Well having been stuck in doors yesterday, while it rained cats and dogs, I was happy to get out and about today. I’ve been planning on heading up to Calderdale for sometime, so I took the train out to Todmorden, sussed out the whereabouts of the Singletrack office and then rode the Expert route feature in Issue 4 of Singletrack. What I had failed to notice is that on the singletrack site there is a section all about trails which features a revised version of the route map.
The fact that I didn’t have that led to a bit of head scratching when I arrived at the bit where the written guide deviates from what the map shows, but after only a slight detour up the wrong valley, I was back on track and had a pretty good days riding. The weather was that sort of sunshine and showers that never leaves you drenched or cold and it was just good riding. The drop down to Cant Clough Reservoir is currently pretty boggy at the top, well boggy enough to swallow my front wheel and sent me flying over the bars into the mud, anyway, but improves closer to the bottom.
Well that mud had nothing on the bridleway river of crud that currently exists along the Lower Intake bridleway just above Shore. Stinky, stagnant, gloopy mud and lots of it. Having to dismount in that lot was a mid-calf submerged experience leaving my race shoes full of crap. I’d finally add that when you leave the golf club carpark and come to a T-junction, you need to turn right and then turn left at the next T-Junction, just a bit further down. Of course if you don’t and like me turn left at the first T-junction you come to you end up riding up a stonking big hill, only to realise about 20 minutes later it’s the wrong one. Doh!
Oh and that last descent down from the cobbled courtyard, certainly is some of the steepest and finest singletrack that I’ve ridden in sometime. Reminded me of a certain bit of cliff path trail in Guernsey.
Well what else has been happening? Well came across this from BBC Scotland, seems pretty ‘rad’… Anyway enough of this mountain biking mullarky. A real man’s race is here again and tonight someone will be wearing pink skin-tight lycra in Italy. Hopefully the colourful sight of watching muscular figures, some with bleached blonde hair and earings, prancing up the mountains with gay abandon won’t be marred with a drugs scandal. Personally I doubt the odds on a dope free race are very good.
Yes the Giro is back. I really hope Cipo gets that record, but I guess there’s a few who wouldn’t mind snatching his glory. Coverage from the official site, the BBC, Cycling News and this from Big Jonny over at Drunkcyclist, which definitely isn’t a site you should be reading at work. Well unless you already work for Hugh Hefner.
Oh and today I managed to get mud all over the flat before I even left. I guess it does pay to clean your shoes from the last ride before you put them on the next time.
R O T H A R . C O M 