Mountain Bike Ride
Howard
18th March 2019 route
Ran ragged, 18 miles at 9.5mph. Howard is back, returned from a month administering medical requirements on a drilling rig in the tropics and ready to drive an indolent ex-process operator to the brink of requiring medical administration. The unfair advantage of training and eating sensibly definitely shows against someone whose idea of training is not drinking beer everyday and occasionally riding past the pie shop without stopping. Only occasionally though. I spent most of our 18 mile ride looking at Howard’s back as it disappeared into the distance, until he looked behind him and realised the bloke on the verge of middle-age was following him from what would be classed as a safe distance by anyone spectating the defusing of an unexploded bomb.
We met in Clay Bank car park, just us and the big, black cock, who now seems to have usurped the semi-tame pheasants, strutting round, hoping someone will feed him - the cock that is, not Howard. The other cocks we normally ride with all had something better (or worse) to do. Our route was a pretty standard over the tops to Kildale and back through the woods, not the most technical jaunt on a bicycle ever undertaken but probably the least muddy after a weekend of heavy rain. We went up the Carr Ridge steps, passed by Round Hill and continued to Bloworth Crossing before doubling back on the continuation of Rudland Rigg, climbing gently but speedily (in some cases) as we rode along the western edge of Ingleby Moor, heading north until we reached Burton Howe. Hanging a right here gave us a speedy descent of the old Coal Road, turning left at the bottom to avoid the gruesome climb out Armouth Wath, following the bridleway until we picked up the Cleveland Way above Baysdale. Some more “fast as your balls allow” descending on the road and we were in Kildale cafe at the unprecedentedly early time of twenty past eleven. What the hell? Normally we arrive as the lunchtime rush is finishing, not today, we were part of the lunchtime rush, a couple of roadies, a couple of walkers and an awful lot of “ladies who lunch”.
Suitably fed and watered, a bit more road led us through Battersby to Bank Foot Farm, where the tarmac was dispensed with, is there a worse sound than fat, knobbly tyres thrumming on tarmac? Completely out of their natural environment - a bit like me in those days when I was employed. The usual fire road jaunt, up and down through the trees, spat us out ready for a quarter mile of tarmac, steep tarmac, back to the car park where our friendly cock was still strutting his stuff.
Mountain Bike Ride
Oz
19th March 2019 route
Me and Oz left Lordstones behind and climbed slowly up the old Gliding Club access track to trig point on the summit of Carlton Bank, ready to ride the Cleveland Way path down to Scugdale, a quiet mid-week day in March, riding down a superb path that is 99% paved. We’re having a grand old time, feeling the flow, hopping the drainage gullies and taking in the view. Half way down, a pair of walkers are coming up. Being the courteous sort that I am, I slowed down and pulled off the track to let them past. One of the blokes, a bit of a Captain Mainwaring type decides it is his duty to put me in my place.
“Do you know this is a footpath? You shouldn’t ride on here, this is how the paths get all scragged up.”
On a path that’s 99% paved? I couldn’t bite my tongue.
“Yes, but listen, that is between me and the landowner, it’s nothing to do with you.”
Bloke flings his arm up in the air and storms off.
Cyclists can ride on bridleways, but not on countryside footpaths. To do so is a civil tort, ie not a criminal matter, the landowner has to sue the transgressor for damages (of which there’s likely to be none).
This is the law at present, however if you follow the link below it indicates that moves are being made (albeit very slowly) to change things to the Scottish Access model, where it is possible to ride on any right of way. Which they ought to be.
As for mountain bikers “scragging up” the paths, studies have proved that it is in fact walkers who do more damage to paths than cyclists. And when you see, as we do regularly, twenty and thirty strong groups of walkers wandering the hills, it’s not hard to believe. Saying that, this time of year all countryside users ought to pick there tracks carefully, we avoid muddy trails as much as possible, some people seem to choose a route and stick to it regardless of conditions, which doesn’t do the trail any favours.
