drunkcyclist2

Crew: Butty, Mr I, El Pres, Coley, Stunt

Pub: Slim, Dunc, Nic & El Pud

Route: Rainbow bridge, Middlewood way into Bolly, Up past the poachers, Blaze Hill, Pike Rd, Bank Lane (aka the corkscrew), Jenkin Chapel, Pym Chair, Singletrack to Wingather Rocks, Taxal Edge, Kettleshulme, Moorside (now high peak school), Mudhurst lane, Bowstones, Sponds Hill, Bakestonedale road, Pott Shrigley, Poachers.

Conditions: Mild, Cloudy, Buggy, Damp trails

Notes:

Another night of previous weather – this time it clears well in advance, so El Pres posts a large route, which leads to some folk being suitably late enough to miss the ride 😉

Plan is modified almost immediately as the troll is a little behind schedule having parked up in Bolly.

He is finally located near Grimshaw lane, so the best way to Pym’s chair is straight up..Blaze Hill!

On the way we come across the mystery of the disappearing canal.

It’s a slog all the way up, but we are making good time. Onto bank lane and a close encounter with a buzzing buzzard, then big puddles. Corkscrew is damp but not silly, and big Hare hops across our path on the way to Jenkin Chapel.

More slog

Singletrack is damp and muddy in places, but excellent as ever. Cuckoo singing clearly at the top (it must be late summer!)

Climbers tackling wingather, we admire the view before heading down the field (wet grass making local rain in our faces!), slithery down and up through the woods. Taxal edge moist but again running well.

No rest for the wicked, drop into Kettleshulme, and through the lanes over the river and up again for more slog.

Off road at the smart cottages, push up after the gate past the gently rusting nissan cabstar, then spinning past watchful flocks to the moorside, and tired legs desperate to get to the top of the “always longer than it should be” mudhurst lane.

Up and downs across the tops, and top gear challenge sees us split into three…El Pres on the diagonal to the layby, while the rest head higher over the fence and along the wall, where at the corner Butty and Mr I head over into Bagers Creek, whilst Stunt and Coley do the quarry descent.

Quarry wins, and it’s been an impressive pace all evening as poachers is reached at 9:10pm after 2,700 ft of climbing.

The first pints don’t touch the sides, and food is eagerly anticipated. Slim arrives for his gammon steak, with Dunc and Nic not long after. Then EL PUD spotted on TNR shocker! fresh from that there Landan Taan, and now drinking white wine, he simulaneously manages to drive thought provoking conundrums, and lower the tone severely at the same time.

Conversation turns rowdy, and the night gets late. Axis of evil is narrowly avoided.

A proper TNR 🙂

Crew: El Pres, Slim, Dunc, TJ, Butty, 3 Sheds, Mr I, Stunt.

Route: BL,Old road & full Zig Zags, Teggs from the top, White rabbit ascent to almost Nessit, foresty furtlings left hand side to join up with son of dentists descent. Up the road past the rangers station, left hand side ascent and up the steps, dentists descent, forest chapel, reverse chazza, usual spot.

Conditions: Warm and sunny, quite breezy, dusty dry trails, cold later.

Notes:

Critical mass this week, and weather still holding summery sunshine, so campfire protocols invoked 🙂

El Pres (and the ever amazing Charlotte) run the Curry and Beer logistics, Butty does routemastering, and the rest follow.

We are warned of the dangers of riding the wrong way up one way streets before we start…prophetic words (or possibly a conspiracy) as a yellow JCB careers round the corner as we head out!

All is well with the world when you can ride in short sleeves and shorts all evening (especially 2 weeks after snow!) and even a grumpy walker cannot dampen our spirits.

There does seem to be a lot of climbing, and some of us are not used to loose dry conditions (some are just back from training in exactly that!). Luckily no dabs reported.

Conditions under the forest canopy are as good as you can get, and sunlight through the trees gets slim all excited!

Dentists descent has seen better days – but it was worth an explore, top gear challenge to forest chapel sees the road lose out to the rocky steps!

Stunt delivers on one match ingition, victuals delivered as promised 🙂

Early season benefits are short grass, no midges (although the stiff breeze may also have helped), the bigger bits of wood are fairly damp – so its a smoky affair.

Despite a hard ride – we are beaten by the curry quantity, and fears of a lager shortage are unfounded.

Jupiter, Mars and ISS all spotted, world set to rights, and a tale of the strangely stretched tyre.

Cold winds and the need to properly douse the fire mean it’s not too late a night.

Warm winds overnight reported by many 😉

Words by Alex, Pics by Pete & TJ

Crew: El Pres, Slim, TJ, Mr I, Stunt

Pub: Dunc

Route: Rainbow bridge, Endon House, Lidgetts Lane, Kerridge Ridge, Poachers Snicket, Oakenbank, Robin Hood.

Conditions: Very Cold, Hail, Huge amounts of surface water.

Notes:

“Sometimes it snows in April” goes the song, well forgive me for profanities, but as Yoda might say, very cold all month it has…. almost May and this is getting silly!!! Forecast for this week is apocalyptic, heavy rain and northerly icy winds with temperatures only marginally above freezing. Activity on the chat group is low, rain radar is obsessively checked, and only the most optimistic of the team are keeping the ride alive!

Stunt cuts the mustard (literally) with pies and brandy laced coffee to tempt out company. Excuses fly thick and fast, Troll mans up, a northern standard is raised at Rainbow Bridge and we assemble in full winter gear and waterproofs as the two hour deluge finally passes and the sun breaks through in blue skies.

