Sunday 30 November 2014

29th November 2014

Mountain Bike Ride

Rod, Dave, The Cruncher, The Boy.


Another filthy North Yorkshire day, not a dry bit anywhere. Gloopy mud, squelchy grass, ultra-slippery roots. A flat tyre before we started and a snapped chain within the first half hour - it was one of those days. And the camera battery went flat. A young acquaintance (The Boy) came to show us oldies a thing or two about biking, he showed us he couldn’t work gears but his uphill pushing skills were second only to The Pensioner. We rode from Gribdale up to Newton Moor, well, rode some of it, the track so muddy in parts even walking was an adventure. A bit of tree dodging through the woods, combined with some more open moorland riding brought us to Codhill Heights and the fun descent to Sleddale. The weather took a turn for the better, a half-hearted bit of sun appeared but a headwind meant we pedaled all the way to Sleddale. Cafe stop was the ever-excellent Glebe Cottage, the calories were hard to justify as we had only rode just shy of 7 miles. Some of the excess calories would be burned off on the ascent of Bankside from the cafe, it’s usual gruelling self but worth it for some of the hush hush tracks on Coate Moor. A slight route finding anomaly (that’s all I’m admitting to) had us emerging from the woods at Dikes Lane rather than a downhill finish to the car park at Gribdale, which unfortunately necessitated another tarmac climb to finish the ride - it almost finished The Boy. A short but fairly arduous route, perversely enjoyable despite everyone looking as though they had spent the preceding 90 minutes following a muck spreader.   


Friday 28 November 2014

27th November 2014

Mountain Bike Ride

The Pensioner, The Cruncher, The Fireman.

27th November route

Dullest Danby or the dullest day in Dullsland. One of those days where it never actually gets light and all the high points are mist shrouded. Still we slung our legs over the crossbars and headed upward for a route taking in Danby Beacon, Roxby Moor and Ainthorpe Rigg. A truly filthy day, not actualy raining but mud and puddles everywhere, no-one escaped looking as though they'd been pebble-dashed. A special mention must be made for the kind person who cut all the hedges on the road up to Danby Castle and left a literal carpet of thorny clippings completely covering the road - I HOPE YOUR NEXT SHIT’S A HEDGEHOG. Numerous punctures for one and all added about an hour onto our ride. Luckily we still had ample time to indulge ourselves in the Stonehouse Bakery.












Wednesday 26 November 2014

Lakeland Monster Miles 2014

Having done the mini massif version of this event in 2013 and finding it enjoyable despite the appalling weather of that year, an uncharacteristic burst of enthusiasm coinciding with fitness, saw me signing up for the long route at the beginning of 2014. Fate had other plans however and July and most of August were spent couch-bound, sofa-surfing while I recovered from a dissected artery in my neck. I was finally given permission to return to cycling with the vague instruction “take it easy at first”. Discretion being the better part of valour and all that, I decided to downgrade my route to the mini-massif.

A short pedal from the previous night’s accommodation - the excellent Linnett Hill Bed and Breakfast - and I was joining the queue in Keswick’s Fitz Park, listening to the sniggering of the lycra-clad throng when the safety instructions reached the bit about it not being a race. A variety of bikes, mainly drop-barred cyclocross machines or hardtail mountain bikes with a smattering of full sussers were waiting with their owners, ready to be released, in small batches, into the Lakeland countryside - and the weather was looking decidedly promising. And we were off, our group cautiously making their way up the cobbles past the swimming pool for the amenable pedal along the old rail track to Threlkeld. Following the C2C route we made our way to Mosedale, leaving the C2C,  eventually swapping tarmac for stony mining tracks and the start of The Big Climb, a long drag around the side of the Caldbeck Fells. This year a combination of an overgeared cross bike, puny under-trained legs and perhaps a few excess pounds saw me resorting to pedestrianism for a couple of stretches. What goes up must come down and a slithering descent on muddy grass down to Fell Side was undertaken with relish, mountain bikes now gaining the advantage over more skittery cross bikes.


The most important part of any cycling event - the feed station - was reached shortly after, heralding, as everyone remembered from last year, The Muddy Section, Sector Bogtrotters? to give it its official title. And boy was it muddy, soft, squelchy mud from the bowels of the earth (and quite the probably the bowels of a few animals too) along a narrow path which meant it was mainly single file. Then some idiot on a cross bike decided he could ride through one of the deeper slurries while everyone else walked round, a hidden obstacle later and he was wallowing in the mud like a bathing hippopotamus. I remounted, much muddier and slightly more cautious. A bit of road, then more slippery mud and grass downhillness brought us into the metropolis of Cockermouth, where the route parted company from last year’s, this year following a deceptively steep minor road up onto Whinlatter Pass. A road I recognised from the C2C some years ago, it was hard with a triple chainset; it was a lump harder on cross bike gearing. Slowly I winched myself up to the summit, getting my breath back before a welcome blast through the forest on greasy, leaf-strewn fire roads, probably the highlight of the ride for me, took us to Thornthwaite, from where it is minor roads all the way back to Keswick.


Mud-spattered and weary, we returned, in small bunches, to the park and our only disappointment of the day - we had to dismount and walk over the finish line. Elf and safety strike again? The party atmosphere in the park made up for this minor regret, live music, food stalls, free coffee, bike wash. Sitting outside the cafe, surrounded by cyclists all wearing their medals and carrying their goody bags, a quiet sense of achievement and satisfaction creeping over myself, it had been a good day, perfect weather, some gruelling hills but equally enjoyable descents, well organised and impeccably signposted. Back next year? Of course. Long one next year? Well...hmm, let’s wait and see.

Thursday 20 November 2014

19th November 2014

Mountain bike ride.

The Pensioner, The Bread Lad, The Fireman, The Cruncher, Uncle Ian.

Route 19th November 2014

Despite the weather forecast we ended up very wet. The ascent of The Incline sorted the men from the boys.








18th November 2014.

Mountain bike ride. 

Not a bad day.
The Pensioner, The Ginger One, Oz.
18th November route