Crew: PTD, El Pres, Troll, Butty, Stunt
Pub: Dunc
Route: BL, Zig Zags, Charity, Narnia, Hardingland, Kings Head
Conditions: Windy, Wet, Soaking trails & muddy
Stats: 1 Puncture (troll)
Notes:
Weather- dry with sunny spells then clearing, temp 12 c, breeze dropping.
So don’t need winter gloves, waterproof trousers, will pack a waterproof just in case, summer softshell should be good enough (don’t want to overheat on the climbs)
Sun setting glows golden under the clouds…but wait what is this..a darkening grey approaches, wind picking up!
We head off to the Forest (too windy to go high), Butty with new TJ triple lens front light, PTD with the Exposure 5 lensed mini sun! Brief stop on buxton road for more air in PTD’s rear tyre (the softness in his rear suspension he’s solved with more air in the shock was maybe just a soft tyre?)
Serious puddles on the zig as the grey wall looms closer and the spits and spots start.
Properly dark on the zag with water running down the doubletrack.
Brief respite at windyways, but another bout of near horizontal rain attacks us up as we turn into charity tarmac, and its misty as we turn onto chazza proper.
Route choice to do the big descent then keep lower for a little loop is agreed.
Chazza is a river with big rocks! Narnia is slippier than a slippy thing covered in mud!
Time for caramel brownies and limoncello (to the amusement of a couple of walkers and some other MTB’ers equally disgusted at tonights conditions)
Onwards and downwards…even the big tyred brigade are slipping all over..hardingland probably the best in this weather, but the Troll discovers a front puncture at the bottom.
His front minion is not of the yellow amusing type..but a black beast that defeats at least one unfortunate tyre lever! the back up tube already has a yellow patch, but appears sound on pumping before going in. Apparently it too lied! more cursing as the tricky tyre once again has to come out, and El Pres donates quality conti rubber 🙂
Finally underway we splash down lower teggs and between the reservoirs.
Rumour has it that the Kings head has re-opened and serves food until nine. Time to explore as we are now truly wet and fed up.
Joy…warmth…bubbly barmaid…food…and a 4 month old black lab puppy…food options less than a tenner ..Landlord on tap…and Amstel at only £3.70!!!
Truly the evening is looking up 🙂
Butty confesses he forgot it was thursday and had eaten earlier! he orders a small starter (that will be a whole melted camenbert with bread then!)
Pies, sausage and mash, ham and eggs and huge portions of chips..yum
Bonkers Conkers (yes really) is rather good too.
Ski planning and dour topics interrupted occasionally by puppy chewing gloves and shoelaces.
Dunc finds us to brighten our evening (that was just his shirt)
Thankfully dry on the ride home (but cold!)
Season of the dark is upon us…”winter is coming”..time to get your inner Stark on.