Sunday 25 April 2010

Danby - Glaisdale Rigg - Fryup

No Tony this week so the route planning was down to me. I adopted a bit of a "join the dots" approach, choosing as many steep off-road downhills as I could reasonably fit in and joining them together with (by and large) on-road climbs. It's an approach that sounds OK in theory, but is not guaranteed to provide a satisfying ride in terms of variability (and suitability) of terrain and scenery. In practice I struck lucky and ended up with a ride that had a bit of everything - some lung busting climbs (one of them an excellent off-roader), two of the finest off-road descents in the area, a previously unridden bridleway and copious amounts of mud.

Four of us set off from Danby Moors Centre car park, heading up into the village where we turned left. Down the road, under the railway bridge, sweeping round to the right before eventually forking left at Ainthorpe. Up the road past the tennis courts, we eventually turn off right onto the bridleway that goes up onto Ainthorpe Rigg.


We'd no sooner gone through the gate that leads onto the moor proper than we had to stop. I thought I'd seen enough of mechanical breakdowns with last Thursday's debacle in Guisborough woods, but no, they were to strike us again. Sam's rear dérailleur cable had snapped, frayed away where it clamps to the mech. Fortunately we were able to free up enough slack to re-clamp the cable, leaving Sam with only the four lowest gears to choose from, but given the amount of climbing I'd planned into this route that was three more gears than he'd need.

Off we went again, up the climb to the top of Ainthorpe Rigg, one of the nicest off-road climbs around. It's pretty steady, not so steep as to be unrideable, just enough to be "challenging" and with a variety of step-ups, gullies, ruts and rocks to make it very interesting.


Once at the top it was the first of our good descents, the drop down Crossley Side, one of our favourites that seems to find itself in most of the rides we do from Danby. No photos this time as it's been photod to death, so for once for me it was just the full-on enjoyment of taking the descent in one go.

From the bottom of the descent it's back onto the road, turning right to climb up New Way, the first of our lung-busting road climbs gaining us over 400 feet in just under a mile. At the top of the climb, just as the road bears sharp right, we turn off left for our second big descent. This one drops down a fairly steep but grassy section of hillside to a gate before continuing on, hugging the edge of the hill at first before cutting down it towards another gate.


Through this and then we skirt around the side of the aptly named Round Hill, dropping down it's flank to cross a field and eventually end up by a gate back out onto the road, our 400 feet lost again in nine brisk minutes.


We mistakenly go left at the road, but soon realise our mistake and back track, following the road (to the right from the field gate) to Fryup Hall Farm where we bear left and then right, up Street Lane towards the hamlet of Street and our second big road climb of the day. From bottom to top, by the time we reach Glaisdale Rigg, we've gained 600 feet in just over a mile, and felt every single foot of it. It feels, and looks, like the top of the world.


Turning right at the summit of the climb we go a few hundred yards down the road before taking a bridleway on the left where Glaisdale Rigg joins the road. Here we shoot off to the left along a singletrack amongst the heather. This track becomes so indiscernible that we soon find ourselves off track and have to cut across the moor to get back onto it. What could have been a nice bit of singletrack is spoiled for the moment by having recently been burned, an essential part of moors management. It improve steadily as height is lost before coming to a gate in a wall. Beyond that there is just a dead-straight track down a field, though a couple of gates to the road at the bottom. 500 feet lost once more, not in the most exciting of fashions but hey, they can't all be Top Descents candidates.

You know what they say in mountain biking - what comes down must go up - so we're faced with another climb, up Caper Hill. Surely it can't be as bad as the one at Street? Wrong - if anything it feels worse, a fact that is confirmed at the top by the 25% sign - the climb at Street was only graded 20%. Allied to that is the fact that we've already done enough climbing to last a whole month of rides and our legs are starting to complain! By the time we hit the top we've gained another 600 feet and that must surely be it for the day?


