The New year got off to a very encouraging start with a fair turnout for this ride on Sunday 6th January 2008. Not all riders were at the ride start to watch the NMBC/MidAirCrisis Scrapheap Challenge Team in action doing battle with the cleats on Craig's MTB shoes. They won it after a hard 20 minutes and got away around 9:25 am, a trifle late, but it's the trifle season, init?

There were four vehicles trekking over to Swalwell just beyond the Metro Centre, to start the ride at the foot of the Derwent Walk. Waiting in the car park, as promised, were Speedy Ian A and new rider Mick H, from Sunderland. After the usual pre-ride chatter and bike re-configuration we set off, all 9 of us, up the trail past the effervescent River Derwent, doing it's nut with the recent rain and snow falls. Below - we take over the car park.

The 9 were - big breath now - Mick, Ian, Craig, Brian, John, Jason, Steve B, Terry H and the Gollum. First-timer Mick wasn't the only Queen's Park Ranger in the troupe today - John was the man we thought was lost forever, but has managed to find his way back after huge commitments at work over the last few months. It was great to see him again, and with Jason getting back to normal the old Team is coming together again. But it's greatly outnumbered by the New Squad as this ride amply demonstrated.

Just as we neared Rowlands Gill, a thought struck the Gollum's pea-like brain cell - "Have we missed somebody?" it mumbled. Well, yes. A swift text to Paul W confirmed Golly's worst fears - he'd sent Paul to the wrong meeting place with his useless web site instructions. They were later corrected when Keith spotted the error and e-mailed the Fool, but it was quite late on Saturday when he corrected it and hadn't been seen by poor Paul. Anyway, we held station at Rowly and it wasn't long before an out-of-breath Paul caught us up for his first ride in months following the birth of his daughter. That made Ten. While we were waiting for Paul, Golly noticed another lone rider studying the trail map, so he approached thinking it may be another expected new presence. As it happened, it wasn't (Andy, from Jesmond - where were you?) but it was Graham B and he'd just happened to come across our web site the previous night and thought he'd try to find us - success! That made Eleven.

The eleven continued up the DW in fits and starts until Speedy got his eye on the proper exit. This was missed completely by Gollum on the last ride up here but not by Ian. After a short break to re-group, he was off down the extremely slippery mudbath singletrack descent like a ferret up your trouser leg as the rest tried to keep him in view. Collecting again at the bottom where it spat us out at Lintzford Farm all but one got down unscathed. I could leave you to guess who came a cropper, but you'd need to do a bit of back-issue reading to get it, so I'll tell you - Craig! Yep, taking up where he left off before the bugs got him in December, he hit a squelchy bit full-on and decided discretion was the better part of valour, so he jumped off the borrowed Scott MC 50 and let it plough into the undergrowth by itself, a safe distance from his cherished, battered (in-joke) flesh.

Here's Brian, Ian, Terry, Jason, John, Craig, Mick, Paul, Graham and Steve as we arrived at the south west tip of Thrunton Woods off the A694. Crossing the road put us on the bridleway into our normal finishing spot, right at the low point of the Forest. The mud along here was pretty heavy aswell, so we had another short breather before making the next move. In fact, Golly made this one alone, as no-one seemed to notice him ride away up the fireroad to commence the climb to the car park. He got to the top of the first climb and looked around to see - no-one! It seemed like ages before the rest appeared, apparently not realising it was time to go. We descended to the foot of the Eagle trail (wooden sculpture, many of which are dotted around the woods) and from there pushed our bikes up it, apart from Terry and Mick who gave it a good go pedalling.

We'd all got down to the next fireroad junction safely (even Craig) and were ready to scoot up the next climb when the cry went up - "Whoaahh!". That obviously meant someone in trouble. Yep, you didn't need many guesses there, did you? Because Craig didn't have his own (Specialized - spit) and had borrowed this Scott thing, he didn't know how reliable it was. It wasn't. It had snapped it's chain as soon as he applied decent pressure. That meant a few more minutes getting it joined together again, then we were off up to the car park, hopefully to pick up another rider.

Sure enough, when we got up there about 11.30am, Steve W was waiting to join us for an hour or two. That made twelve!  Quite a start to the new year for NMBC in it's first full MTB season and we look forward to some more big group rides like this, where the incidents, and thus the laughs are usually multiplied.

We made our way to the farm at the top of the Woods at Broomfield Farm and set about unleashing Brian and Craig down the first section, our "Root Route". We all swarmed down after them, before collecting near the foot of the drop and letting Golly into the lead. That was a bit lucky as he was probably the most aware of the dangers of hurtling across quiet fireroads, and sure enough he had to bring the troupe to a halt for a team of horses to pass.

