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From TNR 29-09-2011 Sponds Hill Devotion

Crew: Slim, PTD, Nic, TJ, Croxy, El Pud, Stunt, El Pres, Dunc

Pub: G

Route: BL, Rainbow bridge, Middlewood way, Tinkers clough, under white nancy from old redway track, Ingersley vale,up & over to meet

From TNR 29-09-2011 Sponds Hill Devotion

Oakenbank lane, Pott Shrigely, Bakestone dale road to gritstone, Sponds, left hand side descent back to Bakestonedale road, Vale.

Conditions: Hot (20C!!) clear,very dry, bit buggy.

From TNR 29-09-2011 Sponds Hill Devotion

Stats: 1 mega faff for Nic  –> DNF

Notes:

Hotter than the whole summer 🙂

From TNR 29-09-2011 Sponds Hill Devotion

PTD shows his shiny Lapierre that he only rides if it won’t get dirty (so that will be the first(and last) we see it then!)

Novel route to Pott Shrigley (not too much pushing) although super heavy gates have been made to last .

Nics rear mech fatally expires and field surgery required to singlespeed his 5 to get him home

Too hot to climb off road so its all the way up to the gritstone.

Massive Mutant bugs and lethargic sheep in our lights

Single Malt and star pointing to celebrate Slims Birthday

(ok Jupiter, Mars and Uranus are planets)

El Pud finds sandals and cow poo mix rather too well.

Big leary fun down to the Vale dodging black rabbits (or was that the malt talking?)

(PTD minces past the merest hint of mud)

From TNR 29-09-2011 Sponds Hill Devotion

Vale has gone up even further in our estimation – smart new interior , brill burgers, and your Nemesis is only 3.8% 🙂

TJ is now mr Brightbike lights T shirt, Mallorca debrief & Macc Monster preview

Riding home in shirt sleeves and its almost October…”God is in his heaven” 🙂

From TNR 29-09-2011 Sponds Hill Devotion

From TNR 15-09-2011 Golden Evening Light

Crew: Slim ,TJ, Stunt, Coley, G

Pub: Butty, El Pud, Mawds

Route: BL- zig zags, Back Eddisbury track to above teggs car park, Walker Barn, Chazza & extension, Standing Stone, Lower trail to Shutlingsloe steps, back of the moon LHS “new” trail, standing stone, RHS side descent with go right at the start through the woods singletrack , more RHS track, then LHS to ranger station & round the reservoir, church house.

Conditions: Warm, still, mostly dry trails apart from the usual boggy bits

Stats: Kersh faffs immediately on reaching us at the start of chazza!

Notes:

A glorious september day of sunshine…clouds over, almost as soon as the crew assemble at BL

El Pres comes out to grant his approval to our ride and despair at the forecast for his 3 peaks friday.

Slim & TJ talk work (billable hours??) before its luck vs karma (we never did get to the bottom of that)

Almost too warm on the climb to chazza (directing twat nav motorists who have missed the tea rooms!) but then either an extra layers or just right  as darkness descended (depending if you were overdressed)

We refuel Slim who has carelessly had an early morning swim and not consumed sufficient calories pre ride (is this a first!?)

Chazza looser than last week and dry, and extension its usual skittish self – Stunt & G almost collide but somehow manage not to (or stop)

Dodgy transit equiped with curtains, and front floodlights – but no exhaust, towing caravan with no rear lights, follow us up to standing stone!

Novel out and back loop from standing stone gets the thumbs up – and 20+ revellers on back of the moon celebrating someones (presumably big) birthday.

More fast & flowing descents all the way to the pub (picking up butty along the way)

NO PIES!!! but the haddock & chips was even better, Ramblers beat Gale Pale Ale.

Malloca planning before a rare outbreak of corporate responsibility and early leavers.

From TNR 15-09-2011 Golden Evening Light

From TNR 04-8-11 Secret Seven

Crew: Masters Paul, Daniel, Peter, Phillip, mark, Trevor and Alex

Tavern: Master G

From TNR 04-8-11 Secret Seven

Route: A jolly meander up the old Buxton Road to Walker Barn, then the Cat n Fiddle, Danebower Hollow, Round the abandoned Quarries, Three Shires Head, Back up to the A54 past the farm, Cumberland Clough, Standing Stone and down into the Church House Tavern.

From TNR 04-8-11 Secret Seven

Conditions: the Wireless chap put out a cryptic message about a lady called Betty Swollocks paying a visit – suspect the heat must have got to him, rather close, and a good thing no gals out with us or they might have glowed brighter than Daniels new velocipede.

From TNR 04-8-11 Secret Seven

Stats:

3 Fives

Phillip nearly came a cropper on wet grass

Rather a lot of midge bites.

From TNR 04-8-11 Secret Seven

Notes:

Luckily for us the earlier rain had stopped and we were in for a fine evening.

Daniels newfangled machine is a rather brash colour which will be good for spotting him in the hills 🙂

Some of his hoses and dangly things might need some attention though as they are either too long or at the wrong angle – nothing a oily young chap a the shop can’t put straight though.

A rather long slog to the Cat, but Mark had a super go at getting there first to sweat out his fever, and popped in to the inn for some pop.

Phillip spotted an amusing motorcycle falling over incident as a leather clad chap pushed out without enough revs and promptly fell over sideways 🙂

Daniel most impressed by the trail across the top and Paul showed Phillip how to do the quarries including the stream crossing – good chap.

Once at three shires it turned out most of the chaps had forgotten their swimming kit – so just Master Alex took a dip whilst the others very kindly provided midge food.

We hurried up and away from the clouds of pesky insects and stopped at the top of cumberland clough for some restorative fruit cup and ginger pop which much relaxed us for the descent.

By now dusk was falling and Master Peter was marvelling at the light, as mist formed in the valleys and the moon reflected on the water.

At the tavern the lovely ladies plied us with a hot supper and lashings of beer, and our good friend G dropped in to hear about our adventure.

Daniel was shocked to find his new contraption was not the only one in that colour – some other blighter has the same one!

From TNR 04-8-11 Secret Seven

Trevor wowed us with new lighting offerings and a magical green light pen.