Old & Peculiar

Sunday 17th November and Andy's offer of free beer and a social ride was enough to entice 14 of us out to Gunnerside for one of those famous 'medium 20 mile rides'. Destination Tan Hill pub.

Andy set off at a pace determined not to be leading from the rear. As you would expect from a typical medium 20 mile ride it wasn't long before we were into granny ring, dragging ourselves up a 1 in 5 incline, shedding clothes along the way and trying to power up hills with some jet propulsion (Sue!!!!) Mountain biking brings out the best in us ladies.

There were a few macho challenges on the grassy slopes seeing who could make it actually on the bike, but having watched Mark go for a quick lie down, the pushing option seemed the best - as is normal for a medium 20 mile ride.

I think it was Liz's third outing with the club and having read her reports in the previous newsletter she wouldn't be blamed for any slight disillusionment over a medium 20 mile ride.

After plenty of grunting we made it to the road for an easy cruise or was it a 5 mile onslaught uphill into a head wind (?!) and onto our destination. By this time Andy had decided it was a better option to lead from the rear and was nowhere in site when the first beers were ordered. No doubt being the responsible leader and making sure he still had 14 in the group.

Normally on our trips we do lose a couple along the way - not permanently though in case you're worried about coming out with this section - but not today. Today we gained a rider - Chris, Andy's brother, late for the start but made it to the pub via an easier route than we took.

As you can imagine once we got into the pub with a roaring log fire, Old Peculiar on tap, 'Sunday People' for Pete's entertainment and Tanhill sausage we couldn't wait to get going again...…

Some time later and several halves of Old Peculiar consumed (I can't drink pints) the sun had come out and we were raring to go.

Taking Kevin's advice I opted for the 'fizz that gives you whizz' only to find I had no control of my bike whatsoever - I blame the terrain.

For the afternoon Andy had arranged a bog trotting section - again typical of a medium 20 mile ride and the fun began. Where was Ed when you needed him to lead the way through the best bogs - there was skin and hair flying in all directions. No gentlemen out on this ride either - not only did they not volunteer to lay down their jackets for us they actively sought the routes where the catastrophes could occur.

We eventually made it back onto the tracks and were told 'It's all downhill' from here. Never believe a mountain bike rider who say this, especially on a medium 20 mile ride. Several ups and down's later and we made it back to Gunnerside - tired, muddy, wet but smiling - and eager to face another medium 20 mile ride we all got into our nice warm cars to get home quickly and cleaned up. All that is except Steve who, powered by Old Peculiar and mini jaffas, set off back to Richmond notching up another 17 miles.

Cheers Andy - great day out.

Unsolved mystery of the day: What came first - the barn or the owl?

Crash of the day: Yet again - Steve - appeared head to toe in mud claiming he had skidded off course after Dave had held open the gate for him.

Saboteur of the day: Dave for holding the gate open for Steve allowing a good crash performance for Liz - just so she can be tempted to come out on a medium 20 mile ride again!

Top tip of the day: How to drink Old Peculiar - Don't!

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	Swaledale Outdoor Club

Old & Peculiar

Judith Wox