PeakyPaul was right. These are very long rides. Left home at around 930am and arrived back at around 430pm after doing the long 78 km one.
It was a windy and dry day. Started easy on tarmac, fire road and then the infamous rock garden at km 12 at Stanage Edge. Here I had to push the bicycle for a while and the descent was also full of big rocks. I know that part because I've done some bouldering below at Stanage Plantation. After km 16 you turn left and there's a steep descent to Bamford (The Clough) All mountain, full suspension the best for this.
Then there's a tough muddy climbing where I had to put the foot down at 23km. Windy and later nice ride acroos the moor and another nerve racking technical rocky descent, plenty of puddles too until 29km. You cross the A57 and steep fire road non technical climb and after enjoy rocky descent. Nice and relaxed on asphalt around the lake and 49km the toughest part of the ride. This is surely steeper than anything else. You have to push bike, plenty of rocks, mud and after that it came a well deserved reward in form of a technical rocky and muddy , plenty of puddles and flattish section and ending up downhill at 57km. Tarmac until 61km and again doing the Stanage Edge rocky part. Uphill very rocky at the end and had to push bike. Then rocky downhill first, fire road after and tarmac later for some km enjoying the downhill (and riding in the same direction as wind ahhhhhhh
) Very easy to follow route on Garmin. I was running out of battery and had to save it for the way back to my friend's place so from 71k I took the shortest way and missed the last bit. I also switched it off when doing Stanage Edge on the way back.
I took Mountain Kings 2.2 (new ones) with massive grip. You will need an all mountain sturdy bike, fat wheels but I missed the Bonty Mud X tyres at times. I don't know how this 1.9 tyre would perform on rocky descent.
100%100 recommended!
