3^rd The good weather appears to be continuing, me and Martin flogged up the steps from Clay Bank to ride The Rim again, still in perfect condition - The Rim that is not us. We were in as good a condition as could be expected of two largely sedentary men approaching middle-age. The delightful singletrack unfolded before us and we rode it with more enthusiasm than grace. At its end we reverted to a some less enjoyable ascending until we reached Round Hill - the highest point of the North York Moors and continued - without stopping, something of a Terra Trailblazers first here - all the way to Tripsdale via Cockayne Head and Badger Gill, continuous pedalling for over 5 miles. The ascent out of the Tripsdale valley appears to be becoming looser and had to be recorded as another failure in the no dabs department. We made our way along the track above East Bank Plantation to its junction with the Medd Crag descent, the mid-point of our figure of eight loop. Martin tried to make a name for himself by attempting to ride the “unrideable” bit of the descent, the name he came up with was failure but I’m sure he had fun trying. The remainder of the descent passed without incident, our downhill demons were fed for another day and we just took the tarmac route back to Clay Bank.

8^th. The good weather appears to be having a day off today, being replaced by a fine drizzle which stayed with us for every pedal stroke of the ride, undaunted me and Oz left Kildale station car park and pedalled up Percy Cross Rigg. Turning right down to Sleddale and across Codhill Heights to Guisborough Woods, where we followed the Black Route from Highcliffe to The Unsuitables; singletrack, wet roots and technical incompetence, a combination guaranteeing jerky progress. At least it was slightly drier under the tree cover. From The Unsuitables we went up Percy Cross Rigg, around the Lonsdale Bowl and down to Gribdale, all thoroughly damp. A fire road plod up toward Captain Cooks monument was followed by a more cautious than usual plummet down the wet tarmac from Pale End Plantation, depositing us at Glebe Cottage just as the proper rain began.

16^th. Simon joined me and Oz today at a thankfully reopened Lordstones, after the usual exchange of insults regarding the superiority of my home town, Hartlepool, over the festering pit of inbred retards he calls home, the place doesn’t even warrant the designation town, we set off along The Fronts, the track still bone dry apart from the odd puddle. Before too long we were at Clay Bank, rather than another carry up the steps, an executive decisions was made to have a ride along the top fire road through Greenhow Plantation and Jackson’s Bank, just to see if it has improved. No would be the short answer, considerably worse would be the longer answer, numerous profane variations on the theme were employed as we battled with deep mud and fallen trees - it looks as though some vehicular traffic has been using the track. Thankfully we reached the bottom fire road and upped our average with a speedy mile or two to Bank Foot farm, the gruelling trek up Turkey Nab (Ingleby Bank on the map) brought the average down again and we kept climbing until we joined the Cleveland Way at Tidy Brown Hill. Continuing south we made our way to Round Hill, although not without several stops as two fifty year olds waited for a thirty year old to catch up. The balance was restored with a fast descent to Medd Crag and ultimately, Bilsdale Hall, then Chop Gate. In deference to our junior friend we took the Raisdale Road back to Lordstones, at one point Simon reckoned he’d snapped his hamstring and resorted to pushing, five minutes later it miraculously repaired itself and he was back on the bike. A wonder of medical science or merely some freakish gene mutation all Darlington people have?

22^nd. Me and Simon opted for a similar route to the previous one but gave the top track through the plantation from Clay Bank a miss and took the bottom fire road to Bank Foot Farm. From the farm we headed toward Turkey Nab but then took the fire road on the left which leads to Coleson Banks. Now, we have used this fire road before but it’s always been a disaster toward the end, rutted, muddy and beyond unridable, in parts it’s not even walkable and a well used detour through the trees exists. In a spirit of mindless optimism, I figured the recent tree felling activity in the area may have gone some way to improving the track - I couldn’t have been more wrong - it was a disaster, the pushing section now at least doubled, add in the heat and the flies, it sooned seemed like hauling bikes through a Louisiana swamp. Thankfully we reached the shade of Coleson Banks but this turned out to be another muddy push, just in a vertical direction this time. Soon it was a mere memory as we rode upwards on the Cleveland Way above Baysdale, a welcome breeze taking the edge off the blazing sun, to rejoin last weeks route at the green gate. A straightforward reprise of the Round Hill/Medd Crag section and we were once again spinning up the Raisdale Road back to Lordstones to replace our lost calories with apple pie and ice cream. Turned out to be the longest ride of this year at almost 22 miles and also the hottest day of the year so far.

30th Time for a Billy-no mates ride to finish off the month. The weather is still holding up and I fancied a bit of big sky for a change from mud, trees and flies. Set off from Square Corner and rode to Swainby Shooting House, then across Whorlton Moor to join Arnesgill Ridge, climbing gently on a bone dry track, cutting through a swathe of purple heather with a backdrop of blue sky. Then an enjoyable descent from Stoney Wickes to Scugdale, so often pushed up. A bit of tarmac through the valley to Heathwaite, then picking up the Cleveland Way through Clain Wood, crossing the road at Scarth Nick and continuing across Scarth Wood Moor. Finished off by riding across the dam at Cod Beck Reservoir and up through the woods to High Lane and back to Square Corner past the now sadly closed Chequers.