Welcome to sheep country .

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMAFxSmFGBl ... qfi40oymzi

Just the usual local trails for me. I never grow tired of the view out west, it's a shame that my phone camera didn't pick up the mountains on Arran which were clearly visible in the distance to the naked eye.
IMG_20210304_155700836 by Jurassic690, on Flickr

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:47 pm Welcome to sheep country .

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMAFxSmFGBl ... qfi40oymzi

Trained sheep aswell, as the more observant will notice.

ledburner wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:51 am

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:47 pm Welcome to sheep country .

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMAFxSmFGBl ... qfi40oymzi

Trained sheep aswell, as the more observant will notice.

ledburner wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:51 am

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:47 pm Welcome to sheep country .

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMAFxSmFGBl ... qfi40oymzi

Trained sheep aswell, as the more observant will notice.

very good, took me a few seconds

Springtime C2WFH.


https://www.instagram.com/p/CMCSRNYlqSG ... ilumfol6m3

A road/gravel trip down to Feshie and back. Water levels are back to normal and the tracks are drying out nicely.



Still found some snow to play in.

My missus needed the car so I extracted my commuter bike and the trailer out of the morass that is my garage and picked up my eldest from school. My first trip out on the bike since November and finding the bike, assembling the trailer and getting air in the tyres took almost as long as the round trip. It’s not all bad since I found my prescription sunglasses in a pocket of the trailer which I’ve been missing since July

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:10 pm ...I found my prescription sunglasses in a pocket of the trailer which I’ve been missing since July

I feel your pain .

Nevermind "where's my phone"; the company that invents the "where's my glasses" app is going to make a fortune .

For my 50th, my missus got me a set of doohickeys / laces so that I can hang my glasses around my neck when I need to take them off to read. She’s fed up with having to find them for me She might have been taking the mickey somewhat since she also got me some comfy slippers and some nose hair clippers.

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:48 pm ...comfy slippers...

Respect

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:56 pm

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:48 pm ...comfy slippers...

Respect

I've just notice mine are lucking under the table, in the post mans bean thread

Painted my self into a corner the other day. I had to visit Tri-Part just over the hill from me and then realised that returning the way I came along NCR2 was against my self-imposed rule. The alternative would be a mud fest up some green lanes that I gave up riding in the autumn because they were so awful. A lot of farm traffic uses them so they get a good churning. Thanks Clinton Estate.

Any way decided to grit my teeth and go that way only to find dry compact trails with the occasional squidgy bit that stopped me. Interestingly the pebble bits that are like riding on marbles in the summer were now stable and embedded in a firm matrix of compacted earth.
First warmish ride of the year. Even had to remove my beanie and change gloves before tackling the big hill back. Warm in the sun while still cool in the shadows. More than enough soft stuff to require a bike clean but firm trails that were a pleasure to ride on. I was impressed.

Here's a link to my 5am start from last weekend.
It was a cracker!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgv8l0i8e7A

Went hunting for snow patches today and found a few biggies. Thanks to the freeze thaw over the last couple of weeks they were like concrete. Thanks to the dry weather and an overnight frost the trails were pretty dry too

Well yesterday, today's effin' awful!

The other day I'd noticed a couple of BWs near us that were mashed in amongst a load of footpaths. We've been here nearly 20 years and hadn't realised these even existed. So in the interests of exploration I sent Cath off to check one of them out, the other is one of those weird ones: goes up a farm track, through the farmyard and ends 100m later in the middle of a field Not even on a parish or county boundary.

Anyway she came back to say that she couldn't find it as it appeared to pass through a kissing gate. I double checked the map http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=400888 ... &A=Y&Z=115 and it's definitely a BW. I checked the definitive map for North Yorkshire and it's marked as a BW and no closure notices or similar. Best investigate.

A few lanes got me across the main road and up to where the loop meets the Pennine Way.

Looking back towards home and it seems like one of Elon Musk's rockets needs to phone home.


This was actually the route I'd taken when doing the Aire Watershed ride last week so down the steep track again (this time with two working brakes) to the ford at the bottom.



The thing about fords is that they are always at the bottom of a hill Anyway, the only way was up, and up. The second up was on tarmac so not as hard as the first up. Once I'd done the up it was down, and up, to get to a track that's one of those spaced green dots on the map so presumably it's OK to ride along.



Back on the road and it's a steep 'un. Fortunately I'm going down the way but can't let it rip as the turnoff for the BW isn't obvious. Anyway, pulled up in time and turned off the road. Obviously at some point someone didn't want cars coming down here:



Got a bit narrower after this and dropped onto a lane. The kissing gate Cath had seen was obvious but where the BW went wasn't. I carried along the lane to get to a parking area replete with a couple of cars. But what was beyond? Yes, the continuation of the BW craftily hidden by the Audi fence! Down again to a gate. Couldn't see a way to open it, it looked like it was earthed in so I lifted the bike over - it wasn't high so not a hassle.

It was only when I was on the lower side that I realised that the "gate" was in fact a fence and you couldn't open it. Naughty! A few metres more and the BW turned sharp right and became rocky and rooty. Nothing too technical and you could either roll everything or thread your way through. After about 100m the going became very straightforward and wider. There were also a couple of sets of tyre marks.