A brief respite at the top as we chat to a guy on a tourer and get our map out to help him with directions before turning right and heading off along the road as far as its junction with the Cut Road Path. Here we turn left but instead of taking that very obvious path we head off at 90 degrees to it in amongst the heather. Two walkers ask us "oh, so that's bridleway is it?" and I'm suspicious of why they're asking. It is bridleway and perfectly legal for bikes, so I give them a curt "yes" as we continue on our way.

Part way along this track we see a rare sight - Tim & bike part company and end up in a heap amongst the heather.


The narrow heathery singletrack ends at a gate through a wall. Beyond this is one of the area's top descents. It starts off in a narrow, rocky gully that is almost always damp to the extent it's almost a stream. This has a few tasty drops, a couple of narrow pedal-catcher sections and a right old boggy bit before it hits a very dry section and turns sharp left. At this point is a triple rock-step. Tim had three goes at it before cleaning it; I had three goes at it before walking it! The body wants to do it, the mind says "no way". Beyond that the trail stays bone dry but steep, grassy and slippery, takes a sharp right down a pretty technical stretch and eventually levels out a bit into a final blast down to a gate.


Beyond this gate the descent continues - in a stream! This section of trail is almost always wet, literally running with water, and I'm regretting leaving my crud catchers behind as the spray streaks up and muddies my face & glasses.

We turn right at the road then first left, past Wood End and Raven Hill farms and back to Fryup Hall up a moderately steep climb (180 feet) that after our previous exertions can only be described as an "undulation" - something this small doesn't pass as a hill with us boys!

Back along roads we've already ridden today we go left at Fryup Hall Farm and back to Stonebeck Gate Farm. Here we turn right onto a bridleway of unknown providence - none of us has ever ridden it before. It proves to be quite a mixed bag - wide, easy farm track at first, a succession of gates sees it gradually deteriorate (or to us, improve) into a more rough and ready cross-country trail. Grassy in parts, it twists its way across the base of the hillside below Danby Crag before entering a wood. This wood has a surprise waiting for us - a quagmire of mud over a foot deep. Thankfully there are stepping stones right across it - if we can ride them. With me at point and Sam (too) close behind, we set off. I'm doing well until near the end when the stepping stones all but vanish beneath the mud and I lose sight of them. The front wheel comes off the stones and embeds itself up to its centre, forcing me to leap from the bike. Sam has no option than to stop/swerve, so it's wet, muddy feet for him too.


We drag our bikes out of the mud, taking the long, unrideable, but dry and clean route around the last of the mud, and head out of the woods on the remainder of this very varied and quite interesting trail.


Eventually the trail emerges by Head House Farm, at roughly the same point where our usual route along the top of Danby Crag emerges. We take the concrete farm track down to the road and then follow the road back to The Moors Centre via the shortest, quickest, driest and most hill-free route. We've had enough climbs and enough mud for today and the scones are beckoning. If there are any left!

Well,  back at the tea room there was only one scone left, which Tim snaffled. I had my usual beans on toast, which the waitress informed me she calls "skinheads on a raft"! The staff did their usual job of getting the food out in double quick time (tea was already on the table before I got sat down!) and we nattered about (of all things) wood turning, lathes and general machining as we basked in the warmth of the afternoon sun. It had been a great day's riding.

Danby - Glaisdale Rigg - Fryup
16 miles, 2800' of ascent in 3 hours 40, 1 hour 15 of which was spent fixing bikes, chatting, eating, admiring the views and taking photos.

Sunday 18 April 2010

Castle Bolton - Carperby - Redmire

Our luck with the weather was back to normal this week as Sunday was a bit cold and grey compared to the previous few days. At least it didn't look like it was going to rain and the preceding dry spell meant there was unlikely to be much mud.

Four of us set off from Castle Bolton car park, amongst us Dave who had somehow forgotten his helmet and was going to have to take things very easy, especially on the descents. "Fortunately there aren't any tricky descents" we were told, not something I really like to hear.

Leaving the car park we set off due west along the very obvious track. This passes through several gates and splashes across no less than three small fords (which were in fact almost totally dry) before passing though one final gate and becoming a more grassy track that heads off across the moor.


