Ride 051.

Date:     15th July 2005          Distance:  25 miles

Sky TV has a lot to answer for, if they had broadcast something worth watching today, Simon would have been prostrate in front of the box and not giving the rest of us 25 miles of earache. On the other hand, perhaps it was a little remiss to decide on a 25 miler for Simon’s second venture out of the past 11 months.  Once again his posterior forsook settee for saddle and suffered the sort of abuse normally reserved for a maximum security prisoner’s bitch during bitch swapping night on E wing. 

We left Pinchinthorpe with some unaccustomed sunshine on our backs, making our way steadily onto Newton Moor to see six international flags flying from the dry stone wall. Hopes that it was a bar selling beers of all nations were dashed when we found it was a team-building type exercise of the sort so beloved by desk-bound, paper-shufflers desperate to cosy up to their superiors. Actually, in this case it was school kids learning how to wander about the moors without getting their white track suits dirty. Leaving them behind, we flanked the southern edge of Guisborough Woods to Percy Cross Rigg, which we climbed and descended to regroup on the tarmac, where the others chilled while I fixed the pinch flat courtesy of a shark’s fin of rock and me forgetting I was on a hard tail. (The Giant still awaiting a new hub following TTB 050). Jumping back on and travelling a few yards revealed more problems, ‘dings’ in both rims which made braking an experience something similar to riding a clown’s square wheeled bike. Never mind, only 20 miles to go.  

We followed the road to Commondale, and then picked up the bridleway running parallel to the Esk Valley railway line, passing Castleton and arriving at Danby Tearoom moments before Simon’s incipient malnutrition got the better of him. The cornucopia of cakes and pastries took his mind off two significant facts, a: we were only half way through the ride, and b: Danby was the ride’s lowest point. Altitude wise, that is, numerous other low points would be reached before the day ended, mainly involving inept bike handling or even more inept route finding. 

Heading out of Danby up the tarmac to Rosedale Intake, things became a bit vague at the point we headed onto the open moor. A bridleway was discovered eventually which we followed, blithely ignoring the GPS which was practically leaping off the handlebars and punching me in the eye for heading in completely the opposite direction to it’s angrily flashing arrow. But who was correct? The GPS of course, as we (okay I) realised when we came to a deep valley I couldn’t recall from my cursory glance at the map. The map, naturally, was still at Pinchinthorpe in the boot of my car. Some heathery trudging brought us back on track and before long we were cycling across the moor on the oddly named Robin Hoods Butts.  We didn’t pass any merry men, just a few surly trials bikers wending their motorised way across the moor and some large excavations caused by 4x4 drivers enjoying their ‘sport’.

Back on the road for a short while until the turn off to the paved Quaker’s Causeway leading across the moor to Westworth Woods, some nice singletrack on the last section before the woods – I think Chris even relaxed his grip on the brakes briefly. Through Westworth Woods and into Guisborough Woods, we followed the bridleway which leads to the disused quarry above West Banks, chickening out of the (now) seriously eroded descent beside the quarry, we took the Cleveland Way west to Highcliffe Nab for a long anticipated descent (as in: “I thought you said it was all downhill from here?”) on the fire roads, then through Hutton Village and back to Pinchinthorpe. 

Our longest expedition for some time and hugely enjoyed by all, even Simon despite the moaning – for today at least, he had some justification for his awesome calorie intake. He carries more sandwiches than Greggs.

 Height Profile: (click to enlarge)

Back To Rides page