The Lakes and Peak district September the 26 th – 29 th Friday Half past four we find ourselves outside of Dave's house putting the bikes on the back of his car, surely we must be mad, but at least it's not raining! We're in good spirits, the journey was good, and even the extortionate breakfast in the motorway services didn't dampen our excitement as we drew into the car park at Grisedale forest visitor centre. After a walk up to the visitor Centre, a cup of tea and a look in the bike shop, we set off on the North Face Trail. We've heard mixed reports of this trail so it's good to find out for ourselves what it's like. It's a bit surprising that the actual initial climb is nothing like what we thought it would be like, and is quite a nice steady climb on single track to get your legs and mind working to what could be ahead. Once at the top, we take a diversion to extend the ride that takes you over towards Coniston water, not sure if this was a mistake as it was a bit boggy and wet feet were unavoidable, however, as the weather was good, the views and the run down back onto the way marked trail were pretty good it seemed worth it. After another short Firebreak ride we head off on another diversion, this time down through a very rutted root riddled bridleway, good stuff that keeps you on your toes, and then once out of the woods it's a fast track decent to the road, the payback however is a sharp climb back up to the trail which is a push/carry job. Back onto the marked trail, most of which is kept at the same gradient so no climbs, it's not the most exciting and apart from the occasional boardwalk sections is a case of pedal as hard as you can to keep the momentum going. The final decent, which is not as long as some other trails we have been on is quick, and technical enough to keep most riders entertained, there are no nasty surprises and you can pedal pretty much as hard as you can without any issues. Overall, on a warm sunny day, it's a no hassle ride, and a good introduction to the Lake district, realistically you can't go wrong. Saturday: It's been noted that a Curry with copious amounts of Alcohol is not the best evening meal to consume before a MBR magazine killer loop! However, With a good night's rest, a perfect English breakfast (debatable killer loop food again), we were up for the challenge! The High street is not where you'll find McDonalds, Woolworths or WHSmith, but an old Roman Road that runs down the North East side of the Lake District, and to get up there we had a climb of about 600 metres in a distance of two and a half kilometres, this was at the start of the ride so we didn't mind shoving our bikes over our shoulders and starting the long yomp up the Hill. Although there was a bit of mist and low cloud, by the time we reached the summit this was starting to dissipate so things were just getting better and better. The portion of the High Street that we did is best described as rolling, it would be a steady climb up then a few hundred metres of downhill the other side, it had been dry so the ground was firm, there were some nice testing downhill's with ruts and drop-offs so it was exciting enough, but this was going to change after reaching Loadpot Hill, this was going to be the best descent of the day, about 3km of point and shoot downhill with little rutted sections and the odd little jump and drop off to raise the game, lots of smiles and a few shaking legs from the effort of having to stand and throw the bike around all the way down, great fun. According to MBR the bridleway that winds its way down the side of Ullswater is one of the most technical in the UK, and it's reasonably long at what must be 5km, it's what I would call a Marmite trail, you're either going to love it or hate it! There is no real elevation gain or loss, but what you do get is rocks, lots of them, short steep rocky descents followed by very short technical climbs and rock beds to hammer over and around, this will test every bit of your skill, fitness and confidence, but at the end, if you've got it spot on, you're going to want to do it again. Ambling down towards Patterdale and what seems to be the end of the ride, if you follow the actual route in MBR, you get to a point where you have to swing left through a gate. This is where you are faced with a decision, are you going to climb the formidable path that a goat would have trouble traversing, never mind men with mountain bikes on their backs, or take the road back to the car park.. 3 of us decided that up was the only way, and we have to admit that it's the most physically demanding part of the route. The payback is the steepest track back down we've ever ridden, but slopes out towards the end to give you a fast descent back to ground level. Sunday: The plan for Sunday was for another killer loop, the infamous Helvellyn. But after all the carrying and climbing we did the day before, we were offered an alternative to drive down to Macclesfield and Meet up with Matt, another MTB addict and crack a Macc forest/Peak District ride. Optimistically, this was the best choice, especially as the route was a known one so no map reading was necessary. This was totally different riding to what we had experienced in the Lakes, and actually a lot scarier, most of the uphill sections were done on road, but there were four downhill's that definitely got the adrenaline flowing, two were of a loose rock formation, you had to make sure that your front wheel didn't drift out or you would be off. One was a full on blast down a grassy track that kept you on your toes and the other being a very technical descent down a steep ravine that tested your skill and nerve to the limit. And what better way to finish the ride with a pub lunch in the sun and a proper pint on Bitter. Photos here And yes, we will be going back!
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