Off Road Tours

Tinsel Trail

11th - 13th December 2009

Well here we are again, Christmas is upon us and our annual skirmish in Derbyshire is an excuse to let your hair down and enjoy some good company and great Trail Riding. It didn't disappoint for any of us. Well except for Dave that is, who was having a diabolical week and pinning his hopes on a chilled out weekend to re-charge his batteries. No such luck, what with arriving by candle light as the flat battery on the Mitsubishi L200 had just about given up due to one of the fan belts snapping and the other falling off the pulleys no doubt as the first one was being shredded by the engine. Never mind, we were due a great film show as he'd brought his projector and all the right enduro DVD's to inspire us for the morning. Oh yeah, there was a small matter of a missing lead. Oops!

Mind you my own journey to Pindale Bunkhouse was eventful enough, wanting to start the weekend off with the right biking frame of mind, I elected to ride my CRM 250 from home for the expected travelling time of 1.5 hours. Fat chance, it was 6.30pm when I left Quent's after helping him get his DR250 on the back of his 4x4 bike rack, yet I didn't arrive at Hope till 9pm. I knew it would be dark, but as soon as I left Derby and street lights, I remembered how insignificant the CRM headlight is. Worse than useless, and with the front indicators permanently wired on (Japan Spec) they were actually dazzling me and making it more difficult to see the road ahead. At Ashbourne the town was closed to all traffic due to a street fair, and my choice of detour through the fog at Ilam was almost suicidal. I swear I was down to 15mph for several miles, and even when back on the A515 I relied on the rear lights of cars in the distance to show me the general direction of the road ahead.

Mind you everyone was running a little late with Bill, John B, Al-Mac and Nick being first to arrive at the bunkhouse by 8pm. We had two suites, one directly above the other and each with kitchen, shower room and the facility to sleep 8 in one giant bunk bed. Just roll out your sleeping bag and pick a spot. Basic, Rustic, Sociable and Great for a mere £10 a night each. John R arrived still feeling the worse for wear from the previous nights works doo, and after dumping his gear and a swift cold one, turned in for the night to save himself for the rest of the weekend. That left 7 of us to meander down in to Hope for a bit of socialising, but not before bumping in to Brian trailering his XR250. After giving him directions he soon caught up. At the 'Old Hall' the barman actually apologised for only having Theakston's Old Peculiar on Hand-Pull (obviously a lager drinker!). A couple of pints and a walk back up the lane for a night cap and before we knew it, it was very late or early morning if you like, 'Boing', "Time for bed" said Zebedee.

Trying to motivate the team, I'd stated the previous evening that we all needed to be Fed, Fuelled and Kitted up by 10am Sat morning for the start of the trail riding, and not a bad effort by all, apart from? You guessed it, Dave was having difficulty getting the KTM 450 fired up and flattened the battery in the process. Not to worry he'd brought a jump start pack and it soon fired up. Trouble was it wouldn't reliably tick over and kept dying, and unable to save it on the throttle. It needed more attention to strip the carb etc. It was no good, Dave was probably right, saying it would be a liability and resided himself to packing away and getting off home. But wait, we still hadn't sorted his 4x4 fan belt issue. Dave sat on the tailgate of his L200 with his head in his hands. John R volunteered to go and fetch the bacon butties from the Café while we fixed the L200. I could have cried for Dave. No-one deserves that much bad luck!!

The first lane was a rude awakening as the rocks were like marbles underneath us as we gingerly climbed out of Pindale. "Don't worry" I said to Al-Mac and Nick the relative newcomers "They're not all like that" not wanting to frighten them off. We did about a dozen green lanes before stopping for fuel, including pulling in one that I'd never done before, but having seen it on the map and it was on our way, why not I thought, the lads will never realise I'm making this up as I go along. We also stopped to re-group on Shatton Moor where we waited for Quent who was doing a stirling job as 'Tail End Charlie' and looking after Nick, new to this activity on his recently acquired XR400 from E-bay, a real find. He was our celebrity, an Olympic Canoeist and riding well on what are some of Derbyshire's most challenging green lanes. I actually don't recall him taking a tumble, outstanding, using his Racing Snake physique and long legs to good effect.

It's always a balance keeping expert riders like John B and John R both KTM450's dialled in, Brian too, who gave a solid performance all day, then there's Bill CRM250, nothing fazes him, and being our team photographer, he's always looking for that once in a life time shot. Al-Mac, also a new Trail rider on another CRM250 rode with real determination and impressed me.

Reaching the bottom of a lane at Eyam the XR400 pulled up next to me with JB aboard having swapped with Nick and singing the praises of the terrific engine braking down the hill. Nick rolled up wide eyed having felt the power of the KTM.

After the fuel stop for myself and JR, who'd both missed the opportunity of an early morning top up while helping get one of Dave's vehicles back on the road, we approach an uphill deep rutted track caused by water erosion from Novembers incessant rain. It was narrow and had you ducking and diving to avoid the overhanging undergrowth. If this wasn't enough, there was a substantial fallen branch two thirds of the way up with barely 6" of clear ground to the left of it, but it meant switching back quickly over a cavernous rut to avoid contact and the likelihood of it claiming you as a victim as I'm sure it would have taken your front wheel clean away. With virtually no passing places it took a few minutes for everyone to emerge on to the tarmac road at the top. Nick made it up only to misjudge the very last hump off the track, without enough momentum he stalled the bike and started rolling backwards and once again in to the green lane's grasp. Not beaten he managed to avoid any embarrassment and wishing for an electric start on the 45 degree slope, he eventually managed to kick the XR in to life and escaped. Brian, the two Johns and Bill all making a safe and accomplished exit from the lane and acknowledging the level of difficulty they'd just experienced. Al-Mac was not so lucky getting his back wheel caught in a rut and his somewhat worn tyre could not find purchase on the terrain to free his CRM masterfully. Instead he bit the dust and the resulting broken clutch lever mounting bracket had to be held together with a trusty cable tie which did a great job and allowed him to continue undeterred.

