RSF - The Off Road Cycling Club

The Adventure Starts Here

2013

“Bicycles are almost as good as guitars for meeting girls.” — Bob Weir, Grateful Dead singer, songwriter and guitarist

 

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

It is a fact that if you stare at a map long and hard enough you will coax new routes to appear. Some years ago we conjured up a high road in the mountains northwest of the Himalayas - the Pamir Highway. At that time, the country, Tajikistan, was inconveniently engaging in a nasty civil war. Not that this a great improvement for us from the previous state of affairs, namely its being a Soviet Republic and therefore out of bounds to pretty well anyone
On a previous trip to Suffolk I discovered that the Veteran-Cycle Club have an annual ride in October, starting two miles from where I stay. Which is why last year I took my oldest bike, a 1939 Bates Vegrandis, equipped with 60 inch fixed wheel. Chairman Steve, who is also a V-CC member, stayed two nights and suggested we ride out to the seaside at Dunwich before breakfast; and not wanting to look a wimp I agreed to go with him
For the last two years our summer expeditions had started from Clun Youth Hostel where my brother John, Bernard Heath and I met. Our route in both years had been south through fine countryside towards Kington the anticipated overnight stop. In 2011 we had intended to do the Hergest ridge from west to east but arrived too late at Gladestry and chose to take the cycle route to Kington. In 2012 we set out with the intention of doing the ridge and made it our main objective for the day.
Carpe diem... that’s what I always try to do but sometimes it’s the day that seizes you. Our second week in Italy was spent at podere Fraggina, a farm that’s no longer a working farm but an agriturismo. In other words they are farming tourists there. ‘They’ are Inger and Massimo and I can assure the reader Fraggina is one of those places you’ll undoubtedly return to. It is situated just outside the ancient Etruscan town of Volterra on the edge of Le Baize, an impressive deeply eroded limestone ravine. So a good start of the day for a keen rough-stuff cyclist.
Wainwright referred to the 9-mile crossing of Salter Fell as ‘The finest high moorland walk in England’ and so I was looking forward to combining this outing with my first RSF ride leadership experience. Tucked up by the woodstove in the cafe at Wray, I was unconcerned by the little snowfall pattering outside because, as all South Lakes members know, we have our own weather fairy who make every ride day a fine day. Simeon and Norman appeared at the glass door of the cafe, both having ridden from home
At the beginning of September 2012, the start of an all too brief spell of Indian summer, I took three friends into the Yorkshire Dales to ride the Settle Loop section of the Pennine Bridleway. I had ridden it several times before but Jen had only ever ridden a part of it, and as for Bex and Warren, well, it was to be a new adventure for them. The last time I rode the Loop was the February before last when I was with another group of friends and it absolutely lashed it down every minute of the ride - a shared experience never to be forgotten,

Categories Menu

Search The Archive

 pdf