I did this event today for the first time, 55 miles of bridleways, singletrack, footpaths, swamps, mudpits and backroads around a huge area of North Staffordshire today and I think this photo about sums it up:

Or maybe this one would be more accurate…

There were homemade cake stops en route and a good mix of CX bikes vs MTBs (fortunately the MTBs unofficially took it in the end just about!)

Anyway, I thought i’d give a shout out on here for a great local event, with a good route and mix of terrain, amazing signage (I think I heard them mention that they put out 300(!) arrows yesterday) and great organisation/support/cake stops. I think it’s the type of event a lot of people on here would really like, it just needs a bit more publicity for next year.

Here is the route for anyone interested: http://www.strava.com/activities/90253942

And here is the club page to keep an eye out for next years ride:
http://www.stokemtbclub.moonfruit.com/

More importantly why are wearing 3/4s 😉 its not even below 10 degrees..

Did it few years ago, was that field full of shite again!

The field of shit was still there, although it was much better than previous years as the warm weather has obviously made the new grass grow a lot quicker. Slow going though. I was actually wishing I had a cyclocross bike half way ground. I’ve lived in Staffordshire all my life but this event is still a great way to see parts I’ve never seen before. I have a feeling this years number of participants may nail the coffin shut on the future of this event. Shame. If it wasn’t for small bike clubs organising events we’d have a very monotonous event calendar.

I like to ride a bit warm, reminds me of summer! Round here it’s often best to stay covered up all year to help fend off the relentless brambles, bracken and nettles.

There was a section of slow muddy fields containing cows but they weren’t especially shitty luckily.

I rode it on a full susser (mostly locked out though) and was happy with that choice. The only time I wished for a cx bike was on a muddy back lane where my wheels kept jamming up with mud. We even passed the lead two cx bikes on the final (mostly road) section after they sneaked past while I was busy ploughing my way through four(!) cakes at the final feed.

Jammed up with mud. Sad times for the drivetrain!

Ooo that looks like bad news for suspension and drive train. CX/29er frankenbike looks as tough it would be ideal. Wish I could have done it. Sort of.