RSF Grinton trip Day3: Fremmington Edge & Healaugh

By Sunday our numbers were down. A couple of guys went off to do their own rides leaving seven of us to do this short loop. I'd originally planned that this day's ride would be shorter, but as these things go when you havent had chance to try a ride out... this turned out to be a full day's worth of cycling.

Heading out of Grinton, we rounded a corner at what looked like a back street to be confronted by a vertical wall of a lane. There was a tiny reprise before another steep section emerged that kept rising and turned from a smooth track, to a bumpy one, to a fully lumpy one. We stopped a couple of times to 'admire the view' and nodded hellos to mountain bikers who were also climbing up Fremmington Edge.

Nick pushing his bike is a rare sight

Amanda & Ged almost at the top

Ian showing off with his sensible gear ratio, suspension & tyres

Atop Marrick Moor the wind was still fierce as we climbed further albeit a more gradual incline. We met some land rovers who were off up the tops for motoring fun and also some scrambling motor cycles. But we carried on beyond the tracks and towards a grassy descent where it took a little while to figure out just where the bridleway was. Soon we were enjoying some smooth descent, but this soon turned in to a technical rocky downhill section. We all lined up awaiting our turn.
The cold winds had frozen my hands and I interspersed riding with pushing since my raynauldsy fingers made effective braking impossible. But everyone else fully enjoyed that descent.

Passing some beautiful landscape, we were soon at Langthwaite & the pub.

Those who ride with Simeon were well prepared with packed lunches. Alas the Red Lion was lacking much food choice, so a couple of us cycled up to CB Inn heading up towards the Tan Hill Rd. The view up Arkengarthdale was amazing and the sun was trying to break through.

We enjoyed a really nice lunch & this place lives up to it's reputation.  Amanda left the ride here to spend the afternoon with her husband and the rest of us enjoyed some more climbing up the other side of the valley along the side of the wonderfully named Cringley Hill.

This was a really fun bit of moorland followed by a fast descent to Nova Scotia, so fast that we managed to miss our intended turn off, but instead found a steep bit of tarmac to enjoy that brought us to Healaugh where we took the road and then the greenway along the riverside to find a perfect afternoon tea stop in the form of a beautiful view whilst flasks and rations were pulled from saddle bags.

The last section brought us back to river level & we negotiated tree roots on a very narrow path. We were back in Grinton in no time.
Ian, Nick, Eileen, Stephen & I went to the pub for halves and brews and it was mild enough to sit outside.  Ged headed back up to the hostel for his lift home with Dave. A lovely way to end a brilliant weekend of cycling.

The map for the route can be seen here.

I had thought I'd take the monday morning commute by car to rest my legs after three challenging days in the saddle, but I was greeted by such glorious weather that I couldnt resist a cycle commute and I havent had any days off the bike yet. And my legs are telling me about it!

It was lovely to meet up with riders that I see so rarely, but the usual suspects turning up was as always greatly appreciated - you know who you are ;-)  Thanks for your company & making the trip brilliant!
Special thanks to Gerald (in his mid-70s) who was the only person to complete the full three days with me & was great company. On Sunday morning at breakfast, he'd asked if I was feeling fit this morning, to which I replied 'of course', his reply 'I was worried about that'.

Planning and leading rides for a group of well seasoned cyclists can be a little bit of an intimidating experience. Our club certainly has some massive personalities and some very strong views are held & I think that the history of past rides & leaders can sometimes get in the way of new people trying out those shoes with confidence.   Since I didn't know this area at all where others did, I had been filled with trepidation at the start of each day, but by the end of each day I was buzzing with the success of the routes and the enjoyment that everyone seemed to have had.

RSF Grinton trip Day1: Richmond

Way back last October, following an audax from Richmond, I penned in a RSF cycling trip to Swaledale to explore the area a bit more. The danger of booking anything so far in advance of March is weather risky - this time last year we had plenty of snow and ice, thankfully the long weekend this time turned out weather wonderful.

The hostel had filled up pretty fast (with what turned out to be a school party, not of little ones exploring the outdoors, but six formers on a mathematics residential weekend!), so some of the group stopped elsewhere - inns, tea shops, tents & campers!

 
The Friday morning started out chilly, but bright as fifteen of us zoomed down the steep hill to join Route 71, which happily had been closed to motor traffic whilst some road repairs took place. The cracks in the road were minimal for a rough-stuff rider, but we had been duly warned to take care. The lack of traffic made a lovely carefree start to the ride and we enjoyed views across the River Swale valley as we sped along in the morning sunshine.


