A nice chap from the Lincs TRF advertised he was leading a 'big trail bike' ride through the High peak, so I jumped at the opportunity. I explained I was a novice but he was quite relaxed about it and said there would be people to help in places if needed.
It was like a monsoon when I set off this morning to meet them in Matlock. All very friendly and welcoming, several were novices not just me, which was comforting. We set off from matlock and went up a steep, rocky climb through some woods for about a mile it seemed... broke out on the top and continued along the flat with big puddles/bomb holes to ride around the edge of... then a section of road for about a mile before dropping down a fairly steep, rocky and bouldery lane that comes out by the bridge to Chatsworth Park. So far so good. Next up was another steep and tricky lane from Chatsworth with some big rock steps that i managed to steer around and use the bankside to avoid. This was hard work and the surface was slippery but the bike held whatever line I chose and the MT21s stuck, their grip on the sloping sides was remarkable and I managed to bounce and bump my way up from boulder to boulder and rut to rut without putting a dab in at all so far. I just gave myself plenty of room between me and the guy in front so I could just use the throttle and keep going at whatever pace seemed to suit the target ahead. This continued for several more lanes with tarmac between until we turned up past The Barrel Inn and rode the long, straight uphill and then a long dip and up the other side gravelled road to the end, where we turned round and did it back again. The loose, small stones were skittling me about but I kept it upright and going where I wanted, I found going a bit quicker helped to smooth it out a bit and even got into 3rd at one stage, but not for long, my confidence was getting the better of me and I eased off into a more sedate pace that I was comfortable with. Nobody minded, they were all going at much the same sort of speed as me. Then came the hard bit, and talking to some folks it is one of the more challenging tracks in the High Peak - I can't remember what it is called but it ends up in Hope. It is a steep downhill, the way we were going, with big boulders and rock steps and covered in stones the size of a grapefruit, we all made it down in one piece and had lunch in Hope, the deli does a fantastic selection of generously filled rolls, goats cheese and mango chutney for me!
That was where we decided we had all had enough, our boots were filled, both with water from a couple of 2 foot deep watery sections and from the miles we had covered. A brilliant day for my first proper experience of off road riding and I didn't drop the bike but had to dab once to save it on a muddy bit that had the back sliding out sideways.
All in all, a wonderful introduction but it has made me realise that knowing where the lanes are isn't that important, because I won't be tackling them on my own any time soon!
A few pictures from the static bits. The leader has made a bit of video if I can save it to share on here....
It was like a monsoon when I set off this morning to meet them in Matlock. All very friendly and welcoming, several were novices not just me, which was comforting. We set off from matlock and went up a steep, rocky climb through some woods for about a mile it seemed... broke out on the top and continued along the flat with big puddles/bomb holes to ride around the edge of... then a section of road for about a mile before dropping down a fairly steep, rocky and bouldery lane that comes out by the bridge to Chatsworth Park. So far so good. Next up was another steep and tricky lane from Chatsworth with some big rock steps that i managed to steer around and use the bankside to avoid. This was hard work and the surface was slippery but the bike held whatever line I chose and the MT21s stuck, their grip on the sloping sides was remarkable and I managed to bounce and bump my way up from boulder to boulder and rut to rut without putting a dab in at all so far. I just gave myself plenty of room between me and the guy in front so I could just use the throttle and keep going at whatever pace seemed to suit the target ahead. This continued for several more lanes with tarmac between until we turned up past The Barrel Inn and rode the long, straight uphill and then a long dip and up the other side gravelled road to the end, where we turned round and did it back again. The loose, small stones were skittling me about but I kept it upright and going where I wanted, I found going a bit quicker helped to smooth it out a bit and even got into 3rd at one stage, but not for long, my confidence was getting the better of me and I eased off into a more sedate pace that I was comfortable with. Nobody minded, they were all going at much the same sort of speed as me. Then came the hard bit, and talking to some folks it is one of the more challenging tracks in the High Peak - I can't remember what it is called but it ends up in Hope. It is a steep downhill, the way we were going, with big boulders and rock steps and covered in stones the size of a grapefruit, we all made it down in one piece and had lunch in Hope, the deli does a fantastic selection of generously filled rolls, goats cheese and mango chutney for me!
That was where we decided we had all had enough, our boots were filled, both with water from a couple of 2 foot deep watery sections and from the miles we had covered. A brilliant day for my first proper experience of off road riding and I didn't drop the bike but had to dab once to save it on a muddy bit that had the back sliding out sideways.
All in all, a wonderful introduction but it has made me realise that knowing where the lanes are isn't that important, because I won't be tackling them on my own any time soon!
A few pictures from the static bits. The leader has made a bit of video if I can save it to share on here....
