Swaledale Outdoor Club

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30 Miles Medium

One of this year's best rides took us from Rievaulx 28 miles through forest, farmland (nettles) and open moorland in 6 hours of scorching June sunshine.

Heading West up 'Nettle Dale' (to all those who came it really is Nettle Dale on the map!) we made the first climb of the day up a straight single track through the woods to bring us up onto the top of the Hambleton Hills where we stayed for the next 15 miles.

Leaving Nettle Dale Wood and skirting Old Byland we witnessed the most amazing sight as Grant took Anne Marie by surprise from behind and stopped to assist in the mending of her puncture. Grant's puncture mending skills have advanced in the 12 months since he joined SOC!

At Silver Hill Farm we encountered the leader of the world's slowest horse race and overwhelmed by the excitement of the chasing riders we stopped for lunch with a view of the moors.

The long section down to Black Hambleton was bone dry and apart from an unseen fall as Andy bailed out into the heather we all managed to negotiate the speed bumps in the track. For a bit of fun after the long road section East we struggled up an indistinct bridle way through the heather from Lane House Farm to Low Thwaites on the way to the Bilsdale mast. After our experience of the track on a recce the day before we decided against the run down into Fangdale Back and opted for a long firetrack descent back to the road which we crossed and made off around Hawnby Hill Crag and down to Hawnby.

Hawnby has a pub, an ice cream shop, children who like to skid their bikes on a Sunday afternoon and a bench of adults who like to tut at children skidding their bikes etc. After a disappointing first round skid Steve managed to impress the kids with his extreme skidding ability and gave us something to watch while we consumed ice creams in the sun.

There is unfortunately only one way to go from Hawnby and that way is up. Steve again impressed with his single speed climbing ability and we then enjoyed a single track blast downhill almost all the way to Rievaulx and another ice cream shoppe.

Nic and Paul

Last Modified: 4 August, 2003