Ride 038.

Date:   23rd December 2004            Distance: 19.75 miles

“Just remember, no matter how bad it gets, it can’t be worse than being at the shops today” 

A plucky foursome met in Clay Bank car park, bravely defying the forecast 80 mph gales; escaping seasonal house arrest before the Christmas clampdown and the associated force-feeding of chocolate, beer and festive drivel. A last chance at exercise before our lithe, svelte, cyclists figures are ruined by overindulgence.  

As Chris correctly predicted, the ride did begin by pushing up a big set of steps, however, once at the top the wind was behind us and we were blown across Urra Moor towards Bloworth Crossing at a speed out of all proportion to our fitness. In what seemed no time at all we were on Ingleby Moor before turning right at Burton Howe for another wind-assisted push across Middle Head Top to a choice of routes. The big loop through Armoth Wath and across Hograh Moor was vetoed because the café’s gravitational pull was too strong.  We followed the Middle Head bridleway to Baysdale, missing the height-saving option which could have taken us to the top of the Baysdale road when Chris and Oz dismissed the turn off as insignificant. It didn’t matter, the ride down the newly resurfaced bridleway was fun in teeth-jarring sort of way, a steep and muddy bit through the woods next to Middle Head Intake brought us out onto the smooth grass descent to Baysdale Abbey, watery sunshine lighting our way. Of course the push back up the other side up onto Kildale moor was not welcomed but it did lead to a descent of the ‘Field Of Heavy Gravity’ before another downhill blast to Glebe Cottage and our coffee break. 

The time had come to pay the weather Gods for our wind assistance - the ride back. Actually it wasn’t too bad, being lower down the wind wasn’t quite as strong and perhaps it had eased a bit too. We followed the road to Bankfoot Farm and then fire roads through Greenhow Plantation, very uneventful except for the final 400 metre tarmac grind back to the car-park. 

So that was it over, our last ride before Christmas and possibly our last ride of 2004. But like it said at the top, it could have been worse, no matter what excesses of weather North Yorkshire could throw at us, it was still preferable to being in one of our seasonally overcrowded shopping malls. And looking at the height profile later, it seems we found the ultimate riding experience – a predominately downhill XC route.

 Height Profile: (click to enlarge)

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