Dynamic Duo: Bern and Stunt
Route: Berns, Zig zags, Walker Barn, Charity, Extension, Cat, Danebower Hollow, Cumberland Clough, Standing Stone, RHS former boardwalks, LHS trails to the visitor centre, Bobs Bench, Sutton Hall
Conditions: Mild but Breezy
Notes:
So you’ve missed loads of rides and get all excited about seeing the gang again..and then everyone else is off somewhere or tied up!
Flying the flag for the team this week is just Bern the regular and myself, so I ride to Bern’s (getting a cheery wave from croxy en route to the golf course), and we opt for the classic chazza chumby forest combo.
The evening is mild, but there is a definite breeze, Bern goes with the hard man T shirt option!
Riding as a pair (well it would be rude not to!) you chat away and this makes the climbs speed by, tails are mostly dry (with the odd big puddle) views are pleasant but suprisingly hazy.
Getting ready to turn onto (tarmac) charity lane we hear the whine of fast motorbikes, we opt for the middle of the road cut the corner approach, and get in before they arrive (having slowed them down a touch).
First pause for breath at the start of charity proper, comms with Pete determines that we have the better weather than the alps tonight 😉
No large groups of riders – just a couple of soloists..so maybe there is something of the small numbers about tonight??
I’ve not done chazza for a couple of months..and those flood conditions from late July have certainly been felt here..big rocks higher up, and some new major erosion ruts lower down. Novelty is good 🙂
Extension is more of the same..some hairy moments there too!
The light is still good, on the drag up to the tea rooms, the little farm compound on the left hand side has changed to horsiness..two girls are trotting their ponies around the square and practising jumps under the watchful eye of mum.
Skies are now almost fully blue, with a clear half moon into which a plane’s vapour trail is heading missile like – would have been a good pic with a big lens!
The breeze is in our favour too, and worth a couple of gears of assist 🙂
At the tea rooms the wind notches up its own several gears, and gives extra challenge to stay online on the off road climb.
A large gaggle of vehicles parked at the cat turns out to be Mountain rescue training, with the familiar profile of Adrian standing there amongst the throng..we call out a greeting on the way past 🙂
Into the wind and the setting sun! The dry summer grasses are like white water waves on green seas crashing in the sand of the trail. At the gate it is time for more layers, and thankfully our path once again turns to be with the wind.
Very suprisingly the next section of trail is almost exculsively long puddles!! Wet bum time (and I had mudguards!), before they suddenly stop and its back to dry and loose again.
Either way its big smiles at the end.
A last slog into wind to the start of chumby, where we are overtaken not by a car, but another solo rider.
We are glad we are expecting the terrain to have changed, as the mid section ruts are now so deep you could lose a whole bike and rider in them, although before that it seems to have flattened out the RHS drop of doom (where Eric once stared down the barrel of a Maxxis).
Lower down is super gnarly on the bedrock steps.
Lights are now on for the decent to the brook, and this is more it’s normal self..just with more big rocks than normal.
We’ve flown round tonight, and the lack of stops tells on the climb to standing stone! The bonus is that we’ve got time to go Right and take the former boardwalks trail, and after disturbing an owl watching us from the trees, we swoop down up and round to the road (new sneaky little rut on the last corner nearly catching us out!)
We cross to the LHS, and there is new path to avoid the second set of steps, (but you need a low gear to get up it!)
More speedy pedalling between the trees, around past Bob’s bench, around a startled but unmoved duck on the final bend and onto the road.
Noting lights on at the Shrubberies, our bellies rumbling, we race for the pub.
Arriving just before nine we secure food (just) and opt for steak in one form or another. Beers have a fruity theme tonight (and that’s just the price…the £4 a pint threshold has reached cheshire!!) The Beartown blueberry one is not favoured – sickly sweet and smelling of muffins! Citrus ales are the way forward.
Lots to discuss..Berns big Europe trip looks like its deferred to October, so the which bike options take much of the evening 🙂
Weird noises from the bar turn out to be a full pump flushing protocol, Syd is taking physio from that there Kate Dewhirst (and needs to do her exercises!!), and despite the early arrival we are 2.5 pints good.
I bet it will be a full crew next week when I’m not there!!
