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Yet again circumstances contrived to prevent MidAirCrisis from putting out a decent squad for this leisurely ride along disused railway lines away from sleepy little Haltwhistle on Sunday 22nd October. Terry was determined to try a ride after breaking a rib at Dalbeattie four weekends ago and had been hoping for some company for his comeback outing. Unfortunately both Jason and John had family commitments yet again, but a surprise call from Andy, recently back from his MTB jaunt in Peru (yep, that foreign place miles away that Nobby Solano comes from), meant that there were at least two MAC men present for the start in the company of the Reivers. There was an excellent turnout with around 19 riders gathered in Haltwhistle Station car park for this one, no doubt many there to show their support for the tragically injured Dave Howcroft, their very own "Fatboyreiver", who suffered such terrible head injuries last Sunday at Geltsdale, between Alston and Carlisle.

The ride began at about 11.30am under a grey sky. After several days of heavy rain we were almost sure to find soggy ground somewhere and that would turn out to be true enough. Miraculously, however, the short bursts of rain we suffered were few and far between so it was only the under-tyre H₂0 that caused problems.

We headed south across the A69. It didn't take Tom long to demonstrate his individuality again, swerving between rapidly approaching cars to cross the road while the rest of us waited patiently for a reasonable gap at the junction. He's very noticeable by this type of action, or has been on all the Reivers rides I've been on. A real character. We got straight onto the old railway line south west towards Lambley Viaduct, which is now the South Tyne Trail, following the very active and full River South Tyne. There was certainly plenty of water filling it up closer to its source and we did expect to get a good soaking. There was plenty of mud being thrown up by the wheels in front as the group rode in twos wherever possible, and plenty of opportunity for nettle stings (ouch) as they were encroaching on the trail most of the way.

Following a river towards its source does of course mean you are climbing as you go. The speed of the current flowing in the opposite direction pointed to rapid descent, so we should have been rapidly ascending, but we weren't. If you are ever seeking a nice introductory ride for  someone, kids or family members, or non-riding friends these old railway routes are ideal. But wait for the drier months first! Here's a couple of smiling faces enjoying their ride! On this route you hardly know you're climbing and there's pleasant countryside to travel through. Some stretches may be a little boring for the hardened MTB enthusiast but for me, this was a great opener after the Dalbeattie damage, with little danger of banging the old rib cage again while still getting the legs working. I did have a little trouble however, especially manipulating the long step climbs around Lambley Station where the owners have stopped public traffic so you have to descend steeply to the river under the Viaduct and straight back up again. It wasn't the climb so much as the fact that I was getting very short of breath, and with half a rib poking into my right lung it's very painful to breathe in deeply. The other trouble spots for the Gollum were at the many fences where we had to lift the bikes over. Actually it was poor Andy who had that problem as he spent more time lifting than riding because he had to hump my Barracuda as well as his Specialized over all the obstacles. Thanks for that, Andy.

And speaking of Andy, his first ride out with "us" for a good while was also a chance for him to wind down into winter mode. He's had a full year of competition in various forms, to say nothing of his Peru adventure in thin mountain air, and so used this outing as a cooler. Of course, I knew he'd take off after the hare in front when there was a bit of steep hill ahead, he just couldn't resist that a couple of times. Mostly though, he subdued the urge to lose the pack, and stayed at or near the back with me as he brought me up to speed with his competitive side, including some more info on the Trans Wales he did with Jason. Keep watching for pics of his rides coming shortly.

For the last few miles outward between Kirkhaugh and Alston stations we were forced off the track line (line, rails, track?) as this section is still used for the South Tynedale Steam Railway. This was a tricky little bit and a couple of us were caught out with our handlebars getting snagged on the wire fence. There was also the odd hidden rock on the 9 or 10inch wide strip of surviving bridleway causing several unplanned excursions into the bushes on the slimy black surface.

here's the Tyne behind Alston Station:

  And here's Julie (2nd from right) fixing her puncture (the only one of the day) by using better half Willie (far right) to fix her puncture(!) More happy faces:

Many river crossings later we rejoined the route we'd come out on for a very nice gently sloping downward blast  back to Haltwhistle. This was after ride leader Gavin had ensured that Dave "Fatboyreiver" Howcrofts' traditions were upheld by finding us some uphill walkies and sodden, tricky-to-ride turf, singletrack and bridleway to manoeuvre over.  The Lambley Viaduct again:

I wanna thank everyone for waiting for me atop the viaduct - it took me yonks to drag the Barracuda and the tired, mangled Gollybody up its near-vertical steps for the second time in four hours! And finally the bridge south of Haltwhistle Station:

We got back around 4.15ish with 45k/28 miles on Andy's computer. Nice ride.

Apart, that is, from the only downside. One of the Brethren wasn't wearing a cycle helmet. After very recent, very sad events, I'm not sure what that was supposed to signify, especially today with it's ramifications. This is potentially an extremely dangerous hobby, to overstate the obvious. Treat it like a Sport and it's even more dangerous. Most of us know that and do what we have to do to survive it.

Wisdom is hindsight - sometimes hindsight comes from looking out of your arse - the Gollum, 2006.