Nearly a horror story today in The Peaks (Your worst rides?)

Red Route

My mate who had recently bought a new bike & got back into MTB & I were keen to test ourselves & Bikes in the Peaks today after we'd got bored of the Red routes at Cannock/Sherwood Pines & more local stuff. I have done around 6 or 7 long trails in The Peaks with a couple of other mates past 2 years. My mate is also an off Piste Snowboarder & we're both fit for our age, but bad luck, bad kit & bad weather in the end, nearly did us?
I Went out ON MY CARRERA SUBWAY 2 with MTB tyres fitted (yes I know I was asking for it) Am planning on a proper MTB Bike very soon, esp after today.
Were were supposed to do the full Darly Bridge route, over 18 miles, did about 11 miles with little problem, having a good time, then we got very wet, cold & muddy as the weather changed suddenly & just after that my Hanger broke, luckily just as we got to a little Villiage called Yulgrieve after miles of farmland & countryside. Nothing there or open except a little pub, luckily again. I only had my Card & no cash, my mate had no cash or card on him. Landlord offered to drive my mate back to his car as there were NO Taxis there either. The Pub thankfuly also accepted cards.
Expensive day, Petrol from Nottingham, bought a good book of routes that got soaked. Had to pay Landlord for his Taxi service & me & my mate spent 2 hours in the Pub drinking & eating trying to get warm & dry (unsucessfuly) Plus I now have to replace the hanger.
Could have been worse if the Hanger had broken in the middle of nowhere as we were already soaked through & cold! Was getting worried as my map/book was disintergrating in the heavy rain & we had miles to go on some very tough Terrain & I was Map reading for a change as I usualy go to Peaks with a couple of other mates as I said, one who does all the Map reading & I just follow like an idiot!


Also realised today half my kit is crap too! Supposed to be all weather/all conditions, I was F'ing drenched through, felt like I'd jumped into a Swimming Pool with all my kit on & just got out at one point!!!

Had a good day though overall & valuable lessons were learnt......

Mccraque

ah yes - the feeling of hopelessness and dispair that washes over when you realise that you are up shitcreek with nothing in your rucksack to patch you up to get you home.

Stick with it....will only get better. :?

Anonymous

Sound like the kind of muppet that gets picked up off the mountains by the RAF and delivered to the mortuary.

Raymondavalon

I always do a weather forecast check before embarking on any ride, even if it's Cannock just 20 minutes up the road from me.
How did your hanger break?
I do carry a spare hangar and believe that universal emergency hangers are available.
Were you wearing cotton clothing? The issue with cotton is that when it gets wet it will start rob you of body heat. Once you're body temp starts to drop, so does your energy levels and then your motivation. From there it's a physical and mental freefall into defeat.

At least you got through the ordeal. Carrying cash is always handy thing and cash is king in any situation..

Invest in a real MTB and go better prepared next time, more importantly.. don't give up

Red Route

Ha ha, that's not nice Yeehaa, but that thought did cross my mind too at times today.......

alfablue

Glad you got through it unscathed (more or less) Red Route, a valuable lesson learned - and people take the p*ss out of me because I prepare properly and take stuff! :?

Anonymous

I just get tired of hearing of all the people stretching the mountain rescue's already limited resources even thinner.
We get a hell of a lot of deaths on the mountains because of woefully inadequately prepared and kitted people wandering out thinking they're Bear Grylls.

Red Route

Not sure how the Hanger broke, but it's the 2nd time on that Bike, heard it's a weak spot on Carrera Subways. Also the tough terrain prob did'nt help, they are realy not meant for downhilling or climbing on rough rocky muddy peaks.

No Cotton, I had Nike ACG trousers on over lycra Cycling shorts, long sleeves compression base layer & cycling top & HH water/windproof but lightweight jacket on & fleece beanie under my Helmet & still got pretty wet thought it dried of quite quick. The crap Hiking Shoes were the worst though, still sopping wet & not great on the pedals either.
Need to get some tights to go under trousers instead of shorts in bad weather I think? & a better Cycling specific jacket & shoes which have been an eternal issue as I ride flat Pedals in the muck???

