Felton Village Circuit
Sunday 13th September saw a change to the norm due to the main bunch otherwise engaged.So what was arranged would be a ride that would suit the tastes of the up and coming riders of the club.
We met at Felton village for a ride that would give them a taste of what a ride can contain.Ten o'clock saw willie,julie,tom,gavin,derek,tim,rosie,sue and last but not least ray leave the village and follow the river Coquet east along some testing singletrack which has taken a bit of a battering from the floods of september 2008.
Following along some quiet bridles and byeways see you arrive into the village of Warkworth where again the floods have put pay to the bridge so the only way was to cross this quite fast flowing river.Once over the drizzle started and so did the curse of bl@@dy thorn's tom first and no sooner had i helped sort him, 20 yards later i got one.Once we got this sorted we made our way to our lunch stop during our interlude the focus is where do we get to stop for a cuppa to julie and everyone else's disapointment i had to break it to them gently that this would be back at felton.
Off we headed slightly dismaid but nevertheless we travelled up towards shilbottle,we were struck again this time it was gavin's turn,julie took ray,sue and rosie up to the farm where they took shelter whilst the remainder were left to spectate at gavin trying to repair a puncture under much pressure from an audience.Obviosly gavin cannot hack spectators cos it wasnt long before he became flustered and the language took a turn for the worse.We caught up with the rest at the farm, we now turned and made our way westward where we negotiated the A1 everyone safely over we regrouped .
The weather seemed just to be following us around and it was one of those days where coats were on then off.The cattle in the field were very inquisitive towards ourselves so we made our way quietly down to the bottom corner.Gavin had a quiet word with the sheep in the next field and they took off in the opposite direction (we think that they spotted that he had wellies with spds fitted).Another ford crossing was there for a challenge which saw the more expereinced riders take on the gauntlet,the others stopped on the bridge to watch.The climb up to Newton on the moor can prove to be a bit stiff this late in the ride but rosie,sue and ray rode it like true pro's good on them!! The A1 was to cross for the last time today and saw us heading towards the weir at Guyzance this is where we took the offer of julie's jellybaby's the last climb now lay ahead of us.
The nettles were just far enough onto the track to remind you that they are still warm.The finish saw us run down the tarmac back to the village 22miles were covered with no fallers and just them three punctures to contend with,hats off to all who came out and hope that this was only the start of what can be a day of adventure and camorardery.Thanks to all those who turned out .
WILLIE
p.s Julie and everyone else found the coffee shop to round the day off !!
THE MUDDY BUMS (aka "the Clarty Ars#ses")
MOUNTAIN BIKING IN NORTHUMBERLAND AND BEYOND
To change your logo go to the 'Page Master' under the 'Design' menu
