Mountain Bike Ride
Rod
Freshly returned from eight days in glorious Spain, eight days of sun, sand and San Miguel it did seem rather unfair that the first mountain bike ride since touching down involved an ascent of Fremington Edge. A name guaranteed to induce a shiver of dread, that feeling of an icy hand gripping the internal organs, as the climb is spotted high on the hillside on the journey into Reeth from the east. Park at The Dales Bike Centre, never a bad spot to start a ride and a primo finish to a ride, and there is not even a warm up as the road rears vertically through High Fremington and ever upward onto Marrick Moor, some 800 feet higher. Nice views of Reeth though. Although nominally summer in England it was at least 15 degrees cooler than i was used to making it feel quite fresh. A fair proportion of the climb is on tarmac until it turns to loose stones, strong legs, good lungs and exemplary technical skill is required to make a dab-less ascent of this section. We lasted about 30 feet before resorting to pedestrianism. Eventually the track does level out and we got a bit of respite as the track heads downhill to Hurst, past the old chimney then west on the bridleway, climbing gently through the typical post-industrial landscape of Swaledale, rocky and barren, mining spoil tips being reclaimed by nature, turning to green undulations as the moor reclaims its surface.
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| Reeth |
Passing through a gate, our route heads downward, through an old quarry to Storthwaite Hall, one of the highlights of this ride, a varied descent taking in everything from grassy downhill to loose rocks, I was almost jealous of my companion, Rod, who was riding this for the first time. All that fun must be paid for and the road between Langthwaite and the quaintly named hamlet of Booze is definitely expensive, a piece of road so steep it made the national news after the local postman refused to ascend it - in his van. Ever upward, we plodded on until we were at a wide track on Peat Moor Green, at a bifurcation we continued upward, looping around, following the track eastward. The grouse shooting season began yesterday and this part of the moor was alive with the sound of 12 bores, salvos of buckshot being directed at jinking birds and maybe the odd recalcitrant mountain biker determined not to have their right of way obstructed by posh kids on corporate jollies. Soon we were spinning out in our highest gears, speeding down the Moresdale Road toward Schoolmaster Pasture, an officially pensioner approved track being wide, open and devoid of hazards, pure speed and big sky views, going on for a few miles. All good things, as they say, must come to an end, we made our way to Goats Road and followed it to Hurst. Not a single goat was spotted.
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| Storthwaite Hall descent |
From Hurst, we returned over Marrick Moor, regaining the top of Fremington Edge for some payback, withdrawing from the gravity bank all the way back to the cafe at The Dales Bike Centre - another highlight of the ride.
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