Red Route

I agree Yeehaa, but we've both got some experience offroad (me more in The Peaks & my mates an ex Snowboarder) we did pack supplies & for emergencies, but no spare hanger. so bad luck involved too, but as I said we were also lucky it happened just as we entered the Villiage.
Yes lessons learnt though!

Buckled_Rims

It comes down to attitude as well. Even a 10 hour downpour rarely brings in the negative in me. Why? Because it's a damn sight better then working in a factory slogging your guts out on a repetitive machine wishing you outside biking or walking in the rain!

I learned that many years ago. Life's little adventures is far more worthy then boredom.

Lakesman

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I just get tired of hearing of all the people stretching the mountain rescue's already limited resources even thinner.
We get a hell of a lot of deaths on the mountains because of woefully inadequately prepared and kitted people wandering out thinking they're Bear Grylls.

Cut the guy some slack will ya, he got back by taxi. hardly a rescue helicopter job is it. just a soggy day out and a broken bike.
hell of a lot of deaths..... nah. the odd one or two off the cairngorms and helvellyn in winter, maybe

unixnerd

An awful lot more fatalities than you'd think, and rising:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/hig ... 236739.stm

Not that I'm saying anything about the initial poster, they were a bit unlucky and didn't do anything wrong. If you carry a chain tool you can at least turn the bike into a single speed in an emergency.

I was always taught that even on a simple bike / hike you need to carry enough to spend a night on the hills in an emergency. I'll admit I'm guilty of not always doing that myself.

I think a lot of fatalities are folk not realising just how bad the weather can get in a short time.

Northwind

unixnerd wrote:

An awful lot more fatalities than you'd think, and rising:

Yeah, but that's highlands and islands, there's places up here where you can walk for a day and not see another person. These guys, when things went wrong, only had to go to the local pub.

Not that I disagree with the point but it just seems madly out of place and harsh on the guys.

captainfly

I just sounds more like a miserable bit on a ride rather than anything dangerous, a Subway with decent tyres is just like if not better than an old school MTB that everyone used to ride for everything Just remember to carry a spare mech hanger on a long ride. If you aren't injured then it's a good ride.

blister pus

yep, it's the peak district, weather turns on a dime. and is quite capable of leaving you in trouble and looking a big tool if you don't prepare properly.

and depending how far off the beaten paths you want to get, or wander, you can really disappear up your own arse and wind up in trouble. and unless someone knows exactly where you are they'll spend hours trawling the moorland in the choppers getting very fucked off at you.

blister pus

Buckled_Rims wrote:

It comes down to attitude as well. Even a 10 hour downpour rarely brings in the negative in me. Why? Because it's a damn sight better then working in a factory slogging your guts out on a repetitive machine wishing you outside biking or walking in the rain!

I learned that many years ago. Life's little adventures is far more worthy then boredom.

wise words. applies across the board too.

Tank-slapper

At least you got yourselves out of the situation without needing any emergency help. Although I would hardly describe getting a bit wet and cold as a 'horror' story, especially in Youlgreave which does have a bus service.

Briggo

This aint no horror story.

What would be a horror story was if you were biking along a track and saw Jennifer Aniston naked on the floor calling your name but you were out MTBing with your missus...

miss notax

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Sound like the kind of muppet that gets picked up off the mountains by the RAF and delivered to the mortuary.

I think that's a tad harsh!!

I have done lots of sailing in the past and - in my humble opinion - there's a world of difference between people that don't prepare at all, don't take spare clothes, don't take any charts etc and have to get rescued, compared to poor sods who do all the prep but bad luck and random sh!t just happens! You can only prepare SO much after all

Bad luck but no harm done and turned out all right in the end! 8)

Louis84

HAHA I thought we were going to hear a horror story of your friend falling off a cliff and surviving or see gruesome pictures of a severed hand or something.

Your day in hell,sounds like a day in heaven to me.

