Pic of the Day

[The Hodge]

Just cracked a rib and bruised a kidney after an OTB on a slippy descent so out for weeks. Should have listened to my instinct . . watch that mud!

Try not to sneeze ..
Hope you heal well and quickly ..its a frustrating time

 

[Hobo Mikey]

A late change to the route we were going to ride today in Upper Weardale saw Ant , Wayne & myself heading back to Kielder and what an inspired / fortunate choice it was
Unbeknownst to us the new track on The Lonesome Pine Trail was having a Photo-shoot prior to its official opening ( not sure when that is ) which only became apparent when the photographer asked if we were part of it ..as there were 30 riders on there way to tackle it ..
That kind of put a bit of urgency into us getting to the top and as we set off down there was a forestry vehicle pulled up at the bottom and I thought " yeah we are in for a bollocking here."
Sure enough at the bottom the forestry official was waiting to dish out a ticking off ..and had it been anyone else they probably would have got it in the neck ..but fortunately for us it was Russell Stephenson who is the Ranger in charge of all Kielder Trail maintenance and a good mate of ours ..I think he was a little gobsmacked that we had taken the wind out of his sails !
He also pointed back up the fire road at the riders who were now heading towards us and said that Alex McLennan ( Recreation & Tourism Officer for these parts)..was amongst them ..
Upon greeting him with " Where was our invite ?" ..we were asked to join them ..but we had the newly refurbished Skydive ( only opened again today ) to ride before heading over to Deadwater & finishing on the first part of the Osprey Trail & Osprey Chick ...
Generously though we were invited to join the group at the Kielder Castle after Deadwater for a freebie Bacon sandwich ( one of the best Ive had )& a hot drink ..a really nice Latte ...and a nice chat for a few mins with folks I've not seen for a while .
Prior to a few pics ..I would also like to extend my thanks to Ian Bell at The Bike Place Kielder who is retiring with his last day being tomorrow .
Ian has helped me out at short notice more than a few times over the years ..as well as being a great riding buddy & friend.
Enjoy your retirement mate .
The pics .. View attachment 149373 View attachment 149374
I'd forgotten my phone on the first part of the ride..so no pics of the new trail ..which is now open to ride .
The following were taken of Ant & Wayne on Osprey Chick near the end .
View attachment 149376 View attachment 149377 View attachment 149378
View attachment 149379 View attachment 149380 View attachment 149381 View attachment 149382

A pint in The Hollybush , Greenhaugh finished off a quite superb day of riding ..
In fact if Carlsberg did mountain biking ..
Cheers lads

Sounds like a great day again for you guys. Wish I was there for that one.

 

[TimC7]

On the previous day I had just finished a gravel ride when I noticed a significant layer of fine dust on the bike and wondered how much of that was in my lungs.

You're higher up so not breathing much of what the wheels kick up, and millions of years of evolution means your lungs can cope with "normal" dust (asbestos, maybe not so much . .).

 

[Tyjay]

Another great day at kielder forest
Went up as they have revamped the old red trails that have closed since storm arwin
Their now flow trails but pretty decent
Officially open next weekend but are rideable from today with caution
Good day all round
Back again on Wednesday to get some footage for Youtube

 

[The Hodge]

but are rideable from today with caution

They were ridden & open yesterday by @timberjack ( Ant ) @The EMF ( Wayne ) & myself ..old news mate
See post 14,008

 

[Tyjay]

They were ridden & open yesterday by @timberjack ( Ant ) @The EMF ( Wayne ) & myself ..old news mate
See post 14,008

Yeah I know couldn’t get up yesterday
Russell was there and told us to be careful we ride with his stepson all the time so know him
they may as well of tarmac the trails as there just blue flow trails now
still good fun though and a good day

 

[Binhill1]

Nice dry weather again 30 miles . Billy no mates today .Drummond had an off last week and broke his shoulder glad i I wasn't with him .

 

[The Hodge]

they may as well of tarmac the trails as there just blue flow trails now

In part ..what you say is true ..and there is a very good reason for that .
The " new" track is a re-vamp of a section on Lonesome Pine which was known as "Olivers Oscar" this and the re-graded "Sky Dive" were fully funded by Northumberland County Council with work set to continue on the ( still closed) Bewshaugh segment (which was always my favourite bit in the forest).
The proviso for this funding was that the trail would be open to all abilities ..and was made wider to accommodate adaptive mountain bikes...
The track that has so far been created is fast and fun and while it doesn't have any death defying features its great to have it back .
The section currently closed from the top of the boardwalk is also due to re-open at some stage ..and the new timber is already there to repair rotted sections ..
All in all Forestry England have played a blinder to get funding for a trail that would otherwise have fallen into permanent disrepair.