Words by Pete, Photos by Butty, Smiffy & Pete
Crew : Smiffy, Butty , Pete, TJ & Troll
Pub : Adrian
Route : Messing about in the Goyt Valley following a van assist to Pym Chair Carpark
Conditions : Cold and windy , the rain cleared fairly quickly , fortunately.
Notes :
A Mark Butty initiative . Van assist was pulled together to get The Butty Mobile with TJ & Me & our steeds to Pym Chair . Troll picked up Smiffy in the gas van of grime ?.
We arrive at the car park within a minute of the troll mobile . Hastily bikes are unpacked and multiple layers are donned because it’s chuffing cold and blowing a hoolie from the West .
Bizarrely Smiffy pulls his acoustic hardtail out of the van . Not what any of us were expecting. Is this a team morale boosting move for the Troll & me ( the acoustic Leffe twins) ? Nope , he just forgot to put his e-steed on charge early enough.
We head off downhill and eastward on the track which lies immediately to the left of The Street. Butty & Troll are quickly a distance ahead .
We have just about gained some shelter from that fierce westerly when we reach the hole in the fence which marks the entrance to the Ratboy created trail – a descent through Hoo Moor Woods into a lord of the rings type of scene , treacherous routes over treacherous roots . Big log ramps that have been cut with a chainsaw , its about half rideable for us mere mortals
We arrive unscathed, with a quiet sense of achievement. Now it is off piste tracks and fire tracks through the giant woods.
With a load of mushrooms at our feet.
The trees are giants here – much bigger than Macc forest.
( Here is a link to some good drone footage of this area which TJ & Butty created earlier this year : xx)
We arrive down on the Midshires Way fire road . Back in 1991 this fire road was one of my first bits of off road riding.
Butty leads us lower down , closer to the Fernilee reservoir , on a seriously steep and loose incline . We then head back towards the Errwood dam ..and a big winch of a ride back to the vans.
Some spirited driving from Butty gets us to spoons Poynton in no time. Where the usual bargain prices have us staying far too late (apart from Phil who departed home at sensible o’clock).
Amazingly Smithy and me managed to find our way back home without getting lost in the back lanes this time .
I believe back at Butterworth Manor a small axis of evil was convened.