Our first bit of rough by How Hill was accompanied by the echos of gunfire from the military ranges and we popped out at the quaint hamlet of Downholme.

The gusty wind helped us up to the top of Downholme Moor. We admired the views from atop as Phil fettled with his bike.

After this was a lovely long descent all the way into Richmond. Initially straight with a nice gradual decline, you could really let yourself go without too much concentration. The last, steep down into Richmond opened up a smashing view of the castle as we rounded a sharp corner, alas being on road and going at speed with cars now a factor, nobody could stop safely to take a photo. (I'll remember that view for next time).

We lunched in sunny, blue skied Richmond. Sadly the ancient centre resembles a carpark whenever the market isn't on - the church and monument become the centre of essentially a big cobbled roundabout - I always think it's such a shame letting cars into this beautiful ancient town centre.

The climb towards Whitcliffe Scar through the woods was delightful; you're up above the town in no time and from this side of the valley the views are magical...

... And the woods are muddy!

At Marske we headed for the hills for an additional loop around the side of Skelton Moor, then back towards the river, although despite the path following the river course, it was far from flat as it climbed up to Marrick.


The evening sun was closing in and there was now a certain chill to the air as we waded our tyres through farm muck, which is where I picked up a massive thorn and pfffft, I had a puncture so close to the end of the ride (only the second of the day for the whole group). Stephen came to my rescue and we were heading back up the hill to the hostel in no time, which certainly warmed us up.

I believe le tour is venturing up that steep road - the tarmac seems far too smooth for regular car useage.
To say I'd not had time to head up here to try the routes out, this one turned out to be perfect.
A map and gpx can be viewed here

In the evening some new guests had arrived at base, so we spent a good few hours chatting over drinks in the hostel. 
Day 1 was a fantastic start to the trip!!

RSF Autumn Meet, Sherwood Forest

This year's Autumn meet was at Sherwood Forest. I'd never ventured into this part of the world before, so had been looking forward to the trip for a while.
A slow drive from work at rush hour took us over a cross-Pennine road towards Sheffield and into Lincolnshire. We arrived in the dark, so didn't see much of what the area looked like. But I could tell it was quite flat.

Two days of rides were planned around forest tracks and quiet lanes.

We saw the famed giant Queen's Oak that is propped up with tree-scaffold.

The autumn colours were just beginning to turn and looking lovely in the sunshine.




























Enjoying the mainly car free roads was brilliant! If only all countryside roads were like this!!! It meant I could chat to club members from other parts of the country who I dont get to see very often.


Because I was following a leader from the area, I had no idea what any of the areas we passed were called and was blissfully beetling around with no idea where we were going.











Altho I remembered Creswell Crags - an area where hyena skulls and other ancient artefacts had been found. 

Lunch was at Clumber Park, which was heaving with a charity run.






After an evening of club official business, we were treated to a slide show of Autumn meets from the past twenty odd years; it was interesting seeing the change in bikes from tourers then more & more mountain bikes entering photos as time moved on.







Day two was a shorter ride since we were all heading home. Again we had lovely sunshine that made for a beautiful morning cycling through the forest tracks.
I picked up a puncture... about time I got my rear tyre changed... it was still running with it's original set.

Driving back home over the hills, I decided it's about time that I get round to the Trans Pennine Trail. The hilly section is really spectacular, although I should make sure I'm not carrying too much weight for it!
A lovely weekend that went far too quickly. Thanks to Steve for organising it and everyone for their company especially the usual Northern Suspects.

Pedal Every Pennine

Climb every mountain, pedal every pennine. That just about sums up the last week.
I took a couple of days off work to join the club on some rides, as well as my usual commutes and checking out parts of the route I would be leading on the friday.

As part of the South Pennines walk & ride festival, 19 Rough-Stuff riders met up on Wednesday at Hollingworth to venture over the hill to Hebden Bridge. These were some moors I'd never been on before... yes that's correct, I've never been to Britain's longest continual climb, Cragg Vale before.

From up on the tops, we could see the rains patchy around us and it would only be a matter of time before we would run into some of it.

As we neared Stoodley Pike, the drizzle thickened and the squeak of discbrakes resonated around the moorland.


From here it was easy cycling, freewheeling down to lunch and returning via the Rochdale Canal.


I packed in some route exploring on my way home from work on Thursday ahead of Friday's ride. I had a great time spending two hours pounding around the place on tracks I've been wanting to explore for months.

