Tan Hill overnight in October 2017 - now Friday 6th October

[D.A.L.E.]

Now exploring Appleby.

Me too!

[Karla]

I'm leaving Pickering now.  If this turns into a repeat of last time, I'll ring ahead for food.  See you in five-ish hours!

[Deano]

It's a shame Pete couldn't make it - he'd have fitted right in amongst the old mining relics up Great Punchard Gill. 

[Kim]

Made it. The stupid way.

[Peter]

It's a shame Pete couldn't make it - he'd have fitted right in amongst the old mining relics up Great Punchard Gill. 

I WILL find you......

[D.A.L.E.]

That was rad.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Well, that was fun. I'd forgotten how far it was from Reeth to Tan Hill, or how many times the hard-won altitude was frustratingly lost. A howling headwind really did not help when combined with my total lack of cycling fitness (combined with something else wrong with me, but we'll see what the doctor says about that).

Highlights:
"I'm-not-drunk" Aidan playing the piano on the wall.
Drunken chef agreeing to cook after the kitchen was closed in return for being bought dubious pints.
The bar being closed. Then opened. Closed. Opened. What time is it?
Meeting up with people again.
Tees Cottage; 28 years since I've been. My uncle took me when I arrived from australia, it had just been re-opened but they didn't have much running. Really great to see the beam engine going.

Hopefully link to images works


Proof! some did camp

[mllePB]

What proof ? I Can't see any pictures

[Kim]

Strava informs me that I just did my fastest ride of the year (not counting aerodynamic velodrome shenanigans).  Onna loaded mountain bike.  You bastards.   

[Karla]

What proof ? I Can't see any pictures

They were there before.  Perhaps the yacf massive has overloaded mrcharly's server.

[mrcharly-YHT]

What proof ? I Can't see any pictures

They were there before.  Perhaps the yacf massive has overloaded mrcharly's server.

I put them on google photos and made them public, or so I thought.
Switched to flickr, everyone should be able to see them now.

[Deano]

Strava informs me that I just did my fastest ride of the year (not counting aerodynamic velodrome shenanigans).  Onna loaded mountain bike.  You bastards.   

Were all your other rides also downhill with a tailwind all the way?

[sojournermike]

Glad you all had a good time and. Ice to see some tents out.

See you next taims and sorry I failed to make it

[D.A.L.E.]

[muddypete]

Thanks for organising this, Dean. Thoroughly enjoyed the ride, the pub, the bivi and (of course), meeting everyone.
Definitely interested in the on/off-road rides mentioned; will make an effort to add some zeros to my usual distances in the meantime.
I thought my descent of Buttertubs was impressive (47 mph - a new land speed record for my MTB), until I heard the "70mph-on-a-tandem" story  .

[Socks]

Another thanks for organising this Dean.  I enjoyed the experience, the struggle over the moors against the wind on Friday was re-paid by a tailwind all the way home on Friday.

[phantasmagoriana]

That was fun.

Glad I opted for the tailwind route both days; not sure that the 35mm gravel tyres were the best choice given I had 70 miles completely on-road (and seemingly mainly uphill) from Carlisle! However, Sleightholme Moor was a whole lot better on an appropriate bike.

Tees Cottage was quite cool, too, in a sort of terrifying steampunk machiney way.

[Kim]

Strava informs me that I just did my fastest ride of the year (not counting aerodynamic velodrome shenanigans).  Onna loaded mountain bike.  You bastards.   

Were all your other rides also downhill with a tailwind all the way?

Yeah, I usually ruin those by turning round and riding back to the start.   

I didn't actually go that fast on Sleightholme Moor, as I discovered that the panniers objected to doing anything really bouncy.  Phantasmagoriana, with sensible tyres and more secure luggage, just shot off into the distance.  Normally she only does that uphill.   

It was the flatter bit after Barnard Castle that killed me.  I was knackered from Friday's MTB bog snorkelling adventure so there was no way I could make up for the knobbly tyres and upright riding position.

Speaking of which, I didn't take any photos of the exciting bit, but here are a couple of the track up Hartley Fell before it disappeared:



This bit's fine.




Never go this way.  It looks like a golf course here, but rapidly becomes unridable.  TBH, I'd have had difficulty walking in places if it weren't for having a bike to lean on.

I ended up pushing, jumping and occasionally wading for about 2km, because I was damned if I was going to backtrack all the way to Kirkby Stephen to get to the road.

[sojournermike]

Strava informs me that I just did my fastest ride of the year (not counting aerodynamic velodrome shenanigans).  Onna loaded mountain bike.  You bastards.   

Were all your other rides also downhill with a tailwind all the way?

Yeah, I usually ruin those by turning round and riding back to the start.   

I didn't actually go that fast on Sleightholme Moor, as I discovered that the panniers objected to doing anything really bouncy.  Phantasmagoriana, with sensible tyres and more secure luggage, just shot off into the distance.  Normally she only does that uphill.   

It was the flatter bit after Barnard Castle that killed me.  I was knackered from Friday's MTB bog snorkelling adventure so there was no way I could make up for the knobbly tyres and upright riding position.

Speaking of which, I didn't take any photos of the exciting bit, but here are a couple of the track up Hartley Fell before it disappeared:



This bit's fine.




Never go this way.  It looks like a golf course here, but rapidly becomes unridable.  TBH, I'd have had difficulty walking in places if it weren't for having a bike to lean on.

