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June 2010
June continued with fantastic weather and loads of club and non club riding, another newbie ride saw the membership swell well past the magic 100 member barrier broken for the first time in club history last month. Thursday night riding proves extremely popular, with no lights needed, and the dry conditions meaning rides can stretch to areas inaccessible at wetter parts of the year, such as Rivi Great Hill.
The first of the clubs Sunday rides took in the High Street; this Lakeland classic route saw 12 members out in wet and wild conditions, the initial hike-a-bike to the top made well worthwhile by some of the toughest, fastest and most fun descents you’ll find in the land. Big smiles and tired legs were the theme after the 21.5 mile killer route. In the words of Chris Watson a recent new member “this is the kind of riding I always wanted to do, but wouldn’t on my own” a point well made by Chris who is now bitten by the club riding bug.
The months second club Sunday ride was the Worlds End route, this North Wales gem of route, is both relatively close by and an absolute peach of a ride. It saw 16 riders out on a baking hot day, all flying the flag for England with car flags mounted to camelbacks. The route starts with some stiff climbing before the brilliant masts descent and the intimidating and formidable worlds end path a narrow trail with a massive drop to the right! All survived in one piece and it proved another great club ride with many newer members out.
Hold on to the summer
May 2010
May started with a bang with a flurry of riding activity over a dry bank holiday weekend, the Woollies Welsh enduro, organised by Roger, saw members linking the Marin and Penmachno trail into a 45 mile killer loop, a full days riding endured by 10 brave soles left some hollow legs afterwards.
The night riding, due to lighter nights is seeing increasing turnouts rather than just the year-round hardcore members. The better weather brings dryer faster trails, with ribbons of trail normally unsuitable for winter riding beginning to be incorporated into summer routes.
The Jacobs Ladder route, a true club classic, saw 16 riders out on a route that includes some of the toughest and most fun bridleways both up and down around.
The Howgills route saw 10 members out for some spectacular riding in a new area to bike in for the club, taking in the infamous calf climb from Sedbergh the route proved to be a tough day out for all involved.
4 members of the club also took part in the “Welsh Ride Thing” a 3 day living out event carrying all kit and self navigating a route around Wales.
Lastly May saw the club break through a momentous barrier of 100 paid up members, follow the link for more information on this.
April 2010
April and the prolonged dry spell saw the trails in absolutely fantastic condition meaning that the riding was some of the best to be had in a long while.
Whilst the club official ride calendar was fairly quiet due to Easter and Afan, the Alternative ride list was bulging with some quality riding including, the Beast ride, Lady Bower, Mary Townley Loop, and Ceiriog rides with members taking advantage of the fast and dry conditions leading to some spectacular days out.
The Afan mega weekend, organised by Tracey, proved to be a belter with a contingent of 42 Woollies filling the Afan Lodge and the campsite nearby. The riding was first rate, with the Wall, Whites Level, W2 and Skyline all being explored in glorious sunshine, the area, new to many proved to be a fantastic location for a weekend away, and the accommodation was first rate. A real biking haven with great food and rooms and facilities, the Afan Lodge comes “Woolly Recommended”.
April also saw many members getting down and dirty with their equipment on the Thattos Cycles maintenance nights. Paul and his crew at the shop put on 2 to 1, and 1 to 1, maintenance sessions where hubs were rebuilt, frames built up and members go to know their bikes a little better.
Lastly April saw the Glentress weekend in October organised with many members fresh back off the last Woolly weekend already looking forward to the next one
March 2010
This month saw the club membership swell again with numbers now at 89 members and counting. This month due to increased numbers on rides the committee changed the club rules to allow member to post alternate rides on club Sunday rides too, meaning options to do the full day out club ride, something local, or a longer tougher route elsewhere. Members in the club are truly spoilt for choice with the amount of riding now available.
This month saw two classic club rides; Roger’s excellent Clwyds’ route saw 19 members out on a crisp and clear day. This awesome route in spectacular scenery is a true classic with fantastic rolling sections and manageable climbs and some belting descents, after 28 miles all were glad to see the cars again.
The second club route led by Eric was another classic the Worsthone route which incorporates a fair portion on the MTL trail is a belter and has some classic and tough ups and downs; it finishes with the killer Gorple gate climb then a belting descent back to the cars. 24 riders were out completing the 24.5 mile peaks classic.
