Words by Alex, Photos by Pete
Crew: El Pres, Slim, Troll, 3 Sheds, Mark, Stunt & Dunc
Route: BL, Zig, Teggs, Leathers, Witches Cottage, Charity & extension, Standing Stone, Nessit, Ressies, Leathers.
Conditions: Cold, Clear, Wet & muddy trails
Stats: 1 Off (dunc), 1 Puncture (El Pres)
Notes:
This week we feel we are properly prepared! Sub 5 supplies – Tick, Stunt’s Brakes operational (new pads front and back, bled & topped up) – tick, suitable clothing for cold night – tick. Pete last to arrive – tick 🙂
Dunc will be meeting us en route, a start of chazza rendevouz agreed.
We head out legally the wrong way out of BL due to a road closure 🙂
Chat begins with the fabled replacement of the Trolls Yeti – it’s going to happen..but there may be last minute distractions???
No overheating this week – it’s a climb to warm up type of night, plenty of water on the trails, so soggy bottoms may be an issue!
Teggs is ok to start but super slippy lower down, ressie renovation means a temporary footpath, we spurn the temporary steps…but learn the hard way that this is not a shortcut! 2 lots of hike a bike over walls and we are back on track.
Food ordered at the Smithy, but a tough target of being back by ten to nine means there will be no slacking permitted!
Owls and/or Foxes provide the sound effects on the climb to the cottage, and there is a good view across the plain under a crescent orange moon! Legs and lungs are on the limit by the time we’re at the start of chazza though, no Dunky yet , but he’s not too far away, so we set off and let him chase us down.
Chazza running well, although Stunt discovers that no matter how bright your light is..it’s not much help if it starts pointing at your front wheel after a big bump!!! Luckily helmet mounted light prevents disaster 🙂
Extension dry but gnarly, those doing the singletrack from the shutlingsloe steps to the S bends report some big front wheel eating puddles near the end!
Dans bench for the promised Winter’s gold…rather fine it is too..and Dunc arrives perfectly on time for his wee glass 🙂 He’s had to work hard to catch up..but apparently this is a good thing as there is some work frustration to work off. This theme is carried on into the downhill as he goes flying past a warp speed…how he makes it around the slimy berm is anyones guess.
Stunt is rather the opposite as his front light slips again!!
Down the path and round the ressie to be on time…but a “burp splat aargh” from Dunc tells us that he’s literally ridden his luck too far, and landing a little jump loses too much tyre air and gains a layer of mud down one side 🙂
No major damage done other than to pride (and possibly aggravating an old shoulder injury?) the straggles limp in to find the El Presidente sorting a puncture.
Adnams stout Old Ale is the beer of choice (two excellent dark beers in two weeks) so we dutifully drink the tap dry, food is excellent, and the emergency table chips we ordered “just in case” are devoured by a hungy Dunky despite his “don’t need food” protestations.
Warm fire is extremely welcome, as are the extra chips from the kitchen.
Ribaldry returns this week, re-igniting the Dunc ribaldry catalyst theory, starting a new theory that ribaldry is temperature sensitive (last week too cold in the pub?), and ignoring the lots of beer theory 🙂
Music is eclectic and good (Black Sabbath to Madonna via Dire Straights and M People)
John looks after us extremely well, and after Troll upgrades our whisky from Bells to Talisker, some bonus apple pie appears!!!
No frost on the way home, although it is chilly, Pete wins the guess the midnight Tythy temp competition (3c)
BBBBBB next week
Big Berns Bikes and Beer Birthday Bash