Dirty Weekend
Thu
So, my 35th birthday came and went a couple of weeks ago and the ‘big day’ just felt like any other, except with the added excitement of El and Isla jumping on the bed with cards to open. El eagerly opened these too and since I had to wait for my present(s) as Claire was away I mainly watched El have a great time! Evening came and so did the presents, which revealed a weekend MTB trip in the Scottish borders and riding some of the 7Stanes. Added bonus was that some friends would also be coming along for the weekend too. The birthday turned out good in the end, as I knew it would! We left the next day…
Fri
So, since the Scottish borders are a reasonable distance, the route up north was broken up by a ride in the Howgills, near Sedbergh. This black graded route was overall pretty tough, mainly because of the huge hike-a-bike section to the top of the calf as shown in the elevation data below ...
... and the view to top shown in this picture ...
.. I can’t really believe for a moment this is rideable and it certainly wasn't for us. Anyway, the journey down was incredible, with perhaps the fastest descent I have ever achieved on my beloved bike. The views of the Dales on one side and the Lakes on the other on such a clear (but blustery day) made this a great ride.
Our home for the weekend was Friday evening Andy and Chris arrived and we (eventually) found our way to Netherstead Lodge B&B. This place is located in such a great location with stunning scenary all round. For dinner that evening we headed to The Drove Inn, a strange little place located nowhere near anything it seemed. The Drove in specialises in steak and so steak it was, mighty fine steak. Should anyone ever be anywhere near, you should go.
Sat
The main event was the 24K Red Route around Ae, just north of Dumfries. Having previously ridden Dalbeattie, Mabie and Kirroughtree, I was excited about this one since the numerous YouTube videos made it look great. The ride was indeed excellent and my favourite of the 7Stanes so far. Some nice climbs with plenty of twists and turns to keep you focused on the track and distract you from the fact you are climbing steeply at times. The descents through forrest, hillsides were fast and pretty aggressive in places with some really gnarly sections. The routes, as always with the 7Stanes, were well signed and we made decent progress apart from a mistake by the navigator (me!) at the end which led us to an additional climb and us also completing the Omega Man and part of the downhill section known as The Shredder. Worth it though and despite the skull and crossbones signs at the top of the decent, it was not not that scary and I may even have loved it!
Put simple, a wash out thanks to the fine British summer weather. Extremely strong winds and heavy, heavy rain put a stop to our planned ride of Newcastleton so I guess that gets saved for the next time. Overall, a couple of cracking rides and given the weather was dry until the Sunday, it was not a dirty weekend at all! ;-)
Following Wed
The dissapointment of missing out on the Newcastleton route meant we just had to take a day off work to get out on the bikes once again and today, it was the 27K red route around Grizedale and Parkamoor. This route takes you through the heart of Grizedale forrest and provides some of the best views across Coniston water as you ride the plateau down toward High Nibthwaite.
MTB fix for the week provided, ish!
