words & photos by Pete (mostly)
Crew : Pete, El Pres, TJ, Butty , Troll , Bern
Route : BL – Zig Zags – Rear Entrance Teggs – RHS descent – Leathers – Nessit – Trentabank – climb – Rezzies – Learthers
Conditions : Cold and clear with a stiff breeze. Close to freezing at Nessit.
Stats : One chain jammed behind the cassette – Pete, 25cl Gordons, 1ltre Tonic , El Pres frozen lemon slices , one whole lotta calories
Notes :
A simple circuit with six of us middle aged chaps to toast Dan’s birthday.
A climb up to Blakelow Rd to pick up “Bern the Regular”, a jammed chain very soon after.
Note to self…..Wednesday night drive drain renewal is all very well , but a test ride on a Thursday Night will always end in a degree of faff.
My thanks to Butty and El Pres for their patience and help in unjamming a very stuck chain .
Which is worst , faff due to neglect of maintenance ? or faff due to lack of full adjustment of a newly fitted cassette, chain, jockey wheels and chain rings ??
A very slippy descent of Teggs nose on the RHS , with several sideways moments . Up to the Leathers to put in an early order for 9pm Nosh . Its wonderfully warm and welcoming inside …but we have our duty ahead of us this evening.
Reverse Nessit it is then, with patches of well trodden snow now turned into wet ice much care was needed.
At Dan’s bench Chris was master of ceremonies and once more we toasted the memory of our fine friend.
TJ produced another gadget , a l@ser pointing torch thing. Very useful for pointing at the various constellations – it was a fantastically clear night.
With a stiff breeze as well as our stiff Gin and Tonic’s we did not linger .
Fortunately only the lead-in to the downhill route was icy , and we managed to get back to Trentabank without mishap .
a quick gratuitous extra bit back up towards (but not as far as) Standing Stone , then to the pub.
First surprise was a cheeky starter of baked Camembert – yum. This , after all the fine chunks of Mrs Butty’s Rocky Road we had at Nessit, left little room for the monster burgers we had ordered.
El Pres even asked for a “doggy bag” for his leftovers !