On the very next route whilst stationary, Quent's DR somehow lost it's balance and in slow motion caused a domino effect with Al-Mac's bike as they were both lying on top of each other. The uneven surface and incline playing a contributory factor no doubt. We had to wait a few minutes as the DR had flooded and with experience Q knew just to be patient and wait a while. Sure enough it burst in to life shortly afterwards, mind you we couldn't have picked a better spot to take 5, the sun was shining and the view over Calver was breathtaking. JR once again appreciative of living within spitting distance of this outstandingly beautiful county.

A spot of lunch at Wardlow Mires Café and listening to Bill reminiscing about one of the best pubs he's ever been to. Across the road was the '3 Stags Heads' with its own micro brewery and camping available. I think it's a must for a weekend in the summer of 2010.

With everyone suitably refreshed and me thinking carefully about which lanes to include in the afternoon, bearing in mind we needed to be back at Pindale before dark and the last 2 off-road sections would be the most challenging of the day up towards Mam Tor, I led the riders to Monsal Dale for yet another rocky climb negotiating stones and boulders, some as big as footballs. All safely up, though some more elegantly than others, we rode the ridge taking in the views, especially the one of Nick, who made the school boy error of dawdling through a gigantic puddle while JB blasted past causing the fountain of water from the wheels of the KTM to totally saturate him head to toe. He'd been well and truly through the initiation ceremony.

Concerned we would be chasing daylight we headed north picking up a little gem of a lane where the solid bedrock foundation can really catch you out in these damp conditions as there is so little grip. Even knowing this I felt my CRM skew round under power as the tyre was groping around for traction. Making full use of his drive, JB flew past on a much better line, giving me something to focus on, taking my mind off the terrain slightly, I opened up the throttle and allowed the bike to pick the route it wanted with the back end wandering around the lane as it saw fit and it worked a treat. Just time for a photo shoot while we all re-grouped at the end, before taking to the high ground for our final 2 challenges of the day.

The first was a series of ascending rocky steps, there was an alternative 'Chicken run' to the right that I'd pointed out before hand for those that wanted the option, but it really was a challenge itself as the narrow dirt track rose up very steeply. I led up the rocky steps paying particular attention to fortuitously placed stones placed below the largest step and the inviting 'V' formation in the rocky outcrop, you need momentum, your front wheel to get lift from those said stones and control to be able to turn left as soon as the back wheel hops on top or you'll be spat out of the chosen route and on to the 'Chicken run', as indeed happened to Brian and JB on his 2nd attempt.. The master though was Mr Robinson who on his first attempt shot up like a rat up a drain pipe under the watchful eye of the onlookers whilst standing on the pegs, clearing the most difficult section without so much as a dab. Respect!

Pushing on through a series of 5 or 6 gates we developed a slick operation of 1st man opens, 2nd man stops to close and 3rd man along with the others ride through and on to the next gate to repeat the process. We were done in no time at all and I don't think anyone had to open more that one gate. Teamwork! We stopped to offer assistance to 3 fellow trail riders who were struggling with a front wheel puncture that had been repaired, but as my pump failed to inflate it just like theirs, it led us to believe that a carelessly placed tyre lever must have nipped the tube. Oh dear! Sorry guys, we left them contemplating trying to cadge a lift with a other couple of trail riders who were loading up on the road some 600m away.

So on to the last one of the day, the climb up the smaller steps was overcome by all but the same can't be said for the descent. Tired, getting dark and with drops of up to two thirds of a metre, it was inevitable that the lane would take a scalp or two. My sump plate bottomed out more than once, and after stopping to open the gate it just seemed to get worse. The sight of the finish a mere 100m away was no comfort, nor was the thought of the dirt route to the left that Bill opted for. Adding that the drop off each side of him was quite un-nerving. Al-Mac took a heavy tumble on the rocky section and it was all I could do to find a stable place to park my bike before striding down to assist. Un-hurt but bush-wacked Al sat down to take a breather while I picked up his CRM. The gear lever bolt was missing and the lever was about to fall off the splines, I pushed it back on only to realise that the front brake was completely missing. I precariously straddled the bike and free wheeled to the bottom with out the engine running and only the back brake working which had already been repaired earlier on as the pin holding the lever to the master cylinder had fallen out. The CRM was also a recent E-bay purchase by Al, hastily put together by the previous owner for the auction I fear. Nothing that can't be fixed with a little TLC. JB gave me a croggy back up to retrieve my bike, I think I had my eyes closed most of the way up the same precariously tricky dirt route Bill had come down earlier. The extra weight making the front very tricky for JB to control.

We took the road back through Castleton which was in a very festive mood with a Xmas craft fair in full swing. 4pm and we were back at our digs. Tom and Anna arrived soon after, following their afternoons mountain biking and Rob turned up later too, all 3 of them invited to take part in the evenings social activities. You see it's not all about motorbikes! Q had not intended staying over for another night, so loaded up and headed home while the rest of us freshened up ready for a walk in to Hope.

