Setting off around sunset from a disappointingly calm South Tyne valley, the climb up the doubletrack on the Pennine Way presented little in the way of challenges. As darkness fell, the wind got steadily stronger, and we soon climbed into the fog, but we reached the bothy by about 5, nearly riding into before we saw it. A group of 5 young lads celebrating a 16th birthday were already in residence, but fell over themselves to make room for us in the end room with the stove and sleeping platform. They were almost too polite, leaving that room to us while they went and sat in the cold middle room, despite repeated suggestions that they join us
They did eventually come in and one of the birthday boys (twins) suggested a game of cards, and we played for a couple of hours, making the whole situation more convivial.
In the morning, we were, unsurprisingly, still clagged in, and the wind was, if anything, worse. A lady dropped in after an overnight training run for the Spine Race, and told us it was worse on Great Dun Fell. Despite this, and everything I'd read about the Trout Beck bridleway suggesting it wasn't worth the hassle, we decided to go over Cross Fell, Dun Fells Little and Great and see how it went downhill with a 30mph tailwind.
Not sure what I'm so happy about here!
Conditions were indeed pretty wild as we approached the summit of LDF and after the wind made a concerted effort to forcibly remove Morne's helmet, we contoured round to the east to get some shelter. Riding was no less impossible than on the lethally damp flagstone path with a 50mph crosswind. We repeated the trick with Great Dun Fell, getting within 100 yards of the radar station, but with the golf ball still barely visible in the mist.
Our expectations lowered, we were surprised to find the top of Trout Beck riding pretty well. There's quite a few crossings to negotiate, and further down the path has been washed into the river entirely, necessitating a bit of scrambling. But other than a few boggy bits here and there, it was a nice surprise to find some fun riding. Granted, a massive tailwind smoothed over some of the more questionable bits - maybe this is what ebiking is like? Even managing to find a boggy rut just wide enough to swallow a 2.8" tyre, but deep enough to send me straight OTB into a muddy puddle didn't spoil it.
From the confluence with the Tees, it was a short, wind-assisted ride back over into Tynedale and Garrigill (you could quite easily visit four of northern England's great rivers - Tyne, Tees, Wear, Eden - in a day's ride from here).
Although I fully expected an emergency bivvy in a (wheely?) bin to get out of the wind. My geography has let me down slightly, so was the wind indeed, er, north? Some atmospherically murky photos too.
