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Hamsterley route 13th April 2018
Lordstones route 22nd April 2018
Guisborough route 23rd April 2018
April has mostly been like a 1980’s Scottish pop group - Wet, Wet, Wet. When not actually raining, it drizzled damply, the trails were always wet, puddles were too big to ride around, off-piste was mainly sliding downhill in slop. Towards the end of the month, things picked up a bit and the combined effects of wind and budding trees has began to dry things out. Here’s to May.
It’s been another one of those months when, despite the best intentions, only four actual mountain bike rides happened, although there a few cross bike rides, (that is rides on the cyclocross bike, not rides filled with minor annoyance), including The Moors And Shores bumped up the mileage past the double century. Three quarters of the mountain bike rides were in the company of the most enthusiastic Terra Trailblazer, The Breadlad, who is always up for a ride providing he’s not constrained by the demands of churning out perfect crumpets or his globetrotting, international playboy, lifestyle.
After The Slough Of Despond ride, we managed a misty and drizzly Hamsterley, just the usual winter hotlap but enjoyable nonetheless. The next time we went out was after the freak heatwave which gave us temperatures in excess of the Mediterranean for a couple of days - naturally a couple of days when we were at work - but the following Sunday dawned bright and warm and continued like that until we parked at Lordstones. As bikes were assembled and greetings made to our other companions (we were mingling with day people again), the sky went black, knocking about ten degrees off the temperature and just to make us feel at home, a steady drizzle began which kindly accompanied us for every inch of the ride, only letting up when we were safely back in the cafe.
The final mountain bike outing of the month was a Billy No Mates affair - hard to believe I was the only person out today, everyone else either working or otherwise engaged - perhaps I ought to change my deodorant. It was not a bad day too, apart from the wind. A speculative flight of the drone on Newton Moor aiming for some nice footage of Roseberry Topping, almost ended in disaster as the wind overpowered the drone’s motors and sent it whipping away toward the distant North Sea. Luckily I managed to land it in the lovely soft heather without any damage. Lesson learnt, if you’re struggling to stand up against the wind, best leave the drone at home. The rest of the ride was spent exploring some of Guisborough’s off piste tracks, which are almost on the verge of being dry and dusty - but let’s not get too excited, snow is forecast again for the last weekend of the month and the beginning of May. Hopefully it won’t bother us because The Terra Trailblazers are again decamping to foreign climes (some camper than others) for a few days of sun-baked riding courtesy of Sierra Cycling in Fuengirola.
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