Some of us stuck it out for an eventual table an meal at the ever popular Cheshire Cheese, while the others including JR who'd abstained the previous evening only got as far as the Woodroffe Arms and had agreed with the landlord to let them order a take away curry to eat in the lounge, not wanting to loose his customers on Sat night when he didn't serve food himself. Brian and JR keeping his beer profits up, didn't let him down. We all met up again just before their curry arrived and I helped them clear up the remnants in the trays, well it would be rude not to! Back to the old Hall for a night cap of 'Old Peculiar' only to be disappointed as the barrel was now empty. That was enough for JB and myself and we walked back to the bunk house. When everyone returned we caught a few shooting stars on such a clear night and everyone was tucked up in bed by midnight Shatterred!

Up and away myself by 9am I had a prior engagement to attend to Sunday afternoon, but with new leader JR and Al-MAc's bike repaired with the help of JB's spares, Bill and Nick joined the three of them for another trail ride until 2pm making the most of the week end.

A glorious time was had both on and off the bikes and I'm sure the Tinsel Trail for 2010 will be in everyone's diary, especially Dave's. He was missed on the trails.

Thanks:
For the photo's Bill, already circulated.
Bacon butties from JR on Sat.
Rob for the cracking pictures of Iceland from our expedition earlier in the year.
Quent for being tail end Charlie and giving nick the support, I know he appreciated it.
Tom and Anna, proper trail riders on mountain bikes.
Al-Mac and Nick, great guys, done Morocco Ewan and Charlie style, both new to proper trail riding and took on some of the most challenging lanes in the Peaks and conquered them, no mean feat.
JB for being everything most of us only aspire to.
Brian XR250, dark horse, first time I've met him, a competent trail rider and does about 5 track days a year on his Fireblade!

Till next time

Merry Christmas everybody

Mark Halliday

The Tale Of A Girl And Her Serrow

Sunday April 26th 2009

Up with the larks on Sunday morning, I gathered up my things and fired up the CRM. Blue sky was everywhere as I set off once more to meet Dave in Derby, we rode up in to the Peaks and joined the others 3 riders at the aptly named Newhaven Services. For as far as Trail Riding was concerned this glorious sunshine set the scene for a day in 'heaven'.

Andre, Jon and Dave had all been out riding with me before, and jumped at the opportunity of a second helping. It was all instigated by Clare, who was returning to London from a couple of weeks in the Dales with her camper van and her trusty Serrow on the back. She was determined to get some trail riding in, and an E-mail to a few of my past customers soon had a date fixed for the 5 of us.

Following the introductions and riders brief, we hit the trails shortly after 9.30am full of the joys of spring. The first 6 or 7 lanes went without incident, we took a break after an hour to enjoy the view, let Dave have a 'Woodbine' and help Jon devour some of his biscuits and snacks. We prematurely patted ourselves on the back, because no sooner had we set off, before the first rocky descent caught out one rider who took a little tumble. No harm done and we set off again with minimum delay.

By passing Monsal Head and heading for an anti-clockwise circuit of Buxton, we were soon passing a huge deep open cast quarry, and with no work being carried out at the weekend we were able to fully appreciate the vast expanse of emptiness, and the rich turquoise lakes settled deep in the bottom.

Onward to the golf course at Buxton which always feel strange, mixing trail riding with the gentry's world of regimented and regulatory golf, we behaved impeccably as normal. To this day no-one has ever responded to my 'good morning nods' in my open face helmet with anything more than a blank disapproving stare! I wonder how many claims have been received by the council to down grade this byway!

North of Buxton now, and after a quick refuelling that will see us right for the rest of the day, we saw many loose stones and rocks on the climbs and descents that kept everyone focussed, I rode on to the end of a longer lane giving me chance to set up and take photo's of everyone, the backdrop being a hedgerow in a bright summery yellow bloom.

Just about on schedule we had lunch at the Cat & Fiddle, England's 2nd highest pub, not before taking one of my favourite tarmac roads which is one way from Fernilee Reservoir and follows one of the meandering streams that feed it. You looking down on picture postcard scenes of waterfalls and arched stone foot bridges, riding high up in the Derbyshire Peaks, it certainly takes some beating.

I've never seen so many tractors on the road at one time, the A57 past the Cat & Fiddle was filled as far as the eye could see, rendering traffic to a snails pace as the agricultural vehicles from all ages returned to the north after a rally of sorts, the venue of which I saw later in the afternoon just north of Hartington.

After an Al-fresco lunch due to the popularity of this venue on a Sunday, (i.e. no room in the bar), we continued picking up more of the trickier trails, many of which are strewn with stones and rocks. They certainly take it out of you, particularly in the arms and shoulders that take a real pounding as you negotiate your line through. A great water crossing gave another ideal photo opportunity and I had to dive for cover as a bike veered towards me as it climbed the bank out of the ford. I clicked the camera as I dived but unfortunately that particular photo was too out of focus to print. Later on, at yet another tricky rocky descent, I watched as Clare lost control trying to engage a lower gear and avoid Andre in front who was in the line of fire. She was descending too fast and the resulting fall broke half of the front brake lever, though there was still enough left for two fingers. Something else didn't feel right as we wheeled the bike down to level ground, and indeed the rear tyre was as flat as a pancake which certainly wouldn't have helped Clare negotiate the last few trails.

