Words & Pics by Pete
Route : zag . Old Buxton rd. rear entry Teggs & greasy off piste . Leathers . Ranger centre . Footling at low level. Leathers . Naughty sutton hall traverses. Canal to black rd . Smiffy county. Lines back street route to Bolly tap.
Crew : Smiffy, Troll, El Pres, Dunc & Pete
Pub : TJ , Butty Alex & Lee
Conditions : Muddy & cool , a bit wet from above but it could have been a lot worse
Notes :
An excellent plan from Funky D to end the ride at the Bolly Tap .
An acoustic heavy crew is a good thing , as is not having to climb the Zag – it is never something I look forward to.
It was semi light all the way across from Bolly to the rendezvous at Zag ..four weeks until the clocks change ! I had my red Gortex walking jacket on again as its the only properly waterproof thing I own.
It felt like ages since we done the Teggs Nose rear entry (ooh errr missus) , and the off piste descent down the front. It was very very greasy ..like a coating of Vaseline.
After the winch up past the Leathers – where there were tons of Vans parked up along the reservoir road – we climbed to the lower section of the forest just above the Ranger Centre and messed about for a bit . Very muddy again but good fun .
About 7-45 we headed for the Bolly Tap . After a quick discussion on best route we reached agreement that staying on the canal towpath as long as possible would be the best idea. So Chris suggested heading for the Sutton Hall and cheekily traversing the grounds to emerge on Bullocks Lane – easy access to the canal.
When we got off the towpath Smiffy’s local knowledge took me and him through the back lanes and alleys (…like a county lines drug runner ….esp on an E-bike) and we were at the Bolly Tap in a jiffy.
Thoughts on The Bolly Tap :
- Overall a very good venue
- Excellent in sight and spacious allowance for bike lock up
- Good value if you stick to Bolly beer at £4.60 a pint inc the smack . Other , reassuringly more expensive, pumps of doom were available
- Punkt was ok nosh at ok price
We had a little toast to Tony (Dunc’s dad) as his funeral was on Monday . We were impressed to learn that Dunc was allowed to have a go at welding at the tender age of ten !
£34 was my bill …result
Still raining on exit from the pub & all the way back to UB
Barn owl sighting on the track from the AZ bridge up to Moat Hall Farm
Another good evening
P.S. The above title is a reference to a mid ride request to me , made by Dunc. Apparently he is unhappy with the clips of his braces.