Westgate , Upper Weardale ,Co.Durham 21.5.22

[The Hodge]

Not quite as brutal as the Garrigill ride on Saturday ..but still hard enough rising to nearly 700m on one side of the valley & 600m on the other..in fact I'm sure I read somewhere that we are in touching distance of England's highest surfaced road..approx 20 miles in total with some great singletrack ..
Starting in Westgate at the car park marked on the map ( to follow ) and meeting at 10.00am ..I will add a little more info later ( still working atm)..

 

[richysgc]

Sounds good mate, ill keep my eye out, need to be back in time for the big match though on the afternoon

 

[The Hodge]

Best give this one a miss then Richy ..you won't get back in time ..
I would also kick myself if it meant you missed the chance to wallow in misery when you are confined to league 1 for another season..

 

[richysgc]

Best give this one a miss then Richy ..you won't get back in time ..
I would also kick myself if it meant you missed the chance to wallow in misery when you are confined to league 1 for another season..

im a sunderland fan, im used to wallowing in football misery

how long do expect the ride to take mate?

 

[The Hodge]

Well there is a huge fly in the ointment ..the cassette on my bike which is less than two months old is fkd to put it bluntly after riding less than I/2 mile at Kielder yesterday afternoon ..the free hub may also need replacing ..the ring inside the cassette ( with teeth) where the tool to unloosen would attach to is "missing" when compared to an identical new cassette..all very strange ..but I can't do anything until my LBS owner has a look on Saturday ..so the ride is in doubt .
But in terms of a timescale ..there isn't one ..however we don't exactly fly around and there is a lot of climbing involved ..
If we rode non stop ..3-4hrs would cover it ..but we don't ride non stop and there is a cafe stop on this one in St.Johns Chapel ..
Most of our rides are " all day " rides ending mid to late afternoon ..
I will update after Saturday ..but if a better offer comes along ..take it

 

[The Hodge]

Well..I'm good to go ..
Many thanks to my LBS ..and good mate Ian at the Bike Place Kielder and also Mart who had the bike sorted prior to me turning up this morning ..
Ian was prepared to take full responsibility for what went wrong but as that was inconclusive due to the hub bearing being knackered we came to an agreement which we were both happy with ..
Yeah he is a mate & we have a lot of riding history together but the service was above and beyond and I can't thank him enough.

 

[thebarber]

Not quite as brutal as the Garrigill ride on Saturday ..but still hard enough rising to nearly 700m on one side of the valley & 600m on the other..in fact I'm sure I read somewhere that we are in touching distance of England's highest surfaced road..approx 20 miles in total with some great singletrack ..
Starting in Westgate at the car park marked on the map ( to follow ) and meeting at 10.00am ..I will add a little more info later ( still working atm)..

Cold Berry end, a cracking trail for motos

Have a look at the H just north of Westgate

 

[The Hodge]

Yeah ..I've done all of that previously ..( the H bit ..very wet in places !) ..Im planning on using the track from the resevoir to go up Burnhope Moor and down Coldberry End ...

 

[thebarber]

This is a good route to drop to cows Hill then lanes will get you to the res.

 

[The Hodge]

Yeah mate ..also done that already and it does form part of the route ..also had a huge argument with the bloke who lives in the house on the other side of the Sedling Burn ..who quite rightly pointed out that the track at the very bottom is not Bridleway ..and wanted us to go back up the hill ..and after an interesting discussion told him to do one anyway ..

 

[thebarber]

Yeah he's a knob.
Tried to look menacing to us as well with his wife beater shirt on.
Another fukin incomer who thinks he owns the air we breathe .
He should av lived there when we rode the big dirt bikes around there, that would have been interesting

 

[philmedomsley]

The gentleman provides great entertainment every time I pass. Last time I passed, I asked him if he had nothing better to do. He went absolutely mental. No sense of humour.

 

[The Hodge]

Yeah ..a real curtain twitcher ..even if I wanted to use that bridleway up the hill ( which is crap)..I deliberately wouldn't as he is such good value ..and the footpath which he is so "precious" about is a doubletrack road used by motor vehicles..and nowt to do with him anyway

 

[The Hodge]

Just heard from Wayne ( EMF) ..confirming for Saturday ..so that's three of us now ..Jaco being the other ..10.00 meet up at the car park in the village ..anyone else ?
..if you look on the first map posted by @thebarber it clearly marked on the South side of the river

 

[richysgc]

Ill give this a miss due to the footy been on, enjoy lads

 

[The Hodge]

No problem Richy..
You seem like a nice bloke and I totally understand that you want to watch your team ..just as I hope you can understand that I can't wish you good luck ..

 

[richysgc]

No problem Richy..
You seem like a nice bloke and I totally understand that you want to watch your team ..just as I hope you can understand that I can't wish you good luck ..

haha no i wouldn't have expected any mate, hope the ride was good for yas, ill join yous once i get back from work

 

[The Hodge]

Westgate on 21 May 2022 10:23:11

www.outdooractive.com

Pics & write up in "Pic of the Day section ..
The EMF's stats on Strava were slightly more impressive at 24 miles and 3100ft climbing ..so as it felt that hard ..thats what we are calling it !

 

[The Hodge]

Grumpy man at the bottom of the Race Head bridleway wasn't in ..

 

[The Hodge]

haha no i wouldn't have expected any mate, hope the ride was good for yas, ill join yous once i get back from work

I caught the last bit of the match and though it sticks in my craw to say it ..you deserved to win .
Catch up with you soon ...

 

[The Hodge]

Another couple from The EMF'S portfolio..
Top..me
Bottom ..Jaco
This section from Wearhead on the climb up Burnhope Moor heading towards Grasshill Farm.. elevation approx 700m