Crew: El Pres, PTD, Bern, TJ, Troll, Slim, Stunt
Pub: Dunc
Route: BL, Zig Zags, Saddlers Way, Lower Teggs, Smithy, Reverse Ressie, White Rabbit Ascent, Between the downhill, Bobs Bench, Smithy.
Conditions: Sub 5, Rain (snow higher up), Wind (easing), very wet trails.
Notes:
November’s Nasty weather continues! another TNR in full wets and many layers…since last week new waterproof trousers and many a pair of new “waterproof” gloves have been purchased!
Bern still winning the best choice of footwear in his Wellies 🙂
Almost half the riders due at BL are running late, so the prompt ones are brought inside by El Pres and given a nice cup of tea 🙂
6:45 and we ride, the “correct” way out of BL, to pick up straggler Pete.
PTD suggests a variation to ensure we don’t just repeat last weeks ride, so Saddlers way it is! By the time we are at Windyways the rain is now full wet snowflakes, doing their best to stick on the wet ground.
We get whooping encouragement from some lads in a white car on the car park as we head down the bridleway…its slippy! Bern nearly comes a cropper when he stops, as wellies on wet rock don’t have the best grip (nor do many winter boots!).
Huge puddles on lower teggs, and a lot of water running at the ford at the bottom of the steps, by now the rain is easing, but the water off the trail is impressive!
More care needed on the bridge over the Langley reservoir spillway, lethal wet timber!
We check in at the Smithy and get the go ahead to order at 8:30 (when we plan to be back), a warming climb to where the white rabbit path meets the mountain bike trail, where TJ provides cooking whisky to warm us from the inside. Slightly comedy moments ensue as we attempt to manipulate tiny plastic glasses without removing gloves! Huge drips from the trees add a little water to the odd one too!
Final downhills and through the “lake of doom” on the corner of the ressie dam wall track, and we are in the land of the fairy houses to park up the bikes.
Wet kit is draped on radiators and in front of the fire, Hobgoblin or Cumberland ale meet the dark or light preferences, and pretentious crisps (Atlas mountains Rosemary and Thyme) turn out to be rather fantastic!
Izzy serves us our food extremely professionally, and the new gear debrief begins!
Berghaus trousers get the thumbs up, the Dhb gloves seem to have performed variably, @PeteTourettes had some comments!!
An eclectic mix of humour, history, politics and trivia as usual, even before the arrival of Dunc.
No prisoners taken on the ride home, every man for himself against the cold!