When The Snowman Brings The Snow....

Wishing you all a merrily festivious time and a fantabulous New Year!

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The First Of The Snows, Kielder Duathlon, 2nd December 2012

Hey there you lot, here's a wee report from the Kielder Duathlon, and oh boy was it cold!

Hello Mr Snow!  So after a week in the Cairngorms walking in the snow it set me up nicely for a Winter Wonderland race further north come Sunday!

Where's Santa.....?

Steve and I travelled up with Chris, Steve's team mate. The car temperature gauge was reading -7 and it was bitterly cold, one of those mornings when you almost feel like your breath has been taken from you as you step outside.

While having a nervous pee-stop by the side of the road near Bellingham (when you gotta go, you gotta go!), I spotted a sheep stuck in the bush riving around all distressed so got the lads out the car to help set it free (after I'd peed and made myself presentable again naturally!).  We managed to clip away the thorns stuck in its back with a pair of cable cutters and that sorted out our good deed for the day!! :D

Arrived at Kielder and met with, yet again, lots of lycra-clad bodies stretching and getting themselves all prepped.  Sorted our numbers out and then realised I had forgotten my bag, pump and spare inner tubes, oopsies, what an utter clot!  Thankfully after some wangling I managed to borrow some in the end and strapped them to my bike with duct tape!

10am came and my running partner Mary set off on the first stint, a 7km run up Deadwater Fell!  Steve's running partner Chris was well up for it this time, after coming 4th last time both him and Steve had something to prove!

Up the winding climbs of Kielder's Deadwater Fell, brrrrrrrrr.......

Chris came back in a time of 42 mins and Steve was quickly away on the bike, overtaking people straight away. We're pretty used to riding in the snow so was quite excited about it!  Mary came in a little later and I was chomping at the bit to get out there, off up the hill climb to start passing people pushing up the icy track.  

Don't let them catch you Chris.....!

Next was a little descent, catching people all the time which gives you a great amount motivation! The organisers had even put in a lovely steep uphill muddy-assed push in the woods, I mean what was that all about?  Anyway, got to the top where my legs started to wake up and feel stronger, I forced myself to stay in the harder gears and just push through the pain.  

Snow? What snow?  Angie stays on the gas.....

20km in 1hr27mins later,  I was passing the dibber back to Mary and off she went for the last 6km.  I went to see Steve who was stood near the track warming himself back up with a cup of hot coffee!  He told me his bike bit had gone well, got held up a little on the singletrack sections but gruelled out the fire roads as much as he could.  He completed it in a time of 1hr 13mins, not too shabby!

Steve aboard his 29'er, giving it some welly.....

Not long after Chris came in looking pretty fresh and they found out they had finished 3rd out of all the teams. Get in there, whoop!!

Mary was next and we cheered her on through the last section, she sprinted the last 20 metres to keep her position from some guy which was good to see!  We took the 3rd place in the women's teams too, bang on!

All in all a cracking day!  Next one is Grizedale in the Lake District!  Can't wait!

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