Following last week’s fun and games we are looking for the white powder again. This time in Darwen.

The Sunnyhurst
Tockholes Road,
Darwen
BB3 1JX

8:15 blast off
Bring money for beer

I’m in. Until I’m out.

The weather forecast suggests we’ll be back to bog-trotting again by Monday. I’m in as long as I don’t add to the injury list over the weekend.

Snow or Mud, I’ll be there. Unless of course it’s raining and windy.

Unless it rains before Monday evening (and none is currently forecast) then this will be a mainly dry ride! The trails up on Darwen Moor are generally hard packed and we will stay up high.

doubt i can make it, i’m on call until 8 next week so can’t get up that way in time.

I’m in.

Plenty of down hill this week… 😉

Not much time for any mechanicals either…!

Steady now that is 10 miles riding there

haha – this last week we only managed 9.9 KM never mind miles!

Plenty of places to reassess and shorten / lengthen the ride if necessary…

Will you be joining us Junkyard?

Cannot make Monday rides rule but I have a window of opportunity pencilled in for the last week in May and first week in june…….not taking the piss there just cannot make Monday nights sadly.

I’m up for it.

Barry

If last nights conditions are anything to go by be careful up top.

Stepback is pretty much unrideable with sheet ice across the pathway most of the way up. Mostly where the path is in the shade.

Long sloping front descent is better though quite a bit of ice about half way down.. seems fine at the top so I stupidly pressed on and skidded off track once I hit it.

Not sure what Lyons Den is like but drainage is usually better on that path.

Im in

I’m in

I’m in.

Just got back from the Staines so might be a bit below par!

And now….

I’m out 🙁

Had to change shifts to a late today so I’ll be stuck at work til 11. On the plus side I’ve got the morning off now.

Bump.

I’m still in. Can’t refuse the promise of a dry ride 🙂

Daz – you daft sod! You’ve said the words ‘dry ride’. Expect the monsoon at approximately 8.10pm

I’m also expecting it to be completely puncture free 😀

Oh christ!

*packs 3 extra tubes*

I’m so tired could do with a Lance Armstrong’s patented pick up.

However as I’m out of EPO gallons of coffee are in order

I’m absolutely shagged, but know that if i come out I won’t be able to sleep when I get home.

The sky is beginning to bruise.

Scaled – that’s why God invented whisky! 😀

Am I going to have company at the back tonight then?

Am I going to have company at the back tonight then?

Absolutely!

For various tedious reasons I’m out.

Regards,

Susan

Have fun, i’m just getting to the point where i can ride up a hill without collapsing.

robj20 – you really will fit in well…

Just got home to the kids screaming and shouting at each other, sobbing, tantrums, etc. The sooner I’m back out of this madhouse the better 🙂 I’ll see the few who haven’t jibbed in an hour or so…

Still not able for it, but look forward later to reading tales of daring do in tonights heatwave, hope there’s no mechanicals, punctures, a great time is had by all and the pub has pies and crisps with fine ale.

well i’m back at work for the evening now, so definitely not gonna make it!

hope there’s no mechanicals

Quiet week this week. Only broken forks and cranks falling off. Puncture free though as I predicted.

Quite a hilly one tonight. And the mud with the consistency of partially set cement made the flat bits feel like hills, so all round quite a tough one.

Top marks to the Sunnyhurst for a pint of stout of a quality not seen on a MNPR since the last visit to the Masons Arms.

Bloody hell that was hard going! A couple of weeks of frozen trails and SNOWMAGEDON and then back to normal winter service. Riding through porridge. Nice to ride Darwen again though. Not been up there for far too long!

Another top ride out chaps.

Yes i enjoyed that last night.

9 of us out – good number and well below the threshold of 13 when rides become prone to mechanicals… not! After some cracking rides over the past few weeks this was back to normal winter riding but it still beats sitting at home in front of the telly.

Daz’s bike pretty much self destructed and worryingly Gaz’s arm fell of twice which tool a bit of fixing. Fortunately it was his crank arm.

As mentioned, all ice and snow had gone but it had turned the running surface into a thick paste that wasnt ideal and certainly very tiring even on the flatter bits.

Many thanks to Binners for admirably bringing up the rear – selflessly abandoning the need for speed to ensure that others weren’t dropped behind!

All topped off with a glorious pint of stout (with blackberry undertones) in The Sunnyhurst – and im not a big fan of stout!

Anyway – next weeks ride will take a bit of careful thought to try and stay on hard packed, well drained trails.Winter Hill was suggested last night (starting and ending at The Ainsworth Arms) but if there are any more suggestions?

Daz is also going to look at running a ride from Wardle in the coming weeks…

Strava

I had a thought about next week, what about Clayton Vale now that we’ve solved the ‘what pub’ conundrum?

And that stout was bloody marvellous. I’m half tempted to go back this weekend for another one.

How about the jolly crofters and the final in the bolton tower series Rivvy pike

the final in the bolton tower series Rivvy pike

What exactly does that entail…?!

Oh i see, the series of rides that we have recently done up the various towers!

I thought for a minute you were entering us all in some sort of event!

I don’t want to be entered by anyone’s tower thank you very much.