Words & Pics by Pete
Crew : El pres, TJ, Bern , Pete
Pub : Dunc
Weather : over 30 at rendezvous , and pretty hot for most of the evening
Route : BL, Berns, Zig zags , Charity Pt 1, Narnia cheeky bits , Charity Pt 2 and extension, Wildboarclough valley road , Greenway bridge, Plague Stone/Greenaway Cross, Ridgway descent, Sutton Hall .
Pre Ride excuses for absence of some bau crew :
- Dolphin spotting in Corsica
- Voyeurism in the Alps
- Preparing for Devon
- Fiddling on the Roof
Notes :
It was almost down to a crew of three as we assembled at the Presidential Palace …..Bern had been making noises about being on a sweltering train en route from Huddersfield with no aircon …and managing our expectations as to his arrival time.
Just as we decide to set off as a trio ….he appears in his car (very) hot foot from Macc station .
So we have a second rendezvous at Berns, say hello to a departing Pete G , re-load on our water supplies (even at this early juncture) .
By the time we are climbing to charity it feels cooler , a slight breeze is evident. Thankfully.
At the apex of Charity we hop the fence a have fun in the skills area …though bits are still muddy
We rejoin Charity , after Narnia, and find it is surprisingly tame …has it been smoothed out ?
But Charity extension more than made up for it – washed out and very very loose
Now a faster run down the Wildboarclough Valley on tarmac in search of the natural pool in the river. Just a little past the Crag Inn we find two damp looking millennials and a trail of wet foot prints.
TJ and Bern have come prepared and put Chris and I to shame – but someone has to record the event for posterity.
The clock is ticking , and Chris now springs into Operational Leader mode, in his own modest but effective style. Food choices are made and he speeds off to get some height and a decent phone signal .
We top out by the Plague Stone (https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=5432) ) … and Chris is unable to get an answer from SH …so he speeds ahead to get an order in before our assumed deadline of 9:15pm .
I linger for a few snaps before a rapid descent of Ridgway to the lure of beer and food .
Not only has he sorted our food order but he has also got us a table outside ! Al fresco dining is a definite bonus on a warm night.
Alas the rain does eventually arrive but by now the SH garden is getting clear of other punters. We requisition the smoking shelter to continue our evening. Dunc arrives on 23mm 700C rubber – and the ribaldry zone begins again 🙂
Tj is my new journey home partner. We take the towpath all the way from the exit of SH to Clarke Lane – delightfully quiet with strange patches of cool and warmth as we travel along.
A few raindrops as I climb up through Kerridge but no downpour yet.
Another fine evening