Stranded in the middle of nowhere, odds stacked against you, little hope of making home easily, running out of food and water.......absolute bliss in my eyes. "wait till I tell the lads about this" :twisted:

stumpyjon

Hangers break, even with the right tools and a spare hanger you won't always be able to fix it. I found that out last winter, couldn't remove the remains of the hanger from the mech without a vice and then them mech was twited anyway. What you need is appropriate clothing (which I think you've realised), so when things do go wrong it's just a (very) long walk home rather than ending up suffering from exposure.

I think many of us (me included) spend too much money on the hardware and neglect the softwear.

Red Route

Yes I know it was'nt that bad & we were lucky it happened in Youlgriev & not on the Moors, that's why I put "Nearly" in the title. Until the Hanger broke we were coping & enjoying the conditions (albiet wet & cold) & would have made it back.
Thing that annoyed me was I/we did think we were kitted out for the weather & for Bike emergencies, I had ACG gear on & a Hely Hansen waterproof over the appropriate layers, proper shorts underneath too, but crap Hiking shoes, Bike tools, pump, puncture kit & spare innertube, compass & Map.
I suppose I'll have to spend even more money now or not go out in Peaks etc... if weather looks bad.

As said turned out OK & lessons learnt, peed off at the money it cost as I could have put that towards a new Bike or better kit, but s**t happens & you've got to expect it now & again if your gonna go MTB, esp in places like The Peaks :?

CycloRos

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail as my granny used to say

It's all part of the learning process when heading out into the wilds, and its a lesson worth taking note of if you only ride trail centres (you can get far too used to the comforts they offer, I know I do!)

And don't get me started on supposedly water-proof/breathable cycle gear, I'm yet to find any piece of kit that lives up to the billing as light-weight, water-proof and breathable!

blister pus

provided you're weather proofed (water proof socks - godsend), eat and drink proofed, map proofed, communication proofed and as tool proofed as is sane for a ride, then there's not a lot more to be done. And sh!t really does 'appen.

belugabob

Also, photocopy the map from your book, laminate it, then leave the book at home.

Or get a waterproof map.

Red Route

Just bought the book in the morning when we arrived, but in future I will copy & laminate it.
Only prob is it was a few pages needed to follow the directions, I think a mate of mine (who we usualy follow in Peaks) has a laminated book with Routes which is the best idea I guess. My new book which I was quite proud of as the directions were clear is now drying out
As I said, been out at least 6 or 7 times before in Peaks & was far worse prepared with kit & Bike & had no probs with weather or Bike, one of those days.....just glad we were OK & learnt our lesson.

cavegiant

One top tip for buying protective gear, if it has the same logos on as the chav are wearing, it is probably very bad quality.

If it has paramo or patagonia written on it, it will probably work.

If it has northface written on it and it over ten years old, great. If it is new it will last a season.

cavegiant

Trust me one day you will laugh about it,
I still chuckle at skiing a glacier with a torn cruciate ligament...mostly because I cant remember the pain.

blister pus

cavegiant wrote:

One top tip for buying protective gear, if it has the same logos on as the chav are wearing, it is probably very bad quality.

If it has paramo or patagonia written on it, it will probably work.

If it has northface written on it and it over ten years old, great. If it is new it will last a season.

ludicrous stereotyping aside, you don't need to spend a fortune on insanely expensive branded clothing to get the right result for cycling (and surviving) in the peaks. you just need a brain and know where to shop and what to get.

Paulie W

The real 'horror' of this story for me was the bit where you were trapped in a pub eating and drinking for hours!

CrankMarvin

RedRoute also forgot to mention that once again my Rubbish magura brakes failed and I went down the side of the hill on my front wheel as no back brakes that was painful..

I personally think it was a good day and a great test of our kit and at least we know know what we need to sort out and yes its always good to take a chunk of cash to buy your way out of situations...

Red Route needs decent clothes and a tougher bike definatley

me I just need a back brake that works - I did get soaked but I was wearing my snowboard jacket which is superb in the wet but even that leaked..

Got to say tho it was a great route even the half mile of cattle sileage we rode thru was fun

All in all some good lessons learned and cant wait to get our bikes working again and go out again. I thought snow boarding was a great sport but i think i prefer MTB these days... its cheaper for a start and a lot less posers on bike routes......

here are some pics from the day out if you so wish to see hope the link works

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6 ... 1314630317