Crew: PTD, Slim, 3 Sheds, Lee, Butty, TJ, Stunt
Tythy towers: Dunc, Woody
Route:
RB, middlewood, Grimshaw lane, Redway Lane, Nancy Lane, Ingersley Vale, Poachers Snicket, Pott Shrigley, Bakestonedale road, Moorside Lane, Grassy climb by the wall, Dale top, Quarries Descent, Chapel Descent, Shrigley road, Long Lane, Stypersons, Sugar Lane, Holehouse Lane, Middlewood, Tythy Towers.
Conditions: Cool & Windy, very wet trails.
Notes:
Stunt has invited us to a beer and pizza night post ride, and posts an over detailed route to avoid the worst of the soggy conditions, but still giving a decent ride.
At the Rainbow bridge rv all arrive promptly – apart from TJ who rings in with a lighting failure! He’s only by Tinkers clough, so we ride to meet him. By which time he has rigged up a spare and is good to go.
Climbing on tarmac up Grimshaw lane (top marks for the Nancy themed lights at the top), then up the steep track “under Nancy” we crest for fine views of the twinkling lights of Bollingtonia. Butty remarks that no-one has gone to town on the xmas lighting, to which a reposte of “We’re not in Wythenshaw now!” gets some early mirth going.
More Tarmac across to Pott Shrigley, and up to the Brickworks. Three of the Nancies pass us also heading along Moorside lane – have we all had the same route plan tonight?
..apparentley not – they disappear over the ladder stile into the moor, whereas we turn right – up hill on wet grass.
Always a tough one, tonight it’s a push for some from the gate.
At the top we are exposed to the wind – so no time to linger, and a potential whale’s tooth diversion for the E’ers is binned off due to the gusts. The main decent is plenty technical with really slippy saturated grass, and soft slimy mud, several rear end squirms are reported!
Safely back on the lane, Butty is having words with his bike – it is cutting out intermittently!
The Chapel descent is swamplike on the top, and doesn’t seem to get much better all the way down :-(.
Butty’s bike seems to be working again, so we carry on back towards Pott Shrigley then turn up to Stypersons. The bombhole is deemed too risky in the uber slippery conditions, so all take the left hand side snicket instead – its rocky, rooty, and also very muddy – excellent if you like old skool singletrack, less so for the downhill brigade!
We’re turning for home now, with lanes to the middlewood. 3 sheds and PTD ride the steps down the side of Bridge 8 – and negotiate the plank over the ditch at the bottom – Bravo!
Ghostly 8ft high reeds are gently rustling in the breeze either side – not noticed these before! Must be good wildlife habitat.
With trail conditions on the slimy side, the Tythy snickets are binned off and we take a direct route to Tythy towers.
Underfloor heating is ace for warming cold toes, the oven is readied for the Pizza’s and beers are selected from the bags of plenty…and Leffe zero for Butty 🙂
PTD wants to see what solar batteries look like – and is invited to the den of geekiness to see.
Some novel toppings go down well – lime and mint chicken is particularly good.
Woody the cockapoo is on hand to hoover up any crumbs.
By the time Dunc arrives, we are several beers in and ready for ribaldry.
The coffee stout pudding beer comes out, and then the AoE sinks into a warm haze of 12yr old Santiago Rum well past midnight.
An excellent formula 🙂