PEAKS POOTLE – 22nd January

Thought it might be helpful if I posted a picture of Pook so anybody meeting up with the group first time will recognise him:

In your STW Peaks March 2010 video, is that Hora mincing down that slightly rocky tail at 5:02? I ask because he keeps sending me and a couple of others links to your videos to show what a ‘good’ rider he is and I’m sure he hasn’t sent this one yet.

Disclaimer: I, and the others he sends links to, are well aware that he is anything but a good rider.

Hang on a minute. I won’t hear a bad word about Hora’s riding. The day he finally manages to find that elusive set of forks that actually WORK, the he’ll be, like a TOTAL riding GOD!

If only CRC, Wiggle, Evans, Leisure lakes, and, yes….. some of you bastards on the classifieds … stopped selling him broken and defective pairs that don’t work, he’d be able to demonstrate his true prowess 😉

Surely he would also need to overcome his fear of riding along trails where being left-handed causes him to panic (e.g. where there is exposure to the left); Hypnotherapy? Or maybe Jedi could create some new left-hand-exposure trail with a catch net at Herts so when (if) Hora does his training course, they can concentrate on that all day.

Anyway, is it him or not?

I don’t think it is, no

Well he has the same podgy cheeks / slightly stoned look that Hora has. Please don’t tell me there are two Hora’s out there; society couldn’t cope.

Do you mean 5.02? Two riders riding away from the camera? It’s not a rocky trail

Its lord podginton- he has slimmer cheeks than me and nation health specs.
What’s happening with Alan? Is it the following week now at Guisburn?

3.02? That’s him. It is Cavedale though which, to be fair, is a little more than slightly rocky

It may just be possible that I typed the time wrong and I actually mean the section at around 3:02.

There aren’t two Hora’s, thankfully. You’re thinking of Benny Hill

Yay, thanks ourkidsam; I thought it was.

So next time he sends me an email with a link to a video and text along the lines of “Here’s me hammering down a rocky trail flat out. I had to wait at the bottom for 20 minutes for the others because when you can’t actually see me riding, I’m really fast and skilful”, I can refer him to the video.

Any minute now, I will receive an email which includes a reason why he makes such a mess of that section; something like “An owl stole my glasses” or “I got caught in the draught of a passing Concorde as it went supersonic 6′ to my left, and you know I’m left-handed!”

It was nearewr 30mins with slowrider and another the first time we rode cavedale on a pootle. Thing is cavedale doesn’t get easier the more you ride it- the slower you ride the harder it gets!

Plus that day an owl was strapped to my bike as a talisman, sadly its wing kept lifting creating drag.

Are you sure your not referring to the snowdon clip?! Its not on this first page and didn’t ride it

No, not the Snowdon one, the one I mentioned.

Is Cavedale easier or harder than the cliff path at Arnside? 😀

So next time he sends me an email with a link to a video and text along the lines of “Here’s me hammering down a rocky trail flat out. I had to wait at the bottom for 20 minutes for the others because when you can’t actually see me riding, I’m really fast and skilful”, I can refer him to the video.

Any minute now, I will receive an email which includes a reason why he makes such a mess of that section; something like “An owl stole my glasses” or “I got caught in the draught of a passing Concorde as it went supersonic 6′ to my left, and you know I’m left-handed!”

Sounds about right! We played ‘Hora Excuse Bingo’ yesterday

Did he use the all-encompassing “Meh”?

No, there was quite a long list! These were for not turning up and included:

Distance
Time
Price of fuel
Weather
Going to the gym
Lack of fitness
Illness

You really didn’t fancy it did you?! 😉

Yep I`m in for Saturday.
Where are we meeting and what time? please

Hora you cheeky sod, that’s you. Don’t go palming off your inadequacy onto me. I didn’t even do that ride.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

I leave you lot to it for ONE DAY and come back to this. Well, while I’ve been doing various professional development related things that did not involve
a) my rear end
b) chauffering
c) poncing about in dungarees,

I’ve also been thinking about Saturday.
Taking into account trail conditions and weather, I’m going to start somewhere with flexibility for choice of route.

Meet HERE at 10am for a 10.15 start.

If the car park is full there is parking on the main road here-ish and you can roll up and meet us. Alternatively, block in your fellow pootlers if they’re ok with it.

We’ll do about 15 miles but will think about the route more this week.

Think I might turn up for this
2 slight problems though
1 – I haven’t met anyone from here yet so don’t know what anyone looks like
2 – will be relying on convincing my brother to go so I can get the bike in his van, and his time keeping isn’t the best

Is the meeting place where the bridleway spills back out onto the road again (car park on the left) before climbing back up the hill?

