going around!

Again, I used my Fairlight Secan- third year running, again with 650b wheels with Gravelking SK's on. They're the widest ones I can fit- like 2.1, I think- running at 30psi front and 32psi on the back. I wasn't trying to go hard and fast, and am relatively light, so to date, no punctures on any of the events- and this is the lowest I've gone in terms of pressures. Yes, I could have a lighter bike, no, it wouldn't do me much good. I just need stronger legs! (and to work out what on earth is going on with my Heart Rate).  

Yeah yeah, you've seen it before- the Fairlight a few weeks ago at Macc Forest.

The sad demise of the X-57 bus service

A minor departure from the usual tittle-tattle about hill going antics. 

The x57 bus. A brilliant idea, but not really carried out with the best attention to detail. For those of you who are unaware, the x-57 is a bus service (soon to be kyboshed- Jan 2022) run by Hulleys of Baslow. It is a truely heroic route, running from the centre of Sheffield, along the A57, over the Snake to Glossop, and then onward to the centre of Manchester- and beyond(!) to Manchester Airport. 

What a route. (and reviewed a long time ago by the father of a friend who knows stuff about public transport... or at least- has opinions)

It provides pretty much the only direct public transport route from Glossop Eastwards toward Sheffield, and is unique in it's East/West reach across the Dark Peak.

 Unfortunately it has been plagued with issues. Not least, starting the service up during the second Covid lockdown last year, when pretty much NO-ONE was travelling- that was a bit of a bummer. As much as we wanted to catch a bus, it just didn't seem like a good idea. 

The second is that there are very few passengers, in part due to the ongoing concern about covid on public transport etc. 

The third is reliability issues. Not entirely surprising when you consider the length of the route- on public roads- there are bound to be some hold ups, but the reliability (or lack of) became a bit legendary. 

Initially there were reports of buses sailing merrily through Glossop 20 or 25 mins *before* scheduled time. You'd see bewildered passengers standing at bus stops at the right time- or even from 10 mins early who had missed the bus. Which seems a bit odd. 

In September I started University in Manchester. The X57 seemed like the perfect answer. It goes from the bottom of my road and drops me right outside university. 

Brilliant. 

I caught it there and back 6 times. 

4 times it was late (twice it was more than an hour late- and this in BOTH directions) and twice it simply failed to turn up. Ever. 

Somewhat reluctantly I now take the train. I know they have their reliability issues, but thus far, it's been fine. 

It is disappointing, but equally unsurprising that this ambitious and exciting bus route is being cancelled. I can't imagine it was ever making money, or hugely popular- but when you have something that is a good idea AND unreliable, the unreliable thing tends to be in the forefront of peoples minds.

The Green alternative?

The majority of people I have seen on the bus (bearing in mind I live pretty much at the bottom of Snake in Glossop) have been walkers and runners. It has been a boon to people who don't want to leave cars in crowded car parks at Snake Summit etc. along the Snake. It has been marvellous for access into the Peak District National Park for those without cars, and those wanting a "greener" alternative and it is a real shame that it is being axed.

 The fact that there are bus stops which have been built along the A57 means that the infrastructure is still there. I wonder if there might be an appetite to run a Spring/Summer service from Sheffield to Glossop and back again as a kind of shuttle service? 

There have been various shoutings across the media about "too many cars in the national parks". Sarah Fowler- Chief Exec of Peak Park is on record as saying that bus services would be a good idea (see here) though of course it probably only applies to the Hope valley and Hathersage areas...

The main flaws of the X57 - started in a pandemic, crazy long route with many places for being delayed and erratic schedule maintainence by the actual buses can be rectified to make it a useful and efficient service into and out of the Dark Peak. Surely a shuttle bus on the same scale as the Snowdon Sherpa would be a great idea? (pricing might also be an issue... I, for one, wouldn't pay a fiver to get to the top of the Snake from Glossop. £2.50- yes, I'd do that relatively often. But a fiver to get to Ladybower- yep, that'd work). 

