A couple of weeks ago I took a couple of days off work for a long weekend. It was Superbowl 43 on Sunday night and as is traditional with my university friends we get together for beer, food, games and to watch the Superbowl. We normally alternate between each of our houses for the venue, as we tend to turn the house into a gaming mess. This year we were at Dave's place in Manchester, and his wife and daughter went to visit his in-laws place.
On Saturday morning Dave and I went for a mountain bike ride out in the Peak District. I chose a route around Chinley Head just west of the Peaks from a mountain biking guide that I had.
Here we are at the start just before setting off.
While it didn't rain that morning it was incredibly windy out on the Peaks. We managed to get a little lost several times trying to find our way along the bridle paths.
The hill doesn't look very steep, but believe me it was quite steep.
Here's a video of Dave trying to climb up the bridle path. It looks very silly but he is trying to cycle up a steep incline.
[Dave cycling video]
It was just so windy out there that we were being blown all over the place. We even had to cycle a bit to be able to move downhill if the wind was against us. If you weren't careful then you could have been easily blown aside while cycling along.
The sheep had the best idea and huddled together in the shelter of the walls.
Here we are just before a nice drop. Just before the drop we were quite sheltered from the wind, but as soon as you came over the hill the wind hit you full in the face and it was difficult to stand up.
[Video of the wind]
Dave braving the windy weather to get a photo.
In the second half of the route we were on the other side of the hill and in the shade of the wind. Since the sun was out and we were sheltered from the wind, it felt quite warm for once.
I was very pleased to be able to complete the fifteen miles without any problems with my back. After a full week of exercise I didn't have any problems cycling around and felt very good. I really can't wait for more rides later on in the year.
My muddy bike after the ride. :0)
The rest of the weekend was taken up playing games, computer and board and drinking too much beer. We hooked up two xbox 360's for some multi-player Halo 3 games. In the end we ended up playing more co-operative games rather than against each other. It was probably more satisfying for the non-Halo players as they weren't cannon fodder for Dave and I.
Phil, Dave and Jase tucking in to our Superbowl meal of wings, ribs and potato wedges. I'm very glad that I got some exercise to work off the weekend's food excess.
Another great Superbowl weekend for the four of us. I think Dave won the most games out of everything that we played.
On Sunday night after the Superbowl I went back to Debbie's place to spend the night there. While it was quite cold at Dave's place in Southern Manchester, once I neared Debbie's place in East Manchester it was snowing quite hard.
Road, wot road?
For the last few miles of the journey I could hardly see the road! Fortunately I knew the route quite well and knew where the road went. This was to be the start of a week of heavy snow for the UK.
My car outside of Debbie's place, Debbie's snow covered Micra is just behind my car.
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