Ride 010.

Date: 30th December 2003                     Distance: 14.3 miles

“Slowest ride ever…”

Naturally, conditions were against us, nothing to do with general Christmas lassitude or the fact we’ve only been getting out once every twelve days. Frozen ruts, sheet ice and a puncture didn’t help our average speed. 

The three die-hard Terra Trailblazers met up at the Lordstones car park on what had to be the coldest day of the year. The E shift lads were at work and Granny-Ring Robson had once again succumbed to the lure of strong drink and hot women, or was it hot drink and strong women? They are a funny lot in Darlington.  

Resisting the temptation to pile straight into the warm café, we set off along the track across the front of Cringle Moor, muddy wheel ruts thankfully frozen solid, although their tendency to take control of the bikes’ steering provided some hairy moments. Once again the sky was blue and the views spectacular; we have had some luck with the weather this year. The swooping singletrack was great fun as usual, the final paved section with the water channels let us of lightly - only one puncture. The rocky track along the top of Broughton Plantation give us a fine view of the Wainstones, seeming to glow in the low sun. A mini-glacier on the downhill section between Cold Moor and Hasty Bank give us all a few bruises but still preferable to the alternative -ploughing through cloying mud. 

We emerged onto the Helmesley TT, near a jam packed Clay Bank car park, more people about than the post-Christmas sales and crossed the road into Greenhow Plantation as an alternative to slogging up the icy steps to Carr Ridge. More frozen tracks kept things pleasantly unmuddy, culminating with a big push up the bridleway at Jackson’s Bank, cycling shoes and sheet ice aren’t really compatible but we made it onto Urra Moor and back into the winter sunshine. Pedalling again, we rode up to Round Hill before turning right and descending to Medd Crag with a lot more caution and a lot less speed than usual, meeting our second  of beagles this month, the huntsmen driving six wheel buggies rather than riding horses for some reason.  

We headed south for a short while before following the bridleway down through East Bank Plantation to Seave Green, another excellent downhill, eyes watering, teeth tingling in the cold air. Into Chop Gate and onto the Raisdale Road, Oz and I stopped at the entrance to Raisdale Mill cottages, prompting an expression disgust from Blind Bob when he caught us up. His premonition was spot on and soon we were pushing up the Green Lane in the direction of Stoney Wickes, no hope of traction on the frozen soil. Past Scugdale and down to the oddly named Brian’s Pond, thick with ice, surely strong enough to skate on? Fruitlessly we tried to persuade Bob to do his duty as the heaviest person present and test the strength of the ice but he obviously watched too many Public Information films as a kid and declined. 

The sun beginning to sink behind the hills gave us an incentive to make for the café; the last gentle uphill to the top of brought us to the gliding club on Carlton Bank; the last sweet section of singletrack and the last downhill of 2003 were soon over. The last obstacle of the day (for Bob), the Lordstones cattle grid was successfully negotiated and we piled gratefully into the café, an embarrassing four hours earlier than we left the car park. Four hours to do fourteen miles? Did we care? We enjoyed every minute of it and conceivably the frozen ruts and sheets of ice may have enhanced our handling skills.  

Let’s hope 2004 turns out to be as good as 2003.

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