words by Alex, pics by Pete
Crew: PTD, Butty, Slim, Troll, Stunt
Pub: Dunc & Nic
Route: BL, Zig, Teggs, Leathers, Chazza, Bombholes to Narnia, Witches Cottage, The “old wet snicket”, Leathers.
Conditions: Humid, clouds clearing, then coming back in again for a shower late on. Muddy Trails.
Notes:
A small crew with Slim at BL on time shocker! Early getaway prevented by a late running troll. Much bike geek talk (new Sidi shoes for Slim!) and even some early Ribaldry as we wait.
Recent rain and continuing breeziness suggest the tops are not going to be at their best, so we default to the forest with a Teggs entry.
PTD takes us up over the lumpy bits for some variety..and there are good views on offer, undergrowth is rather pedal catching, but does provide nutrition as Bilberries are in season and very yummy 🙂
Descent not for the faint hearted…so PTD shows us how to do it (Twice!)
Teggs descent with added hazards of rare breed horned cattle lower down!
Food ordered at the Leathers, and an hour to do a loop…long grind up to start.
An enticing green ribbon is seen to be threading its way through the felled slopes on the way to Witches cottage, Butty and Stunt debate whether it’s the old “Wet snicket” and the answer is that it must be…for now on and up.
A few hind and several young deer watch us puff up to the gate at Hacked way lane.
We regroup at the “clean” entrance to the snicket just after the Dentists Bombhole.
Rain is starting to fall, its dark under the trees – lights needed, and it’s soft too – one or two parts are too iffy to ride the line. Maybe we need to hold off when its wet to preserve it?
Time to head back, so a perfect opportunity to explore the old snicket!
We drop in and boy does undergrowth hide a multitude of sins – its a rollercoaster of brambles, rotting brush, huge stumps, random logs and rocks, soft patches and lower down running water! We make it in one piece (although some are checking tyres to be sure!) and a few legs are bloodied.
It won’t take much work to clear the worst stuff, and will ride well in due course…maybe could be improved to take a longer zig zag flowy route down the hillside?
Discussion is carried on to the Pub, and bike banter with a couple of familiar faces too.
Duchars, Golden ale and Guinness all feature in quenching thirst, hunger dealt with by large plates and bonus peas 🙂
Dunc and Nic arrive to ensure conversation is at a suitable level (it’s already there!) and a play your cards right higher or lower theme emerges on key questions being answered with google  fu (Roger Decourcey is still with us, The origin of “the pen is mightier than the sword” is much more recent than you think, and Norman cavalry horses much smaller!)
We may have emptied the bottle of Highland Park (our friendly landlord enjoying our quizzy banter too)