We all rallied round and in no time we'd fitted the spare tube that I was carrying. I've only dealt with 2 punctures in the last 12 months and on both occasions Andre was involved, he must be jinxed!

Clare wisely decided to continue back to Newhaven on tarmac, and after talking through the directions she agreed to get the kettle on for our return which wasn't expected to be much after hers.

We negotiated the last few trails and included the toughest one of the day, Jon's reaction can be seen on the short video clip I took with my camera as he and the others arrived victoriously at the bottom.

The coffee was very welcome upon our return.

The good progress we'd made throughout the day had accumulated to 42 Green Lanes and 140km. Everything I'd planned had been completed. Thanks to Dave, Clare, Jon & Andre who looked out for each other, no-one got lost, and everyone worked as a team. I for one thoroughly enjoyed it and the good weather was the icing on the cake.

We said our good byes and Dave and I set off for the ride home at 5.45pm.

Mark

Four Seasons Trail with Off Road Tours

Sunday 8th March 2009

Dave first got in touch with us back in January this year and like many of the enquiries we receive he was a lone voice on his XR400 who, with some off-road experience wanted to join up with others to experience Green Laning.

Most of our trips are for groups of friends who want to explore trail riding in Derbyshire and the Peak District, they are relatively easy to organise as we normally arrange everything through one person in the group. For individual riders it's not so easy, we always try to group them together with others on similar machines with similar ability, this keeps the cost down and creates a chance to share experiences with others.

It was now all on For the Sunday. I rode up from Nottingham on the CRM 250 motorbike, picking up Dave at Spondon and we rode together in the cold bright sunshine for the 40mins to Newhaven where we'd arranged to meet Wayne at 9am. We were early and as we arrived I could see Wayne was already there. Well, infact he told us he'd been there for an hour and a half, not knowing how long it would take coming down from Chorley Lancs, he'd allowed 3 hours and done it in half that.

I could have guessed he'd be early, the phone conversations I'd had with Wayne quickly painted a picture of a very enthusiastic guy all fired up and raring to go sourcing new wheels and tyres for his DRZ motor bike to get it trail fit.

After the riders brief we hit the trails just before 9.30am and started with about 2 miles of gentle lanes just to get in the groove. We rode through a small farm towards the worst rutted section for the day and two Border Collie dogs set about us, one of them bolted straight at Wayne snapping at his ankles. (I felt for the postman!) The ruts that followed were extremely slippery and I confess I waddled most of the way through myself, there'd certainly been more rain recently than I anticipated.

We had a couple of photo opportunities to capture the breathtaking back drop to the trails, and it always pleases me to find trail riders really do appreciate the splendid surroundings. We stopped to open a gate right on top of a hill, in the middle of some pasture land with panoramic views all round and Dave commented "I travel past here regularly and just never knew this existed."

We completed our circular route back to Newhaven and refuelled before heading off to Monyash Café for a well earned lunch break out of the rain. It was very busy but we managed to find a table in the corner next to the heater and made a futile attempt to dry off our gloves with it. Two all day breakfasts later and the lads were ready for another trail. The sun was out and we were just about ready to set off when I noticed Dave's faultless routing of kick starting the XR motor bike didn't seem to be working. Oh it does help to turn the ignition on!

The first lane of the afternoon was like being in a city traffic jam as we waited for a group of about seven 4x4's to slowly meander their way through. Nowhere to safely pass so we took our time and when I saw them turning left onto the same lane as we intended to take, I had second thoughts and we went straight on hoping to leapfrog them on our journey. We met them coming the other way on the next lane and I hung on to allow them through, closing the gate for them. They kindly returned the favour when our paths crossed again; they let us overtake on the way to Monsal Head. We stopped for a fag break for the lads on the river Wye and were overlooked by the disused railway viaduct.

At Hassop we were confronted with a newly erected Restricted Byway sign, as it is shown on the map, but until recently the sign was 'Unsuitable for Motors' and regularly used by Trail Riders. I suppose we were always on borrowed time with this one. We did a 'U' turn and missed out this old 'carriage way' and I've since crossed it off my map. (you win some, lose some I suppose)

We navigated our way through the picturesque Chatsworth Estate and as we took our final break of the afternoon we remarked on how many more Trail Riders we'd seen since the morning, one group was so orange it could well have been the official KTM motorbike tour.

Wayne was smitten by the countryside with its wild and varied terrain. On more than one occasion he was heard using the expletive 'Awesome' and even dreamed of having a holiday home in the area.

Heading back to base it was the very last green lane of the day, I was towards the end of it and lost sight of the lads in my mirror. I back tracked and as they approached me, Wayne said he'd had an 'off' Dave saw it all in slow motion unfolding before him saying "It got to the point where you know where this is going" Wayne fell foul of the wet rutted track and lost the front wheel taking a tumble in the process. He was still as enthusiastic as ever, so much so that I would even say it may well have made his day complete.

Arriving at the car park, Dave and I helped Wayne load the DRZ motorbike on to his trailer, Dave spotted a cracked chain link on Wayne's bike. Lucky it didn't snap on route and even luckier to spot it then so it can be fixed before his next ride. We said our farewells and Dave and I rode back to Derby in the cold.

