The Beast at Devoke Water
plans were already falling apart , quite literally : my map fragments turned to papier maché behind their little window as the heavens opened as I rode from Dent station via Barbondale towards a small but perfectly formed embanked stone circle on the fells above Casterton . Then I quickly learned that a fully laden cycle on rough terrain would swallow juice at least 50 per cent faster compared with a lightly laden one on gently graded cinder tracks . I just as quickly learned that my daily routine would inevitably include a lingering lunch and battery recharge .
I was also reminded that there ’ s quite a bit of extra weight in the electric motor and , when combined with two full paniers and a top bag , the bike and rider ’ s combined centre of gravity is pretty high , as I discovered to my cost when I caught a pedal on a hidden tree stump and was thrown over the handlebars near Center Parcs . Cue much embarrassment and quantities of blood . The Beast was unhurt . On another day , on the fells by Devoke Water , above Eskdale . I found myself on a footpath instead of the peat hags that constituted the intended bridleway . It was an extraordinary landscape of Bronze Age burial cairns and hut foundations reminding me that parts of West Cumbria were settled and cultivated in Neolithic times and right on
I reckon The Beast has surely extended my cycling career by some years through the Bronze , Iron , Roman and Medieval ages . Today the overused soil is sparse and acidic and temperatures , even in the age of global warming , a couple of degrees cooler than back then .
Eventually , having lugged The Beast across endless peat hags , dwarf hazel and tussock grass , I encountered a loan signpost planted de�iantly in the middle of a huge bog : Public Footpath , it proclaimed . No country for man or Beast , I re�lected . On another day I was relieved to discover that the motor housing on the The Beast was well waterproofed , when fording a mountain beck that proved substantially deeper than I had anticipated . Perhaps the ducks should have provided a clue , I re�lected . Well , in case you hadn ’ t guessed it , notwithstanding such misadventures , I am now a fully licensed electric cycle convert and am looking at other routes that may take me deeper into my Neolithic explorations . Just for the record , I kept The Beast in “ Normal ” setting on my tour , as Eco feels better suited to when travelling light and Sport is just too thirsty . I reckon The Beast has surely extended my cycling career by some years – but that doesn ’ t mean to say that power-assisted bicycles are only for the “ oldies ”.
16 outdoor focus / summer 2022