Inaugural Bike Tours for the Wounded Byway 2015 Tour in partnership with the TRF
Do the best ideas always involve a quiet pub, a couple of libations and good mates? I suspect that the answer would be not always however in this case, it certainly does!
After riding John o Groats to Lands End, it seemed like a great idea to do the same using byways and tracks whenever possible. That is until the realization that not only would the Scottish land access be an issue but that the time to complete the trip would be out of most folks holiday time allocation away from their families would be the main issue needing 20+ days at best.
So we came up with the Byway tour. The idea really blossomed when Bike Tours partnered with the TRF for local guidance and support. Billed as 8 days from Northumberland to Wiltshire, 1000 miles, over 400 of were on byways the tour exceed the wildest expectations and boy did it exceed. This is an attempt to contain the excitement of 8 days of very varied riding into a short concise piece for you to enjoy.
The tour consisted of 12 riders on a range of bikes from a Honda CRF 250 (Not the full tour) through the ever present KTM 450 and 990, CCM 450 to BMW GSA’s! A wide range of bikes mixed with an equally wide range of skill levels.
Needless to say, by the end of a weeks riding, everyone needed to put their feet up for a few days…
Day 1
Haltwhistle to Windmere – 130 miles; A slightly ambitions 130 mile route threw the tour straight into the technical aspects of green laning with a bang! Split into 2 groups, six riders in each, a route kindly collated by the Northumberland TRF lead the groups separately straight into rocky climbs and tight gravelly tracks combined with amazing views and scenery. What a start! Highlight of the day has to be the rocky climb that on approach, a car stopped and told us that we would not make it up! Fantastic climb taken in 10 minutes if you are prepared to commit!
Day 2
Windmere to Clithero – 98 miles; A little dampness overnight saw a cool start to the day and slightly less traction keeping things in check a little. That said, the trails and tracks through the Lake District and over to the Yorkshire dales was beyond and possible expectations. Great rock steps and GS’s often clashed whilst others younger and on smaller biked fair skipped over them. The day also included the first of many water crossings on the tour one or two that caught out unsuspecting riders with a swift dunking.
The major highlight of the day has to be 15 miles or so over Salta Fell possible not the most technically engaging trail, however the scenery is awe inspiring
Day 3
Clithero to Hayfield - 76 miles; Day 3 was always going to be a challenge. Finding trails and a suitable route through the Bolton/Manchester area was never going to be easy! Fortunately with the help of the TRF we managed to keep out of the way of most major centers and even rode 2 trails on a very wet day. One of the trails was actually along the edge of a 200 ft drop covered in fog needing a little concentration to say the least. In some ways as it was a road transit day, it meant that although everyone arrived into camp wet and tired, we were all safe with no mishaps.
Day 4
Hayfield to Oswerstry – 117 miles; When you get up in the morning, the sun is shining and your bike starts first time, you know you are in for a great day!!! The first day we had TRF ride leaders who knew the lanes well and were able to keep the group informed with local knowledge and facts about the area that we were riding. A MASSIVE thanks goes to the revitalized High Peaks and Potteries group for all their effort and for riding 50+ miles to meet up with us at 08:00.
What a great and scenic day from dams and rivers to views over Jodrell Bank all interspersed with some challenging lanes for all the test their balance and commitment to covering stony and rocky lanes.
Day 5
Oswerstry to Rhayader – 116 Miles; Let the games begin! Trail riding in Wales takes on a whole life of its own! The area is inspirational and eggs you on to climb every mountain which from a distance seems like a simple thing however the closer you get the bigger the challenge. Ok – lets forget climbing mountains, lets blast down fire tracks and trails that encourage you to test yourself, then turn off onto a small lane that demands all your concentration to descend a rocky slope and just when you thoughts you were safe, a trail off to your right drops you onto what has to be the slipperiest trail in the UK!!! Apologies to Hywel Thomas (Mid Wales TRF) who I covered in mud as I scrabbled for grip! The only down side the the day is that you have to concentrate on your riding so much that you can’t really take in how beautiful Wales is in the sunshine. And that is just day one…
Day 6
Rhayader to Hereford – 132 miles; A day when boys become trail riding gods and the rest of us just get wet!!!! Welcome to Strata Florida. Before we get there, there are more scenic trails in Wales and views of the incredible engineering feats that have been achieved in the area. A small stop at the Strata Florida abbey to discuss the history behind the route and the real fun starts.
In all reality, the Strata Florida is not that difficult, a little challenging yes and a tad damp however it does demand that you commit to every obstacle and has a nasty habit of tiring you out very easily if you aren’t ready for it. The biggest challenge for most of us normal green laners is that when we enter a lane, it is very likely that we will exit or reach the end of the lane within a mile or two. The Strata Florida runs for 10 miles and expects that you commit for every one of these 10 miles. If you don’t the likelihood of you getting wet increases exponentially!!! There are a number of stories that we can tell. The most unfortunate bit for me was the fact that I had just managed to get my boots dry from Day 3! Pulling bikes out the drink soon changed that…
Once conquered, it is a blast back to the campsite so that we can fettle the bikes, dry out and get a bite to eat before our next leg to Wiltshire – the land of ruts!!
Day 7
Hereford to Calne – 127 miles; A break from tradition here as we let two groups take very different routes. The trailies head down the Wye Valley ably aided by the Gloucester TRF lads whilst the now infamous Jimmy Kawasaki leads the big bike group over the Herefordshire hills to Gloucester and down the Fosse Way.
The trailies met with the Bristol TRF team at the Severn crossing and made their way over some of the more challenging lanes including St Catharine’s steps down to Calne whist the big bike group found more water to cross, added some mud for good measure and included a number of the ever present Wiltshire ruts.
It is a challenge to summarize the tour as a whole. 1000 miles of wonderful countryside interspersed with Green Lanes of varying levels of difficulty from easy and gentle fire trails through to rocky steps that beat even the best riders on the tour.
The long and short of it is that as over 50% of the riders have signed up for next years tour already, I take that as confirmation that the tour was a success. I am sure that each rider has their own views on the best sections of lanes etc. however if you consider that you are riding for around 8 hours every day for 7 days over totally different terrain every day, there has to be something it is for everyone.
A group of strangers collected in Haltwhistle on a summer evening in July and after a week of helping and supporting each other departed from the tour end BBQ as friends and in doing so raised the money and the profile to aid Bike Tours for the Wounded.
The 2016 Byway tour will take leave Haltwhistle again on the 1st July. Sign up now as places are limited to 20 so give me a call on 07799 335534
