Saturday 23 March 2019

Five Days In A Row, I Can’t Understand Why I’m Not 9 Stone.





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.




Mountain Bike Ride

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.

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.













Saturday 16 March 2019

A Bit Windy For The Second Week Of March.




Stormy Monday Blues followed by Stormy Tuesday Blues which lingered into Stormy Week Blues as Storm Gareth gave the country a gusty few days, winds of 75 mph in places. As Gareth blew himself out, Hannah blew in with rain, wind and snow, just to finish the week off. Being special sorts of idiots, we still managed three rides out this week, although we conceded to the weather by staying in the shelter of trees whenever and wherever we could. Whole plantations of conifers swaying about like fields of corn were probably not the wisest places to be but we all lived to ride another day.




Mountain Bike Ride.

Monday 11th March route

Oz


A pleasantly sunny but windy morning saw me and Oz at Pinchinthorpe car park, ready for some Guisborough Woods exploration. We had a nice easy start, along the disused railtrack with a tailwind helping us along. All good things must come to an end and our good thing ended at the infamous concrete road, which climbs up steeply to the eastern edge of Guisborough Woods. The top of the road was gained with a modicum of puffing and panting, after getting our respective breaths back, we continued on muddy off road tracks, gaining more height, until we could withdraw our deposits from the gravity bank and lose the height in a much more enjoyable fashion than we’d gained it. Apart from the buffeting wind, the weather was springlike, with blue sky and a clear view across the North Sea, well beyond Hartlepool we could just make out what was probably Seaham or maybe Sunderland. 


In the shelter of the trees, most of the tracks were surprisingly dry, we continued in and out of the plantations with a vague plan to find a trail called Snakebite, which leads down to the Blue Lake. Only having a rough idea of where it starts didn’t help, a left turn off the main fireroad beneath the Hanging Stone, the problem being there are three left turns, we chose the middle one, or as we now know it, the wrong one, and found ourselves on a network of muddy paths, which although fun to ride, did not have the jumps, berms and other trail features us gnarly, rad dudes have come to expect. I have been riding in Guisborough Woods for over twenty years now and somehow never managed to point my tyres down any of the tracks in this little section of the forest, judging by the amount of tyre tracks in the mud, everyone else has. After a bit more slopping about, the search for Snakebite was abandoned in search of coffee and soon after we were sitting in the Branch Walkway Cafe, surrounded by pensioners and dogs, as we reflected on an enjoyable few hours riding. 




Mountain Bike Ride.

Wednesday 13th March route

The Breadlad.



Guisborough Woods, trees bending in the wind, the search for Snakebite, deja vu, another day of coniferous windbreaks and potential death by falling tree. Owing to The Breadlad’s antipathy to parking charges, our ride began from a muddy verge on the outskirts of Hutton Village, greatly increasing our chances of a windborne branch through the windscreen but with an extra three quid towards the repairs. Plodding upwards on fire roads, the search for Snakebite continued but this time we found it pretty much straight away and it was a nice little trail, too muddy to be fun today but another one in the   “will be good in the summer” file. After climbing up from the Blue Lake to The Unsuitables, another trail was explored and put on the dry days list, before we ventured out onto open moorland, braving the wind along Percy Cross Rigg and down to Sleddale. Unfortunately, the wind was slightly in the wrong direction to assist us on the ascent of Codhill Heights, as the track levels out, approaching the Highcliffe side of Guisborough Woods, the full force of the wind hit us. It was harder riding on the flat than it was riding up the hill. 


The sanctuary of the forest reached, we continued, choosing what we imagined would be the least muddy tracks for some glee in the trees, weaving between the swaying trunks, skidding on wet roots as we carved through a brown mattress of pine needles. Things continued in this vein until the siren call of the Branch Walkway Cafe lured us in for the second time this week, where we replenished caffeine and calories before riding back to Hutton Village, thankfully finding our cars free from arboreal molestation. 




Mountain Bike Ride.

Thursday 14th March route

The Breadlad, The Youth.







