(photo - Barry Davies Collection - click on image to view full size)No apologies from us for using another from Barry's great archive of 'Peaks images.
This one is by way of illustration (exclusively for 1st timers, 'cos old hands will know full well what to expect) of the delights that lurk on the approach to Pen-y-Ghent.
Here he is in 1975 on the way to his third straight win, about half way up the lane from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to PYG before turning right through the farm gate and onto private land at OS map ref. 823743. Beyond that it gets even worse!
The surface shown here is fairly typical of the whole stretch, though some bits are more treacherous still - and bear in mind that riders will be going up and coming back down this lane at the same time. With some of the faster (and nuttier) 'downhillers' reaching up to 20 mph, the closing speeds can easily be 25 mph... So on serious note for a moment then, riders climbing the hill should try and give way to those coming back down. Bikes really, really hurt when they hit you.
Centre Pull Brake Alert! - This time Barry's Ron Kitching team bike seems to be sporting Weinmann c/pulls with "Ron Kit" stickers. If not, they're quite excellent Weinmann replicas. Clearly it's time for centre pulls to come back into fashion for 'cross racing - if only because they were always less tempramental to set-up and use than cantilevers were (and still are) - and because I've got a whole workshop full of them here...
No comments:
Post a Comment