Lastly preparations abound for next months club weekend away to the Afan forest trail centre with big plans for W2 and Skyline trails along with some good eating and drinking in the Afan lodge but more on that next month
February 2010
This month showed much more promise as the first real riding of the year got underway, still cold but without the snow and ice of January meant that Thursdays and weekend riding were now back on, the club membership stands at 84 members and counting with a queue for every newbie / introductory ride to join the club.
This month’s first Sunday club ride was the Grizedale / Claifheights route which saw 29 riders out on a great route that mixed natural and manmade trails seamlessly producing a route that was more than the sum of its parts, the amazing homepage photo came from the top of Claifheights during a pause to admire the splendid view, all had a great day on some spectacular south lakes terrain.
The second club ride of the month, Baslow circle, was again hampered by deep snow, in the end 12 riders made it to the start point to enjoy a new route for the club. The ride proved to be cracking winter route with good steady climbing and tough rocky rooty snow covered descents, all had a belting day out in the end.
The club continues to go from strength to strength, with loads of fun banter on the forum, and an amazing range of riding with like minded individuals.
Roll on the spring.
January 2010
“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow” or “Ice ice baby, dum dum dum dulla dum dum” were both apt songs for the start of the new riding year. Gripped in the worst winter conditions for some 30 years many of the club members found themselves unable to get out early in the year to burn off the Christmas excesses.
Due to the hazardous nature of many of the local route due to ice and waist deep snow at areas of Rivi, many rides had to be cancelled rather than risking life and limb to get to start points. Turbo trainers and cross training became de rigour for many a member.
This month saw the clubs annual AGM take place, plans were laid for another excellent years riding and suggestions were offered up for rides, things to get and places to go, as well as the Afan weekend in April it looks like another October Scotland weekend and the summer Alps trip too.
This month’s only Sunday club ride was the taxing Horton in Ribblesdale route a challenging route at the best of times made more difficult by high level snow and ice that hadn’t cleared. 24 woollies braved the conditions and had a tough but good day, including a record number of snow based OTB (over the bars) with some riders getting into double figures. Thursday night riding continues with great local routes and good turnouts.
Roll on the spring.
December 2009
Silly Hat Ride 2009
The last riding month of this year saw two great club rides, the Lakeland Walna scar ride was short but punishing loop with 4 great climbs and 4 mega decents including arguably one of the best natural descents in the country after the hike a bike up Walna scar itself. The second club ride was the clubs now famous Santa Suit ride which saw 30 Santa clad Woollybacks enjoying a snowy loop of Delemere forest in a winter wonderland of snow and ice, the ride included loads of icy falls, snowball fights and great banter that makes the club such a great bunch to ride with, the visitors to the forest that day were greeted with a sight on that day I can tell you.
As the year draws to a close and in the grip of one of the coldest winters in quite some time routes and rides are being modified to cope with the treacherous weather leaving many members itching for there next fix of two wheeled action.
2009 has proved to be a bumper year for the club, ever increasing membership levels, the Alps trip, weekends away in Scotland, Wales and England, great club rides and the club website and forum brimming with activity and local knowledge and purchasing and maintenance help and tips, one thing is certain that the prospects of 2010 looking like an even better year are very real indeed.
Happy New Year to all.
November 2009
This month had two great Sunday Club rides, the first was Littleborough well attended and within an hours drive for most was this great Pennine route over tough bridleways and takes in part of the infamous Mary Townley Loop trail.
The second club ride was the Macclesfield forest route, this massive ride with a new club record of 29 members out saw some horrendous winter conditions with driving rain and freezing wind bringing home a stark reminder of how tough biking in this climate can be. Silverscoob had a late entry to the *Stack of the year contest with a brake lever through the leg!
The month also saw the website move to the latest forum format with new software and excellent work behind the scenes by Pol and Chunk to get it all up and running with its splendid new look.
Thursday night rides continue on with tough muddy and wet conditions testing the resolve of the riders and the manufacturing claims of many a bit of “waterproof” kit.
Lastly this month saw the clubs annual Christmas Dinner, excellently hosted at the Waterside pub, great food and a great atmosphere and some classic Karaoke moments from some of the crooners in the club. The Stack of the Year trophy went to Sean Silverscoob for his brake lever impaling only the week before, with John Retro coming second for his fall on the slab in Dalbeattie and Julian in third place for his fast stack on the Malham route that saw him loose the skin of his bum cheek!
