Hilly Ride

Yesterday we did a very hilly club ride - we went from Mirfield up to Meltham, over the moors - then did the Isle of Skye climb, followed by Holmes Moss (north climb) - and after a short break in Glossop, the Snake Pass with the Strines as a nice desert! Total around 2500 metres of climbing for 150 kilometres. My average was 25 km/h. It's certainly my longest ride since the last 5 years but it went suprisingly well! My climbing went above expectation, I could maintain a 16 to 17 km/h speed on the Snake Pass (which is around 7% average) and my Holmes Moss climb was better then it has ever been (being second on the top just behind one of our fastest club climbers!). I really enjoyed the ride, I think I'm much better suited to do climbs than I am doing TT or doing through-and-overs on the flat. The Etape de Dales is only a bit longer than our ride yesterday, with only a couple of hundred meters more climbing, so I should be OK doing it in around 7 hours. Let's make that my objective!