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

The prospect of hard frozen ground excited the 10 starters on the ride from Wooler Common; that being Ian, Alan, Izzie, Gavin, Willy, Julie, Dave, Suzanne, Tom and Arthur.

However, the rare occurrence of a mechanical with team Willy/Julie forced them to retreat early in the ride. A nice warming climb over hard frozen ground took us up to Broardstruther where a short rest was taken then the superb single track took us down to Harthope Burn with a short snack stop here before the hard ascent up towards Broad Moss. Dave, the unofficial king of the hill, showed us all how to climb; we do believe blood doping was involved. On down to Threesburn House with lunch taken at the Standing Stones. Then more nice single track before the run down towards Liderton where a slight overshoot of the track was easily corrected. Following cycle route 68 with a short diversion to look at North Middleton past Happy Valley with a final mile climb enabling us to drop down on to Wooler Common with style, arriving just in time to beat the rain at 2.20 and 18 miles. A few tumbles but all soft landings. Another good day on the hill.

Arthur