(* Stack of the Year: - annual trophy for the worst accident on a club ride, witnessed by another club member preferably with photographic evidence and blood.)
October 2009
This month saw the club take 30 members to Scotland for a 3 day mega biking weekend. The club took in three of Southern Scotland’s 7 Staines riding Mabie, Kirroughtree and Dalbeattie over the course of the wet weekend. Descender Bender, McMoab, The Chute, The Slab, you name it there were woollies daft / skilful enough to throw themselves off it. A great time was had by all, with great accommodation and excellent food and facilities for the weekend. Roll on the next one!
The other club ride for the month took in the Marin Trail with an extra natural loop tagged on. A 27 mile mega epic ride with 24 club members out on an older but still worthwhile route, whilst the Marin may be showing its age compared to some of the newer manmade trails it’s still a great workout and has something for everybody.
Thursdays continue to be massive club nights with high numbers turning out for great local routes, as the darker nights are now well and truly with us the cheap lights vs. top notch debate has occupied many a forum page, the main thing is getting out to ride year round so by next spring fitness is tip top.
Roll on the new year.
September 2009
The September ride calendar started with the club ride at Rivington however on the same weekend many members were also completing the Isle of Man (IoM) end to end and others tackling the infamous Mary Towneley Loop (MTL). All three rides were well attended with challenges ranging from 47 miles and 6300ft height gain of the MTL, to 41 miles on the beautiful IoM weekend and a decent club ride too. All of these different rides going to show the depth of riding experiences available in the club.
The other weekend club ride was the infamous Hope killer, a historical ride for the club and a ride that lives up to its name with some of the best natural climbing and descending that this country has to offer a true peaks hard day out, enjoyed by 20 Woollies in spectacular conditions.
Lastly for this month excitement for next months Scotland trip is reaching fever pitch with lifts getting sorted and bikes getting prepped for 3 days amazing riding, but more on that next month
Below is a fantastic write up by Artillary Dave about the MTL challenge a few in the club took part in whilst others were in the IoM doing the C2C their.
well done to all the guys who were out on this Yesterday, we had a great day in fantasic conditions. All did really well and put in amazing times including Hendy the "French Flyer", I'll let them post up seperately, but here is my tale of the day.
The day started with a nervous and apprehensive foursome of Spesh, Muddy Rider, John Retro Boy and Me meeting at Charnock before driving up to the college meeting point and start. The mountain rescue staff had things well organised and before we new it we were registered and sipping tea and munching toast whilst studying the map. The first laugh of the day came when reading the map to discover the opening line; this route takes 2 days by bike, great. We were joined by Hendy and so our merry band was complete. We also bumped into Julian with his mate who was out for giving it a go.
Having studied the map we could see that the biggest climb of the day came first, out of Waterfoot and up to the Top of Leach, the plan was to try and stay together and see how we got on. The best laid plans of mice and men however meant that this was the last of the group I saw!
By the time I was at the Top of Leach, a long gruelling climb / walk in parts the field was well strung out and I began to settle into a pace I hoped to sustain for 8 hours. The first sections seemed to be dispatched with ease and I established a decent rhythm. The terrain was excellent with rocky bridleways and good dry warm conditions.
Before I knew it I was at checkpoint 2 in Bottomley at around 11:30 am, a quick energy bar, load of water and a banana and I was off. The section between markers 2 and 3 got a lot more muddy and technical in places and I gained ground of a fair few hard tail riders fixing flats by the roadside. The decent from Edge End Moor into Charlestown was an absolute corker with steep sections and a big drop to one side and even some switchbacks it would have been worth a push back up try again had I have had any spare energy.
A lunch stop in Charlestown at checkpoint 3 at around 1:30pm and a chat with a few like minded plodders and then off I set for the gruelling climb out of Hebden Bridge and up to Jack Bridge. By the time I got up here I could feel the early signs of cramp but with nearly 30 miles in the bank this came as no surprise. I recognised this part of the route from the Worsthorne club ride so knew what to expect.
On I plodded past the Gorple Reservoirs and up the killer Gorple gate climb. By this point cramp was getting the better of me and I stopped for an emergency Star Bar and a good leg stretch. The chocolate did wonders for my morale and I managed to grind my way to the top Gorple in granny ring snails pace, knowing that there was a belting decent to come. It didn’t disappoint and I flew down to the Hurstwood Reservoir like Steve Peat junior (well not quite!)
