Mountain Bike Ride
The Youth
4th December route
First frost scraping of this winter and first Thule wheel holder of the year to snap. Thule must make a fortune from these, the plastic goes brittle at the first hint of frost, bang a mountain bike on and they break straight down the middle, isn’t there always a cynical little voice in your head that wonders if this is a deliberate policy. Any regular Thule user will be nodding their head now. Moan over, it was a grand day for a bike ride, crisp and clear, blue sky and a dusting of white frost. We rode up from Great Ayton, past Fletcher’s Farm, to Dikes Lane, passing one of those throngs of walkers which seem so prevalent in the rambling world. Is it a safety in numbers thing?
We continued through Aireyholme Farm and up to Roseberry Common, the mighty Roseberry Topping resplendent, wearing its winter coat of russet bracken. Across the common and into Guisborough Woods, the shaded parts pleasantly firm: where the sun has touched, a sloppy mess. The Youth managed another of his spectacular over the bars superman flying through the air impressions when he somehow failed to see a set of icy steps, I don’t know how he manages to stand up after falls that would see me getting a ride in a big yellow helicopter. Youth I suppose. More of the same followed, without the falls, which he was reluctant to repeat for the camera despite the promise of global fame and endless Youtube crash compilations. We made our way back onto Newton Moor and down Little Roseberry before shouldering the bikes to climb up the Roseberry Topping track, to access the rocky bridleway known as Clatter And Bang which leads to the stone folly, built, allegedly, to enhance the landscape.
The Youth demonstrated his climbing prowess by traversing the exterior, while those of a more mature disposition appreciated the fine views of Roseberry Topping. From here we made our way to The Elephant’s Hole, a huge bowl scooped out from the top of Cliff Rigg Quarry, always fun to ride down, the track through the gorse which follows is never as enjoyable but winter gloves take the sting out of it, pity mine were still in the car. Another track of mud and slop was negotiated and we were on the road to Great Ayton, straight to the butchers for several decidedly unhealthy combinations of pastry and meat, obviously not the normal fare for athletes like ourselves but we felt we’d earned it.
Mountain Bike Ride
Howard
6th December route.
Forty eight hours later, the world had descended into that day long gloom where it never actually gets properly light, cloud oozed down to smother the higher hill tops and moisture caressed us, entrained in a burgeoning wind, while we did the usual car park faff. Hard to believe we’re even in the same country as two days ago. I don’t know about you but I find days like these depressing and energy-sapping, I could easily crawl back under the duvet and remain there until the sun comes out and it is a genuine effort to muster the enthusiasm to get the bike out but then again, the alternative - not riding - is unthinkable. Leaving Danby behind, we had a gentle start, through the woods of Danby Park to Castleton, then the interminable climb to pay our respects to The Seated Man, still sitting on top of Castleton Rigg, clutching his bag to stop the wind blowing it into the next dale, eyes beginning to squint in the prevailing wind. A quick photo and we were gone, probably his only visitors today.
More tarmac and a short bridleway took us past Fat Betty and close to Rosedale Head, where the mist came down to meet us, it wasn’t too bad, the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge was visible for the first time in a month. Regaining gravel at Trough House, we flew along the track, skirting the head of Fryupdale, our friend the tailwind giving us a big shove in the right direction. Continuing downward, the puddle-ridden doubletrack at Bainley Bank brought us out on the road above the hamlet of Street, from Street it is only a short but steep uphill to the Yorkshire Cycle Hub, where we availed ourselves of the cafe with gusto. Suitably satiated, a short pedal took us to Crossley Side and the steep path onto Ainthorpe Rigg, I happened to mention to Howard we’d seen a lad ride the whole thing in the summer, so it was challenge accepted and off he went but conditions were against him, wind, water, mud, slippery rocks and he’s no longer got youth on his side, it won’t be long before his main topics of conversation are ailments, operations and medication, like the rest of us. Better luck next time. From the top, the sanitised path across Ainthorpe Rigg came as a bit of a shock to Howard, who remembered it as a technical descent filled with rocks and drop offs, now it is merely a fast but unchallenging downhill. All too soon, we were heading down the road back to Danby, the weather never having managed to rise above a barely perceptible brightening of the greyness which lasted mere minutes before normal service was resumed. We were lit with the inner glow which comes from a good ride in mediocre conditions, or maybe just smugness.
Mountain Bike Ride
The Youth, The Ginger One, Oz
7th December route
Turned out to be a bit of an extra, today's ride. The forecast was for fifty mph winds so I wasn't going to bother but a few unexpected texts later, a crew was formed and we found ourselves in a sunny Pinchinthorpe car park, whinging about the three quid parking fee but grateful for the weather. It's been so long since Oz and The Ginger One were out they've refitted the stabilisers to their bikes but we made them remove them so they could ride without embarrassment.
The usual fireroad start was, as usual, a couple of miles uphill, eventually we gained Newton Moor, while all the news from my former workplace was disseminated, of course, things have never been as bad since the old blokes deserted the place. Just shows who was actually looking after the job - insert smiley face emoticon (if I knew how). We took in some of Guisborough’s, not necessarily finest tracks but less muddier than the other tracks tracks and did a lot of standing about, gossiping like fishwives. Some of the moorland stuff was not too bad actually, stuff around The Nipple and across The Lonsdale Bowl. The Youth managed the stairs from Tuesday wholly with his bike, which is a novelty but there you go. The Ginger One’s fabled “extra loop” even happened, we rode back uphill so The Chute could become our last route of the day - and very nice it was too. And, like a self-employed plumber, the fifty mile an hour winds failed to turn up, which was a bonus.
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