9 riders today in what turns out to be the hilliest route in the collection. The group naturally broke into two on the first serious hill - The Clatterway up to Bonsall. This is where we rode into the clouds and visibility was very poor, where lights were a good option to be seen. We were then greeted by a tough climb up to Birchover with a damp greasy road surface. If we removed the 9 miles to Cromford then to the cafe we averaged well above the 1000ft per 10 miles that is the normal for a North Derbyshire route. Weather was warm enough to sit out at the Old Smithy cafe in Monyash for the best bacon bap ever - good choice of cafe for the upcoming Spordax.
The route back seemed just as hilly as the route there, but this could have been down to tired legs and the drizzly rain. Having 2 groups allowed riders to ride at a comfortable pace up the hills. All in all, a good route with some roads we don’t often ride on.
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