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Post by hodgy on Jun 8, 2015 16:10:49 GMT
Starts from Alwinton ..meet at 10.00 am
Cracking ride which I haven't done in this format for ages .
Simply follow Clennell Street to the Usway Burn as it first climbs then gives a great descent ... Then up and over Middle Hill to Fairhaugh following the burn all the way down to Shiimoor ...then the steepest climb of the day over pass peth ..before a drop on a skinny bridleway to the road and a fast descent back to Alwinton
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Post by hodgy on Jun 12, 2015 5:07:26 GMT
After umming and arring about the weather looks like this is still on for tomorrow ... My weather app says it is raining ..Colin's says it's just cloudy ..so we will use Colin's !
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Post by andyr on Jun 12, 2015 8:42:00 GMT
Do not watch the BBC forecast. Just don't.
I've got to take the motor for a service tomorrow morning so no can do. Be interested to see how badly the contractors have damaged the great Fairhaugh track. Hopefully not but Ant reckoned pretty badly. Not tempted to go via Barrow Law/Barrowburn/Fairhaugh instead? Go on. You know you want to!
Cracking ride out for anyone who lives in the NE and has never ridden the area.
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Post by hodgy on Jun 12, 2015 12:11:51 GMT
I've got a morbid curiosity to find out myself Andy .
I did do that section with Colin just as they were starting on it a year or so back ..and must admit that I felt a good bit of anger at what I saw back then ...
Sometimes something as fantastic and beautiful as that section was should come before profit ...
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Post by hodgy on Jun 13, 2015 16:54:21 GMT
Why oh why did I listen to CBM ? Upon arriving at Alwinton he was insistent that he didn't want to go up the first section of Clennell Street ..and that there was a much better way to link into it through Kidland Forest ! Utter bullshit ..while he set off like a Gazelle on amphetamines all 3 stone wet through of him on his carbon bike ..I was left wallowing like a beached whale on a surface that was made of red sandstone marbles while himself and Jean just seemed to skim across the surface ! Dave didn't seem too impressed either ..while Paul was pretty much un-complaining . Still I'm grateful to him for showing me because as long as I have got a hole in my arse ..I will never use those tracks again ! Love ya really though Colin !! Eventually though we did link into Clennell Street ...but had to double check both map and app as with the amount of tree felling / new roads ..it looked nothing like I ..or anyone else remembered it ! Bit by bit though we began to recognise it again and what hadn't changed was the brilliant off -camber grassy then rocky drop to the Usway burn , Another toughie over Middle Hill then another fast drop to the edge of the forest before a short stiff climb and hanging a left to drop to Fairhaugh . It was from here down to Batailshiel Haugh that I was dreading to see what the deforestation had done to a supreme bit of singletrack ..and while it's heartbreaking that such a scenic track has been ruined in terms of how chilled and beautiful it was ..the trail itself runs a whole lot faster ! Onwards to Shilmoor and onto some skinny sunken singletrack that contours around a hill before Pass Peth looms into view and the toughest climb of the day ! I say climb but the reality is that most folk will push up some of it ..and we were no exception ! Upon reaching the top another cracking downhill that is over too soon before hitting the road below which continues back into Alwinton . A pint is compulsory in The Rose & Thistle ..and while there another group of mountain bikers came in ..about a dozen of them ..as it transpired from all parts of the UK.. The average age made us feel young ..their oldest member being 78 !! You young fortysomethings out there have literally got years of this cool shit to come !! Great day out ..in exceptional company Some pics ..not many taken ..and mainly near the end The Godfather : Don Jaconnelli ...showing us a little sideways action  Jean heading off up Pass Peth ..it veers sharply up to the right  CBM ..near the top of Pass Peth ..having just had some cracking banter with the girly's below ...beyond is Upper Coquetdale and the river Coquet in all it's magnificence !   And finally ..the mountain biking god that is moi !! Lol  Roll on the next one ! |
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Post by glynnsixo on Jun 13, 2015 18:00:50 GMT
looks stunning.....no rain then?