We'd completed 100 miles and nearly 40 Green Lanes in the beautiful Derbyshire Peak District, enduring the Wind, Rain, Hail, Snow and even bright Sunshine, Certainly an all Seasons Trail. Dave and Wayne both expressed an interest in another tour, there's plenty more available. They were well matched, got on great and looked out for each other. As a guide I couldn't ask for more, I thoroughly enjoyed the day,

Thanks guys.

See the photos under the Media section of the Website.

Mark

Quad Attack with Off Road Tours

Dec 6 & 7 2008

Saturday morning and it was cold, very cold! We saw -5 deg C on the 4x4’s outside temperature reading as we trailered the bikes past Ashbourne to meet Andy and his fellow Quad riders at the pub where they were staying for the week end. The guys had travelled up from Norfolk with their road legal quad bikes in the back of their vans. As we pulled in to the pub car park at 9am it was a spectacle to see; seven quad bikes all lined up on parade ready for their taste of the Derbyshire Peak District. We unloaded the bikes and prepared for the day with a riders brief. The lads were raring to go and while some were saying they wanted it hardcore from the off. I convinced them that during the weekend there would be plenty of opportunity to test themselves and the quad bikes, but the first morning was all about a gentle start and seeing what the quad bikes could cope with along with giving me chance to make sure everyone was OK and enjoying themselves.

All gassed up we set off! I certainly envied them as they pulled out on to the treacherously icy roads sliding the back ends round and having a ball, while Quentin and I on the bikes had both feet down until we were sure there was some grip under the tyres to propel us forward. After the first gentle lane I led the group on some country lanes that were still in the shade and covered in black ice, on more than one occasion the back end was snaking in a straight line under gentle acceleration and I lost the front end a couple of times on the bends too. Luckily I wasn’t travelling too fast and it was a right hander so I just slid towards the grass verge where slightly more traction was found. At the end of the lane the golden rule had been broken and the group was fragmented. We were missing about 4 riders so we back tracked to a cross roads and I reiterated again the importance of looking after the rider behind you, making sure they see where you are going. Things improved greatly after that and we proceeded to a long farm type track with sand, mild ruts, water splashes and large sections of small loose stones all over the lane. I got to the end and we all soon regrouped, they had beaming smiles all over their faces and Martin, never short of a word or two said “That was great, can we have loads more of those lanes.” I was pleased they were enjoying it and off we went in pursuit of more.

To my surprise some of the routes were very iced up, so much so that the bike’s front wheel didn’t always break through the iced puddles and I found myself frequently with both feet off the pegs anticipating unpredictable slides. I could hear the quad bikes breathing down my neck as they were clearly having lots of fun and probably easier to handle in the ice with 4 wheels to stabilise them. We then moved on to a quite deep rutted section and it all went quiet behind me. I stopped at the gate and looked back to see some of the quads, particularly the small wheeled sportier styled ones bottomed out between the ruts. Luckily I wasn’t planning any more as difficult as these. Ground clearance is certainly a restriction and it enabled me to modify the route as we went along, picking the lanes best suited to the quad bikes. We then hit a big river crossing, and all got safely through but they were drenched. Being much lower to the ground than on a bike and with 4 plumes of water one from each wheel they took a soaking.

60km into the trip and one or two of them were just switching to reserve, so we skipped a few lanes near lunch time and headed straight for refuelling, not before Nigel was experiencing a bad misfire on his DRZ400 quad, then it died altogether. The usual things were checked but there was no ignition lights when it was switched on. It seemed as dead as a dodo, but following seven points of view as to the corrective action, a big push to bump start it did the trick. However it was still misfiring badly and their was little throttle response on pick up too. Martin tried his best and at times it looked OK as he rode it up and down the road, but there was no getting away from it, water in the electrics seemed the likely cause at the time. We stood around contemplating a recovery plan and after a few minutes it seemed to clear itself, hopefully it had dried out. We were on the move again.

After lunch at Monyash we headed north but after two more lanes Nigel’s quad bike had developed the problem again and he was concerned about not making it back to base as well as holding up the tour. We executed the recovery plan and Quentin dropped of the back and led Nigel slowly back to the digs while I took the rest onward for the afternoons ride.

Hard packed tracks and undulating green lanes with loose surfaces and small rocky boulders were certainly what the quad bikes excelled in and the lads relished them. I managed to string a variety of routes together along these lines and I was happy to pick up on the positive vibes about the route, pace and landscape everyone was enjoying themselves.

We stopped at the top of a technical rocky decent and we talked about regrouping at the bottom and for those that wanted it, they could turn round and attempt the reverse climb. This was the first bit of hardcore that had been spoken about at the beginning of the day. We stopped at a gate some 100m from the bottom which was also the beginning of the trickiest section, unfortunately one quad rider (Jason I think) got the front wheel stuck behind a boulder and the other front wheel continued down the hill, this caused the quad to turn broadside to the slope and unfortunately it rolled over. The rider was shook up and winded but after a rest he was OK except for a jolt he’d taken to his back. Wisely no-one wanted to try the ascent, the main issue is the lack of ground clearance, and the risk of damaging the rear disc or sprocket which are both centrally mounted between the back wheels. I’ve no doubt that from an ability point of view they would have all made it back up but the risk of a premature end to the weekend with irreparable quad bike damage was too great.

It was getting dark and what ever the temperature had climbed to in the sun, may be 1 or 2 deg C it was now well below zero again and we headed back to the pub slipping and sliding as we went particularly for me on two wheels.

