and not one grumble, not even a tut, or shake of the head from anyone!!! I must have chatted with over a dozen people and all of them were really friendly, a couple even had their photos taken with the bike …. Has someone been putting Prozac in the water supply or something?

but the bad news: 'F*ck the Fells' have been busy helicoptering a load more stone up there. So the decent from Lower Man may soon be totally unridable, and very unpleasant to walk on when you can no longer take the bike.

Ahh balls… Is Lower Man scheduled to be paved too ?

the last 2 things said/shouted at me by walkers in the lakes:

"go on love, don't stop now"

"that looks bloody great fun"

(at least I think they were at me – twilight, in a secluded carpark with quite a few people gathered round a car 😉 )

Edit – "F*** the fells" – splendid title

Haddock,

seriously the lower man getting the dollywagon treatment? oh FFS thats one of my all time fav descents… must get up there again soon to say goodbye… is there any consultation going on / get mtb viewpoints across??

paul

🙁

I was on the steep descent on Jacobs Ladder last Sunday and there are huge piles of square stone slabs….ready for something 🙁

hora

thats not cool either…love jacobs….

Agree. First time I came across the very top bit just passed the drain channels, I didnt mean or want to ride down it but had no choice as it was to late!!! Talk about adrenalin

How sanitized is Dollywaggon now? Has it been done so that its difficult to ride down or boring to ride down?

I'm really regretting introducing you to STW Ed – you're always posting about rides that I haven't been on these days.

Ah well, I had a better day than you, filming in a pharma company in london.

Sod

😉

Dollywaggon certainly isn't boring to ride down, steps are just too gnarly for me and once you start hitting the drainage channels which are wide and deep it becomes a walk which is tedious – Once you are past the staircase its more do-able, suggest there are much better ways down though.

mbr – from their articles I still can't work out what route(s)/way round to ride Helvellyn.

Sad, isn't it. 🙁

and not one grumble, not even a tut, or shake of the head from anyone!!!

Personally never had anyone complain about us riding up there, several people cheering us on the descents and laughing but never a complaint.

hora – Member

mbr – from their articles I still can't work out what route(s)/way round to ride Helvellyn.

We rode from Patterdale up the side of Ullswater, left up road to Dockray, then BW up Matterdale Common to Great Dodd. This is a longish but easy ascent. Then its all good, all the way to Helvellyn, we rode? down Dollywaggon Pike but was hard until reaching the tarn, with some walky bits until reaching the Hut at the top of Grisedale Valley. We will turn round at Dollywaggon next time and drop down sticks pass or Glenridding BW.

hora – Member

mbr – from their articles I still can't work out what route(s)/way round to ride Helvellyn.

Up Keppel Cove and down Sticks Pass is a nice loop.

Ta, sorry for the hijack 🙂

Folks, the stones were still on the summit ara of Helvelyn, between the trig point and Lower man, so maybe its for the footpath? – but then Lower man is loose and almost mountainlike, so i'm sure its on their list for sanitization – this really does get my back up, it smacks of the nanny state again – bloody do gooders! There's better ways to control errosion than paving everything!

As did Hora, we saw many a bag on Jacobs ladder the other week 😥