New Year Saddo
What an amazing turnout for our first Saddo of 2016. Eighteen rides assembled at the Lime Kiln Cafe, many collecting their eagerly awaited RSF B*ffs - (only a handful remain, contact Rob Newton if you would like one.) and assembling everyone for a pre-ride photo shoot proved as easy as herding cats!
In a spirit of New Year generosity I decided that we should dispense with the usual gentle warm up along the canal and start climbing right away along the Golf course road which gives splendid views over Uppermill and of Primrose Hill in the background.
This did afford us a gentle descent back to the canal and an easy ride to Dovestone's Reservoir which we circumnavigated before the ascent of Bradbury Lane, one of our favourite single track descents but a bit of a b*gger to ride up! This put us on the contouring track, so therefore no major ups or downs (honest!) above the Tame Valley with splendid views off towards Manchester and beyond. This part of the Pennine Bridleway actually does have some slightly challenging ups and downs and afforded all of us with our own personal challenges which we rose to in our individual fashion! The track, aptly named Mood Edge Road eventually takes you down to the former mill village of Carrbrook where we briefly lost contact with three of our number before hurtling down Staly Lane to rejoin the canal at the aptly named Bottoms in Mossley leaving us just a short tow-path ride to lunch at Roaches Lock.
The two and three course lunch offer at the pub proved irresistible to nearly all (tremendous self-restraint Phil!) and it proved difficult to raise sufficient spirits and takers for an ascent of Hartshead Pike - we'll leave that for another day - so we trundled back conviovially along the canal to the Lime Kiln where several of us stopped for a debrief of the day's activities over a brew.
Thanks to everyone not only for turning up but for such good company.
More of Roger's Photos can be viewed on Flickr here.
Watch a short video of the ride by Andy Eatch here.