Crew: Bern, EL Pres, PTD, Troll, Butty, Dunc, Doog, Stunt
Pub: Salad Dodger
Route: Top of Bull Hill, Charity, Extension, Tea Room, Cat, Danebower Hollow, Cumberland Clough, Cumberland Brook, Wildboarclough, Standing Stone, Nessit Hill, Ressies, Sutton Hall.
Conditions: Cool & Dry
Notes:
Bern announces his comeback from a torn calf muscle with a classic route.
After some start time and place haggling, a 5:30 at the top of bull hill or 6:00 at the start of charity is agreed.
With all plans it doesn’t last long in contact with the participants…
The troll needs to swap a damaged chain link with a quick link at Bull Hill, then discovers he only has 10 speed links for an 11 speed chain. Luckily the collective spare parts of the team are able to provide 😉
Others are also running late, so 6:15 ish at a very cold and breezy charity, and after tales of skiing tomfoolery, we are finally together (apart from ePTD) with comms to book the table and live location on we attack the climb to get warmth back in our limbs.
Worryingly there are still long stretches of sheet ice rivulets on the shady side of the track, what will the downhill bring?
…just some water and a bit of mud (so it must get more sunshine) and we pick up PTD who has cut across to the Narnia gate to intercept us.
No gravel dancing for Bern on the extension this time.
..and it’s Bern the Bolt as he rockets up hill to the tea rooms, pursued by Stunt on the rebuilt KTM with new 52 tooth rear cassette for cunning hill climbing capability.
Extra layers donned at the tea room pit stop, there is a real bit to the breeze tonight, health and safety briefing on the pothole of doom on the little bridge on the first part of Danebower towards the gate.
Sadly some high cloud has come in to spoil what would have been an excellent star gazing evening away from the lights of the plains.
Fast and furious across to the Congleton road, and Doog does an impressive recovery when he’s knocked 90 degrees right at the end, and ends up on the bank just short of a steep drop into the back of the quarry!
Sweets proffered at the start of Chumby to provide a sugar boost…which they do after some time in the mouth (the licorice ones have gone a bit hard in the cold).
The right hand side of the chumby ravines is down to a narrow slithery strip – Bern had an early dab into the long grass and switches to the left, others admit to a bit of vertigo and the need to look ahead to avoid being sucked into the void.
The brook section is running well, a strong whiff of sheepiness from the flock hanging about either side of the ford, and some amusing arse streaks on the “mudguards are for wimps” Butty.
A promise of schnapps once we summit the forest, and with time on our side, and Dan’s birthday to toast (he would have been 42) we head to his bench on Nessit.
No sign of our Austrian shots expert as the pear infused liquid warmth is poured and consumed, looking at the vista the smithy lights reflect in the water giving it the appearance of an ocean liner rather than a building.
The usual route down, but unusually a group of gravel bikers (and a photographer with a camera on a long pole) are on the little side dam as we burst out of the single track for the final little uphill.
Sutton Hall achieved by 20:30, and pretty busy, Pete may not have managed to meet us en route, but he has managed to book the big posh table in the main room.
Split in the camp between the grapefruit strong one, and the suprisingly moderate dark Abyss stout (both excellent), there has been a run on the steak, feather of beef and the sea bass, but our hearty favourites are all still on 😉
An axis of evil develops with two rounds of whisky (in nice glasses that lead to reminicences of southern comfort in our much younger days).
Classic TNR in all the right ways…