Sunday was even colder and I don’t mind saying I was dreading the road work on the CRM250, as it turned out it wasn’t as bad, the roads had dried out and although the bitterly freezing temperatures had to be endured there was a distinct lack of black ice compared to Saturday.

Arriving at 9am the next morning, I was astonished and impressed to learn that they were working late in to the evening trying their damnedest to get Nigel’s bike back up and running, they even rang colleagues at home for advice. Andy even had the carburettor in pieces on his bed at 7am on Sunday morning in an attempt to leave no stone unturned. As for heavy drinking, well I hear they were all tucked up in bed pretty early, some before last orders were called!

Unfortunately after all the brave efforts Nigel’s quad bike was no better and they had to admit defeat.

The boys enjoyed Saturday afternoon so much that we incorporated most of the same route in to Sundays ride too. We also included some pretty technical stuff around Calver and I was impressed that the Quads managed it with only minor grounding out issues. They all negotiated the rocky decent that had caught one of them out the day before. It’s surprising how quickly improvements can be made with a bit of foresight and a slightly more cautious approach. Quentin had arranged to meet us at the lunch stop with Nigel in the 4x4 which was perfect planning with hindsight because about a mile before lunch Martin got a puncture and limped in to the café. Quentin was able to trailer the quad back to the pub without any detrimental affect to the afternoons ride for the remaining 5 riders. It’s particularly important at this time of year to have recovery options as daylight is precious and undue delays can mean the trip being cut short.

The afternoon was delightful, and a fitting end to the weekend with awesome views from Eyam edge south towards Bakewell, we stopped to admire the view and it’s great that we can appreciate the countryside we ride through. The rugged scenery and rolling hills are certainly alien to Norfolk.

Quentin and I thoroughly enjoyed the week end and that’s down to the people we were with, a fantastic bunch of lads, a bit boisterous at times, but friendly, down to earth and appreciative of the surrounding they were in. They proved to us that quad bikes too can have a brilliant time green laning in Derbyshire, and we look forward to riding with more Quads in the future.

Thanks to Darren, Jason, Nigel, Barry, Martin, Craig and organiser Andy


Mark Halliday

THE TRAIL OF FROZEN TEARS

29 & 30 November 2008

The combination of Saturday’s freezing fog and warm breath permeating up to your goggles from the scarf over your nose & mouth kept clouding our vision. It forced us to ride without goggles for a lot of the time, the inevitable watering eyes in the bitter cold air sent tears streaming down your face. If they’d been allowed to freeze the resulting stalactites would not have been out of place in the high Derbyshire Peaks, for we were in the land of the underground caverns, nestled in our base for the weekend, we were surrounded by Peak Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern, The Blue John Mine & Speedwell Cavern. A truly spectacular region of the Derbyshire Peaks.

Bill’s 50 celebration and John B’s 40 earlier in the year had been the driving force for these guys to plan a weekend’s Trail riding, along with the opportunity to spend time together to plan their next venture.

All arriving Friday afternoon/evening for a prompt start Saturday morning on the trails, Dave (Black KTM 450) and I (Mk3 CRM250) rode it hardcore and completed the 60 miles on the trail bikes fully laden with tools, spare clothes, provisions and a bottle or two for the weekend jaunt. Settling in to the ‘Bunkhouse’ accommodation we chilled even more with a beer and waited for the others to arrive. John R was next with his bike on the back of his 4x4 obscured with a bike cover for a surprise later. Minutes after John B (Orange KTM 450) and Bill (Mk2 CRM250) arrived having trailered the bikes behind Bill’s car. Quent (DR250) was due to arrive much later, so we ventured off to Castleton for a good meal at ‘The George’. We met up with Quent at the next pub and all 6 of us squeezed in the Toyota Hilux for a thankful lift back to the digs.

The plan for Sat was to be on the trails for 9.30am, but freezing thick fog gave us the opportunity for a leisurely approach, and anyway we had the ceremonial unveiling of John R’s surprise. A brand new White KTM 450. It blended in beautifully with the iced white landscape. It was gorgeous, sporting the all new engine and chassis mods, we now had a full compliment of KTM 450s, Orange, Black and White.

As John R unloaded it he revealed that not only had he not ridden it, but he hadn’t even started it yet! John’s busy work schedule meant he had very little time to prepare, he’d part chopped his old KTM 450, took delivery, and this was to be their first proper introduction. Once fuelled, the battery was all but flattened in our attempts to breath life in to this ‘White Charger’, out came the kick start and John R was soon regretting his last 2 pints the previous evening as his strength was sucked out of him by the reluctant KTM. We tried the CRM trick and lay the bike down ensuring fuel was flowing out the carb overflow, with and without choke, and 2 more riders exhausted by relentless kicking. Still no signs of life. Bump start it, someone shouted. We pushed John R but as soon as he put it in gear the back wheel locked on the icy lane, even with the clutch it wouldn’t disengage the engine, John R wore himself out again trying to kick start it. Dave jumped on board, 3 more of us pushed as fast as we could, Dave hooked 2 gear, Bang! It fired in to life and Dave shot off down the lane. When he returned everything was perfect, the bike just sat there ticking over in full working order, as if to say ‘What’s all the fuss about!’

We finished getting ready and hit the trails, the fog had lifted the sun was out, it was going to be a great day.

