Colonel Keith has been at it again! Threatening poor, innocent enquirers to our web sites. Tonight it forced another three newcomers to introduce themselves at the Cave for their first unfortunate meeting with the NMBC regulars tonight, Thursday 1st May 2008.

We now have another Steve, another Chris and our first Giles, and none of them on a Specialized! In fact the Speedian was the only Spez rider out tonight, which surely is a first. Other regulars were Arthur and Keith. Surprise was the reappearance of Tim with his Mongoose fettled after seizing everything that moved some weeks ago and Mick H, another unexpected but very welcome guest. Mick takes the 2008 prize as Most Travelled Regular as he lives in Sunderland and if he ain't working or tied up (young wife) he's out with us - dedication or good old RAF self-discipline?

Once more we had targets to meet, and Mick created the first problem when his front brake wouldn't free off. That set us a deadline to reach Annitsford before Les got sick of waiting for us. Following our normal Holystone Farm route north, we made it only 3 minutes late, with Les waiting patiently where he said he would. From there, Gollum led the charge (well, parade) up to Dudley and into Weetslade Country Park via the first bridleway.

We ascended the Hill to let the new lads see what we get up to regularly. Following the demise of the GollyCam  at Slaley Forest last Sunday, Keith was also installed as Team Photographer, so what you see here is good old iPhone stuff, it's first test in the dark.

Giles, Les, Tim, Chris, Golly, Ian and Mick atop the Hill. A few missing!

From there, Ian led down the hill through the rabbit warren and onto the Waggonway again as we moved swiftly up to Wideopen. He took us on his Wiggly Way through the trees and we emerged at the far side slightly strung out but all safe. There was a short investigation of why the Gollum's front wheel was falling off, and after a good shake by Keith it was confirmed that 1) the headset was slack , 2) the cones were loose, 3) the spokes were slack and 4) the skewer was falling out! We fixed 2 out of 4 and continued through the fields and back down to Brunswick, then into Brunton woods where things got a wee bit muddy. There was more of the same as we headed over to Havana where the Speedian took us for a real treat - underwater cycling, which he's become quite adept at lately! This is a stretch of the River Blyth he recently rode through, waist-high. I kid you not, but in his defence he is an experienced ex-snorkeler and pearl diver!

After a great laugh, some very tricky submerged riding and more than a few groans from behind, we cleared the trees and floods to emerge back on the road at Hazlerigg. I'm sure I've missed a bit here, as we definitely came  under the A1 into the Great Park before touring down to the Grand Finale at Gosforth Park.

It was about 9:45 pm as we completed the first extremely squirrely stage under the trees, with Gollum having his head ripped off by a low one that caught his helmet lamp battery - fool. Here it was that Chris took his leave, and we'd already lost Steve as he had to quit early for work, but it was good to meet them both and we hope to see them again. At this point I also lost track of Les, and haven't heard from him yet, so I hope he's not still lying wounded somewhere. We'll have to tighten our protective procedures a little, but when Ian's storming away out from it's like being a greyhound with a hare to chase. Helps me forget the other pressures in life, but unfortunately I sometimes forget the followers aswell, sorry! Here's the crowd admiring Keith's new Whyte XT 120.

The final blast after we hit the Sandy Lane Hole-in-the-Wall should have been a rapid blast, but not tonight, unless you wanted to drink from your own front tyre. It was absolutely drowned, and took the edge off the finish somewhat. Even so, this route is a perfect test of your root-handling skill if you have any, and the ideal place to gain some.

Next to depart was Giles at West Moor, headed back to the Central Station (I know not why) while the remnants got back to Gollums at almost spot on 10:00pm, a much better result than last Thursday's 11:)) fiasco! Roll on next Thursday, and maybe some dry ground. And "welcome to the clan" to the latest new thrill seekers amongst us.

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