Busybodies aside, the remainder of the route was enjoyable, we rode through the woods to Faceby, over the fields to Whorlton, through Swainby and back along Scugdale before the long push from Scugdale Hall to Stony Wicks, I daresay it’s a steep ride for some people but we know our limitations. From Stony Wicks we made our way to Brian’s Pond and back over the moor to retrace our tyre tracks back down the old Gliding Club access track. An old shale tip next to the road has been made into a bit of a play area with berms, dirt jumps and a particularly shoddy launch platform which looks as though it has been made from ice lolly sticks. And way too skinny and high for two gentlemen approaching middle age. Working on the theory that the coffee is better in Lordstones than A&E, we give it a miss and headed for the cafe.
La Mujerita
20th March 2019 route
It may seem that being retired is the closest thing to Heaven this side of the brewery-owning nymphomaniac option but even so there are appointments and other time constraints which can wreck a whole day. This was today but me and La Mujerita managed to squeeze in a couple of hours local riding around Billingham, Wolviston and Norton, with the additional benefit of a bit of skill training thrown in; a descent of the Stony Bank and some steep, rooty drops at the side of what used to be known as the Tarzan Trail. Fears were faced and conquered roots, were defeated, rocks were vanquished, steep slopes were practiced, all within half a mile of our house. Amazing what you can find when you keep your eyes open.
Cross Bike Ride
Alone
21st March 2019 route
Like yesterday, today also had an awkward appointment which precluded a full day out, so the cyclo-cross bike came out of the shed for a gentle pootle along the lanes and cycle tracks of Teesside.
Mountain Bike Ride
The Breadlad
22nd March 2019 route
For the second time this week, we met up in Clay Bank car park, the prelude to my fifth day in a row, riding a bike. Our old friend, the big black cock was nowhere to be seen, so two pheasants were taking advantage and munching their way through the food people leave on the wall. The Breadlad arrived in the orbit of the appointed time and we had an unprecedentedly early start, hauling bikes up the Carr Ridge steps onto Urra Moor, the forecast sunny intervals rarer than The Ginger One being suave and sophisticated, no, come to think of it, the sun did come out more often than that might ever happen. The “moderate breeze” was enough to push us sideways as we made our way across the moor and up to Round Hill, the highest point of the North York Moors, not a lofty peak standing proud above the plains but a trig point in an uninspiring sea of heather. Wide sandy tracks took us past the Badger Stone and onward to Stump Cross, which, as the name suggests, is a stump of rock, which would once have been a cross.
It was a route marker and wayside cross and Hayes tells us in his book “Old Roads and Pannierways in NE Yorkshire” (1988) page 42 that it marked the junction of four ways. It stood by one of the main north south routes crossing the moors known as the Thurkilsti, with a track leading off to Colt House in Bransdale and another going west towards Bilsdale. He also tells us that in 1829 it was known as the Cross With The Hand. Ogilvie and Sleightholme in their 1994 Book “An illustrated Guide to the Crosses on the NY Moors” suggest the reason for this is that the original shaft may have had a carved outstretched hand on it indicating the direction to travel, as do many of the old guidestones on the moors. All that is left today is the large base with a piece of broken shaft wedged in it. The base at 2ft 6 inches square is one of the largest on the NY Moors. It looks very similar to Stump Cross on Lealholm Moor.
Courtesy of https://www.megalithic.co.uk/
Even better it marks the start of one of The Breadlad’s favourite descents, about 500 feet of height loss in a little over half a mile, all singletrack with a final drop on shale to meet the road in Bransdale with aching forearms only the unpleasant fact we have to climb out of the valley between us and the cafe. We took the track through Bloworth Woods to Rudland Rigg, climbing steadily to Rudland Rigg, where, after a brief respite, we climbed some more, up to Bloworth Crossing. Rudland Rigg is one of those anomalies of time and space where whichever direction it is ridden in it’s always uphill.
Still more climbing, against the wind now, just to burn a few more calories, and we were back at Round Hill, heading down the Cleveland Way until we reached the Jackson’s Bank bridleway, to squeeze the last dregs of downhill fun out of the ride. The singletrack across the moor was mainly dry becoming rocky and sludgy towards the gate but the fireroad traversing the top of Greenhow Plantation was not faring so well, it looks as though some more felling has taken place and sections of the track are doing a good impression of the sort of mud-filled wallows we’d expect to see hippopotami rolling about in. Luckily the final section, downhill back to the car park, stayed dry and we ended the ride relatively clean.
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