It’s easy to forget how much fun this bike is, especially when not ridden for 6 months I’ve put the winter wheels back on with at 17t cog. The rims are showing signs of wear but remember – next new year is the bike’s 10th anniversary.
I’ll pack away the Zing for the winter with do tube covers etcetera. The Paddy has been off the road since putting a new chain on which was too narrow for the cog. The orange wheels cog works fine. The mistake must be mine, so in future, I’ll stick with wide chains
Chilly at night 7°C to about 12 in the days. Mostly dry.
Day 1: The second group were cobbled together after spells on sepf-lockdown. There is a lot of this going on during this phase of the pandemic. Both groups have the same route but it was too short. Their route card had errors on some legs that were way out. So the kids were very early to checkpoints all day. The funny thing was the location. The villages around here are familiar from all this bike rides from Lichfield where I used to live.
Day 2: a day of drama. One parent had, apparently dropped off her daughter then driven home. They turned out from the campsite drive and then crashed. It was a head-on. The driver had asked us to keep this even from his daughter so she could get on with the expedition without worrying.
I went out to lead them over a blind humpback bridge. Ambulances and police cars shot over the bridge while an air ambulance circled. I didn’t find out till later what actually happened.
It wasn’t untill the end of the job that I heard what happened with that crash. Spoiler alert – nothing.
Camped at the same site as in July; the campsite the expedition is using is rather tatty. The showers still have an Out Of Order sign, even 2 years after the first time I visited.
Group A, 5 lads. A group I’ve met before who got on well and had no difficulty at all. It was warm and sunny both days. The plan is to walk with them for part of day 1 and check their competance. I ended up leaving them later than ideal because there was a risky road section further on that I wanted to escort them down. As it turned out, the road was held in check by HS2 works a few miles down.
A long checkpoint on by a grassy verge. I was there about an hour, enough time to brew a coffee and get the tent dry. I guy walked past and asked if I was ‘doing a spot of wild camping?’. I answered him politely, he seemed to have little knowledge of what that entails.
Group B, a week later… 6 girls this time. More fine September weather and a very able group. They only made mistakes near lunchtime when they got hungry. I could see their confidence inproving over the hours I walked with them. As last week, I left them slightly earlier to get my car for a few final checkpoints. They travelled safely enough but had rather more rest-stops than is ideal. Group 14 arrived at camp last and were determined to prove their ability to erect tents AND cook in the short hour remaining before pickup.
Unfortunately for both trips, they couldn’t camp the night because of Covid-19 restrictions. Many kids see camp as the highlight of the expedition- it’s a time to relax, look back on the day and for many – stay in a tent for the first time. It’s a shame they miss out on their first camp.
15°C, rain. This is a replacement for a trip to Scotland recently cancelled (this morning actually). I woke this morning with a strong feeling that I couldn’t face a 6 hour drive to Kintail. After some suggestions from friends I settled on The Howgills. A quiet range of English hills only 70 miles from home. Ideal.
Rain set in during the evening but a spectacle came late in the night. I got out of the tent about 3am and was stunned by clarity. The Milky way arched overhead behind vivid stars. A couple of planets were in plane sight too.
Sunday; 6h 12 mins walk time. The Howgill Fells are a distinctive range sandwiched between The Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. My campsite lies to the east of the hill which is near the waterfalls of Cautley Spout. Climbing here put you up neat the main summit of Calf Top.
Cautley Spout
The falls were spectaular, more so after recent heavy rains. From this view, the land was laid out below in geological layers, glacial moraines and deeply cut river erosion which reminded me of Bohuntine .
Before the rain really set in.
Monday, walktime: 7h 15′ /sunny and warm after a cool start. I had time in the morning while waiting for a phone call, to plot a route up Baugh Top. A convenient carpark is at the north, Rawthey Bridge by 2 bridlepaths which gives gives a long lead-in and out. This turned out, in contrast to yeaterday, to be a most beautiful day.
This was a long walk over relatively easy terrain. There was no exposure and height gain was never huge. There could have been more wildlife, I saw mostly voles and a few raptors. The only real impediments were boggy ground and frequent flooding. Saw two hikers on the hill, they were on the horizon about a kilometre away. That was all, nobody else. How ideal is that!
Narthwaite farm.
I’m really taken by the North Pennines, I shall revisit! Once back at the car, hunger set in but I had enough camping food to make supper in the carpark before the drive home.
These 50 mile rides are definitely getting easier. I painted all morning while the rain poured.
This time, I took the hills from Ecclestone and descended Bannister just touching 40mph. There was no cafe stop but I did stock up on calories at a garage. Today, I rode the 900th mile on this bike, there is no sign of wear in the chain. Also, after checking the age of the wheels – 2014, 6 years! No sign of wear there either; not the bearings nor the brake surfaces.
A grand day out! Firstly, headed north along the farmland by the R Ribble. For miles and miles it was under a few inches of water. This low lying, flat land is only 6m above sea level, he water can’t drain anywhere. So far, it has stood there for two days. Humidity is very high and afternoons are punctuated by thunderstorms.
Further towards Penworthan, I checked out the Ribble Way, a potential gravel route. Then to Stoney lane near Parbold and a fast descent of Bannister Land. I touched 43mph. Next a coffee stop. The bit on the map in Formby was a second cafe stop where I met the other half. By the time I got home was almost 70 miles in all.
Micycle 