Crew: El Pres, PTD, Butty, Dunc, Smiffy, Stunt
Route: Botton of the Zag, Walker Barn, Tea Rooms, Stakeside descent and along to Goytside Quarry, along the valley towards the Reservoir, up the track towards the carpark, right hand turn up the steep grass to the finger post for Shooters Clough, up the old coach road by the wall back to the tea rooms, Bottom of the oven, standing stone, sutton hall.
Conditions: Sunny & clear, slightly cool NE breeze.
Notes
The fine weather continues, perhaps a bit too cool for al fresco eating, but a good night to head up high and inspect the Goyt fire damage.
Smaller crew this week, with disturbingly high E content! The usual catch us up antics, which enables the E brigade to do fun things light Charity or Pym Chair to Shining tor to RV at the tea rooms.
Muscle bike (the new name for acoustic) equipped Dunc brought up the rear, but then heroically didn’t stop before heading up to the top track.
As soon as we could see over the wall to our right , the extent of the blaze was clear – it came right up to the wall!
The Stakeside path of rock and sand twisted like a pale snake through blackness on both sides, feeling like you were riding on an alien world (that smelled of bonfire).
The firefighters had done an amazing job to stop it getting into the trees (mostly) lower down, and from the Derbyshire bridge road you couldn’t see it.
Fun police have put huge boulders along the road by the old quarry to block off parking!??
An unintended split in the group had El Pres and Stunt waiting on the road for a bit, and they saw a big posse of the nancies, plus several other MTB and gravel groups, probably at least 40-50 riders in total – Goyt a popular destination this evening!!
We need to be at Sutton Hall by 8:45 (Leathers having not answered the phone), we are at the bottom of the climb out with an hour to do. We unleash team E to go ahead, whilst team muscle push up to the finger post before riding out.
Great views, great skies, chilly descending at speed to the bottom of the oven, before the short climb up to standing stone, and down through the forest (running groups out) into the setting sun.
Regrouping at Sutton hall at 20:41! – we hate to admit it, but the E Bikers had more fun tonight.
El Pres’s birthday tipple will be deferred to next week as we ran out of time for a stop.
Quite inside, Lucan always a good option, burgers all round (almost), and the high table!
PTD is getting to play with big percussive drills to dismantle the old bog at the Shrubberies in anticipation of the modern extension. Smiffy recounts how he used to motocross with Ratboy’s dad, hence how he knows Josh (and the chat at Dale top last week). Dunc is now a convert to electric cars (might be some time before that translates to bikes), and Titanic plum porter to finish off the evening!
Somehow we have ended up 3 pints good!
El Pres’s birthday tipple will be deferred to next week as we ran out of time for a stop.