I was aware in my mind of the cut off time at the next checkpoint of 4:00 pm so was determined to get there, my legs at this point were like jelly and even small upward undulations had my legs in agony. I was making for the last Checkpoint at Long Causeway, when I had the worst bout of cramp ever and was literally rolling on the floor in pain swearing profusely!, once that had subsided I was able to plod again, and got a few yards down the trail to spot an elderly pair of walkers having a spot of Tiffin on a bench, they gave me a disapproving glance having just listened to my foul outburst! Oops.
At last the 4th checkpoint came into view a full 25 minute prior to cut off time, I felt on top of the world and filled my boots with all available food to try and feed my broken body.
Off I set for the last section which seemed to pass in a bit of a blur, knowing I only had about 7 miles or so to go my legs seemed to get a second wind. The climb up to Deerplay Moor was a killer and then I remember just lots and lots of gates, past Lumb which I thought should be renamed Numb! because that’s how my arse was feeling. The trail gently dropped into Waterfoot and I was back at the finish line to book in with a time of 8 hrs and 11 minutes. I was shattered and had a cup of tea and flapjack whilst basking in the glory of my victory. I felt elated and shattered in equal measures. The route was challenging and a mammoth task I was glad to have completed. Would I do it again? Most definitely.
Stats:
Miles - 47
Height gain – 6300 ft!
Stacks – none (I’m great me!)
Food consumed – 6 litres water, 3 gels, 4 energy bars, 1 sandwich, 1 star bar, 1 snicker, 5 bananas!
Mechanicals / Punctures – none (Orange / Tubeless power)
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August 2009
August proved to be a bumper club ride month with 3 great Sunday club rides.
The month started with the Pateley Bridge route, an excellent rolling countryside route, if a little puncture prone where Paddler punctured again and again and even got one in his car tyre on the way home! One hardcore rider even managed to pinch flat a Tubeless tyre!
The next 2 rides featured some excellent Lakes riding with the Borrowdale bash route and the Coniston Classic routes; both were well attended for this time of year and featured some epic Lakeland climbs and descents.
Thursday night rides continue to be well attended, with drier trails meaning some normally off limits trails can be ridden again with only hordes of nettles to contend with. And as the month draws to a close it is “as you were” with lights being a necessity once more.
July 2009
“Let them eat cake” the famous line uttered by Marie Antoinette was very apt for the Woollies this month but more of that later.
July started with a bang for 18 lucky members who found themselves enjoying lift assisted riding in the Alps for a week, competing in the Pass Portes du Solei race and generally making all those members back in Blightly highly jealous. Major injuries were limited to just one with broken ribs and another with a comedy ankle however by all accounts there were plenty of near misses. The group had a whale of time and enjoyed the variety of terrain no end.
The club ride list continued with the Wayfarers route taking in two massive climbs and decents for a fun packed ride for those left behind. The other club ride Garburn pass in the lakes took in some excellent Lakeland riding and the formidable Garburn pass ascent and decent, a cracking day out in great conditions.
Thursday night rides continue with great conditions meaning extended routes deep in nettle country for the hardy Thursday regulars, Delemere and the local Billinge blast being extended to take in extra normally unridable in the damp sections. Many a rider wakes up with the familiar nettle tingling on a Friday morning!
Lastly July was the birthday month with a total of 8 members celebrating their special days; this meant a bumper cake fest ensued before, during and after all the club rides this month!!
June 2009
June continued on the theme developing this year of great weather and fast trails as the ground dried out and hardened. The club found itself losing more and more skin in high speed spills, including broken ankles, elbows, bruises, and scrapes. Obviously as the club goes further, faster, for longer, with more inevitably stacks will happen.
The anticipation for the club alps trip is building to fever pitch, with big bikes, flat pedals, fat tyres and full face lids and armour turning up in brown boxes at many a door.
The rides this month started with 18 riders out taking in the excellent purpose built Penmachno route, this is a great trail with a truly fantastic flow which was enjoyed by all on the day, good conditions and a mechanical free day proved a refreshing change, one great welsh manmade trail ride.
The other club ride of the month on Fathers Day saw the challenge of Jacobs Ladder attempted by 15 Woollies on a great day out on this classic route, one or two mishaps and 1 failed hub but all returned unscathed.
As I type the first nuggets of info are trickling in from the Alps trip, but more on this next month.