The first couple of lanes were quite demanding and soon had us all warmed up as we skirted a quarry and made our way to the heights of ‘Mam Tor’, a dramatic peak where the scree is constantly breaking away off the south side, so much so that the road beneath was closed many years ago. I remember my first visit here, a school outing some oooh 35 years ago, when the bus meandered around the very tight turns before the closure. I remember the rear of the bus over hanging the hillside as the driver attempted a 3 point turn following our trip to the Blue John Mine. I felt very uneasy about it.

As we passed by the skyline was filled with several mountain bikers on a speedy decent down the west slope. A mile down the road I spotted a Byway sign I wasn’t expecting, I checked the map which was the latest edition and it was clearly shown as a Bridleway. Looks like a victory for trail riding we said, so off we went to explore. It turned out that I had used this route many years ago, it was just about the best lane of the day with large rocks to negotiate going up followed by an trickling stream filled decent with rocks, broken tarmac, deep ruts and ice covered stone slabs and 3 foot drops to contend with. If that wasn’t enough I nearly wiped out a mountain biker who over took me as I was changing direction. ‘Sorry’ I shouted as he skipped over the obstacles like some young BMX rider in a shopping precinct. No hard feelings, we exchanged pleasantries at the gate he held open for me. He didn’t even look out of breath, and I’d swear he was 5 years older than me. I’ll pass him up the next hill I thought, no such luck, he was away and out of sight as I waited for our group to reform. Dave had lost the front end on the ice and the DR250 had flooded in another minor spill, it came silently coasting down hill towards us. A quick drain of the float bowl, a few kicks to clear the engine with the throttle open, ignition and fuel back on and it fired up first kick. We must get the carb sorted out when we get home as it happened a few more times over the weekend. Mind you we were often glad of the induced break.

Four, 4 x 4’s were at the bottom of the challenging decent waiting patiently and contemplating their best plan of the ascent. ‘You’ll never get those up there’ we all said in unison, but a confident leader assured us it was do-able by sending the modified Wrangler Jeep up first and using it to winch the smaller vehicles over the large stone steps. You guessed it, we hung around wanting to witness this suicide attempt. The Wrangler slowly but surely progressed over ruts, rocks and the very uneven surfaces to about a third of the way up then stopped. Two of their team on foot were directing and coaching the driver but progress seemed to have ceased. John B meandered up on his bike to take a closer look, after 15 mins of the Jeep seemingly making 6 foot of ground and then constantly sliding back into a deep sided rut, John B returned to inform us that it had smashed the rear light cluster and tore off the offside rear wheel arch. We left them putting matting down in an attempt to get more traction to free the wrangler from the claws of the hillside. Good luck!

The rest of the morning was filled with damp rocky trails in the bright and at times dazzling sunshine or Crisp white icy trails if on the shady side of the climbs where the sun doesn’t shine. The views were awesome and John R’s comment summed it up perfectly for me. ‘What a beautiful part of the country we live in.’ He was spot on.

We passed Fernilee reservoir and headed for lunch at the ‘Cat & Fiddle’, the second highest pub in England. The water flowing across the minor roads from the hills had frozen and on more than one occasion we all put both feet down and gingerly traversed the ice flows with barely any control at all. A welcome open fire gave us chance to thaw out, while we refuelled our own petrol tanks with hot pub grub. Daylight is always an issue at this time of year so at 2.30pm we left the ‘Cat & Fiddle’ and only had time to pick up 2 more rock strewn tracks before heading back through Buxton and cross country to Hope, picking only 3 more trails on the way. The last being the same as the first of the day, my hands seized with cramp on to the handlebars at the end as I pulled in the clutch lever to slowly negotiate the final cluster of rocks, a combination of cold and fatigue, after a short delay to warm my hands we rode into the village to re-fuel ready for Sunday.

We enjoyed a first class meal that evening in a pub filled with character and two roaring open fires, recommended by the petrol pump attendant, the ‘Cheshire Cheese’ on the Edale road cannot be complimented enough. It pays to ask the locals, well done Bill. Back at our digs and it was only 10.30pm, we were certainly tired, most of us crashed out for the night though one or two had another beer, which combined with medication for a stinking cold left Bill a bit worse for wear in the morning. Some complained of snoring, funny how every time I woke up I didn’t hear it!

No fog Sunday, just a beautiful bright winters day with blue sky above, the ice on the bikes was more slush so the temperature was up a couple of degrees too. I’d planned the first few trails to be easy ambles down farm type tracks, ideal for blowing the cobwebs away from the night before. A climb up a stream followed by the big challenge of the day near Hathersage, a steep stone slab hill broken up by a couple of substantial steps, it was going to be a challenge in these icy conditions. When we arrived I descended really slowly, but with the rear wheel mostly locked and the front sliding too, my momentum increased and I had to apologise to two walkers who kindly stood aside as I careered out of control and was forced to use the bank they were stood on to slow me down by stuffing the front wheel in to it. I continued down carefully, picking the least icy and roughest looking sections to give the front wheel some chance of gripping the surface. All safely down and Quent wanted some film of our return ascent, so he set off with Bill to get a good vantage point. We followed after 5 minutes, I was at the back and stopped part way up as I could see the white KTM floundering for rear wheel grip up one of the large stone slabs, left, right, left, it was becoming an uphill rear wheel tank slapper, then broadside to the hill John R had no chance of holding control as the KTM fighting for grip slid away. From below I saw the bike slide to a halt, but John R lost his mount and must have rolled over 3 times down the hill coming to rest some 20 feet below his bike. What a way to christen his new bike! Unhurt and undamaged, it may be of some consolation to know that Quent did capture it on film. (See the video clips) We’d had enough of that hill for the day.

