Words by Alex, Photos by Pete
Crew: El Pres, PTD, Croxy, 3 Sheds, Slim, Dunc, Butty, Stunt
Route: Top’o’Bull Hill lane, Tea rooms, Shining Tor, Across the Moors to Hooleyhey lane, Ewrin Lane, Smith Lane, Robin Hood.
Conditions: Cold with Strong Easterly wind, trails very soft in places.
Notes:
Having scouted out the Robin Hood the other week, its time to include it as a TNR destination, food is pre-ordered and a cunning route is cooked up to get us there.
At the meet point, the wind is already a talking point, there may not be any precipitation but the early March weather lion is waking up! It’s not going to be a night where we want to be stopped for too long, and with a very welcome arrival of Butty, and then Dunc (nursing dicky knee) we leave PTD to catch us up and head up the road.
A strong blustery headwind makes for tough riding, and being grateful for when the landscape provides any shelter, the long drag is one such relief, but turning the corner at the end for the last few bends to the tea rooms is full on nasty!
PTD has come via bottom of the oven to join us at the tearooms.
There is worse to come, as we will be really exposed on the ridge – and indeed care is needed lifting bikes over the gates & walls as they are acting like sails!!
Dunc’s knee has been fine on the Tarmac, but is less happy offroad, so he decides to head to the Hood via the lanes.
The rest of us enjoy wind assist up to Shining Tor (although even that can’t help with the six inch deep soft patches that stop us in our tracks!).
Wind really roaring up there, so lead riders are sent off to find the turn (and shelter beind the wall) – however they miss it – but luckily realise their mistake and work their way back to the main group.
It’s still very boggy at the top, but the wind has taken the moisture off the dead dry grass so it’s fairly good going (and with a serious tail wind).
Hideous noises like a strangled bagpipe can be heard over the wind – Stunt is on the tubby tired bike (with the full suss not yet back in action) and there is some serious brakepad contamination!!
He’s hoping that long descents will get them hot enough to burn it off (not over the moors it seems).
The windchill must be sub zero, so we release the front group to go for home so as not to wait for the laggards. At the gate to Hooleyhey lane separation is complete.
Lower down the wind is more bearable, and there is less assist on dead mans lane than hoped for, but even so we are all at the Robin Hood ten minutes ahead of our 8:30 cut off.
Pete has cunningly arranged our table to be in the back room, giving us maximum distance to R’Uke the Rainow Ukele group, who are singing away on the other side.
Boltmaker is excellent, and the food is pretty good too (and very reasonably priced) the only complaint being El Pres’s underdone batter on his fish.
Deep knee discussions (folk seem to know a lot about it!), the second barrel of Boltmaker not as good as the first (did it need time to settle?). Fun Fact from PTD – Shining Tor is the highest point in England this far north (ie nothing higher all the way to the south coast – or even Dartmoor/Exmoor). Some map geekery confirms that it’s also higher than Axe Edge too!
Butty has brought his Mocha shake to imbibe via his tube, with syringe, which he is a well practiced master at. NHS dis connectedness then becomes a theme with many examples.
Quite how we then got on to how Range Rovers are being nicked by boosting the keyless key signals and then reprogramming them I’m not sure – but there was little sympathy for JLR or the owners around the table!
A strange standoff then emerges with those after a fourth pint, vs those who can’t be bothered…in the end we pay the bill and reconvene in the beer garden to sample Shaun’s 63% rum. It’s powerful stuff, and very warming on this cold evening. We are told that a 40ish% version will be in waitrose soon…that does sound good!
It’s been a double buff night for sure, and many a nose is covered on the way home on the descents!
3 rings from Butty who has impressed with his determination to get back on the bike on a less than enticing route & conditions!
Bring on the March lamb!