Sheepwash car park, listening to Popmaster, the car swaying in the wind as Storm Gareth continues blow drying the country, Ken Bruce asking the questions while I answered some of them, obviously anything after 1990 being too modern for me and ancient history for The Youth. We ought to have been throwing legs over crossbars and pedalling but we were waiting for The Breadlad, whose concept of time owes more to Einstein’s theory of elasticity than GMT. He arrived, barely even late by Breadlad standards and we were soon panting uphill through pitching conifers, definitely the theme of this week’s riding, up to High Lane and onward to Square Corner, buffeted by a vicious sidewind. We reached the relative shelter of Silton Woods, large chunks have been felled but luckily the downhill track is still there, in fact, it has been improved with a few extra jumps. 




We spent a pleasant hour or so, sessioning sections and watching The Youth finding his air time mojo, The Breadlad found his falling down the hill mojo when his front wheel slipped while descending a rock garden, it wasn’t all bad news - I did manage to film and photograph it. Leaving the downhill track behind, we continued down to Over Silton and went back into the woods in search of vaguely remembered tracks around the Hanging Stone area, overlooking Thimbleby. 





The fire road uphill was a muddy disaster, mainly thanks to our equine brethren, we made it to the top using a combination of pushing and swearing only to find the trails are no more, buried beneath the detritus of tree felling or wrecked by water-filled ruts left by the machinery used to harvest the plantation. Our options were limited to continuing upward on another track which was more like Shrek’s swamp than the singletrack I remembered or bursting into tears and calling out the mountain rescue helicopter. Realising there would be nowhere for a helicopter to land, we manned up and made our way back to firmer fire roads and out of the forest. The section between Square Corner and High Lane, was, naturally, into a headwind, battering us as we headed back towards Cod Beck, we finished through the woods on Rod’s track, then rode the dog poo bag slalom along the shore of the reservoir back to Sheepwash. 






Saturday 9 March 2019

A Bit Moist For The First Week Of March.

                                                     The First Week Of March



Mountain Bike Ride.

Friday 1st March route

The Ginger One, The Youth.

Dale Head Farm

It's been a while since we visited Hawnby and The Ginger One is keen to once again sample the daily special - which was actually the same every day for about ten years. Locally produced pork and apple burger, with or without chips. With this in mind, we assembled at Square Corner, shivering in the Square Corner microclimate, which usually renders this small patch of gravel ten degrees colder than the ambient temperature. We cycled past the remains of Dale Head Farm, well past the status of fixer upper ( as many have tried during the years) and fast becoming random pile of stones in a field. The Dale Head singletrack was in winter condition, slightly moist but mostly rideable. The road section which follows seems steeper than we remembered but eventually we reached Moor Gate and returned to off-road, passing the remote Hill End House and down through fields and woods to the River Rye, crossing on what we still call the new bridge, despite it being in place for well over a decade. A stiff climb took us to New Hall, where my dad lived in the 1940’s, from here it is all downhill to Hawnby,  The Ginger One was devastated to find the daily special is no more, a bowl of homemade soup soon cheered him up. 


We all took aboard vital sustenance ready for the ascent of Murton Bank, something The Youth had been dreading since the start of the ride. It’s been a couple of years since we rode up this beast and all I can say is it hasn’t got any flatter and The Youth hasn’t got any faster at going uphill, this seems to be a common trait amongst gym rats - just saying like. Only a few miles of The Hambleton Drove Road stood between us and the Mad Mile, helped by a tailwind, the miles passed pleasurably and soon we were regrouping by the cairn, ready to for a mile of pure pleasure. The Mad Mile appears to have overgone more sanitisation, there are less loose rocks and the slabby sections are covered by gravel, which takes out some of the fun but will probably make it easier to ride up. 




The Mad Mile.




Mountain Bike Ride.

Monday 4th March route

La Mujerita



The start of a new week saw me and La Mujerita at Sheepwash, ready for a few loops around the area, the weather has reverted to seasonal, unfortunately, around fifteen degrees cooler than last Monday. We had a quick scoot along the shore of the reservoir, then ascended through the woods to High Lane, only to drop down again on what we call Rod’s Track, weaving through the trees and gorse bushes to Cote Ghyll. From Cote Ghyll, a longer climb took us to Scarth Wood Moor, ready for another woodland descent and a bit of steep drop training for La Mujerita, where she learnt from the mountain biking mantra, “If you’re not falling off, you’re not trying hard enough.” 



