I did ride a 210km Brevet at the weekend, The Fleet Moss, with 3290m
of climbing. The word Moss is the same meaning as in Fleet Moss on the
London Edinburgh London, essentially an area of peat bog at the top of
a pass, where there's lots of rain and poor drainage. The weather was
nice, and we got to reflect on the value of our $10 Brevet, compared
with the $70 'Sportive' that crossed our 25 mile longer route. England
is a lot hillier than many think. Our minor roads have crazy inclines
of up to 30%. I tend to take the scenery of the Pennines, the mountain
range in the centre of Northern England, for granted, because other
areas in Britain have rocky peaks. But it has an appeal of its own
which we tried to capture in film of the LEL.
https://vimeo.com/6454997
Strangely, there is a children's animated show that captures the feel
of the Pennine area. I talked to a Japanese rider on LEL who was keen
to see the 'sheeps'. I wonder if this is where he got the idea from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBVSMReUXJ4 The landscape details in
that animation are just about perfect, apart from the blue sky, which
is not guaranteed.
Damon.