Words by Alex, Photos by Pete
Crew: El Pres, PTD, Mr Inc, Slim, TJ, Stunt
Route: BL, Zig Zags, Charity, Snicket into Narnia, Hardingland, reverse ressie to bottom of the white rabbit descent, LHS snicket, lower ressies, Sutton Hall
Conditions: Sub zero wind chill, frozen higher up.
Notes:
A welcome return of TJ, but Butty down with lurgy can’t take advantage of having his riding buddy back 🙁
Full winter gear required tonight, and PTD informs us that the wind is still bad higher up, so a forest route is required.
Prompt start to get out ahead of the impending school event finishing.
No complaints about the climb as it is generating warmth, and we head up under a low half moon and as we get away from the lights we can see Orion emerging in the eastern sky.
Ominous that ice is already forming in the big puddles on the Zig, and full on frost by Windyways.
The wind is stiff and bitter up to charity, then positively arctic! Sheet ice where there had been water = head into the trees for the down!
Singletrack is now muddy ruts, but still just about rideable, emerging onto the Narnia track we are a little more sheltered now.
Sub five rule invoked at the Narnia bench, with some Winters Gold to warm us from the inside (Well sorted, Alex !! )
Not the weather to hang about though, and soon we are carrying on down to Witches cottage where Slim and TJ fidget with tyre pressures then head for the reliably dry (and hence ice free) Hardingland.
The track past the farm is wet, showing how the temperature is quite height dependent!
Lights of other bikers clearly visible going along the top of Teggs.
Some debate at the Langley ressie steps about whether to seek the warmth of a hostelry early..but the President insists on a little forest loop to keep TNR standards up.
A nice little loop of reverse ressie up the steep slope to the bottom of the white rabbit descent, then down the slighly slippery rooty snicket to the bottom and a quick thrash back round past Bobs bench.
A Church house finish is explored, but even at 8:45 the kitchen is closed, so Sutton Hall it is (although we post too late for a “Goosed” Dunc)
Busy here too, although we get a table by the Christmas tree in the back room. Much debate as to whether Amber Necker or the Beartown is the best (they are both excellent). Out of Mash shocker = excuse for chips (or bizarrely Quiche!). Lacking our regular harbinger of ribaldry we get eclectic topics, and the Troll outdoes himself by quoting the line “When you look at the road death graphs of the 20th Century…” we do wonder if he inhabits a parallel universe!
Heroically we do manage to keep some cheeky bad taste into the banter, and as those with things to do on a Friday morning depart the A of E settles in for yet another whisky (or two..which = three!)