It took a few attempts but I got her to fall off eventually; sessioning a steep, muddy drop, festooned with slippy roots, something she wouldn’t have even considered a few months ago. It’s always nice to see progress. We made our way back up the moor on the paved bridleway and continued along the top, making a detour to The Lady Chapel, a church hidden amongst trees on the hillside, which has been there for centuries, falling into ruins for many years before restoration began in 1959. A detailed history is available on The Lady Chapel website




A track took us back to the outskirts of Osmotherley and road back to the reservoir, which looked picturesque now the sun had decided to put in an appearance, blue sky, blue water, white fluffy clouds; another grand day to be out.





CX Bike Ride.

Tuesday 5th March route

Local ride for local people.

Another local outing on the cross bike, headwind, rain, chain came off. About sums it up.



Mountain Bike Ride.


Thursday 7th March route

The Breadlad, The Youth



Waiting in the main car park at Hamsterley for The Breadlad to arrive from the trail-burglars car park at Bedburn, it was cool and dull but looked like we might stay dry, despite a brief drizzle shower. We headed directly up to Windybank Road on forest tracks to introduce The Breadlad to the trail known as The Pensioner. Unfortunately The Pensioner wasn’t in the mood to play nicely, yesterday’s rain leaving the whole trail muddy and slipperier than a jellied eel in a bucket of grease. It wasn’t a successful descent but showed The Breadlad the potential for a drier day. 


Climbing back up to the Descend car park gets no easier but Section 13, being an all-weather sort of track, rode well despite the odd puddle. Continuing in a generally downward direction, we bypassed Boneshaker in favour of Swiss Tony, another unofficial track, rejoining the sanctioned routes to do Special K and Brainfreeze. All without incident. Crossing the river we climbed upward, to (eventually) arrive at Pikes Teeth, a track we’ve been bypassing lately in favour of continuing onto the moor and Doctor’s Gate. The Youth descended as though he was being chased by the hounds of hell, at a pace us gentlemen on the verge of middle-age couldn’t compete with, no doubt he is overcompensating for not being able to keep up with someone thirty five years his senior on the uphills. 


The off-piste tracks are all suffering from the weather, so we stayed on the main tracks, continuing to Oddsox chased by a rain shower which forgot it was meant to be a shower and accompanied us for the remainder of the ride. Dampening everything but our enthusiasm. The long drag to Transmission was no easier and K Line is closed for a few days, so we after a very brief stop at the table - it’s no fun sitting about in the rain, we did the Triple Tranny, as the the three routes are known, Transmission, Accelerator and Special K, returning to the valley bottom with aching forearms and mud-splattered faces, no longer concerned about the rain as we made our way back along the road to the car park, me and The Youth content, knowing our ride was in the bag and The Trail Burglar still had another climb to punish him.






Mountain Bike Ride.

Friday 8th March route

The Breadlad, The Ginger One, Oz.



The following day dawned bright and sunny, pity it couldn’t manage to stay like that; by the time our quartet of pedalling prevaricators left Great Ayton it was grey and dull with a biting wind. Ever upwards we pedalled past Fletcher’s Farm and Aireyholme Farm to Roseberry Common, then shouldered the bikes for the steps up to Newton Moor, discussing how someone new to mountain biking might view this start. The consensus being most modern “snowflakes” would never be seen on a bike again but more stoical (i.e. old) people, unaccustomed to the instant gratification culture of the millennials might realise pleasures are always sweeter when  earned. And it was, we did Les’s One, The Hanging Stone and a few more of Guisborough’s finest trackage package before ascending the full length of The Unsuitables from Hutton Village to the top of the woods. 



We were unsuited to it, apart from The Ginger One, whose recent performance increase would, at any organised event, have him pulled aside to fill a bottle with his John Smith’s tainted urine. Whether it’s secret training, pharmaceuticals or he’s sold his soul to the Devil is uncertain but his nickname from the early days of the Terra Trailblazers, Grannyring Robson, no longer applies. Black Nab and The Nipple came next, followed by Fingerbender Bank and Andy’s Track, down to Gribdale, yesterday’s rain caught us up again. The Ginger One’s extra loop up to Captain Cook’s Monument proposition was greeted with the disdain it deserved and five minutes later we were dripping mud in Fletcher’s Farm tea room amongst dog walkers and ladies who lunch.