I and a mate from work will be there.

Be sure to check the date! :D

sorry chaps. I’m a dipstick.

We’re meeting up at the Shoulder of Mutton in Holcombe at 7.30pm

Almost immediately i’m spotting the error of my ways!

Was at the SoM at 8 ready for the normal 8.15 ride! doh!!!

Anyway we had a good ride anyway and stopped for a couple at the Strawbury Duck which was good!

Yes it was wet – but it was still fun as always!

Never been one for reading a book a second time but a few weeks ago when i broke my collar bone, i reread the bit in THHGTTG about the definition of flying. Couldn’t stop laughing and have made a mental note to read it all again soon.

As a kid i tried and tried to read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy – start / stop / restart / stop – over and over again. Great films but wasn’t over keen on the read.

@sweepy – i’m waiting for him to publish the third book too!

The missus has been stuck on level 65 for ages now. She’s getting a bit fed up but tbh it keeps her busy for hours, so im happy! :D

I wont pay for it so am stuck doing the third of the tasks to get past level 36

Apparently you just need to put the ipad / phone date back a little to get more free lives so you can continue to play for free as long as you want to!

I’m starting to wonder just how much tyre choice is going to matter!

Not quite so optimistic… forecast

Pretty much always say hello, nod or acknowledge any other riders. I also save the friendliest “hellos” for grumpy dog walkers – they just hate the friendliness!

There is an exception to this whole hello business that i don’t like though. Cycling up a long, boring climb, focused solely on getting to the top, some twit comes past (as if your cycling through treacle) and his cheery hello wakes you from your daydream and scares the living daylights out of you!

Ok, so that’s just me then! :-)

Yes, i will be there and may have 2 others in tow! Might ride over…

Some local trails on here…

with a few in more detail here

Depends how well you know the area.

I would ride across the top of the moor along the fast, rolling track then down to Ryal Fold (where the Royal Arms is) via Lyons Den and Owd Aggies.

At the car park go straight over and follow the paths through the trees and around the Roddlesworth Reservoirs – stay on the right hand side of the water and follow the trail up to the Hare and Hounds at Abbey Village. These are footpaths so ride responsibly!

Straight over the main road and up Dole Lane and down into Brinscall. Depending on where in Brinscall you want to go, we tend to take Twist Moor Lane rather than use the main road.

Little old me went out over the somewhat enormous Winter Hill last night for a medium sized jaunt. Found a couple of whoppers for the challenge.

The first is the TV Transmitter Mast which towers above the West Lancahire plain.

The second is the monstrous Montcliffe Quarry which although massive, is hardly viewable from any public areas.

Woods around the Wayoh Reservoir near Bolton

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Thanks to Binners for showing me round a great place to ride! Had a ball tonight… wasn’t sure that i was up for it before i set off but it was fantastic! Company was great too – shame there were no free chips this week though the bar certainly had other attractions! :D

Will definitely come back up there and have another go!

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Thanks for organising the ride Mr Sparkle. It was a great night with a great set of people. Darwen Moor is well known to me but its altways different riding with someone different – their trails, directions of travel etc are always so different even in the same location!

Please pass on my thanks for the hospitality in the pub – first class!

Rode the 7 miles back home down the Witton Weavers – first night ride in months and absolutely loved it!

@variflex Do you have any issues changing the cartridges whilst the fiorst one is frozen cold?

If its a MTB tyre then be aware that a single cartridge wont fill the tyre so you need 2. When being used the cartridge gets extrememly cold and i found it difficult to remove my first cartride until it had thawed out. Just one of those little things that i never considered when buying…

Looks like me plus 3 will be joining you – looking forward to it!

Big fail for me this week. 23 miles on Thursday and didnt see a single hand made sign – dont think i’ll get out today either. Anyway here’s my offering from the C2C bike ride a few years ago…

“Blue” sounds good to me!

I will more than likely join you for this one and may have a couple of mates as well.

Tell them to peel a few extra spuds!

haha good picture and comment!

My Grandad worked at the Chloride battery factory at Clifton during the war – that was where most people now associate with Pilkington’s tiles factory. So in the valley there would have been a couple of railway lines, the canal, power station, water treatment works and battery factory – oh and a garden centre – so well worth tossing a few bombs in…

Have to say that in general i try and stay out of the gardens and very rarely ride in them. If i do then its more likely to be a climb back up the hill. I’m quite passionate about the Rivington Estate and Lord Leverhulme and i’m not that sure that riding down the steps is helping in the continued decline of the area. Thankfully it looks as though Lottery Funding is now in place to regenerate the gardens so hopefully improvements and repairs will be made in the coming months and years. Its likely though that with any improvements, mtb activities will be discouraged – just my personal opinion.

