Ride 005.

Date: 18th October 2003                               Distance: 25 miles

Almost a full squad today, riders from 3 shifts converged at Clay Bank car park for a full day’s riding. Ian and Steve joining us for the first time, Ian on his bargain full-sus Giant and Steve on a top of the range (circa 1984) rigid Claude Butler. Steve had prepared carefully for the forthcoming epic ride (by our standards, anything in double figures is becoming epic) by having a skinful of beer the night previous, no breakfast this morning and bringing no food or drink with him. Simon once again deciding the pleasures of the flesh to be preferable to riding his bike was elsewhere.

At least we began the ride in a gravity-friendly direction – downhill and into Greenhow Plantation, steadily pedalling along the fire roads until the bottom of The Incline where we stopped and pretended to Bob we would be going up. After his torrent of profanity we carried on to Bank Foot Farm for the real climbing to begin. Ian expressed some disbelief that we were actually attempting to ride bikes up a hill he’d struggled up in his Landrover the day before. Managed to make it to the gate before the track becomes so steep, loose and broken that our mortal legs could spin us no further. So we pushed, and stopped and pushed some more until we could ride a bit, joining the Cleveland Way on top of Ingleby Moor, still remarkably together as a group. A nice bit of rattly downhill and some thankfully levellish track brought us to Bloworth Crossing and another breather. Keeping on the Cleveland Way we pushed on up towards Round Hill, taking a left turn onto a doubletrack of dubious legality, which lead us to Stump Cross above Bransdale and the bridleway to Tripsdale. That ought to be the steep, loose, fast, hairpin infested bridleway to Tripsdale. The steep hairpins claimed a few casualties as they were negotiated with more enthusiasm than skill but we all made it to the bottom with only minor injuries.

Our little peleton began to string out on the long climb out of Tripsdale, Steve’s lack of preparation beginning to show despite his youth. We regrouped at the top just in time for Oz’s back tyre to flat, Steve and Bob celebrated the temporary hold-up by sharing an energy-restoring cigarette. Back under pedal-power we made our way to East Bank Plantation but not before I’d demonstrated the correct way to somersault over the handlebars while remaining clipped into the pedals. The bridleway down to Seave Green through the woods has to be one of the best kept secrets of the North York Moors, that’s all I’m saying. Try it for yourself, just keep an eye out for the bridleway signs.

Into Chop Gate and up the Raisdale road, the original plan to go up to Stoney Wickes and across Carlton Bank was curtailed in favour of a straight-forward slog up the road to Lordstones café where Steve finally got his long awaited breakfast. Replenished we swooped along the last four miles or so back to Clay Bank, savouring the roller-coaster track along the front of Cringle Moor and the technical rocky up and down bits past Cold Moor and the Wainstones. A bit of fire road and a remaining downhill treat brought us back to the car park, grinning like a troop of baboons. A class day out.

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