Crew: El Pres, Slim, PTD, Smiffy, Stunt
Pub: Dunc
Route: Bolly Maze, Canal/Hurst lane, Redway Lane, “under Nancy”, North End Farm, Waulkmill wood, Ingersely vale, Poachers snicket, Oakenbank, Jumper lane, Blaze Hill, the broken road, Bakestonedale road, Gritstone trail all the way to Park Moor wall, Dale top, wall descent to moorside lane, Pott Shrigley, Church House.
Conditions: Very wet trails and lots of surface water, windy up high.
Notes:
New Granddad Pete takes charge with a Bolly based loop and some inflight refresments!
The rain has only recently stopped falling, so we are expecting the back of Kerridge to be a bit slithery….but back wheels are twitching before we even get to the first field proper..Its like teflon!
We get to the gate for Waulkmill wood – and almost lose Smiffy when he goes to collect his bike – sliding off the path and down the slope! Quick thinking from PTD slows the slide and more hands are needed to haul him back 😉
Snicket under a thick layer of mud and leaf mush, but oakenbank better the further up you were. Difficult to see what progress is being made in mending the broken road, but plenty of fencing up to keep the site secure.
Cresting to Bakestonedale road we hit the wind, tis not going to be a 1975 stone stop tonight. Even the sheep are coming off the tops single file towards the farm! A lone Tup (chunky boi) is hunkered down by the wall close to the gate.
We agree to take the gritstone all the way to the wall, then follow the double track to Dale top – its cold, its windy and very splashy under wheel.
The singing gate is living up to it’s name tonight, but we are given good shelter from the weather by the wall. Pete provides some sweet Rusty Nails for us to toast the arrival of Bella Rose, and we get to add further internal warmth as Steve has Whisky Mac on board too! Truly what we needed at this point.
We take route one straight down to the lane – which is more technical than you might think on wet grass and sneaky ruts 😉 Rapid descent into Pott Shrigley and onto the warmth of the pub.
Somehow the food pre-order has failed to send, but all is not lost as we get to order on arrival. Landlords all round once our filthy kit is stowed in the backroom.
Food soon appears to revive us, and with more beer the kimono’s open into some deeply detailed insights of uretheral procedures (much wincing), gutter and roof sequencing on the shrubberies extension, and a varied set of topics to ponder/let off steam about and in general set the world to rights. Proper classic TNR stuff!
Somehow it’s getting close to the witching hour the whisky glasses are empty and it’s time to head home, refreshed in body and spirit and with rather dirty bikes to clean.
Might this be the last TNR of the year?? This year both Christmas Day and New Years day are falling on Thursday so is there any appetite for some out of sequence riding??