I digress....

Can it be done? Will it be done?

I realise that would mean that the Peak Park would probably have to subsidise the buses and would then get less cash in flow due to fewer people paying to park their cars in car parks across the Snake, (well, ok, there is only Ladybower) - but *surely* this would be a great idea in the lighter months (and indeed the darker ones) if we could get it off the ground.

Yes it would need a fair amount of publicity. Yes it would need a fair amount of "political" willpower from the Peak Park, but Yes - it would be an excellent addition to creating equality of access to one of Britains most popular National Parks. 

Wearing Black on a Bike?

There may be some pushback on this. However...

Cycling clothing tends to come and go in phases. One of those phases/fashions never really seems to go out of favour, and that is the fashion for Black, sometimes known as "Stealth". 

Which, I must hasten to point out, is *very* cool. Hacking around in stuff that is black is definitely something that I aspire to, however, it is not something that I will be doing. 

Why?

Let's get the victim blaming thing out of the way first. I am not in any way, shape or form saying that people wearing black or dark coloured clothing when cycling are responsible for getting hit.

Nor am I saying that the poor old car drivers didn't stand a chance because people wearing dark colours meld in with the background and couldn't help hitting the cyclist. No. Drivers should damn well pay attention and should be able to see cyclists no matter what damn colour they're wearing. 

This is NOT victim blaming, this is attempting to look at things from different perspectives, weighing things up and trying not to die. 

Others may differ in their point of view. This is mine. 

Point 1

Sometimes people make this argument: "In the dark ALL colours are dark. Put a red jacket and a black jacket in a dark room and they'll be equally as unobtrusive". 

This is true, but also plain silly. 

Why do Special forces wear Black? Why do burglars/poachers/gamekeepers etc wear black? Why do people trying to hide in the dark wear black? If, as you contest, all colours are the same in the dark, it wouldn't matter what colour they wore. I suspect that if you asked the SAS to wear red on their next night mission because "it doesnt matter what colour you wear if its dark", they'd probably have something to say about it. And it wouldn't be polite.

A reason to wear black is to be unobtrusive, to not be seen. To be stealthy- which is what some companies like to sell stuff with...

Point 2

If a clothing company sells something with the idea that it is "stealth", or you buy something because it equally looks "stealth", I have to ask a couple of things. The main one is: What dyou reckon "stealth" means? 

If we look it up, it means: cautious, unobtrusive, intended to avoid detection. 

Great. So if I'm wearing something that is "stealth" then it basically means I'm trying to avoid detection. Not necessarily quite what we're needing when out on a bike. Or in a car. I refuse to believe that people say things look "stealth" as a synonym for "cool"- "stealth" means just that, Stealthy. (and yes, being stealthy can be cool- but they are NOT the same thing).

Don't dress up like that unless you are actually intending on avoiding detection- and if you're avoiding detection, don't ride on a fricking road.

Personally, none of these are things I want to be when I'm on a bike, which brings me to :

Point 3

Next argument is: "People drive into buses, walls, cars and cyclists even if they are lit up like christmas trees, so it doesn't matter what you wear, if you're going to get hit, you're going to get hit. Drivers are pillocks". 

I agree. However, I do like to stack the odds in my favour. If I'm going to get hit, it isn't going to be for lack of me trying to be seen by some idiot in a car. You'll notice how a LOT of drivers don't hit every single bus that comes along, or every other car. Yes, there are times when drivers get distracted, play with their mobiles, and generally act like complete imbeciles whilst in control of what is essentially a lethal weapon. I'm sharing the road with these loons and I'm going to take every damn precaution I can to not be hit.

 As much as I'm not going to hack about on a bike in black, I'm also not going to buy a car that is the same colour as "Wet Road in Bad Light" for much the same reason. I don't really want to be hit (though in a car it's considerably less of a problem than on a bike). 

Yeah, Hux is cooler than me. I still won't wear black.