Crew: El Pres, Slim, Troll, Butty, Dunc, Bern, Lee, 3 Sheds, Dr S, Stunt
Route: Top’o’Bull Hill Lane, Charity, Extension, Tea Rooms, Shining Tor, the downy uppies to Hoolihey Lane, Erwin Lane, Clarke Lane, Rainow, Oakenbank, Poachers.
Conditions: Mild, Windy, trails soft in parts.
Notes:
Another Top’o’the lane start for an expedition to do the Shining Tor to Lamaload route before it gets too swampy.
The stiff SW breeze makes it chilly once the warmth of the climb to the start point has worn off, and windproofs go on straight away. Slim sorts food logistics with the team to get our choices from the limited 5 option menu that is all the Poachers can manage today (insert your favourite cause of wordly woe here).
Route is posted for Lee who says he will be late, and we debate the meaning of 3 minutes from the Troll who is not late, but also is late. Butty did remember to plug in the e, and is once again the whining noise of smug assist.
With the food choices sorted (apart from Lee) we almost forget the most important question which is to Charity or not on the way up? 3 Shed mutters something about the tea rooms and heads off, the rest of us feel that there is time, and enjoy some wind assistance up to our most ridden trail.
We discover Lee is actually ahead of us, and meet him at Charity top, call in the food order (and discover we need to be there half an hour earlier than we thought).
Dunc and Lee debate whether hard tails were the right bike choice tonight!
The tailwind is worth at least one gear up from Bottom of the Oven to the tea rooms, and up high its pretty strong, tis a good thing its not cold!
As we turn off the yorkshire northshore through the remains of a gate, the trail is super swampy straight away, and there are wheel eating patches of quick mud to avoid. Once we are on steeper ground it improves, but despite the softness the Troll manages to pinch flat and delay proceedings for a little while.
The further we go the less swampy it gets, although wet grass is still plenty slippery enough for full concentration at all times. The long climb to the old gate stones is doable in one, and at the final crest we get dark vistas, a hint of reflection from Lamaload, and bright lights from civilisation beyond the next set of hills.
Time is a pressing and after a suprisingly dry bottom section its a road climb out form Hoolihey lane, up past dead mans stone, and then down to Rainow and an oakenbank strewn with the first golden leaves of autumn. The lead riders arrive at the pub to find that they have been outflanked by a rear contingent who chose Blaze Hill instead (but they missed out on the oakenbank experience!).
Locking up we are definitely under Santa Cruz’ed vs the Nancies, but I bet we went further tonight.
Smoked porter, fruity ale or something in the middle – we like the variety! The 5 bean chilli is tasty, although perhaps a smallish portion, Lasagne was good, and table service for beer is always lovely.
Plenty of banter and evening philsolphy, and an AoE do Leffe and then whisky before prising themselves outside and hoping to get home before the forecast rain (a bit of light rain for some).