News
Dear John
About us We are a group of shift-workers, mainly employees and former employees of a North Eastern chemical company whose name begins with Terra, hence the Terra Trailblazers nickname which was thrust upon us by a third party. Lately we've been taken over and sold like slaves to another company but the Terra Trailblazers name is staying. Having free time while the 9-5 world is toiling away we decided to take advantage and ride while the moors are relatively deserted - apart from the 30 strong mobs of geriatric hikers who always do their best to be stood somewhere in our way on any day of the week. Fixtures must be planned well in advance with careful scrutiny of the calendar to ensure as many different shifts as possible are given the chance to join in. Riding ability tends to be mixed, ranging from regular and enthusiastic riders to lads (lads being a general term for anyone of the male gender over five years old) turning up on old clunkers "just to give it a go". The pace might be described as "leisurely and non-competitive", for all we know there could be Galapagos turtles and three-toed sloths living in Guisborough Forest - they'd be too fast for us to see. After the first couple of group rides the now almost mandatory cafe stop was established which, along with the accidents, falls and punctures, tends to stretch a sub-twenty mile ride to 4 or 5 hours quite pleasantly. Since the site started we have been joined by shift-workers from other firms and industries who also revel in the relative quietness of week day riding. All are welcome just follow the contact us link. All our the group rides are mainly within the North York MoorsNational Park, although day trips and overnight stays have seen us in the Yorkshire Dales, Hamsterley Forest, the Lake District, Peak District, Scotland and the Howgills. Wyoming, France and Gran Canaria have also been visited. As far as we are aware all the NYM routes use legal tracks, although several of the moor double-tracks in particular are a grey area. Some have signs expressly forbidding cycling, others, not marked as rights of way on the maps are regularly used by 4 wheel drive vehicles, mopeds and trials bike riders. The status of any path on the moors may be checked by contacting the Rights of Way Officers. Access to most of the Forest Enterprise forests is pretty much unlimited, some even have waymarked trails, particularly Guisborough, Dalby, Boltby and Broxa. The other forests appear to work on a 'ride anywhere except where specifically prohibited' principle. Which is probably news to the elderly gentleman who took pains to inform me and the couple of dozen companions he had, cycling is forbidden in woods (any woods, I assume) as I rode sedately past him on a perfectly legal bridleway. The routes are not described in detail, mainly because anyone with a map can figure out the general directions, bearing in mind we are compelled to follow bridleways - long dashes, (not footpaths - short dashes) and B.O.A.T.s (byways open to all traffic), unless we go a hundred miles or so further north, over the border into Scotland, which has a much more amenable attitude, similar to most of Europe - namely, if it's a right of way you can ride on it. Until this country sees sense and gives us the same freedom we continue to share our tracks with horses, 4x4 vehicles and off-road motorcyclists. Not to mention the grim-faced walkers, most of whom look as though their hobby is some kind of penance. "Forgive me Father. I have sinned." "Say three hail Mary's and walk ten miles of the Hambleton Drove road scowling at every cyclist and you will be absolved"
Any comments or suggestions to: terratrailblazers@hotmail.com
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