I ended up pushing, jumping and occasionally wading for about 2km, because I was damned if I was going to backtrack all the way to Kirkby Stephen to get to the road.

Kim, that does look fun

[Kim]

Quite a bit of Type 2 Fun, as well as the intended Type 1.5.


ETA: I've just finished cleaning my bike.  This was entirely Sleightholme Moor Road, as being pushed through the bog left it almost spotless (in spite of picking up some really foul drainage ditch mud avoiding a road closure on the way to Kirkby Stephen from Penrith).  My shoes are still a work in progress.

[Deano]

Thanks for a fantastic night, everyone. I really enjoyed it and I'll move on to the awards in just a moment, but if anyone does have the time and the inclination, I think this shindig really deserves to be animated in the style of the classic 90s Amiga game Moonstone, with ominous music and a map of everyone moving towards the destination, fighting ghastly beasties along the way.

For the record, my day started in York, a train to Northallerton and a fantastic ride up into the Dales, including a track similar to Kim's. I schlepped up past the mine workings by Great Punchard Gill and followed it out onto the tops, where I was pleased at least to find a track, but I had the wrong tyres to ride it, and dragged my bike for the next three miles, dodging the shootists out in the heather. At William Gill I could've nipped back down a good track to pick up the road to the pub, but I was committed by then, and the last mile-and-a-half was a proper push-drag-chuck-bike-into-the-beck-and-hope-it's-not-too-deep kind of effort. It was brilliant (and Kim's ride sounded awesome).












Dale and I both said how much we enjoyed the fact that everyone had got there by totally different routes. There was some initial confusion with the other bunch of cyclists, but they were more-or-less a bunch of interchangable middle-aged blokes who'd all driven there. And were utterly astonished that most of us had ridden there.

We had a canny ride back down afterwards. It is possible to ride from Tan Hill to Darlo in two hours, it turns out. And Tees Cottage is back up and steaming, and it's as brilliant as ever.

[Deano]

And the awards...

The COR Award for Best Route

Runner-up: me, for taking three hours to ride/push/weep the seven miles from Whaw to Tan Hill via Great Punchard Gill.

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But the winner is Kim - see above

The Crusty Award for the Longest ride to the pub

Runners-up: Dale and phanta, for coming from Carlisle, and an honourable mention to muddypete, who would take the longest train journey trophy if there were such an award

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But the winner is Socks, who rode from his house in County Durham

The It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time Award for Worst Hangover

Runner-up: Mark (NOTP), at least judging by the plaintive texts he sent me on his way to Kirkby Stephen. To be fair, the cycling the day before might have had something to do with it - it was his Big Solo Bike Adventure and he was incredibly excited about it.

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Winner: the chef. Not only did he have the pint of snakebite I bought him for serving up food to latecomers, and umpteen other pints of snakebite, but he raided the fridge for a bottle of Mystery Icelandic Spirit which had been left behind by a couple of prospective buyers from Iceland (the pub's up for sale, as you may know). I asked him how much was left in the morning, and the answer was "Not much".

The Socks Award for the least appropriate bike

Runner-up: Socks, on his Moulton. Honourable mention to Kim for bringing a bike appropriate to 5% of the route.

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No winner this year. Everyone needs to try harder

The Uncle Peter Award for Best Drunken Playing of One of the Random Instruments Around the Pub

Runner-up - random bloke who played the piano.

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The winner was Aidan, playing the wall-piano on his way to the bog

The Bunbury Award for Worst Planning

Runner-up: Mike(NOTP), who didn't book a room and eventually had to stay in Keld. And on the day, he drove up to Keld with his bike, then realised he'd forgotten his cycling kit, had to go back and get it, and eventually arrived at about half nine. On the way to Keld, he also broke two spokes (but survived).

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Winner: Karla/bunbury/pharti, for being so late that I had to buy the chef a pint. For forgetting his lights and having to scrounge a set off tiermat. And for getting a lift up the hill from the police, and even that didn't work out as they abandoned him a couple of miles from the pub

Same again in December/January, anyone?

[L CC]

Same again in December/January, anyone?

It was a great night.
That headwind was dreadful.
I love the sharing of suffering without riding together, thing.

February's a possibility. I'll take all day, next time. All the longer for the walking.

[Peter]

At least I got an award named after me!  Hope I don't make it three no shows!  But I sorted out the electrics.

[Kim]

The Socks Award for the least appropriate bike

(click to show/hide)

No winner this year. Everyone needs to try harder

Oh, come on.  I've already done the recumbent.  I'm not doing it on a sodding Brompton...

For the record, my day started in York, a train to Northallerton and a fantastic ride up into the Dales, including a track similar to Kim's. I schlepped up past the mine workings by Great Punchard Gill and followed it out onto the tops, where I was pleased at least to find a track, but I had the wrong tyres to ride it, and dragged my bike for the next three miles, dodging the shootists out in the heather. At William Gill I could've nipped back down a good track to pick up the road to the pub, but I was committed by then, and the last mile-and-a-half was a proper push-drag-chuck-bike-into-the-beck-and-hope-it's-not-too-deep kind of effort. It was brilliant (and Kim's ride sounded awesome).

*Salutes*

By the time I'd been knee-deep in bog for the fifteenth time, the chucking the bike into the beck fording technique seemed almost fun.  Even if I wasn't entirely clear about how I was going to climb back out on the other side.  Funny how these things change your perspective, isn't it?

To be fair, it was mostly the impending darkness that worried me.  I've heard horror stories about those moors.