This is no fairytale, as more weather is expected, and with sodden trails its time for a shorter route with liberal bail out options. Temperatures are not rising, and there is only a very modest de layering on the climb to the Lidgetts gate.

Pete records the gentle returning of the old gate into the landscape. Kerridge mud is a weird mix of greasy top on hard dried ruts. The lung busting ride to the first gate to the top is very doable (assuming lungs, legs and greasy patches/slippy roots don’t trigger a dab). Conversation is a bit stilted until we recover, then find the gate has shrunk – breathing in required to get round (not a middle aged spread issue – it really was very tight honest!!)

Its been a good call going up to the top – great views of incoming weather, a pair of red kites (or possibly very big kestrels), glimpses of white topped hills, and silhouetted horizons.

Grass is damp but not too slippy, lots of upper body training over the kissing gates, there is white stuff under dark clouds not too far away, but wind direction is a bit shifty, keep on moving along to White Nancy.

Time for a celebratory stop, and care is needed not to lose the cups and condiment in the wind. Hot caffiene and alcohol is very warming 🙂

In a case of weird TNR symmetry the Nancies pass by at Nancy, many on rather nice Crossers, inform us that its the cricket club quiz at the poachers (so best avoided), then head manfully strait down the steep bits.

The weather is approaching fast, pies and drink are gulped down, a Robin hood plan is hatched, layers re donned, and we slither down to the track as the horizontal hail comes in.

Snicket is extremely wet with a humungus puddle at the top. Heads are down on the steep approach to Oakenbank, but lift as the clouds lift and the setting sun pops back up and pretends that nothing has happened.

Hills are now whitish at much lower levels, we are glad of the incline to keep warm, and El Pres finds his beer legs to “ensure we get food”.

Crackling fire, leather chairs, fresh steak and ale pie straight from the oven, and wainwrights on tap Hmmm this is fast becoming our new favourite pub 🙂

Old photos, tales of axe murderers being ambushed sweeny style on the wall (truth definitely stranger than fiction!), and an impressive entrance by Dunc in work regalia on crosser (if being dressed like james may in flowery shirt over jeans = work regalia). All to the good, and conversation floweth along with the beer.

A steady trickle of clientele inform us its snowing outside, and eventually there is nothing more to be done but head out and face it. Two take on oakenbank, the rest are down the road into blizzard like conditions, big wet icy flakes stinging faces, making helmet mounted lights useless, and blurring glasses at all the wrong points. Nasty it is!

By Chinese corner on hurdsfield it has become rain, Dunc has headed off to minimise his time with wet denim, and even in fully waterproofs its cold.

Please sir can we have some early summer next week? (the wise ones are heading to Spain just in case!!)

Words by Alex, Pics by Pete
Crew: Slim, Butty, TJ, Mr I, Stunt

Route: BL, Old Road, Ecton Av & snickets across to Rainow Road, Well Lane up to Kerridge, Lower track across back of the ridge and back to Rainow Road, Oakenbank, Pott Shrigley, Bakestonedale road, Moorside lane, Quarry climb, “Badger’s Creek” descent back to the Bakestonedale layby, retrace back to Oakenbank & Robin Hood Rainow.

Conditions: Dry, Mild with a cool breeze, Muddy patches in places

Stats: TJ Puncture

Notes:

Small crew this week, with a Presidential ceremonial send off (even if he couldn’t ride)

More helmet mounted lightweight lightage from TJ fitted (eventually) to Slim’s luminous looking lid.

Banter eventually subsides and with a Tythy friendly finish and a “not a long ride because I can’t afford to have 7 pints and only get home at 1am” erm logic??! from Slim, Butty has the beginnings of a plan so we get started.

We manage to find our way across to Rainow road, and then enjoy spring in the air on the quiter lanes, Lambs gambolling, leaves bursting, buds budding, birds calling, buzzards soaring, crows mobbing, bunnies bouncing, sunshine white clouds (its been a long time coming!)

Mysterious red post spotted on a fence on the way up lidgetts lane, back of Kerridge not as sloppy as feared, but plently of squishy damp mud though but nothing wheelstopping. Sticky enough to turn into face covering chads as soon as we are back on the road descending at high speed!

Butty evolves the plan at the Robin Hood, food is pre ordered for 9pm

Oakenbank delivers stunning setting sun sillouhetting white nancy, and a dry fast descent 🙂

Time check suggests we can do a quick up and down, what is this Badgers Creek butty is so keen to revisit?

Regrouping at the moorside lane entry we soon have a split group as TJ has a punture, so Slim stops to help and the rest take on the evil grassy rocky climb alongside the quarry into a stiff breeze and setting sun.

Some pushing is involved, and lungs are give a thorough work out, over the stile and Badgers creek is a diagonal descent past the mine monument back to the layby – flows nicely, and less scary than it looks to the uninitiated. Not a badger or creek in sight though!?

Time to get a move on – warp speeds reached descending into Pott Shrigley, and a good pace back up oakenbank. The short steep descents with way around are slightly spoiled by 50 yards of slippery slop in the dusk which need care and reduced speed to safely negotiate.

Nice new decking at the back of the Robin Hood makes a smart bike stack, and we’re liking what they have done to the place! Plum porter is very fine, lamb hotpots extremely good, and we must come back here more often.

Stunt is called away early – so can’t vouch for whether Slim managed to avoid an evil axis, but one thig is for sure, Butty did Oakenbank three times by the time he got home!