RSF - The Off Road Cycling Club

The Adventure Starts Here

1992

“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realise fishing is stupid and boring.” — Desmond Tutu, South African cleric BikeRadar / Immediate Media

 

All content in the journals is copyright either of the RSF or the author or indeed both. It's use without permission will result in a stiff memo. If you would like to use an article or images please contact the general secretary in the first instance

1992 Jan-Feb Vol 37 No.1
 
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You have heard the expression ‘walking on water’; well this was a day when we rode on water! Some 36 hours of heavy rain previously and a very off-putting weather forecast kept our numbers down to just seven. We left Beechenhurst Enclosure as the second downpour of the morning began. At least we were sheltered from the blustery wind. The forest has never looked so wet and many of the tracks were awash with surface water causing our leader to modify his route to avoid the muddier and slippery ways. Rain gave way to bright skies and sunshine, giving some lovely lighting effects through the trees and showing off the autumn tints.
1992 March-April Vol 37 No.2
 
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It was sheer bliss to be on tarmac again after the exhausting pull across the moors and a slow pace was set to Durness while admiring the beautiful scenery. A minibus passed us on the road to collect tourists from the light house, so we were assured of a ferry crossing at the end of the day. The green sands beneath the shallow sea looked inviting in the afternoon sun and made one think it was the Mediterranean. Bikes and luggage were loaded on to the boat which took us across the Kyle of Durness in two journeys.
1992 May-June Vol 37 No.3
 
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On a November Saturday I was up at 4.00a.m., and out on the road by 5.00a.m. With the bike heavy with camping gear, I rode north through the dark, through sleeping Preston and along the A6. Near the Lancashire University I pulled off the main road and onto Five Ashes Lane for a quick break at 8.20a.m. I was soon back on the A6 once more and kept on through Lancaster. By 10.30a.m., with 50 miles on the cycle-computer I arrived at Levens Village. In the National Trust’s Brigsteer Park, I had a welcome brew-up, using the Trangia
1992 July-Aug Vol 37 No.4
 
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Whenever I mention rough-stuff to a non cyclist - and I expect most readers have had the same experience - it is almost guaranteed that the response will be. “Oh. you ride a mountain bike then, do you?" The public has been so conditioned to the idea that off-road cycling equals mountain bikes that, for instance, the Countryside Com mission will not accept riders on other types of machine for its organised rides on the Ridgeway path. But surely, as the singer might have put it. "It ain't what you ride, it’s the way that you ride it"
1992 Sept-Oct Vol 37 No.5
 
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I had a Plan. I packed my tent. I checked the weather forecast. I bought potatoes. “Scarlet” was given a cursory polish. Her lines are ample; more of a Hunter than a Thoroughbred; carriers fore and aft and (I expect) the world’s largest saddle-bag hanging securely from what has been rather unkindly described (by some) as the world's broadest saddle. My usual explanation that my choice of seat was based more on the size of saddle-bag than on my admittedly substantial girth, is generally met with an over-polite slightly glazed look.
1992 Nov-Dec Vol 37 No.6 (Index)
 
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Wild goats live on these mountains, and as I scrambled round a large rock outcrop, one of them stood on the track watching me. It was a big animal with large curving horns, and I wasn’t too keen on having to dispute whose track it actually was! To my relief it trotted away as I approached. The Roman Steps, a track made up of stone slabs, climbs steadily through the narrow pass. After the rain of the last few days, water was running down the slabs, as well as down the stream, so that it was often difficult to differentiate between the path and the stream. I reached the summit cairn about two hours after leaving the road back in Cwm Bychan.

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