We go straight on at Low Gate and take a sharp left before we get to New Pasture. This takes us down a fairly steep grassy hillside that shows up very well on the elevation profile graph of my flashy new Garmin Edge 500. In fact it shows that up ahead is what looks like a vertical drop!


After 200 yards of pretty steep hillside we arrive at the edge of Ponderledge Scar and what would be - if you went straight on - a vertical drop! Amazing stuff this technology. You have to hook right and come back across diagonally to get down it, but what followed was still full-on steep, though being entirely on grass it wasn't too dangerous or tricky - unless you have no helmet!


A few hundred yards on from the base of Ponderledge Scar we made our first mistake of the day. We should have hung left to stay with the bridleway but stayed straight ahead instead on what was a pretty obvious track. This took us to the wrong side of West End Farm whereupon we were accosted by the farmer who asked us "had we not seen the signs" (we hadn't). In the end he was OK, probably because we're such reasonable people - if we'd have been bolshy we'd have no doubt gotten his goat up (farmer - goat... I should be on the stage). So we cut 100 yards or so left across his farmyard to get back on track - if you're following this route, don't make the same mistake, and if you do, don't get bolshy!

So out of the farm and onto the road at Carperby, just in time to see the Heritage Bus passing through.


A right onto the road followed by a couple of left turns have us on Low Lane which eventually we leave for a track that cuts under the old dismantled railway. There's what is quite obviously an old railway bridge taking the track bed over us a little way down the trail.


The section of track from here on is pretty good, once you get through a few more gates. It becomes quite narrow and "singletrack-y", though it's penned in between a wall and a fence and has a load of twists in it around which may lurk horses or walkers, so we can't open the throttle too much.

Half way along we make a slight detour of exploration, taking a look at a bridleway that leads down to the river (Ure) to a crossing via stepping stones. One of those "something for another day" options that we suss out from time to time. It's not very promising as the bridleway actually doubles as a stream, with plenty of inopportune rocks and low branches thrown in for good measure. We abandon the exploration and get back on track.

Bridleway or stream?

Our nice narrow green lane eventually ends at Low Thoresby and we continue on through Low Bolton and on to Redmire. We turn left up through the village and keep to the main road up and right to begin climbing the lung-busting hill up to the top of Preston Scar. This gains us 500 feet in just over a mile and we're happy to rest in the huge Tank Turning Area at the top for Go Bars and Brazilian Mix.


A slight downhill then, as we continue along the road, but it's short-lived as we turn off to the left onto the track up to Cranehow Bottom and beyond. This is a long, long drag uphill, but thankfully not too steep and not too loose.


At Cranehow Bottom we (I say "we", but I mean "Tony") make our second mistake of the day. "We" decide to try out the track that goes over to The Height Of Brownseat. It's one of those tracks that he's never done before and always wanted to. Well, after a mile or so of heather-bashing with no visible track in sight it ends up in the corner of a moor between two walls. Beyond each wall is yet more heather and still no sign of a discernible track.

Heather bashing.

There are, however, some quite queer animal traps perched at intervals along the wall. Smallish arched cages with an entrance at one end and a spring trap - like a mousetrap but bigger and stronger - in the middle. I set one off with a twig to see what it was like and it disintegrated the twig. Really evil.

We tracked along the wall for a while until it came close to the road, lobbed our bikes and ourselves over it and got ourselves back on track. For Tony & Dave that meant a left on the road then right at the next track along to Dent's House. For me and Sam it was the longer trip, right on the road, down to Ridley Hush then turn left onto the track up to The Heights Of Greets. Second time I've done this climb in 3 weeks and it doesn't get any easier. Drier than last time but still by no means dry, it's an energy-sapping drag up the moss, grass and water covered hillside.


Thankfully it's all downhill after this (well, almost). A full speed pelt down to Dent's House, down that weird track I described last time that seems to somehow defeat your suspension and give you loads of kickback. By the time we got to the end of it I had vibration white finger and cramp in my thighs.

