THE MUDDY BUMS (aka "the Clarty Ars#ses") MOUNTAIN BIKING IN NORTHUMBERLAND AND BEYOND

Rothbury 27/12/2011

First ride after Christmas saw a good turnout Tom, Ian A, John C, Willie, Julie, Terry, Dave and Ian S.

The ride today coincided with a mass gathering by the Rothbury local mountain bikers this was their inaugural ride about 16 male riders not bad for a first trip they headed towards Elsdon and the ranges fortunately the opposite direction to us.

We climbed through the houses and woods up to the carriage drive a terrific technical descent saw the group smiling and wondering how we had missed this nugget having ridden around here for years. After crossing the river at Thropton it was an early lunch at the nature reserve prior to two big climbs the first up the sanitised track to the shooting hut and the second a forest road up to just below Simonside.

Another never before ridden descent wet and tricky in places but a cracking way to get back to Rothbury, at two thirds of the way down a coming together between Dave and Terry left Dave with a severely buckled wheel almost at 90 degrees, Dave being an engineer soon had it spinning in a reasonable manner enough to get him back to the car park.

Tea and toast at Tomlinson’s to celebrate Julies birthday ended the day perfectly.

19 miles in total.

Cheers Willie