Mountain Bike Ride
Oz, Rod, The Trainee
How can I bang out five hundred or so words about a bike ride where nothing went wrong, nobody fell off, the trails were perfect and the sun shone all day? Even the wind was mild. We had no pensioner with us, so random moanings and general cantankerousness were absent; just as well because we had a mid-ride cafe stop, something which is now off the Terra Trailblazers agenda for rides featuring over Sixties.
Might as well just describe the route, which as per the title, began from the car park at the top of Birk Brow, or if you are unfortunate enough to be from Darlington like The Ginger One - Guisborough Bank. An initial mile along the busy A171 moor road had our Garmins’ recording an average speed of 20 mph, obviously it was pretty much all downhill. Thankfully, we left the Whitby bound traffic behind and made our way along Swindale Lane to Moorsholm, where we turned south, crossing the moor road and heading for Dimmingdale Farm and the bridleway across the moor to Three Howes Rigg. Three Howes Rigg is better known as the bus stop with the Karl Striker painting - Teesside’s answer to Banksy. It’s also one end of Robin Hood’s Butts, which are three tumuli on Danby Low Moor, as opposed to another Robin Hood’s Butts, at Stoupe Brow near Robin Hood’s Bay, where the medieval Ronnie Kray and his gang practiced their archery, our Robin Hood’s Butts is a rough track, occasionally used by the wobbly head fraternity in their “One Life Live It” (sic) four by fours. Never fails to remind me of the old Fast Show, “Lets off road” sketches.
A little bit of tarmac from the end of Robin Hood’s Butts, then we took The Pannierman’s Causeway to Clitherbecks Farm, the causeway is another medieval “trod”, pathways which were once common all over the moors, paved for the pack horses which carried goods between the towns and villages, parts of the original flags still exist on this causeway, cutting through normally boggy ground, making progress on two wheels somewhat easier. Today, the track was drier than I’ve ever seen it and we made it to the farm in record time. The bridleway past Castleton Pits was also bone dry, the little streams and rivulets all evaporated, we left the bridleway behind and headed downhill on the steep and loose track down Oakley Side, the odd briar making a grab for exposed limbs as we bounced and skidded to the road.
A mile or two on tarmac followed, crossing, here’s that word again, the medieval, Duck Bridge as we made our way through Ainthorpe and into Danby for the calorific delights of The Stonehouse Bakery.
We exited the bakery bulging with bread, pastry and cake, regretting going against The Pensioner’s dictum forbidding mid-ride cafe stops, especially as everyone except The Trainee was well aware of the climb awaiting us after Danby Park. The dry and mud-free Danby Park, The Trainee probably thinks all rides are like this - he is in for such a shock when winter rolls around. Then we were on it, the steep climb back to Three Howes Rigg, the bus stop from our outward journey now a beacon of horizontal in a vertical world, gradually the road levelled out, the bus shelter was passed and it was time to introduce The Trainee to another medieval trod - the Quaker’s Causeway, this one allegedly built by monks, perhaps to enable the pious to reach the abbey at Guisborough more easily. The paving, it must be said is a little uneven, enough to have modern day claims lawyers salivating with money-lust were it a local high street. Full suspension engaged, maximum bounciness to assuage our comfy-chair softened process operator buttocks and we were away, the causeway cuts through the heather for a mile or so, rattling and bouncing, rewarding a bold approach, keep the momentum going and look ahead so you don’t fall off the sides.
After the causeway a lovely bit of smooth, dry singletrack remains and then Birk Brow car park appears, the butty van still open. Well, it would be rude not to partake.
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