Sounds like fun, I think I might try and make it out.
Can I make a potentially controversial suggestion though? The Winstone Lee tor to cut throat bridge track was really trashed before christmas and conditions in the peak are really soggy at the minute, in view of the potentially large numbers of riders could this be avoided?

The British Heart foundation sponsored ride a while back routed a whole load of people over there which I thought was irresponsible, given the state of the bridelway. The mam nick to hollins cross track is also not holding up too well. On the other hand Cavedale, pindale, chapel gate, hope cross, hope cross to a57, lockerbrook farm and the causeway are a few which are good all year round.

Having done some digging of drainage channels a while back on Whinstone lee tor, I try and avoid it in winter as it does get really muddy and not much fun. Just a suggestion but would make a difference if we could avoid it,

Thanks
Gareth

Cheers Gareth, you’re echoing Rik’s concerns there and it’s something I’m taking on board.

I’m envisaging a route that goes Thorhill, Hope Brink, Beast, Rowlee Farm, Lockerbrook, Fairholmes (coffee), Hagg Side fireroad climb, Hagg Farm, Ladybower permissive up then either Hope Brink back down to finish on a drop, or Ladybower permissive up and down.

Jools – look for the large group of bikers in the meeting place at the meeting time 😉

Dan – yes.

Hadn’t realised there would be refreshment stop, almost certain to come now! Cheers for trying to avoid the boggy bits, I keep dreaming of those dry dusty trails sadly I think its a long way off

It’s a pretty small car park, are you sure that’s such a great idea? I can see people driving up there, finding it’s full, turning around, driving down, chaos etc.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply meet at the car park on the main road by your second link? It’s not as if you’re restricting your options by starting there. Just saying like…

Jools, don’t worry about not knowing anyone, no-one bites.

BWD – fair point – I didn’t expect we’d get too many cars but if it’s just so popular…. 😉

MEET HERE AT 10AM for a 10.15AM start.

You’ll need change for the parking in there now though.

PS: can someone report my first time/location to the mods so it can be deleted. I can’t, and don’t want to confuse people.

I love the way pooks pootle plans always get overrun with suggestions. If I were organising a ride there would be no pretence of democracy, anyone going against my decision would be lined up and shot. Along with anyone better than me, anyone holding me up and anyone taking my line. Bloody mountain bikers.

Right, I think I’ll come to this, so long as slowrider promises to leave his rifle at home…

Jools, I also don’t know anyone, I’m pleased to see that someone else is in the same boat.

What sort of time do these things usually wind up? Only I have to get back to relieve babysitters at some semblance of a reasonable time.

Jools, I also don’t know anyone, I’m pleased to see that someone else is in the same boat.

Likewise.

What sort of time do these things usually wind up? Only I have to get back to relieve babysitters at some semblance of a reasonable time.

Again, likewise. Less for a babysitter and more for having a 2hr drive home 😐

You’ll need change for the parking in there now though.

Yeah, on reflection, I think I prefer the first venue. I’ll park there and ride down to meet you guys at the other car park 🙂

I’d write off the weekend, and BWD – you’ll be owing a lot of mountainbikers a lot of money…..

😉

Could be a long time, the Jacobs Ladder loop took 7 hours!

Sambob – did it take 7hrs? It felt like about 7 weeks to me but I never realised it took that long in real time. Was that the one I was on?

Maybe it was 6 hours. All i can really remember is us pushing up that last climb and me eating all Chris’s jelly babies (for the 2nd time)

Jacobs loop took 7 hours? I managed within 5?
I was with the pootle, or so I thought, I mean I took pics and put them up on here afterward?

Half of it was iced up snowdrift

re: route, just butting in unneccessrily now, what is hagg side like in winter nowadays, since they relaid (rather laid on top of) it with some limestoney stuff a year or two back?
The other fireroad (starts just above the fairholmes dam, goes up near lockerbrook fm), which only appears on 1:25k on multimap/bing (not streetmap 1:25k) or aerial I know stands up to wetness pretty well
ie the one that finishes here:

Merely a thought, feel free to ignore ..

james, that’s the one I’m thinking of coming down, unless you know of another

The ride that took almost 7hrs was the hope ride. Unique ride due to the number of riders, punctures, mechanicals. I remember from cavrdale onwards I had no food reserves left and wanted to die!

Pooks ride this week is a hell of a lot less (incase it puts folk off). I’d never do 7hrs out unless its summer 🙂

Plus I had a valid excuse last Sunday- its almost 3hrs driving for, well Stainburn. Nice place but alongtime driving.

Looks like we’re in for this, have re-arranged things 🙂