Time now to follow Jason's directions as we swept between the fireroads and back to the car park to the start of the Red/Black Trails. This first hundred metres is a bit strange as it serves no purpose other than to make you dizzy with it's series of tiny switchbacks. Then you're into the Downhill start once you've negotiated the seesaw and another little timber structure, if you can be bothered with them. After offering a little advice to newcomers on what lay ahead it was the Gollum again who spat the Decathlon off the start into the series of berms and jumps at the top of the run. Some day soon this will be a mass of evergreens as they've certainly sprung up over the last three years or so after this had been totally cleared of all forestry.

We paused again at the edge of the DH field before streaming into the singletrack, fairly wet and dodgy between the trees. The tree roots were evil but I think we all escaped without torment. If not, it was kept fairly quiet to keep it off this page! Out onto the lower fireroad again and it was rest time once more as each section of trail was sapping the old energy supplies. Maybe not the younger ones.

Again the Gollum was first away on the final bit of the Downhill, leaving instructions for the others to give him 30 seconds to get set up with the camera just into the rollers. And here's at least a fleeting glimpse of the tribe, one by one, some grinning, some grimacing, but all staying rubber-down, thank goodness. Right-click and Save Target As, then run it from your PC. 7MB .wmv (Windows Media Player) vid.

It was just after midday now and time for Speedian to depart for home. Guest rider Graham decided to keep him company so our numbers were reduced for the rest of the ride. Gollum gave Ian directions back to Swalwell that would have got him lost in Chopwell if he'd followed them. That's a fact confirmed by the route he took the whole group on at the finish, more later!

Time to climb, as we rode/pushed/crawled our way back up to the Forest Drive and made our way back to the car park around 12.30pm. Time then for Steve W and Paul W to take their leave, knocking us down to eight for the Finale(s). They commenced with a run down our XC Stages, after another trail intro from Gollum. We climbed up to the start past the Bomb Hole to the jeers of a gang of kids mocking us as we wheezed past. "Need some water, mister?", "Need some oxygen, mister?". Little termites.

It was Safety First again as first Golly then Jason led off down the singletrack with the rest zooming along in their wheeltracks. Once again the Gollum's warning about horses and dog walkers on the fireroads proved correct as he had to halt progress on Stage Two. Off we went again to complete the run down to the Eagle once more. It's quite exhilarating in the dry when you can crank it up a bit, and just as exciting in the clag as you just don't know when and where you're gonna part with your teeth.

It was now  around 12:45 pm and we decided to make this stop our late lunch break. The sun was blasting it's way through the leafless trees all around as once again this much larger Committee began planning/taking the p!ss out of any Competition plans for 2008. Oh heck, what's in store for NMBC?

Once the meal was cleared away it was time for business again as we hit the short drop and savage but equally short climb up to the bottom edge of the Woods again, to do the "Edge Trail" and the steep drop-off at it's end. This trail is getting narrower with every bike that uses it and we were lucky not to loose anyone down the steep right-side ravine. At the finish, only Jason and Golly were dumb enough to do the drop, for which I would never criticise anyone for avoiding as it looks vertical from any angle. Once you've conquered it though - fine! And these plastic bones, neoprene skin and nylon hair you can get now are almost as good as the originals.

As it was a bit too early to call it a day, we called it an afternoon and began the drag up again to give the Downhill track one more blast. Still no takers for first man down, so they sent a Gollum instead. And again we all survived it, as well as the lower section. From there we set off the way Golly had told Speedian to go home earlier, and guess what - Dead End! Not only that, but Jason and John recognised it straight away as we approached the vertical valley end ahead - he'd done it to them early in 2007! It needed Terry to suggest backtracking to a missed fireroad to get us back on track, which led to an interesting discussion between an elderly female walker, her poodle pooch and Craig, he of great wit and charming repartee. Just don't ask...

Having found the right way out, we continued down to the main road again at Lintzford Bridge and another sharp climb through a muddy, skinny ribbon of bridleway back to the Derwent Walk. Well, over the top of it actually, Gollum's fault again. Then 15 minutes later as we approached the Tennis Club, Gollum yet again got everyone to follow him to the wrong side of the river. Idiot. It was here that he noticed only seven riders, so he does have his uses. Brian hadn't appeared following our balancing act through the hordes of doggy people out on this beautiful day, so a few of us backtracked, but he did appear having slowed up because of a soft front tyre. He managed to nurse it back to the cars and that was it, game over for another day.

John's bike PC said 19.7 miles. For him, Paul W and a few others I bet it felt like 97. Good One, Cheers Gentlemen.

ps sorry I didn't get many pictures, too busy trying to keep up.

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