Mountain Bike Ride
The Pensioner.
Going against the very ethos of the Terra Trailblazers, one of us arrived at our meeting point early, sat by the river in Great Ayton ten minutes before the appointed time and fifteen minutes before The Pensioner would arrive. Naturally, when he does arrive, the lubing and tweaking everyone else does at home happens at the roadside, managing to squander another ten or twenty minutes before we set off. The Ginger One finds this behaviour particularly irritating, which amuses us no end. Today, however, a mere two of us were venturing out, everyone else otherwise indisposed on this fine Sunday morning. The river Leven which passes through Great Ayton was running a bit higher and faster than usual, testament to the excess of rain we have suffered lately. A brace of ducks surfed the rapids, looking for food or perhaps just enjoying the ride.
Eventually we set off, at a steady pace, The Pensioner has succumbed to a few health issues lately and this is his first ride for two weeks, a lifetime for someone who usually rides most days. Some easy spinning on tarmac to Little Ayton, then rough tracks past the cafe at Fletcher’s Farm before rejoining tarmac at Dikes Lane and the first proper climb of the day. The plod up to Aireyholme Farm was more pleasant than usual, mainly owing to easy pace; waiting for The Pensioner to catch up, just beyond the farm, I passed the time with a little selfy filming, the wind managing to blow the replacement Lumix off the trailer it was balanced on. Luckily it seemed no worse for it’s unscheduled two metre flight, a fortuitous patch of grass and rain-softened ground breaking nothing but it’s fall.
The plod up to Roseberry Common in the shadow of the mighty Roseberry Topping passed in an equally amenable manner, waiting by the gate at the top bringing back memories of The Captain, a former Terra Trailblazer whose pace verged on time travel at times; his glacial progress on some of the inclines was legendary, whole continents could be formed as pushed and panted his way up to Captain Cook’s Monument or Carlton Bank. The Pensioner has yet to reach the dizzy lows of The Captain and despite his misgivings had yet to resort to those pedestrian habits. A bit of downhill was welcome by now and we headed into Guisborough Woods for a bit of a fire road blast to the oft mentioned Unsuitables, this ascent definitely sorted the men from the boys and the pensioners from the men and he reached the summit without his usual chirpy grin. Bit of poetic license there, The Pensioner is not given to grinning unless schadenfreude is involved.
A straight up and down of Percy Cross Rigg came next, before a wander around the Lonsdale Bowl to Gribdale, during which we found ourselves amongst a flock of Sunday ramblers, all heading for Glebe Cottage. We dropped down to Gribdale via a minor track which has just became rideable again now the summer bracken has died down. From Gribdale, all downhill to the cafe, The Pensioner now back on the horse and leading the way, the smell of tea and breakfast scones in his ample nostrils as we headed swiftly towards his most favourite cafe in the universe, Stamps Coffee Shop.
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