The Edge Cycleworks 'Social' Shop Ride

Ladybower Reservoir

Sun 18th September 2011

Despite the forecast we arrived to sunny skies at the Upper Derwent Visitor Centre in the Peak District. With all the previous rain this led to still, humid conditions, and being eaten by midges, while waiting for Stu to arrive. After leaving a message on his mobile we gave up on Stu at ten past ten and started the ride, only to meet him coming in the exit of the car park on our way out.

Once he’d performed a Superman quick change we headed out around Ladybower Reservoir for a nice long warm up before the first climb. Unfortunately it was halfway up the climb that Stu realised he’d forgotten to ‘pay and display’. Although being annoyed he decided there was a ride to enjoy before worrying about the inevitable parking fine.

We slithered down the first muddy descent but the lack of control was short lived as we quickly reached gritstone trails. While the ground drained much better there were still puddles. Splashing through the first few covered our bikes in dirt, which produced the expensive Dark Peak grinding noise with every pedal stroke.

The Hagg Farm descent was the first serious down hill, covered in rocks the whole way down. After a few tips on technique even Stu reached the bottom with a smile on his face. The ride then continued under sunny, fluffy white clouded skies as we made our way to Edale valley and back.

There were a few challenging climbs, made harder for Dan when his granny ring started to chain suck, and lots of rocky descending including the boulder fest of Potato Alley, which was a test for our skills as well as our fillings. Definitely a great Peak District ride. It ended with a puncture for me on the last descent but that was much better than the torn open knee it gave me in 2008. That was a plus, as was the fact that on our return to the car park Stu’s van was penalty free.

Directions for this ride can be found on my Ladybower Loop - Medium route guide.