Many people are suprised by the ammount of green lane riding to be found in East Anglia. Whether it's the rutted farm tracks of the Fens, the sandy lanes of West Norfolk, the wooded byways of Suffolk or the increasingly well graded Essex routes there's miles and miles of it.
So there's certainly no shortage of riding in our own back yard. What we don't have though are any rocky lanes or hills of any size. So, when we fancy a change it's time to load up the bikes and head north.
Not perhaps surprisingly the nearest hills and rocks to Cambridgeshire are to be found in the Peak District and although this is a good 120 miles away it's just close enough to make it a viable day trip.
Of course the Peak District is just close enough to an awful lot of places which is doubtless why it is such a popular destination for walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders as well as trail riders.
This can create problems. There's no doubt that our access to this fantastic area is under serious threat and this has lead some people to suggest that "outsiders" should stay away or at least not advertise their presence by posting run reports and the like.
Well I have some sympathy for that view and certainly agree that we should be doing all we can to minimise our impact on the area and on other users. This is one of the reasons why I no longer visit the area at weekends when it is incredibly busy and I would never feel comfortable riding in a big group or with riders who's bikes were conspicuously noisy.
On the other hand, I do not believe that we can win the battle for our continued access to this or any other area by trying to hide in the shadows. Even if this policy worked a decade ago when trail riders were less common it's now too little too late.
We need to be sensible, we need to be considerate and there will be times when we need to make compromises but we should never be afraid to assert our position as legitimate users so, lecture over, I'll tell you about the ride
.
Getting up at five o'clock in the morning is not something that comes naturally to me but at least on this occasion I didn't have do any driving just get the bike and my kit ready for collection. Tony turned up on the dot of 06:30am as arranged and by 06:45 we were on our way arriving at Cromford by about 09:15. Mind you, the others two (Mike and Kevin) had already been there for about an hour so after a quick cuppa in the Tor Cafe we headed off with Tony leading.
This was a novelty for me, in fact I can't think of the last time I went on a run and didn't lead. Tony knows the area though and his navigation was good. He follwed much the same sort of route as I would have done anyway and from my vantage point at the back I got to watch everyone else which was quite good fun.
Heading out from the Matlock area we took in a selection of rocky lanes, some flat some steep before heading toward Monsal Dale.
(Tony, Mike and Kevin)
After the first lane Mike pointed out that he'd never ridden on rocks before! He soon got he hang of it though which was just as well because those early lanes were just a warm up for the later stuff.
From here we rode toward Buxton and then onto to Chapel-en-le-frith where we stopped for lunch and petrol. The sun was shining and everything was going to plan.
After eating perhaps a little too well in the pub we all headed out of Chapel and into the hills for what was arguably the "main event". Anyone who knows the area will know that the lanes around here are very rocky, in places very steep but also blessed with some of the most fantastic views to be found in the whole Peak Park.
Mind you, all those rocks require a certain ammount of effort and by the time we were nearing the end of the first lane of the afternoon I was beggining to wish I'd just had a sandwich for lunch rather than a massive plate of scampi and chips. Still at least it gave me some energy!
Of course the rock climbing doesn't come easy to us southerners and I don't think that anyone "cleaned" any of the tricky rock step sections. Tony came pretty close though. I think Mike was th eonly one to actually lay the bike down (yes thats a polite way of saying that he fell off) but given his lack of experience in these conditions he actually did very well.
Lets put it this way, he wasn't the only one of us who had to get off and push
Still, considering where we come from I think we all did very well because there really is no where like this in Cambridgeshire to practice.
Taking a well wearned break (Mike on the left, Kevin on the right and yours truly in the middle)
Of course there's much more to the Peaks than just rocky climbs. On the return leg I took over the lead (at Tonys request) and immediately started to take wrong turns at every opportunity! So much for my decade of experience riding in the area.
I did eventually manage to lead us back to the White Peak along some more intimate and very picturesque lanes though which provided a nice contrast to the harsher environment of the Dark Peak.
By the time we got back to the vans the warm sunshine was beggining to fade and there was drizle in the air. On the drive home the weather took a distinct turn for the worst and it absolutely poured down. By then though it was too late for this to spoil the day. although I did get wet putting the bike back in the shed when I got home this couldn't detract from what had been a fantastic days riding on some of the countries greatest lanes.
A big thanks to Tony for sorting this run out, for leading and for offering me a lift. I Appologise for my naff navigation (I did know where I was going really, err, sort of). Hopefully the extra lanes I added in were worth the hassle.
For anyone else who's thinking of visiting this area please just remember that it's a National Park. Treat the area and the locals with respect, keep the groups small, the speed down and the noise to an absolute minimum and hopefully we can all continue to enjoy this fantastic part of the world for any more years to come.
Cheers
Richard
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a quick unplanned excursion up the hedge is "squirell chasing" and a lie down in a ford/puddle is "trout tickling" adds to the run report 