A slight climb now to the top of Black Hill and then it's full speed ahead. Plumetting down the grassy track from the summit for what must be one of the fastest off-road descents around, a few muddy bomb-holes and a large group of walkers being the only cause of consternation as we descended all the way back to Castle Bolton.

We didn't much fancy the tea room at Castle Bolton so it was off to Leyburn and The Posthorn for afters. Friendly service as always, scrambled eggs on toast, chunky scones fresh from the oven and a huge pot of tea. Lovely.

Castle Bolton - Carperby - Redmire
16.7 miles, 2100' of ascent in 3hrs 22mins, of which roughly 1 hour was spent stood still, either eating, being chastised by farmers or trying to find a way out of dead-end tracks.

Sunday 4 April 2010

Marske: Assault On Fremington Edge

How would the weather treat us today? The forecast had been all over the place for the three days leading up to this ride, promising anything from sunshine to a little bit of drizzle and the day as we set off was looking "changeable".

Five of us set off from the small car park in Marske, heading west along the road before turning off left about a mile into it onto the bridleway to Hollins Farm. We had a bit of puzzling when we got to the farmyard, trying to figure out if we go in front of or round the buildings. Asking the farmer reveals that we go round them, but that the way ahead is "pretty shitty". At this point we don't realise just how literally or severely he meant that statement!

So round the farm buildings we go, through a gate to come out into a field that is basically just liquid cow slurry. It's up past our ankles, green, smelly and too deep and slippery to ride - and the last thing you'd want to risk is falling off in it. To make matters worse there's a whole herd of cows with very small calves blocking our path. We skirt around them, taking to the deeply ploughed and rutted field, treading nervously as the cows start bellowing defensively.


Eventually we're past them, it's taken us 12 minutes to negotiate 100m of field and we all need to stop at the first available puddle to wash what we can of the green slime from our feet and bikes.

Horrid green slime!
After a few more gates we progress a little faster now, with the short and speedy descent down to the road, remembering to keep our mouths firmly shut as green debris flies up off our tyres. Right at the road then sharp right just a few yards on, onto a bridleway that skirts the river Swale. It's a picturesque spot and I'm eyeing up the river for an opportunity to dip the whole bike in and give it a good clean. No suitable spot emerges though.

At Low Oxque we start another long, slow climb/push up a muddy, rutted farm track that gives little grip and pass through yet more gates. Already this ride is being dubbed "the ride of a thousand gates" and with all the mud, slurry, gates and pushing, so far it isn't high on our list of favourite rides!


Once at the top of the hill there's an interesting traverse along the side of it. Clinging to a path just a few inches wide we follow the edge of the hill before gradually working our way down to the track below. It was a tricky little section and quite fun, but despite having two GPS units and at least one person who's ridden it before, we've taken the wrong track and gone a bit "illegal". We should have stayed higher up, nearer the wall where the track is more obvious and easier.

We were all off-track, none more so than Stewart!
Once down at the base of the hill we followed the track past Nun Cote Nook to emerge at the road, where we had a brief stop for some carbo loading. Only five miles in and already we were snacking.


So off we head to Marrick, looking forward now to the delights of the climb up to Fremington Edge. At Marrick we miss a turning just before Helmsley House and have to back track, eventually taking the correct route, a narrow, rutted and slippery track between two stone walls. The proximity of the walls means it's not somewhere you really want to lose it!


Bearing right at the end of this track we follow the byway past Marrick Abbey, staying parallel to the river until we reach the road at Ewelop Hill.There's a lot of walkers about, many of them carrying painted Easter eggs, perhaps there was some event on at the abbey.


Just before the road junction at Low Fremington we turn right, up a steep path to rejoin the road a few yards up. We follow this road now for as far as it goes. The tarmac eventually begins to break up before vanishing completely to leave a track of loose stone. Welcome to the hell that is The Climb Up Fremington Edge.