May 09
Whilst the whole country was gripped with the panic of a swine flu epidemic (or maybe not) the Woollybacks were instead infected with a dose of Legionnaires disease!
The month started with the Legionnaires (Hardcore Woollies) attempting and completing a fantastic Coast to Coast adventure with 5 members of the club taking on the gruelling route over 3 days of adventure in aid of the Stroke Association, a truly great adventure and a story to bore the grandkids with.
The club continued to swell with 65 members now on the books and the great riding continued with two great Sunday club rides. First was the fantastic and eventful Pennine route taking in some beautiful and rugged local scenery in and around the M62.
The 2nd club Sunday ride was the classic Worlds End ride, this ride in and around the Clwyds had 27, (or was that 26 Chunk?) riders out on one of the most spectacular and beautiful rides on the club list in sweltering conditions on the hottest day of the year so far. Does it get any better?
The club also donned figure hugging Lycra and shaved legs to take part in a Velodrome taster session on thin tyres, with no suspension, brakes or gears for that matter! The evening proved a great success and a fun change of pace and only one faller, (our most experienced single speeder!) Kiwi!!
April 09
April was the month of the non club ride, whilst the official ride calendar was quite quiet with just the one main club ride, and the usual Thursday nights, members organised themselves pretty much a ride every day or two during the Easter break. Some local routes, plenty in Wales including Coed Y Brenin, Penmachno, Afan 3 day mega weekend, road riding competition in the lakes, you name it a Woolly was doing it in April. Largest non club ride went to Tyre Kicker with the classic Ladybower route with 26 riders out, including many prospective new members, all had an excellent day in fantastic surrounding and a great introduction to what the club is about.
The fantastic weather continued and even talk of summer tyres (remember them?) was heard. The new order for Woolly shirts was put in and more and more members are flying the club colours at trails all around the country. Look out for them; they’ll be the ones with big smiles on their faces.
This month’s club ride took in the excellent Mastiles Lane route a truly fantastic ride, hard uphill slogs mixed with plenty of amazing downhill action left 24 riders grinning from ear to ear.
Lastly the club membership now stands at 64 paid up members, truly going from strength to strength and a testament to the hard work of the committee and all ride leaders and members that make the club such a great place to be.
Hold on to the spring….
Artillary Dave
March 09
March proved a very busy month and a truly great riding month where sunshine and drier trails abounded, 3 fantastic Sunday rides starting with the very hilly Ceiriog ride, which saw some of biggest ups and downs of the year so far. (Did I mention it was hilly?) This was following by the Woolly Lakes weekend culminating in the Coniston Classic ride, this monumentous and memorable route took in some of the best riding the lakes has to offer and finally the Ogden ride at the end of the month continued the theme with great views, great weather and great riding leading to some very tired legs in the end.
Thursday night rides continue to be both well attended and eventful with a few members keen on winning the “Stack of the Year” * trophy with their over the bars escapades, however a front runner has emerged in Mark Scarey with a witnessed broken collarbone. Don’t worry Mark there is plenty of time and events (Alps, Scotland Weekend etc) for others to take pole position from you.
Thursday at Rivington saw a record 19 Woollies out for a night ride and covered an excellent and highly technical route, with many of the newer club members well and truly bitten by the night riding bug.
Finally March was the month that Gordon Brown’s economic stimulus plan was single-handedly spearheaded by the Woollybacks with new Lapierre, Ellsworth, DMR, Merlin, and Norco bikes and new forks, lights and various other shiny bits being purchased by members of the club to assist in the ending of the recession, a pat on the back and a letter of thanks was received from Alistair Darling.
(* Stack of the Year: - annual trophy for the worst accident on a club ride, witnessed by another club member preferably with photographic evidence and blood.)
Artillary Dave
February 09
February started with the classic Clwyds ride which saw 20 riders out in some of the best conditions so far this winter with a window of opportunity between snow fronts leading to a classic cold but hard day out in arguably one of the nicest areas to bike in. Good progress led to an increase in distance to 28 miles that tested even the toughest legs in the club.
Mid month club ride was the shorter than normal but incredibly tough Hayfield route, this ride saw 12 brave Woollies face 2 foot deep snow on a testing
Hike-a-bike in very wintry conditions, which proved a tough workout and memorable experience.