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Post by ant on Jun 13, 2015 18:15:09 GMT
Ah man Hodgy, leave us poor woodmen alone, I have to cut the trees down so I can afford to go out on my bike lol, looks like you had a cracking day, I,m away to Holland for 2 weeks then I hope to get out with you again when I get back  |
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Post by hodgy on Jun 13, 2015 18:42:56 GMT
looks stunning.....no rain then? It was just spitting slightly as we ended the ride . The Cheviots must be England's best kept secret ..there are simply loads of trails here Glynn ..literally 30 mins by car from where I live ! |
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Post by hodgy on Jun 13, 2015 18:45:36 GMT
Ah man Hodgy, leave us poor woodmen alone, I have to cut the trees down so I can afford to go out on my bike lol, looks like you had a cracking day, I,m away to Holland for 2 weeks then I hope to get out with you again when I get back I did notice the roof box on the car as I passed ...have a great time ...so it's you to blame then ! Lol To be fair the trail itself isn't in to bad a state ..see you when you get back .. |
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Post by cbm on Jun 13, 2015 21:55:38 GMT
Some of us like mtbiking more than mtbhiking Some of us like the experience of riding into the wilderness on a fast track up a steep sided valley with a mountain stream for company that twists and turns and takes you right into the heart of the Cheviots Nice to know that I am in bad company as the author of the bible on mtbing Northumberland also recommended this route Don't really know what is different about this section compared to the boring uninteresting 'slog' on an equally loose surface on the way back! Don't think I will ever do Peth path again - but of course I will! Obviously each to their own but I do believe that staying on your bike as much as possible makes for good fun riding! Maybe we should all be grateful of what we have got on our doorstep and can do - tell the boring bit to all the walkers who walk along this bridleway PS great way to get into the Cheviots in the winter
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Post by hodgy on Jun 14, 2015 3:44:00 GMT
Yep ..I would have bet money that you wouldn't take that lying down Colin ..and it was written with a smile on my face !
However ..other than a short section on a ride which is only 4-5 miles in length does that road appear in Mr Purdys book . It cuts off after no more than a couple of miles ( if that ) on a b/way to head back towards Alwinton..maybe he also realised how crap it was ( lol) .The ride known as Clennell Street ...actually uses Clennell Street ..and as poor as I am when it comes to climbing I would have much preferred that surface to the one we were on ..and have never really had a problem riding it in the past .
The loose stuff you refer to on the way back ..did at least have gravity on our side !
As you say though each to their own ..I didn't enjoy that first section and wouldn't do it again in favour over Clennell Street itself ...but this is not written with any malice towards you ..just the surface on the first part of the route...and at least I now know what it's like..
Also no complaints with regards to the scenery..although the original route is equally scenic .
Look forward to seeing you next week ...
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Post by lowcogger on Jun 14, 2015 5:12:25 GMT
that sounds highly unlikely 
you certainly live in a stunning part of the country neil but it looks like you have to put some graft in to appreciate it.i can be in the peaks in less than an hour,some excellent riding as you know but the last couple of visits have really seen me struggling on some of the climbs.
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Post by hodgy on Jun 14, 2015 7:47:47 GMT
Paul ..while it might appear that I'm having a bit of a bite at Colin himself ..I'm really not ..and I don't think that he would take things personally ..his intelligence is on a completely different planet to mine and he has known me long enough to know that if I have something to say ..I say it ..in much the same way as himself ..I'm quite sure we will be best mates again next week ...but if he tries changing the route ....hahaha!!
The Cheviots themselves cover quite a broad tract of land across the border and in the main are big grassy hills which as you quite rightly say you have to earn the right to gain your fun !
It really is one area of the land where on a weekday you would be lucky to see another person and if you were to ask a native of Newcastle ( the nearest city ) how to get there 8/10 would probably look blankly at you !
I know what you mean about things getting harder ..but hey ..that's why they have invented e-bikes ...I will have one in 20 years time !!
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Post by davet on Jun 14, 2015 10:54:44 GMT
It was a great ride, perfect weather and great company and yes having done the other route from the guide book, I'm with Neil, but having said that Colin's diversion was an interesting route which I hadn't done before. The big climb on the forest road was not one I would like to repeat but who cares it was a laugh in the end. Next time Colin we'll do it the other way because if my memory serves me well its not that boring and the first climb is not that long. However it did make the route a decent length which suited Paul as he likes to get the miles in.
Thanks again to Neil for organising us all and getting us out it was a brilliant day.
Ant when are we going to see you again? Jean is hoping Ingrid will join us as she would enjoy some female company in our male dominated group. Have a good holiday and have you left FB
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Post by andyr on Jun 15, 2015 11:51:52 GMT
To be fair the trail itself isn't in to bad a state ... Thank (rhymes with duck) for that. |
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