I’ve never been a big fan of the ICR either (by the way, is the ice cream van ever at the bottom of the run these days?!). I much prefer the runs that are serviced by the mast road. There are a good few rides up there on either side of the road. Just a shame there isnt a half decent trail linking the pike with the top of the mast road.

Cheers Harry

Looking at your Strava then, I’m assuming that its the little loop that you did at 7.3 miles. Haven’t ridden in there but often park up by the sewage works and ride down to Philips Park from there – so will give it a try at some point.

As a kid i remember my grandad telling me that the Germans used to drop any unused bombs in that valley after raiding Manchester and needing lighten up and scarper back home. Is it really the results of a bomb or is that just a name its acquired?

Where abouts is this location that you call the bomb hole?!

Got to say that i am really impressed with the ITV4 coverage (1 hour round up at 7). Witty, informative, well presented and concentrates on the important parts of the races.

As for the adverts I love them as they are easy to spot when fast forwarding at x30!

which segment did you hold the KOM on?

Thanks for the advice – particularly to you exciteable1. No danger of overstating the obvious with me!!!

Went for a great ride last night over Winter Hill and stopped at the Trig Point up by the mast. This is the Rivington Trig Point with the TV Transmitter Mast in the background.

@poonprice – new bone growth doesn’t show on an x-ray! So really don’t worry too much that you cant see any…

@mickolas – i saw that you mentioned MK Cycles on another post, realised that you must live near me and took a stab that your op would be at Bolton Hospital. God i’m so funny…! :D

Well good luck fella!

Things could be worse for you of course, you could be having the op at Bolton Hospital…

Ok i broke my clavicle at the end of April and tbh the e-ray looked bad to me but never concerned the doctors at all. Its about 9 weeks since the accident and i’m still not 100% although it is getting stronger all the time. When i was signed off from the hospital on 20th June they said my bones were back up to about 80% strength and it would take another 4 – 8 weeks from then to reach 100%.

At the time that i did it, i considered surgery but was advised that the scarring that the op will leave would be very bad. For that reason alone I wouldn’t have gone down that route!

Having said that, your situation might be slightly different if its broken in 2 places. If the doctors were happy with your condition, why are you having an op? Is it just to guarantee full strength?

My x-ray experience is here.

Did the 26 mile option of the ‘Great Manchester Cycle’ on closed city centre roads in Manchester. Combined with traveling in and out of the city it made for a ride in excess of 60 miles.

Did it on my full sus bike which ordinarily should have allowed me to enter a picture in the recent ‘Wrong Bike’ photo challenge but tbh it was the right choice of tyre considering the state of Manchester’s roads! :D

Find out about different types of trig points or find one near you here!

I think that this is why i’d be reluctant to report it – all the investigation business.

I came off on the new red route from the car park (by the giant acorn). Someone else referred to it as ‘Turrets hill’ as there is a large amount of surprised swearing as the lip of the hill catches so many out. I have been riding for about 3 years. I’m quite sedate but also quite experienced. I know i hit the top of the hill faster than i should have done and ended up going over the bars and landing on the downward slope.

I’m 100% sure that this bit of trail gives immense enjoyment to people with a better skill set than me so i wouldn’t advocate changing it. However, if i’m not the first (and i’d be massively surprised if i was) then perhaps there needs to be some sort of warning sign to prevent more incidents.

I suppose that wont happen if I (and others) say nothing but at the risk of rambling, i’d equally hate the enjoyment of others be spoiled.

I was aware of the development up the zig zags and also on the other side at Bull Hill. I had (wrongly!) assumed that they were developing a trail accross the moor to directly link the points but it looks as though it will be far more indirect and going via the tower.

There is quite a bit of more interesting, relevant information here

Pennine Bridleway – Bolton Link

The information in the West Pennine Morrs Development Plan is a bit dated now.

This is a Grade II listed ‘Guide Post’ that dates from the early nineteenth century. Ironic that it comes from a time before cars and yet it now finds itself located next to the north’s premier dogging hotspot! Anyway, if the images are slightly blurred its because i was keen for a sharp exit! 8O

The condition of the post isn’t brilliant – Belmont and Chorley to the left; Darwen and Blackburn to the right. Bolton is back away across the road.

Got to say that the ‘Mile Post’ directory brought me in mind of one of similar geekyness for Trig Points. How about that for next week – or have you done that?

Their website is here[/url]

The website says that the phone number is workshop only – but if you dial it (01204 494466) then you get options for speaking to someone in the shop…

I used them for a bike service a couple of years ago – found them first rate to be honest. With most shops there will be good and bad experiences but i would be surprised if this is anything sinister…