Page 30 - PBCOctober2018

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 15 No.2 October 2018 @30

There were plentiful food & drink purveyors to keep
you sustained, and with a mixture of live jazz, and
swing music reverberating across the event arena,
there was a happy atmosphere, not, unfortunately
mirrored by the weather, which chose to be grey and
foreboding with the odd downpour. During one such
moment I left the family to get wet whilst I attended
The restored tandem a talk about the re-birth of the Holdsworth pro-team.
( More about them elsewhere in this issue)

Sunday morning saw more than 2500 riders set off in
staggered groups according to their chosen distances
(50/100/160km) from around 0630hrs, heading for the
tracks and by-roads of the Peak District to the east of
Buxton, around the Goyt Valley, Hartington, Ilam and
Monyash. One member of the family hadn’t got a bike, so
borrowed one without having seen it prior to the ride. Once
underway the groups of course strung out and you found
yourself riding with an eclectic mix of bikes, clothing, ages
and of course ability. There were as mentioned, many
Holdsworth bikes around, and this often lent itself to short
chats about their history–bikes & riders, when you passed or 1887 Cross Frame Safety
were passed by similar steeds. Some quite rugged gravel
tracks, the odd bit of road and glorious views of the
countryside, made it enjoyable riding. A requirement of having your event passport stamped
–no cheating allowed – meant a stop at 26km and for refreshments. Modern science on food
& drink intake were not to be seen. A bottle of water-fine, but the sausage roll, the
Bakewell tart, the Bakewell pudding, oh and an energy bar only were provided. You could
even have a pint of the local ale. Your trusty editor abstained from the alcohol, took
advantage of the mobile mechanics to have a gear cable changed, and set off for the
second part of the route.

Leaving Monyash it was straight up a very long hill, and the intake of the heavy
carbohydrates suddenly didn’t seem such a good idea. Also this section saw us all riding into
a strong headwind, and there was no benefit on the long downhill run through the next
valley, before a dead turn onto a 1.4 climb past Hartington Youth Hostel.