Mountain Hardwear Open5 Adventure Race Series #1
Hope for Sunshine
Sandra Montgomery / 08.04.2009
Spirits rose as we drove over the Snake Pass into the Dark Peak and John pointed out places from last years open 12. Not that I remembered them, as they had passed me by in a sleepless blur …
Arriving in Hope we were greeted by the smiles of many familiar faces.
Nice to see Wilf’s and Phil Humphreys. I’m sure I could hear “It’s the Final Count down� or am I just showing my age now.
After registration we had the usual kit decisions and opted for shorts and a thin top.
Scrutinising the map for possible routes the run offered some obvious loops. On the bike we planed for smoother ups and rough downs.
We set off on the run heading North out of Hope, hooray! The legs are working today for a change. John offered me a tow as we set off up the first hill onto the moor.
I got the usual comments:
Does he know you’re on tow there?
Isn’t that cheating?
Can I have a tow?
I want one of those. (Female)
Don’t get any Ideas. (Male)
What a guy!
Gaining height gradually to our third checkpoint at Wooler Knoll we then followed the fence line up to Winhill Pike which gave spectacular views over the Hope Valley and allowed us to visualise the bike route to come.
Next came a steep rocky decent down Parkin Clough dodging the Duke of Edinburgh kids with huge packs puffing up the hill.
Looping back to Hope we collected our last few run checks and headed for transition. Speeding through Wilf’s we fancied some cake but had no change handy.
The bike leg offered many options for adding or subtracting route choices depending on time and progress.
Heading left out of transition we were nearly taken out by a van reversing into the college. I was tempted to give him a driving lesson. (It’s my day job!) Sunday drivers eh!
The ride out through Castleton was flat, helping the legs adjust to pedalling, before the grind up the collapsed road to Mam Tor.
SleepMonsters
