Ride 067.

Date:   7th February 2006            Distance:  10 miles

Okay, I know ten miles doesn’t sound a lot but this ride was not without the odd trauma; besides how can you measure the quality of a ride by mere distance? It’s like asking whether you’d prefer a dozen hamburgers or a nice sirloin steak, unless you are Simon of course, in which case it’s all of it. 

Cut to: four eager Trailblazers in a car park, speedily changing in the nithering wind, one so eager it was his second ride in 14 months. Kendo decided to forgo the warmth and fug of the gym for the mud and crap of the great outdoors, giving his gluteus muscles a bit of punishment.  

From Lordstones car park, we lulled our tyro into a false sense of adequacy by heading briefly down the road, in a gravity assisted fashion prior to a left into the oddly named Harry Wath Wood. We made our way across the shoulder of Cringle Moor and onto the regular track which runs beneath the brooding North-facing Cringle Crags. Some fairly glutinous mud spoilt this a little – it’s far from the classic summer roller coaster, making for hard pedalling. Leaving the track we began to make our way up to Cold Moor, where disaster struck for Howard, when his rear wheel fell out, not an uncommon occurance for Howard, only on this occasion replacing the wheel in the drop outs proved impossible without it rubbing against his frame and front mech. Closer inspection revealed some discrepancy in the chain stays, seemingly bent while pedalling uphill.  

Ride over for Howard. Some discussion ensued, deciding the remaining three would continue on a truncated ride (for the benefit of Kendo), while Howard plodded back to the car park, before motoring to the bike shop to pass some more of his plastic in their direction. Shouldering the bikes, we hiked up to the old mine on the side of Cold Moor for a quick glance inside, before doing a bit more of the rambler thing, trudging through the heather until we picked up the bridleway running along the spine of Cold Moor. Two miles of downhill we'd promised Kendo - he wasn't impressed, some bits we're uphill! This track is always a treat though, all the way to Chop Gate, and (predominately) downhill, rocks and ruts, the odd bog, a sprinkling of sunshine, springy heather to fall off into. What more could we want? Cable cars? The bottom sections approaching Chop Gate were somewhat muddy but we made the village unscathed, even Kendo. 

All that stood between us and the cafe was the Raisdale Road, three and a half miles with almost 600 foot of ascent. A nice steady pedal back by normal standards, although not helped by the headwind. Chris attempted to persuade a horse to pull him up the hill by bribing it with his spare apple but the horse welched on the deal after polishing off the apple. Kendo reappeared, complaining fluently about his nether regions, hard to understand considering the amount of hammer they take at work, sitting in the big swivel chair, waiting for Brian to make the tea. One last push (literally in a certain case) and we were rejoining Howard at the cafe. Turns out his frame is cracked through the chain stay, luckily it's a steel frame so it can easily be welded. Now if it had been the carbon fibre jobby... 

Still we salvaged something from the day, it may have been brief, perhaps not brief enough for Kendo's distressed derriere but at least the rain stayed off.                     

 Height Profile: (click to enlarge)

Back To Rides page