Further down I came across another biker chatting to a walker. As I was passing he spoke up: "can I have a word?" It turned out both sets of tracks were his - he'd tried heading down the BW but came to the fence and turned back so had gone to the bottom of the path, ridden up then back down again. He was fairly elderly and on an e-bike so possibly struggled to lift it over the fence. He said he'd report the blockage to NYC.

Down to the road, through the village then back up home.

Verena wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 7:51 pm I just couldn't resist today, getting out into the snow as it was falling even down at town level, and taking a sneak peak preview at one of my more "interesting" GRs for next weekend - one of several "fords".

I think it is fair to say this is one of the lesser used ROW in Powys we talked about a few weeks ago,,,, so much so that I felt perfectly safe to leave my bike on the track to go fight my way through the vegetation to try and find the river and said "ford" without any worries of it getting nicked.

IMG_20210102_113200 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

IMG_20210102_113307 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Hmmm. Even getting down to the water would be a challenge. Water levels rise and fall quickly here in the Usk, but.....

IMG_20210102_113956 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Headed round to the other side. Aptly named pub, but the signage was quite clear. And it didn't look any more inviting from over here.

IMG_20210102_120419 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

IMG_20210102_120525 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

IMG_20210102_120849 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Just in case you're wondering, no, I haven't forgotten about "my" ford, or those brownie points. In fact, I nearly had a go at it yesterday. I took a nice long lunchbreak to ride out there, thinking it has been very dry for a while, it is midweek and still winter/lockdown, so ideal conditions really. However..... I chickened out. Partly because I was still only on a work lunchbreak, and I have a new boss, so if any mishap should have happened...awkward one to explain . Also, there was lots of fresh tractor tyre and cow pat activity on the approach, more than I was happy with..... Never mind, there will be other dry weeks...maybe a very early morning stealth mission?

whitestone wrote: ↑Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:10 pm Well yesterday, today's effin' awful!

The other day I'd noticed a couple of BWs...
http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=400888 ... &A=Y&Z=115 and it's definitely a BW. I checked the definitive map for North Yorkshire and it's marked as a BW and no closure notices or similar. Best investigate.

A few lanes got me across the main road and up to where the loop meets the Pennine Way.

Looking back towards home and it seems like one of Elon Musk's rockets needs to phone home.


This was actually the route I'd taken when doing the Aire Watershed ride last week

....

Hi White stone we're the gates locked or accessible on the right. Also how reliable are the sign post marking paths & Bridalways in your area?
in kirklees Huddersfield there is a backlog of maintenance... Half of then have rotted or faded.

That first picture is looking down a footpath part of the Pennine Way so it's mostly OK. I used to run along this bit of it. The gates on the right open without problem. The BW, which I followed, comes in from the left (behind the camera) and then heads opposite to this shot.

Signage varies, NY is the largest county in England and Wales and has a lot, I mean a lot, of footpaths and bridleways. I know most of the paths & BWs in the local area so don't tend to actually look at the signs. We actually live at a crossroads of paths and the sign just outside the house is in good order but I can't remember when it was replaced.

Ta, I've jumped to confusions... With the pictures.
I'll back you [up] when you accuse Elon Musk of fly-tipping, littering & obstructing a footpath.. .

As we are now allowed to do more than 'Stay home' here in Wales, I drove the 20 minutes to Eigiau without the fear of the police pulling me over.
It was lovely to be out and not see another soul.
IMG_20210314_132547_982 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20210314_084848 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

I had a good look around for a future bivvy spot in one of the ruined buildings
20210314_090449 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

The view from the top of the incline looking down, there's plenty of walled structures to use
20210314_101317 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Soup and a brew on my adapted shelving
20210314_094236 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Hit the snow line!
20210314_103520 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Taking in the view
20210314_095610 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Got my hands on a Shockwiz for a while. Took some time to ride the Spearfish over well known trails with my "normal" setup to see what it makes of it - rear suspension test today.

It's an interesting tool. Will feedback in the next few weeks.

Oh, bike ride was cold. Exceptionally so. Wore far to little, got dangerous cold by the end. Thankfully could bail back to the house easily, if a little sketchy due to lack of braking ability from hands.

Shorts / no jacket. Felt great to be relatively unencumbered after such a long, cold spell.

Took the full-sus and immediately remembered that all my skillz dessert me over the winter

Had a good buzz around local woods (Blair Adam) and Benarty Hill. Despite the rain last week things were drying out nicely. Bagged some fairly rocky singletrack on Benarty Hill and as usual (unintentionally) ended up on the steepest of the downhill trails.....
Stopped at a nice sheltered viewing point for lunch:

Loch Leven NNR with the Lomonds to the right and the snowy Perthshire hills in the distance

No photos to share, and they'd be pretty boring anyway, but first bike commuting of the year. Back teaching from school last week, but the wind was blowing ridiculously and I didn't fancy a 40mph headwind home!

22km in, 25km home, plenty of hills (particularly on the way home) and about 2 hours in total. Took it easy, missed out some of the more interesting off-road bits as it was very greasy, and had a most excellent time.