Top ride today.V V cold.Crisp and clear ,you know the kind.3 of us made it out of the duvets to brave the arctic wastelands .......OK ,it was nt that cold ,but dont let Andy in shorts fool you,it was that cold I had an extra vest on.
It was a a fairly up/down affair.we parked as usual on the barn rd and headed up to the bottom of the" ice cream run" taking the climb on the right,apparently this is now known as the alternative ice cream run or " a-ICR "in internet chat rooms and such.Well I can tell you in all my weeks of mountainbiking i havent seen any cardigan clad weirdoes ,gazing at their DMs,whirling daffodils around their heads singing "hang the DJ hang the DJ"riding down there,at all.Maybe wednesday is alternative day.
OK ,so ,we're climbing.we get about a half way up ,level with the corkscrew climb,and opposite is a gap in the fence.Now I've not climbed this for a bit,and now i know why.it's a tough un .The ground was baked with the frost , so it was fairly grippy,traction wasnt a problem ,and after some baiting,cheers gaz, i was giving it all I had .Which ,luckily, was just enough.I got to the top ,over the water-bar feeling like an olympian. Eddie the eagle to be exact .I was goosed .We'd only been riding 10 minutes ,so that was it ,right? -2deg.?Hopelessly out of condition?Hmm
Whatever.We had a sit down and chilled( which was easy,considering),took some pics and gazed westward .It was a great view.
GARETH IN STAGED DOWNHILL SHOCK !!
A short push up a flight of steps brings us out at the pigeon tower,from there it's a short hoof to the pike.Relatively speaking.Quite a degree or two cooler up here so we waste even more time by taking some more pics.
ANDY WEARING SHORTS SHOCK !!
I've never seen anything like it though.On the fenceposts ice had formed in mini icicles,and on the grass it had blown in a fantastic way .Different ,not like snow or frost.That had to recorded ,for posterity. It was our duty as mountainbikers.We could poke fun and terrorise red sock wearing walkers later.
KENDAL MINT CAKE HAD EVERYTHING TO LIVE FOR SHOCK !!
Off the back then . Bone dry.Grippy .Mad .Down to the gate.Turn left ,past pike cottage( dog kennels)and over to Wilders Moor.More of the same really,but uphill.Bone dry ,rock hard with the frost ,where it's usually gloopy.Good then.On to the tarmac is another short hoof to the top of the "dog kennel run",so called as it loops back down to pike cottage.This was good and fast as well ,punctuated with deeper swampy bits covered with a deceiving icy crust.Ace.like busting womp rats in beggars canyon.Someone once said.
THE LONG WINDING ROAD SHOCK !!
From the cottage back past the bottom of the pike to the gardens.We dropped in near the toilet block to the left.We only found out later to our horror that it was for downhill bikes.I dont know how we survived.Wearing lycra.
Grotto ,Switchbacks , bombhole .Join now to find out what these mean.......
And back to the car. Buzzing . Not much to report regarding the Commencal Meta but the gears were sticking a bit.Definitely a case for running the cables straight through in one.
*Every day is like sunday , Morrisey.
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