December 2015 video and 2015 review.
Cut to the chase - December video click HERE
Another month over and another year over, December 2015 will be remembered, perhaps briefly, as the hottest December in the history of December’s, or something like that. Not to mention the storms, now conveniently named by the Met Office, we are already up to Frank and a bit of a character he turned out to be. Awesome wind and Biblical rain gave us a few interesting moments on the hill tops but this east side of the country fared a lot better than the west, once again stacking up the sandbags and digging out the insurance policies.
2015 bit the dust, another year where lesser cyclists ate our dust, gawping like Cletus The Slackjawed Yokel as the Terra Trailblazers swept majestically past in a flurry of phat air wheelies, tail whips and a general air of honed athleticism. Or more realistically, creeping, slothlike along the trails of North Yorkshire in a flurry of panting, perspiration and prevarication.
A few trips away livened things up, The Lakes on several occasions, earlier in the year before it was submerged; ditto the Yorkshire Dales. A brilliant trip to Dalbeattie to take in three of the Seven Stanes, Dalbeattie, Mabie and Ae, where our technical skills were put to the test and mostly found lacking. Two day at Gisburn Forest, the first day officially the hottest of the year. The Sandstone Way, best considered a retrospective experience, any pleasure derived from three days battling fifty miles per hour plus headwinds was gained some time later, mainly on the train home from Newcastle; the hospitality of the Northumberland people more than made up for the rigours of the trip. Mostly, though, we stuck to our own moors, familiar trails and friendly cafes, revelling in having such a fine playground on our doorsteps.
A few personal ambitions and thoughts for 2016, more riding (goes without saying); trips away - bring them on. Dalbeattie is pencilled in for April again, The North West Trail in Ireland, although not mountain biking, looks good for the summer. Some of those Cafe Racer chaps are mooting a trip to ride Belgian cobbles. Maybe some weather-beating Continental vacations will be necessary, it’ll be eleven years since my unforgettable trip to Les Gets, I still dream of lift-assisted riding. Closer to home, the ascent (and descent) of Whiteless Pike in the Lake District looks a grand day out, likewise some of the other hikeabike adventures in the most beautiful corner of England. We may even give in to The Ginger One’s whining and cross the final frontier into the principality of Wales, although he is from Darlington and probably only looking for a better class of sheep.
Mainly, I expect we will be sticking to the good old North York Moors, the cafes and hostelries can expect lots more dripping, damp-bottomed men in incipient middle age leaving muddy puddles on their floors while attempting to restrain a profane and petulant pensioner.
And last but not least, welcome to the new lads who have decided to join our happy little band in 2015, just remember once you’re in you can’t escape and you soon become oblivious to the moans of wives and partners. What precisely is wrong with building a bike in the dining room anyway?
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