Mountain Bike Ride
The Pensioner, The Bread Lad.
For once, Square Corner was having the same weather as the rest of the area instead of wallowing in it’s usual microclimate, although damp roads all the way from Osmotherley indicated we had missed a recent downpour. The clouds began to break up as bikes were assembled and general faffing and procrastination ensued while we tried to delay the ascent of The Mad Mile. Eventually it had to happen and we winched ourselves upward, arriving at the cairn significantly less sanguine than when we set off. We did all manage the climb without resorting to pedestrianism which is always a bonus.
We continued along the Drove Road, proceeding in a southerly direction, as they say in court, cutting through the top of Boltby Forest to reach the road at Sneck Yate. Picking up the Cleveland Way again, the track up to High Barn passes through a field full of assorted ordure, much to the disgust of The Pensioner whose tyres were soon clogged with foul smelling dung. Our plan was to hop onto the Sutton Bank blue route and ride the superb singletrack which drops down through a quarry from High Barn; it was over half an hour since we discussed this plan, so The Pensioner sailed past the turn off and continued to the gate at Boltby Scar, oblivious to our shouts and whistles. At the gate he paused to wait for us, passing the time of day chatting to some walkers while we attempted to wave him back, eventually the penny dropped and he made his way back to us, almost as sheepish as the crap on his tyres.
The quarry drop is definitely the highlight of all the Sutton Bank routes, which are predominantly existing bridleways, some of which have been resurfaced; we did not follow the singletrack all the way to the fire road which climbs back up to The Escarpement, choosing instead to push back up a brutally steep bridleway back to High Barn. A sublime pedal along The Escarpement came next, traversing the edge of the moor, awesome views across to the Yorkshire Dales. At Sutton Bank, we rode a man-made track through Hambleton Plantation, which is a track of two halves, the downhill half, followed by the uphill half, before reversing our way along The Escarpement.
Our route back to the car park took us past the cafe at High Paradise Farm, cafes being the main reason for our riding, passing was out of the question. Rolling into a sunny courtyard, we claimed a table and went inside to order, the menu was good, the prices reasonable and the service friendly. Even The Pensioner did not find anything to moan about, that’s us hooked, we’ll be back without doubt. Replete, the remainder of the Drove Road beckoned and we plodded on, an unseasonable head wind making things a bit more difficult. The Mad Mile remained, always a pleasure in the downward direction, so it was seats down, suspension on full bounce and last one to the gate is a pensioner.
