Ride 014.

Date:    27th February 2004                  Distance: 10.5 miles

“You’re not going out in that are you?”  

This was fast becoming an overused phrase by all and sundry. Okay, so it had been snowing a bit but no roads were impassable (yet) and it is twelve days since the last time we ventured out. I didn’t expect to get much out of the day but given the choice between shopping with the wife or breaking a leg and dying a slow lingering death from hypothermia on the moors, the bike was in the car and we were off to Pinchinthorpe. Once we managed to get out of Teesside, a couple of centimetres of snow and the rush hour traffic was still stationary, nose to tail, at ten thirty AM.  

Met Simon and Oz sat in their car at a closed Pinchinthorpe car park. For some curious reason they seemed to imagine we’d be cancelling the ride. True, the snow was somewhat deeper here than at home but on the plus side, the sky was blue. We pedalled along the old rail track and into the woods, a satisfying lack of ramblers to impede our progress. At the first uphill we realised things may not be as simple as usual, SPD’s too clogged with ice to engage, frozen brake cables and useless front mech’s, even pushing was difficult in the snow.  

Down past Home Farm and through Hutton Village, (no pub, no shops, no café, who’d want to live there?) push, ride, ride, push, push, push, push up the big bank at the end of the village, back into the woods. Left or right at the T junction? Kildale café or Great Ayton café? A group decision came up with right, mainly because there was more chance of us actually making Great Ayton than Kildale. More battling through the snow until we came to some 4x4 tyre tracks which had compacted things quite nicely, easy pedalling so long as you could stay in the ruts. No good to Bob then. All the way up to the gate leading out onto Hutton Moor then right before the gate, along onto Newton Moor and down to Roseberry Common. The descent proved to be the highlight of the day, countless falls from everybody rendered us helpless with laughter by the time we reached Roseberry Common. We continued in a downward fashion to Aireyholme Farm, a snow-capped Roseberry Topping in the background. Simon showed us all a turn of speed on the (downhill) road to Dikes Lane before a bit more snowy stuff through Brookside farm to Little Ayton, then slushy roads to Great Ayton and Sugget’s café. We eschewed the famous ice cream in favour of something warmer, coffee and soup seeming more appropriate. 

Revitalised with caffeine but reluctant to leave the warm, steamy café, we considered reversing our route to get back to the cars, this plan was only considered briefly. Instead we wimped out and took the road back to Pinchinthorpe. The car park was still closed but this hadn’t deterred, what may, in quainter times, have been described as ‘a courting couple’ from attempting to steam up their car windows. Four grown men having a snowball fight two feet away seemed to dampen their ardour somewhat, especially when the misaimed shots hit their car, for some reason they didn’t come out to complain. 

A great day out, I’ve never laughed so much since our last pay offer.

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