Exploring new tracks usually leaves me with a massive smile and enthusiasm, and this was no exception. After 10 hours in work and tree hours of cycle commuting/exploring I was beaming. 

A small group for Friday's ride was ideal for the route I'd not had time to fully test out. I have some minor alterations to the route for next time, but on the whole I was pleased with it.  But I think I need to check out some slightly more sedate routes to lead or I might end up with some colourful nicknames!

We enjoyed a rest at Rossendale Valley Sailing Club before tackling the last hill of the day en route to the Singing Ringing Tree.

The Friday rides will be taking place once a month on a rolling pick of routes around Lancashire. Alas since I work, I probably wont be able to make many of them, but for people who enjoy the leisure of Friday freedom, it's a great excuse to go for a ride without it eating into the weekend.

A solo trip: Camping & Cycling in The Chilterns, Day 1

My camping trip down south provided me with two days of amazing cycling. Both days completely contrasting each other.

Arriving late afternoon on Monday, I managed to pitch my tent for 5 (yes that translates as a tent for 2) on my own to enjoy a beautiful and typical Chiltern view. I was worried that the tent may blow down; the campsite was lovely, but stones underneath the top soil meant that nobody on site had managed to get their tent pegs in properly - most of them sticking a good few cms above ground. Thankfully the forecast was for little wind, so I hoped the tent would stay upright, but I tied some guide-ropes onto the fence where I pitched just incase. The tent was still standing when I awoke to pigeon coo sounds at 6am.


By 7am I was ready for my first day's pedalling and I whizzed round some empty lanes down to the bottom of the valley... ten minutes later I started the climb up the other side via wooded bridleways beside fields. A sharp climb out of the woods led me to yet another quick descent on dry, technical chalky ground and I arrived at The Ridgeway (an 87 mile trail that has been used for thousands of years as a traders route).

 


This stretch follows a disused railway through the chalk quarries of the region. I glimpsed parts of the working quarry, but they are fenced off - probably to stop cyclists who on hot summer days think that the waters there look like a good swimming spot (I certainly thought so).

The route took me under the noisy beast of the M4 - it seemed that all the people must have been in their cars there because I'd not seen another person anywhere.

 


My map showed a chevron along a road, so of course, I took that route! This led to a wonderful gentle swooping down through Queen Wood, where I successfully avoided all the nettles!  I headed in a general southerly direction on as many bridleways and farm tracks as I could find that would take me into Henley-on-Thames (my intended lunch stop) at 10.30.
I enjoyed a couple of hours beetling around and eventually picnic-ing by the River Thames in the sunshine before recommencing my ride along the pretty Thames path.

At Hambleden Locks I saw a sign which prompted me to take a detour from the original route plan. I had seen something not mentioned on the map... something beyond another chevron climb!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a bit of a wine-o, so a sign for a Winery & Brewery was always going to be a sign I would follow. As I climbed the steep lane in the hot sunshine, I hoped that they would sell glasses to drink rather than bottles to take away (which would not fit in my stuffed pannier).

A tour had just finished and I waited in the cool cellar shop as half a dozen couples purchased cases of booze.
I read the labels and saw that this place has an Appointment of Her Majesty, so I assumed that the Chiltern Valley Winery & Brewery must produce some half decent plonk!

When the tour emptied, I happily discovered that yes I could buy a glass and would I also like some water and crackers to keep me going on my ride!! Usually I'm indecisive, but one glance at the wine list and I knew which I was to drink. This turned out to be their big award winner. And yes, it was very nice. I sat out in the courtyard enjoying my sup and consulting the map after my detour.
The tours here (2 a day) are booked up weeks in advance. Nice to see an independent place doing such good trade these days. I picked up a leaflet about their b&b and a copy of their wine list and headed back into the woods; down into another valley before a double chevron climb up to the next tiny village.

I decided to head back to the campsite rather than extend the ride further. I had a steady 5 miles left over some undulating hills and was tiring with the heat of the day.

Back at the tent; a coffee and slice of bklawa whilst reading Alistair Humphries account of his cycle round the world. Ultimate relaxation.
In the evening I had an hour & a half trek to the shop for some wine before settling in for the night. The tent had stayed up right! I was out like a light by 9.30.


The ride was top notch. Outside Henley-on-Thames I'd seen very few people anywhere. The bridleways were all deserted despite being really good tracks to use. It's a route I'd recommend highly and would love to do it again. 36 miles, 3000ft of ascent with a good mix of off road and lanes.  
The gpx file for the route can be found here 

Day 2 to follow. Nothing like day 1, but still brilliant fun