back to Travels page

Today we blooded (bad choice of words Terry, VERY bad!) another team member in the shape of Gary, who just happens to be another relative of the Howdon Branch membership, and also happens to carry a warrant card. He was mounted on Jason's Scott MC50 with Jason riding the Coiler for our intended Jumpy Session. This was in aid of a christening event for Andy's new-born Kona Stinky. Oooh, lovely! Army khaki and all shiny. Bummer, just realised I didn't get a ride on it. Anyway, when we left there'd just been a monsoon at Golly's place but it eased for loading the bikes onto the car. We got to Hamsterley to see the main group just vanishing, being led by the local club Hamsterley Trailblazers who had laid on this celebration ride to mark the opening of their new Skills Loop. Not to worry, we managed to get back with them after a while by cheating (actually, we were going the wrong way and bumped into them head-on! Then we were off on a guided tour exploring some bits of their Black Route - quite interesting in the fairly wet-under-wheel conditions. We stayed with the group for a couple of miles, during which Jason, Andy and Terry got a good soaking attempting two river crossings with less than 100% success! Great fun all the same. Then one of the Trailblazers, recognising our plight ("You lads in the purple shirts...") suggested that we might like to skip the open moorland drag part of the ride due to our somewhat heavier equipment! Boy, am I glad he thought of that. Wonder what made him suggest it - could it be seeing all of us walking when everyone else was riding? Anyway, we split and headed (slowly) towards the Downhill course. I have to say that up to this point there were a few "surprises":

• Jason "felt better" than the last few weeks but still walked uphill plenty
• Gary, first time out, simply ploughed up the fireroad climbs
• Andy discovered why some of us have trouble riding heavyweights uphill

When we got to the Club Hut half way down the Downhill, Terry went in to query if we could take a look at the new 4-Cross track, completed very recently but another feature for club members only (or pay-as-you-go). The gentleman running the hut (sorry, didn't get his name) was extremely helpful, and when we explained that we'd been severed by the peloton he presented us with four complimentary day tags for the bikes and told us we were welcome to try it out. Great. Here's Jason & Terry on it 16MB

Gary Cops It.

Well, great for three of us, not so great for new member Gary. Or more precisely, it proved fatal for Gary's bananas - Audio. Believe me, this banana was hurt. We had to bury it's mate, though, so bad was the damage to it. And come to think of it, Gary didn't fare too well either, being spat straight over the bars by the Scott's vicious front disc brake. AND the Scott landed on top of him to rub salt into the wound. Here's a shortish 7MB vid    and the 24MB full version. And here's Jason Andy and CameraGolly on the 4-X 19MB and Terry chases Jason 11MB.

So our long armed sidekick really came a c(r)opper but, although he was gradually seizing up as the day wore on, he'd done very well up to the time of the calamity. And to be honest, some of the sharp, blind climbs and sheer drops on the 4-X must have looked suicidal to someone out for the first time. Baptism of Fire, it was. Gary sat out the next 20 minutes as the others tried out the 4-X again and then went to the top of the hill to sample the first section of the infamous Downhill. That was tricky aswell in the wet conditions but nothing too extreme. The extreme part is down below the Club Hut but rather than leave Gary sat there supping tea and coagulating, we took pity on him and continued to more rideable terrain.

We asked at the hut where the new skills loop was and the directions were spot on, and luckily flat or down most of the way on fireroads. At the start there was a dirty great barbecue under an umbrella and quite a few bodies milling about. We looked at the terrain for a moment then jumped onto the trail to sound it out.  Pretty good must be our conclusion. It had most of what you'd want to learn the ropes. If we'd had more time and not been carrying any injuries it would have been ideal for Andy to practice Stinky Tossing on. We did one loop, then stopped at the gathering for a rest. Here we were approached by a strange man who handed us vouchers for Hotdogs, Burgers and Drinks! That's a bit unusual for a rideout. Andy gets seconds! We were very grateful for the hotdogs and the rest, after which we did another loop, then set off in search of the little Black section we'd ridden past earlier. We found it after about ten minutes and set about giving Gary another mauling in the trees. By this point, however, he'd had more than enough, and could hardly walk with his back stiffening badly. So we went directly down to the Forest Drive and returned to the car at about 3.15pm. If not for Gary's crash this would have been a smashing ride. At least he now knows how good hydraulic disc brakes on mountain bikes are, but it was a hard lesson.

Equipment Update

Have you Killed A BIKE THIEF TODAY?

 Keep watching and if you fancy a ride out with us, drop us a line here: bailout@midaircrisis.org.uk