Thursday night’s training rides continue to be well attended and fitness levels are increasing due to the hard going muddy nature of some of the routes. What does not kill us makes us stronger
As of the end of February the club has 43 paid up members and many more waiting for the newbie rides who are interested in joining the club. Its bringing great diversity to the club in the riding that people are offering. In particular is Nige and Al who have got together through the club and are putting on long distance rides, bivvying adventures and other daft but brilliant events.
News on their latest quest can be found here and they have now earnt their Woollyback Legionnaires status.
January 09
Well January started with the usual list of resolutions, the first one being to keep the club news section of the website up to date!
The club membership levels are going from strength to strength with a member count of 37 and rising.
This month saw the clubs AGM where the committee were congratulated on the excellent work carried out last year and spelled out the plans for the coming year, including more great rides planned and some great weekends away to the lakes and Scotland as well as the club summer trip to the Alps.
This month also saw the start of the ride calendar begin with an excellent Chipping route and the classic Worsthorne ride which saw a record attendance of 23 riders. The Thursday night training rides also continue to see good attendance levels with the hardy bunch of riders keeping fitness levels in tip top shape whatever the weather. Roll on the sunshine
June 08
This month saw
us start organising for the Glentress weekend in October, already 21 members have signed up for the weekend. More to follow.
May 08
SPAIN - On 7th May, Geoff Lever(Hemlock) arranged for a week away to Spain for those interested. Geoff, Roger S, Si B, Ste B, Paul W, Graham L and friend took him up on the invitation. They used a company called Switchbacks and had nothing but praise for the company.
The following is some remarks off the forum on their return:-
Tyre Kicker(Paul) -
We all Downhill'd for 7days on the trot; awesome! I'm Stoked! Man/Dude!
It Rained all day on 1st official ride so the trail was completed with some rather pissed-off faces at the end but it was still magic.
I can't do the review any justice as this place / area is just unbeleiveable, very fast, extreme techie descents & the Switchbacks take alot of skill & bravery; I couldn't do them all as the thought of falling 500 mt to the valley bottom got to me, scary stuff & very RAD!
Bosely(Roger) -
It was rad, man. We were well stoked.
The cool dudes who led us really knew the switchbacks, the fixed rocks, the dropoffs, the loose bits and the fast flowing trails.
This was the week of the Prodigal Son on our first afternoon, then the Great Escape (into the wilds), Flowtastic (high and fast), Silk Panties (slips down easily) , the Moody Frenchman (nothing to do with the previous one), John Thomas (don’t know why), the Impossible Corner (except for some Woollybacks), Punctured Lung (not us), 48 Stitches (again not us), the 300m descent down a ravine on Lemmings (don’t go over the edge), German Box (something to do with a blond in the trees), Don Juan (don’t you just love these corners), and on the final day a 2000m descent through Capileira, Bubion and Pampaneira, then over Marbles to yet another celebratory beer. Just get out and ride, babies!!
Thanks to Geoff for setting it up, to Switchback for the rides, and to Geoff, Paul, Graham, Si, and Steve for a great week.
Will post photos and make a DVD asap.
Roger
Hemlock(Geoff) -
The week in numbers
6 - Woollybacks
7 - days consecutive riding
1300 - base camp (m)
2400 - highest point reached above sea level (m)
400 - lowest point reached above sea level (m)
2000 - greatest vertical descent in one day (m)
9000 - total descent for week (m) - equivalent to Everest
3 - punch ups at the airport
1 - gimp suit
1 - very sore arse (cycling accident - honest)
1 - coffin dodger (third time lucky eh!)
Infinite - strange new mtb terminology learnt - well rad!
1 - flowtastic time had by all - highly recommended
Photos are on Rogers site here
April 08
KIRROUGHTREE-This month saw the club taking a weekend trip upto Scotland to take in Kirroughtree this time. 16 Woollies made their way north for the weekend taking in Ae on the Friday, Kirroughtree on the Saturday and Dalbeattie on the Sunday. We booked into the Bruce Hotel in Newton Stewart
which turned out to be a fantastic hotel and were looked after well. They provided us with secure bike storage in the cellar and the only thing that let them down was no hose pipe to wash down the bikes. Rooms, food, bar and hospitality was absolutely brilliant and with Kirroughtree within riding distance(no cars needed) will definately be somewhere we use again.
