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| Heading up to Shutlingsloe, the Cheshire Matterhorn. |
Today however was a different story. I knew that the weather could be changeable and potentially bad so rather than go off exploring I chose to stick to routes that I knew well. So as today we planned to go mountain biking I suggested that we stayed close to home.
Dani had been working late yesterday and was rather tired in the morning so we had a late start. It had been snowing all morning, not the nice fluffy stuff that we all dream of but big horrible wet flakes which soaked into clothing and sat on ground that was already saturated.
We set off, leaving Buxton and heading up Long Hill before turning onto the old Roman road behind Whitehall;
Conditions along here were wet but ok. At the end of this track we turned left to join a bridlepath that contours around a hill before dropping down to Long Hill. Getting to the bottom of the climb proved interesting, Dani managed fine;
But somehow I ended up up like this;
As I said, the ground was rather waterlogged. This section is usually pretty wet anyway but not as bad as this. I had to keep my weight over the rear of the saddle to get any traction.
The climb was a bit of a challenge, quite an enjoyable one, as I struggled for grip on the wet grass. Dani had trouble clipping in but got up with one foot unclipped with only one dab;
A short flat section across the top;
And then things started to go downhill. By this time we'd both changed into thicker gloves but our hands were starting to feel the cold again. We dropped down towards Long Hill through a sheep field. I overtook Dani and managed to make a reasonable job of the descent, but on the last section lost grip (I didn't have much anyway) as the ground was completely soaked and my tyres just slid out from under me. That's one problem with fat bikes, the tyres sit on top of mud sliding around rather than dig in and find grip under the surface. This can be great fun, but today I ended up sliding on my side for about 10 feet before stopping. Which was fine, quite enjoyable in fact, but did leave me wet, covered in mud and with two soaking wet gloves. We pressed on although Dani was starting to complain about the cold, heading down to an unclassified road that led to the shore of Fernilee Reservoir. By now Dani was getting worse. We continued across the dam and through the woods where I hoped that we'd find some shelter from the snow, which had been falling consistantly all the time that we were out. I also hoped that the short climb up to the fireroad would help us generate some heat. Dani was still getting worse. I tried to make small talk to take her mind off the situation but she said that she was too cold to think. I asked if I should race home to fetch the Landy and pick her up but didn't get an answer one way or the other. At last I had to make a decision. I told her that I would leave her to continue on her own whilst I raced home alone. We shared an energy bar and Dani said that she would continue up passed the sailing club and up Goyt's Lane.
I left her and rode as fast as I could/dare. It took me about 15 minutes to get out of the Goyt and onto Long Hill, on roads that were starting to get slippery. Although I had to get across town as quickly as possible I also had to be carefull for my own safety in conditions which, although not too bad, could easily catch one out. By this time my hands and feet had been suffering for a while.
Once home I peeled off my gloves, crying out in pain (my left forefinger was particulary bad), then grabbed the car keys and jogged across the road to the Landy.
I picked Dani up as she was just on the edge of town. Parking outside the house I marched her up the stairs into the bathroom, closed the door and ran the shower on hot. This was to fill the room with steam, to warm her up from the inside. Whilst she stripped and dried herself I made hot blackcurrant. She succumbed to the shower after a few minutes, and before long had warmed up nicely.
So, not quite the ride that we had planned. We made a few mistakes, our gloves despite being thick and warm weren't up to the job. Next winter we'll have pogies. We should have turned back sooner. We need better footwear. I was wearing Sealskin socks but they're quite old and baggy and let water in. Dani left her overshoes at home. Other parts of our gear was good, we both were well layered up, had pretty decent jackets and waterproof mountain bike specific trousers.
On a positive note our decision to stay local payed off. Leaving Dani whilst I headed back for the car was a difficult decision to make, and I should have made the call sooner, but it was I feel the right thing to do in this instance. Dani did the right thing by keeping moving. I'm also thankfull for the first aid training that I've done in the past, where I've picked courses that concentrate on the outdoors (I used to be a kayaking instructor). I think that Dani was close to developing hypothermia. I've experienced the first stages myself when paddling so I have an understanding of the risks.
But, despite all the problems we encountered, I feel that we came out of this stronger. We've found our weaknesses, now we can work around them.
Paul.
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