If you're fit enough, it's all rideable (though none of us managed it this time, "photo stops" got the better of me. I'm determined to try again later in the year). The tarmac section is "easy", the looser sections more troublesome, easier if you can stay clear of loose stuff by sticking to the edges of the track. The very loose and rocky bit at the top is the biggest challenge and having ridden/pushed so far it seemed a shame not to be going down it! So I did, taking on the most interesting 300m section and then having to come back up again.

It was a fine effort by Sam.
It's quite a nice feeling to be riding past people who are having trouble just walking it! This climb goes straight in at No. 1 in my "Most Challenging Climbs" list. At the top we stopped for more food, including Easter eggs courtesy of Tony, and some interesting chat with some walkers who were up on holiday from Southampton.

A well earned rest at the top!

Setting off once more we crossed Marrick Moor towards Hurst. Half way across we met a renegade group of Muddybums, a couple who haven't been out with us for a while and one who's usually a regular (a further one had had to abandon due to bike failure). Apparently the thought of the climb up Fremington edge had led to this mutiny, they much preferred the thought of going down it!

Renegades to the left, regulars to the right.
The area around Hurst is one of my favourites with its mining spoil and picturesque disused chimneys. It also provides us with a much needed high-speed descent - there's been far too much uphill lately!


On reaching the road we turn right and keep with it through Washfold, going down and over the very picturesque Goat's Bridge.


Up the other side of the valley and we're eventually at a crossroads and a decision point. The original route was going to go right here, down to Helwith, along to Telfit Farm and crossing Marske Beck at Orgate Bridge. I'd spotted a track that crossed some altogether steeper contour lines though, and was prepared to form my own mutinous breakaway group, but in the end it was decided we'd all go that way. So off we went, staying with the road we'd come along as it bears left, dropping down and over the beck at the head of the valley where it hairpins right and continuing on through the MOD "Danger Area". Eventually, after the woods and farm buildings on the right, we turned off onto a bridleway that appears to have been landmined!

Let's hope our navigation skills are up to it!
The track begins as a dead straight farm track then turns 45 degrees left after passing through the first wall and becomes quite indistinct singletrack, though there's enough on the ground to work out where your supposed to be going. Just as well, considering the warning signs we saw earlier!


After passing through the gate at the far end of this track it becomes a bit more indistinct, but thankfully by now we're out of the Danger Area, and just as well as we weave aimlessly across the moor before spotting the gate in the far corner and making a beeline for that. Well, we're at the top of those steep contour lines now, so what lies ahead is a feast of fun, but not before we take in the magnificent views across the valley.


Off we go, speeding down the undulating grassy track as it hugs the hillside down towards the valley bottom. A little too much speed almost sees me parking in one of the disused out-buildings near Orgate Farm, but skilful bike handling has me back on track and whooping it up! A few lumpy sections give us the chance to catch some air, but at this speed the fun doesn't last long and in under 3 minutes we're back on level ground.


On past Orgate Farm and into Clint's Wood for one last chance to get the bike nice and muddy. We emerge onto the road in Marske, looping round to the right on this to end up back at our cars.

After the inauspicious start, where we bust our lungs on a steep road climb simply for the honour of immersing ourselves in cow dung, it's been a great ride. When the sun shines on this corner of the world, it's hard to beat. Most of the climbs have been tough, Fremington Edge very tough, and the downhills have been short and undemanding, but it's been fun and surprisingly none of us are reporting undue aches or strains. Being out 6 weekends in a row is obviously starting to pay off.

For afters we try the tearoom in Marske that we just spotted as we rode by, The Lodge Tearoom. Set in a large conservatory attached to an even larger house, and with a large garden too, it's a very welcoming place. No scones for the scone lovers amongst us (i.e. all of us) but the Yorkshire Rarebit was the best I'd ever had and the bacon buns, chocolate cake and custard pie seemed to go down well with the others.


Marske - Marrick - Fremington Edge - Hurst
18 miles, 2700' of ascent in 4 1/2 hours, with quite a few lengthy stops!
(I seriously think I'd avoid Hollins Farm in anything but the most prolonged of dry spells and head south on the road out of Marske and pick up our route beside the river at Sour Nook)