Feb 08
This month 6 members completed a mountain bike leader course run by Ray from mountainbikeinstruction. The course was paid for by the club through the Awards for All funding, so now we have 6 MBLA level 2 accredited members. A review of the weekend course can be seen HERE
Jan 08
Alot later than normal the club held their annual AGM on the 30th Jan. After 10 years at the helm, Capt M (Graham Roberts) decided to step down as Chairman of the club. After a knee problem stopped him riding midway through last year it is a difficult decision to take but with the knee still not being right after operations he couldnt know for certain when he would be riding again. Graham along with Phil C have flown the flag for the club, pushing and taking it forwards making new members like myself welcome and looking out for us on the trails.
We hope Graham makes a swift recovery and gets back out on the trails as soon as poss.
Dec 07 Stack of the Year
This years Stack of the year award was presented at the clubs xmas meal. Click here for more info
Nov 07 Awards for All....
In November the club successfully were approved a grant from the national lottery. More...
Oct 07 Glentress weekend......
Read the review of how we got on at one of Scotlands finest MTB venues HERE
MAY 07
Penrith Merida......
A link to the penrith merida ride review is HERE and the few photo's that were taken are HERE
PHOTOSHOOT
28/04/07- This morning we had a bit off a photoshoot outside Thatto cycles new shop. We had a photographer lady there from the Willowbrook hospice who we are raising money for at the Merida, Also a photographer from the council was there for the local free papers.
A quite a few members of the club turned out for this, 5 minutes of fame and that. The two old blokes (Capt M, OLD) turned up on their motorbikes, scary sight. Gail and Nobby were there fitting new pedals to Gails bike, judging by the state of his legs it looks like the old ones are in there somewhere. He refuses to wear shin guards and doesnt like spd, he rather the ones with the screws that stick out to give you grip. ouch. A mention for Blossom, LATE AGAIN. Others were Pretty, Clone, Spesh, Tyre kicker, Spud, Rosie.
Another big thanks to Paul, Peter, Jean and all the staff at Thatto cycles who have provided T-shirts, sponsorship and energy supplements for our Merida challenge, Thanks for looking after the club members over the years and good luck in the new shop. Thatto cycles,01744 850047 www.bikesyoulike.co.uk
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MERIDA MARATHON 2007
Please sponsor us
This year The Woollybacks are taking part in the merida marathon in penrith in May, with a choice of 50Km, 75Km and 100Km.
Update 27/4/07- Well with just 2 weeks to go till the Merida the 100KM boys are hoping the've got in all the training they need. Since xmas there has been bouts of flu and chest infections going through the club which are finally showing signs they are going.
The lads did an epic sunday ride the other week which took in 72miles from Parbold to Hale lighthouse and back. Some of the 50 Km boys joined in at penketh, so they got good mileage in to.
All in all we are as ready as we'll ever be, club tops have arrived, free T-shirts from Thatto's cycles have arrived. so all we are waiting for now is good weather on the day, no injuries and very few mechanicals then we'll be laughing all the way to the finish.
Good luck to all those taking part
have a good day out
Ian
We are doing this as a sponsored ride to raise money for the willowbrook hospice which is a local charity who rely on donations and fundraising.There mission statement is to enhance the quality of life, and relieve the suffering of patients with cancer, and other life threatening illnesses.
100Km |
Mark R
Graham L
Eric A
Paul W
John M
Carl M
Roger S
Phil T
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50Km |
Graham R
Dave E
Lee M
Neil C
Andy P
Marc R |
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BIKING EVENTS
Pennine Bridleway MTB challenge Sunday 3rd June 07
http://www.rossendaleharriers.co.uk/mountain_biking.htm
Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool Sun 15th July
Entry fee's £13 individual, £46 team of four.
There are 3 routes available for this event Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool @54miles, Liverpool-Chester @30miles (return transport is no longer provided) or the wirral circular(Liverpool-Thornton-Liverpool) @25miles.
More info available at pennineevents
Pendal Pedal Sun 5th August
There are 3 ride options for this event
FULL TOUR 160 km £20 individual/£72 team of 4
MIDI-TOUR 100Km £20 individual/£72 team of 4
MTB PEDAL approx 40Km £12 - This includes sections of the pennine cycleway and pennine bridleway, riding on the bridleways beside Boulsworth hill and Weets hill, across widdop moor and around Hurstwood as well as places in between.
This tour is in association with Blazing Saddles MTB club.
All routes can be viewed on PENDLEBIKEFEST
More info at PENNINEEVENTS
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