So having carried my bike around the Hope and Snake valleys on Saturday,and frozen my t!ts off walking on Derwent Edge on Sunday, I had a brilliant idea – lets go and “ride” Cutgate, solo, in the snow!
Car reckoned -2 when I left Fairholmes this morning. The road around the west edge of the reservoirs was arguably the hairiest bit of the outing – sheet ice most of the way, although the only bit that actually caught me out was riding through a running stream, then having the water freeze on my tyres resulting in an impromptu 180 on perfectly dry tarmac…
Predictably, the climb up was under thick snow – a few walkers had been up the footpath, but there was only one set of footprints up the b/way and no tyre tracks.
Bits of the bridleway were knee deep, so it looked like I might be indulging in some cheekiness on the way back.
Up on the moor, and it started getting a little wild – a decent headwind brought the temp down, and there was absolutely no sign of the path itself. Fortunately I was generating a reasonable amount of heat carting the Rocket on my back and the footprints of the walkers gave me something to follow, even though the route differed wildly from where I knew the trail would normally be.
The sun even made an appearance near the top!
Once I reached the cairns, I stopped for a breather and some food. Other than the wind, it was absolutely silent, and the view was simply glorious. I could have stayed there for hours if it hadn’t been so pigging cold.
A quick peak over the crest showed the trail as we would normally know it to be non-existent – the walkers were just yomping across the heather, so no chance of riding at all; and faced with the prospect of having to carry all the way across the top, both ways, AND back up from Langsett I decided to cut my losses and just crack on down back the way I’d come.
The descent was hilarious. About 75% rideable, although there were numerous stops as I ground to a halt in a drift. Only 1 tumble though, when I put a foot down into a gully full of snow and did a slow sideways roll. Once I’d got a head of speed up, I could just crash through a decent depth of snow, although control and line choice were very much optional extras. The bottom section was lovely – cheeking the footpath was a good decision – steep carvey lines with a reasonable amount of traction. Ace fun. 🙂
A quick spin back along the E side of the reservoirs saw me back at Fairholmes.
I was only out for about 3 hours, but easily the best ride of the year so far, and already in the running for best of 2015.