Peak District camping & ride

These were taken a couple of weeks ago now but I just haven't had the time to do a proper post with them because of helping my girlfriend Debs move house. We decided that a couple of days camping in the Peak District near Hayfield, would be just the ticket for a bit of a respite from the strains & stresses that moving house can be.

We arrived late at the campsite around 9.45 pm and had a bit of a shock when we were told it was going to cost us just over £50 for a pitch for a little two man tent. Well we decided that we would only be staying one night and proceeded to our pitch, within seconds of being out of the car we were being eaten alive by midges, they were in our eye's ,up our noses,  everywhere.  We got the tent up rapido, and even though there were quite a few in the tent,  we were glad to be zipped up in our little refuge. The heavy rain & thunderstorm in the early hours was welcome and would hopefully break the hot humid air and clear the midges in the morning. The next day the midges were still about but nowhere near as bad and seemed to be leaving us alone now we both looked liked we had the measles,  Debs said we were sporting a King of the mountains look with our red polka dots, always best to try to see the funny side.

I wanted the ride to give me and my new Lurcher a chance to really get to know each other but it probably wasn't the right place for that as it was a very rocky, techy trail, that required a lot of pushing and stop/start kind of riding and I was also having to make sure Debs didn't come a cropper on the steep drop off's. 

I didn't really gel with the bike during the ride but I did realise I had fitted a stem that was too short which I have rectified with a 90mm 10º rise Thomson stem flipped negative, which now feels much better and more like I remember my old mtb feeling. 

I did enjoy the extra control and grip that your told that 29er wheels give you, you really do feel more confident when things get steep and after being a 29er sceptic before having ridden one I can say that a lot of what I had read about 29er's is quite true.

I think I won't get truly acquainted with the Lurcher until I can get out on my local trails by myself for a couple of hours to really put it through its paces, I think Debs will understand.