We continued on to ‘Stanage Edge’ a formidable climb, relentless and requiring much concentration and forward thinking if you want to get up it clean. Another carb drain for the DR250 and we were all on our way to the next green lane, a delightful one over looking Sheffield. Heading south again and 2 more long runs over sandy tracks with rocky outcrops to catch out any unsuspecting trail rider, or even the experienced ever competitive John B, who took a tumble during a moment of over exuberance.

Heading back now to complete our weekends trail riding, we circumnavigated Calver and met up with yet more 4x4’s, probably the 4 group we’d seen over the weekend, horses too were out in force as well as the ever more popular mountain bikers and hundreds of walkers. We didn’t experience or witness any issues, it’s great to see that the amazing Derbyshire Peak District can be shared by all of these adventure seekers, what ever their mode of transport be. Long may the harmony we experienced continue I say. There’s room for all.

Back at base and it’s 2.30pm, that gives us time to load up and be home at a reasonable hour, we are all in need of a hot bath, especially Dave and I who still have another 60 miles or so to ride home before dark.

We said our farewells and look forward to the next time we can all get away. Lots of brownie points have to be accrued before then!

Check out the Photo’s on this Website


Mark Halliday

23 February 2008

Bright and early, 8.30am Quent and myself met up with the ‘Scunthorpe lads’. Six friends who all share a love of trail riding, and with little knowledge of the legal trails up North, they’ve travelled to the beautiful Peak District for a no hassle guided tour of some of the best legal off road routes available.

Led by myself and with Quent as the ‘Gateman’ or ‘Tail end Charlie’ we operate a system that is designed for maximum enjoyment and removes the need for any customers to open or close gates. Thus we can cover plenty of ground with these 6 experienced riders and have the minimum of hold ups. With our back up trailer this also means that if we have any unplanned incident or breakdown that we can’t sort on route, then Quent drops off the back with the casualty and recovers the bike and rider back to base, while I can continue with the tour and everyone else.

After the briefing, covering: the route, safety and codes of practice while trail riding, we all set off from Rowsley just after 9am.

For three of the guys; Mark (or Jack as they call him XR400), Jonny (XR400) & Rob (WR400) this was a repeat booking having first ridden with us back in October 2007 on some of the trails starting at Ashbourne. This time they requested something slightly more adventurous. Simon (WR450), Adam (Husaberg 450) & Gary (on the obligatory KTM450) were all equally experienced and very much looking forward to the day.

The weather was kind to us, at about 8 deg C, and although the rain threatened mid morning it never materialised.

We’d planned a steady morning covering some 22 lanes, with 1 climb I’d rated as grade 4

(1 being easy – 4 being difficult). I indicated to them all, that at the top of the climb the difficult section was on the left, and anyone unsure about it could carry on straight ahead and would end up at the same road some 50 yards further down. You guessed it, all that testosterone, no one was going to whimp out, and we all made it to the top, some of us more gracefully than others. We pressed on North and completed a loop of Shatton Moor, enjoying the wonderful views over Castleton.

Lunch was at a roadside Café and we arrived some 20 mins ahead of my schedule. Everyone had worked well together and only one small regrouping had been called for, when Mr Nobody wasn’t looking out for the rider behind. Tut Tut!

Off again and the Husaberg was already thinking about fuel, only 65km in to the day. Then on a trail north of Buxton We had a broken XR400 clutch cable to deal with. So with clutch less gear changes both up, and down the box, we continued in to Buxton for fuel. We got split up in the traffic and both the Husaberg and the WR450 (with the big jets fitted!) ran out of juice while separated. Luckily both had a petrol station within 200 yards. With full tanks and a proper old fashioned motorcycle shop located, selling second hand bikes like a sound DR350 for £800, we had the XR400 kitted out with a new, made up clutch cable, soldered nipples and the lot. Such service you would not get at a modern large franchised dealership! Within an hour we were all on our way.

A memorable ride down by Errwood reservoir on a minor road was breathtaking, with a sharp drop off to the rocks and stream below. We made our way to the tough section of the tour, and fully briefed, a rocky climb ensued. No time to admire the view, concentration was the order of the day, negotiating the large loose stone steps. Everyone was jubilant at the summit, and took a brief rest bite before tackling an equally difficult rocky descent.

Off to ‘Washgate lane’, and with the threat of a TRO hanging over it, this may well be one of the last times we can experience this awesome upland highway. With it’s descent into the river Dove, ford crossing, adjacent to the old packhorse bridge and daunting stone climb complete with hairpin bends taking you back up to the heights of the Peak National Park.

A meander through the rugged scenery, with the road negotiating the enormous outcrops of rocky projections, it’s like a miniature mountain range as we descend to the A515. Nearly home now, so a water splash will attempt to clean down the bikes near Bakewell, then back to complete our journey from Rowsley. 5.30pm dusk, perfect timing. We completed every route intended at the beginning of the day, and only fell an hour behind, due to the unforeseen delays. With 52 lanes under our belt, it’s a credit to all the ‘Scunthorpe lads’ who made the day flow, and allowed us to cover the 174km. Still smiling at the end, even if a little weary.

A pint or two should fix that!

Cheers,

Mark Halliday