Biking Networking: Dales Bike Centre write-up

Disclaimer

Cycling is a dangerous activity which can result in serious injury or death. All cyclists are responsible for their own safety and must decide for themselves if they are a competent cyclist for the event they attend, cyclists must assess the level of risk for themselves before and during any event, and must not put other people at risk. No assessment of a cyclist's competence is made by the ride leader. Individuals must be able to assess obstacles and decide whether they have the skill to safely ride them. If an individual isn't sure whether they have sufficient skill to ride any section of the ride then they should walk it to avoid injury. All cyclists must wear a helmet and take responsibility for disclosing any relevant medical conditions, allergies and emergency contact details to the ride leader before each event.

Monday, 18 October 2010

Dales Bike Centre write-up

We had another fantastic trip to the Dales Bike Centre, with glorious autumnal sunshine. On the Saturday we took the road through Reeth and up over the hill before descending through the ford in the road, made famous by the title sequence to James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small. From here we rose over the hill and turned along the riverside past the smelting works ruins, before riding over Great Pinseat. WE then looped back along a gradual easy descent back the road. Baz spent 20 minutes fixing a puncture and repeatedly re-puncturing his inner tube with a tyre lever. In the meantime Jo-Anne, Lyn and Marie-Claude performed a surreal dance routine on a road in the middle of nowhere. Reality returned, and we splashed back across the ford and followed the rutted descent back into Healaugh, where we congregated with the smell of burning disc brakes after descending the steep village road, Baz taking an overshot line around the wrong side of a Grit bin.

On the Sunday, we were greeted by a crisp frost and low sunshine. We set off on the route we had attempted last year, the day the Dales flooded. The road ascent last year was under a constant stream of an inch of water; this year we had the sun on our backs. We progressed to the stream crossing where we turned back last year. Last year the stream was a raging torrent 4 metres across, 1 metre deep and rising. This year, we barely noticed it, as we rose up the hill to panoramic views of the Dales. The descents were long and gradual landrover tracks with open views sweeping across the dales. We then descended a couple of steep grassy sections past ruined limestone barns, carrying the bikes over a short collapsed section of track, and then picking up the flat grassy riverside bridleway back to Fremington. James, on his bright orange "Orange" was happily cycling along the flat innocuous grassy track home. He then tried to wheelie a rabbit hole...his back wheel sank into it, and his front wheel stopped dead in another burrow catapulting him over the bars! The only "off" of the day!
Back at the dales bike centre, we cleaned up, had coffee and cake, and headed home - not a flood warning in sight.

Venue: www.dalesbikecentre.co.uk
Sponsor: John Kitchng, French Law Consultancy www.frenchlawconsultancy.co.uk