drunkcyclist2

Words and Pics by Pete
Crew: Mr I, El pres, TJ , Slim, Butty and Duncan

Route: Rainbow Bridge – War Memorial – Down to tinkers clough – Grimshaw Lane – Beeston brow climb and descent – Pott Shrigley – Charleshead climb – Brink farm/Bakestonedale road – Gritstone trail to Bowstones – Lantern Wood – Out to Middlewood way – road to Pott Shrigley – Attempt at Poachers – success at Church House

offs: EL pres and Mr I had static falls in the Tinkers Clough 🙂

Mechanicals – El pres snapped chain

Notes:

A route constructed from a suggestion from Pete, some spur of the moment decisions and some recycled parts from last week’s ride. Felt like enough climbing.
By Tinkers’s Clough the slippy surfaces had claimed EL Pres and MR I !

the Charles Head ascent was an inspired new route choice but the farmer part way up did not share our enthusiasm. Never mind.

Next stop Bowstones, and a quick descent to the shelter of Lantern Wood. It was an evening where it was always raining but never very much. thankfully it was mild.

TJ’s generosity flowed in the Wood.

Unfortunately generosity was in short supply at the Poachers, despite our arrival 5 min before food deadline. Fortunately the Churchouse (Bollington) still adheres to the philosphy of “the customer is king” and chilli and rice was rustled up with fine ale tout de suite. We shall be back !

Words by Eric

Crew; El Pres, Butty, PtD, Mr I, Slim, Ian, Dr S, Coley, Stunt, El Pud, Eric

In the pub; Dunc
Lame excuses; None registered.

Route; New Buxton Road to the Tearoom, Shining Tor, Hooleyhay Lane, Lamaload, waterworks, Rainow, Oakenbank, Poachers.

Conditions; Still warm and amazingly dry underfoot even in the wet places.

Stats; Puncture, The President , again

Offs; None

A crew assembled and assembled and assembled until we had a good surfeit of chums.

Long lost Ian turned up on some unpronounceable Spanish machine; all pivots and adjusters and things, and as shiny as ever.

El Pud’s return was notable for the return to a somewhat more earthy banter.

The dry September lead to suggestions of an attempt on the normally “too boggy” descent to Hooleyhay and so everyone set off with a will, the A group even managed a sneaky Charity Lane on the way.

The ride up towards the Cat gave some spooky views as what seemed like a sea fret enveloped parts of the climb. The wind didn’t help much either! The shortening days had it dark by the top and the already strung out group was further spread by a puncture for El Pres. In the interview during the tyre change he said that the valve was “OK when I pumped it up earlier” – does this mean that it was flat earlier before the puncture Mr President?

The trails were wonderfully dry making for fine descents, and at each stop the Pud machine became more and more serviceable.
Whilst the Offs section records “None” the descent to the waterworks gave everyone something to report, even if it was only the need of a change of “base layer”. The high speed change of surface from slippy grass to marble like gravel tested skill and reactions more than courage because it didn’t give the “discretion is the better part of valour” option and your correspondent for one didn’t dare to crash at that speed.

The climb out of the waterworks never gets any easier but beer legs were starting to kick in and Oakenbank is much more enjoyable heading towards the Poachers than away from it.
The usual beery chat was focused on the unfolding Scottish yes, no, which way will it go story. The banter moved between slight jingoism to full political incorrectness !
At one point the Duncs and Drews in our midst were bid farewell as we assumed they would have to go north to join the freedom fighters.

As the final hours of the count approached the possibly last ever round of scotch was imbibed – **** ‘em.

Words by Eric
Crew; El Pres, Butty, PtD, Eric, Mr I, Slim

In the pub; Dunc and Big Nick

Lame excuses; None registered.

Route; New Buxton Road to the Cat, Danebower, A54, Cumberland Brook, Standing Stone, Nessit, central descent, Leathers.

Conditions; Still warm and quite dry underfoot.

Stats; Punctures for Eric and the President.

Offs; None

The crew assembled in BL for the usual faffing and banter. Butty weighed up the PtD Lapierre carbon thing and sagely pronounced that it was “lighter than a decent dump”
Light it may be, but it wasn’t enough to help PtD through the pain barrier and he abandoned at the junction with Charity Lane. Climbing to the Cat would have been too much for the injuries sustained when he was recently hit by a stationary car.

Mr I was well off the front on the climb. It wasn’t until we all reassembled at the top that his motivational secret was revealed; a sneaky half glugged down before the bunch caught up. The run down Danebower proved to be as skittery as ever and despite our best efforts at pushing the pace it was clear that we were not going to get to 3 Shires and the Leathers Smithy! Surprisingly the Leathers took the “Yes” vote and we were soon descending Cumberland Brook. Slim and Eric very professionally adjusted tyre pressures for maximum grip on the descent. At the gate there were one or two tales of near misses with the new rocks. Now it’s a moot point whether rock can actually be new – but new or old these blighters were certainly in places they haven’t been before. All stuck up and sharp and some the size of a tea chest or so it seemed.

In the gathering gloom we made our way past the 3inch hole in the road in Wildboarclough, which is protected by 24 hours a day traffic lights and a droning generator, and up to Standing Stone. Communications from PtD indicated that far from being dead he was at the top of Nessitt contemplating a Córdoban sherry. Final route choice decided, we headed to the viewpoint post haste, lest Ptd become too gloomy about his incapacitation and finish the sherry – we arrived just in time. Toasts to Dan before a charge down to the reservoir. Crossing the downhill course Eric’s technical tyre pressure exercise ended with a load bang – leaving El Pres to speed on ahead, sniggering, safe in the knowledge that Slim would assist with the tyre change.

On arrival at the Leathers it was noticed that our President was missing. Having taken the singletrack he’d been visited by the puncture fairy too – running late the dynamic duo of Slim and Eric had taken a route Grande Direct leaving El Pres to fend for himself.

The Leathers sits up there in the “favourites” and full Thursday “Classic” merriment ensued. It was good to see Big Nick and Dunc. Conversation turned to whether we should start making local whisky and what it could be called.

It would be PtDistrict – Moon Shining Tor; hope it tastes better than it sounds.