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Amelia's Anecdotes #3

Sunday 14th Aug 2011

Kielder

Camilla

Gem

Sophie

Claire M

Amelia

Amelia, Claire M, Sophie, Gem and Camilla
The 3rd girls ride took place at Kielder. We met there at 10.30 and it was damp but overall, not too wet. Most of us had done Lonesome Pine before so we decided to go for Dead Water Fell this time. Claire M led as she had done the Dead Water Fell trails before. Always helps to have someone up front who knows what’s coming next! Gem and Camilla both came along for the first time (both had been to Kielder before). Sophie christened her new Giant Cypher full sus (unfortunately a little scratched now).

We started off with a warm up on the skills loops before heading off on the short blue single track trail through the woods. It was a nice intro to the day for everyone. Following that, we started the Dead Water Fell trail. This was quite confusing as sections of the route appear to have been upgraded to black but they weren’t marked on the downloaded maps. Claire was convinced they would be fine and we were all up for giving it a go. Glad we did – lots of fun!

We completed the first two woody sections. Sophie took a small tumble but nothing too bad. Just getting used to the new bike, or so we thought! We then went for the long forest track hill and into the woods again for a much more fun single track ascent. Two lads kindly pointed out that Sophie’s front forks were on backwards (hence catching them with her foot and falling earlier on in the day). Of course, none of us had noticed! After we sorted that, we had a short photo break at the peak. We dithered (very briefly) with the idea of going right to the top section but the general consensus was that the descent wasn’t worth the climb.

         

Downhill section next and an excellent bit of track with optional small rock gardens and little drops. Although graded black, everything at all scary could be avoided for those who wanted an easier ride. That section took us to the rocky hill. We all gave these a good try (with some successes!). The last descent took us to the boardwalk at the bottom. As mentioned, it was a little wet! Claire rode straight across closely followed by Amelia, not so lucky! The bike slipped straight off the angled boardwalk about half way across. Ouch! She felt a wee bit sick after that but Gem was armed with energy tablets which improved things! Some nasty bruises but nothing too bad!

One last descent and it was pretty much all over! Claire and Camilla stayed on to repeat some of the trail after a cuppa.

      

We are having a planning meeting soon to work out some cross country routes and future dates. All advice and requests welcome!