Industrial Fell Biking

The industrial Fells are littered with relics from the past - from RooleyHenge to the Industrial Revolution.
I wonder who will inherit the windmills when they become relics of a bygone age?

I wonder if people will still be riding bikes, 100 years in the future?

Today we've got a posse - Shaman, The Sleeve and his mate Ste. No nickname yet for Ste - but I'm open to offers.
We're headed for Lee Quarry. The Sleeve on his new bike wants to find out if it's more fun than it was on a hardtail with a locked suspension fork.

It's rocky in the quarry

With a few stiff ascents

But the rewards are sweet

And some sections are rather good...

Sorry about my bike spoiling the picture - there's not much space at the side of the trail!

In this snap the trail looks positively flat!

But it's not , you know!

The track opens out a bit after that, and its speedy, swoopy, jumpy fun.

Two laps of the red are enough.
Saving the black for next time I'm out there on the big bike.
Watching someone dive over the bars on the qualifier is enough to put me right off!
Time for the Industrial Fells proper.
Up past Alf Kymes we make a beeline for the turbines.

I think I'm quite privileged to have this virtually in my back garden!

and up on top it's as much fun as the man-made trail

but not as dry

although we do get to ride off into the sunset!

Now all that's left is dreaming up a nickname for Ste. Hmm.......

Posted by NoPies at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I want to sit on a summit on a balmy summer evening and watch the sun go down.
And I want to wake up in the morning and drink coffee, watching the sunrise cast shadows over the hills.

I say have, because I haven't given up hope yet, but I haven't much time left.
And my attempt at the weekend was not too successful.
The forecast for Sunday night/Monday morning was promising.
Rain clearing early and a 90% chance of clear skies on Monday.

Well, it was grey and damp in Llanberis, but we pinned our hopes on the forecast and set off with laden bags.

But even my naive optimism started to wane, as instead of clear skies, we simply climbed up into the cloud.

The summit was shrouded in cloud, the wind was Arctic and it was raining.

Too cold on top, but no reason we couldn't bivvy half way down?
Well, we just didn't find a nice spot and in the end decided to head back to the car.
It was a good decision - it was dark when we got back to the tarmac.

Snowdon is something that just has to be done.
It's a tough climb with a fair bit of pushing - especially with bivvy kit.
But the descent is a monster!
And it's all ridable, except for the bit where I went over the handlebars!

We ended up bivvying at Penmachno.
Nice views:

a spot of supper

and sweet dreams

It rained during the night - coming off Snowdon was a good decision.
Not only that, but we awoke ready to ride, after a coffee and a Pot Noodle - food of the Gods!

It was dry in the morning and slowly the cloud cleared and the day improved - 24 hours too late.
Good riding at Penmachno, fast, twisty, undulating and fun with capital F.
The Sleeve was grinning from ear to ear.
A big day out on the hill followed by some man-made shenanigans. Fantastic!
One loop or two Sir?

Well worth a visit - the Sleeve is already planning a return trip!

Anyhow, that's enough from me - I'm tired, in work tomorrow so I'm going to get my head down.

Posted by NoPies at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I feel cheated.
I was in the area - you know how it is with family commitments - "I'll go if I can take my bike".

But there were no dogs at Cannock Chase. Instead, more cyclists than you can imagine.
Hundreds of them.
Queuing at the cafe waiting for it to open at nine o'clock in the morning.
The route should be called follow the cyclist.
Don't forget to take a pound coin for the car park, or you'll end up parking down the road like I did.

I was with a relative - my wife's niece's husband, who had never ridden off-road before.

The grading of the route is red. I've no idea why. It's a simple trail which twists through the trees, snakes and undulates and that's about it. Oh yes, there's a few jumps too if you like to get your wheels off the ground - but it's not obligatory.
It's quite fun in a man-made way but I think to enjoy it you've got to put the hammer down, which wasn't possible under the circumstances.

Sorry about the pics, but it's a bit dark in those trees!

The wife's niece's husband enjoyed it though.

So much so that he wants me to bring my bike to the next family gathering.
Hmmmm.

Posted by NoPies at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)