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Great little ride today with a good bunch of people.
Here is the ride report:
NWA: Roman Lakes and Mellor Moor~ 11/12/10
With the majority of the ice and snow thawed for the weekend the scene was set for a bit of mud and a bit of cold, but the weather was looking kind for a dry day.
Six hardy Retrobikers met up for bacon toasties and polystyrene cups of tea from the Roman Lakes serving hatch.
While MrLee distributed skinwall tyres the rest of us built up our bikes.
MrK telephoned from afar to wish us all well, still optimistic about winning the final coveted Bike of the Ride award of 2010 despite his last minute no show.
Several riders had made it though.
Woody selected his current commuter in the form of a nice red Specialized Stumpjumper M2 from 1993. The aforementioned MrLee brought along his glitterball disco Lava Dome from about 1996 while NE Yorkie Kaya got all nostalgic on his homecoming aboard another retro-mod Kona.
elPedro666 brought out his Dyna Tech once more and I had just finished building up a tatty old 1998 Saracen especially for dirty old winter rides.
HarryCrumb however sealed up the Bike of the Ride prize from the outset with a stunning 1990 Marin Team Titanium complete with NOS XT parts and brand new dark anodized Araya RM20 rims.
We did try to warn him about the abrasive effects of Peak District grit but he didn't seem too bothered.
And so we set about the riding, with an early portion of climbing, followed by more climbing and then a little more climbing.
It was hard work at times with the gradient never really yielding and the loose surface stealing away traction.
Near the top of Mellor Moor, Kaya began experiencing some trouble with his modern Crank Bros pedals.
Hit it with a bit of gritstone!
With a selection of enormous allen keys, a rummage for spare washers, a lump of rock and several doses of ingenuity, the pedal was temporarily fixed, but not without some heckling from a nearby farmer.
Riding onwards we cleared the summit of the moor and gently rolled down the first of many puddle and slush filled lanes.
Just half a mile after the first repair, another pedal failure halted us. Spending a bit more time in a more sheltered location, the same offending pedal underwent a more rigorous and hopefully lasting repair.
The start of the NWA trail-side bike build thread
With the pedal secured we dived headlong through melting snow drifts and slush pools to drop back down the other side of the moor and up a narrow slippery climb up to join another lovely rocky old lane.
Rays of sunshine on the distant hills - not quite visible in this photograph...
After winding out a couple of turns of our brake lever barrel adjusters we tackled the next descent and it's slabs and steps. Great fun until we rounded a bend to find a short section still completely filled with snow.
Most of us were cast asunder by the white road block but Kaya nailed it straight through like a snow plough. Great riding skills.
Further down the lane we stopped in at the pub for a selection of athletic power snacks and isotonic sports drinks.
With several portions of chips, potato wedges, garlic bread and onion rings in our bellies all washed down with beer, we saddled up for the tarmac climb back out of the valley.
MrLee's DIY ice tyres were singing along on the asphalt until the deflating sound of a puncture brought us to another short break. The tube was patched in time to tackle more large ice filled puddles.
Spirits were still high though as we hit another of the characteristic slab and step sandstone descents around these parts.
MrLee dancing his disco Kona down the drops
Woody takes it all in his stride
HarryCrumb grabs another four fingers of brake lever to remove the anodising from his new rims
Kaya cruises down his old familiar routes
After the rocks came another great descent through the woods, past some cows in the lane and almost to the valley floor. Another sustained climb brought us all up to a final view of Manchester before dropping down the final downhill back to our starting point.
The light levels and temperature were again beginning to drop but we didn't have far to go now.
More confident downhill action from Kaya
Going, going...
Gone! HarryCrumb tastes the local dirt.
HarryCrumb practised his over the bar acrobatics, Mr Lee's rear tyre failed and Kaya's pedal gave up all within a mile or so of home. But we all made it back safely just before dusk had really set in and the beast of Mellor Moor left it's lair to feast on stranded bikers.
Another polystyrene portion of tea warmed cold fingers while we all loaded up our vehicles, compared notes and eventually went home.
Thanks again to Chris, Lee, Martin, Vern and Pete for a great day out again.
Here is the ride report:
NWA: Roman Lakes and Mellor Moor~ 11/12/10
With the majority of the ice and snow thawed for the weekend the scene was set for a bit of mud and a bit of cold, but the weather was looking kind for a dry day.
Six hardy Retrobikers met up for bacon toasties and polystyrene cups of tea from the Roman Lakes serving hatch.
While MrLee distributed skinwall tyres the rest of us built up our bikes.
MrK telephoned from afar to wish us all well, still optimistic about winning the final coveted Bike of the Ride award of 2010 despite his last minute no show.
Several riders had made it though.
Woody selected his current commuter in the form of a nice red Specialized Stumpjumper M2 from 1993. The aforementioned MrLee brought along his glitterball disco Lava Dome from about 1996 while NE Yorkie Kaya got all nostalgic on his homecoming aboard another retro-mod Kona.
elPedro666 brought out his Dyna Tech once more and I had just finished building up a tatty old 1998 Saracen especially for dirty old winter rides.
HarryCrumb however sealed up the Bike of the Ride prize from the outset with a stunning 1990 Marin Team Titanium complete with NOS XT parts and brand new dark anodized Araya RM20 rims.
We did try to warn him about the abrasive effects of Peak District grit but he didn't seem too bothered.
And so we set about the riding, with an early portion of climbing, followed by more climbing and then a little more climbing.
It was hard work at times with the gradient never really yielding and the loose surface stealing away traction.
Near the top of Mellor Moor, Kaya began experiencing some trouble with his modern Crank Bros pedals.
Hit it with a bit of gritstone!
With a selection of enormous allen keys, a rummage for spare washers, a lump of rock and several doses of ingenuity, the pedal was temporarily fixed, but not without some heckling from a nearby farmer.
Riding onwards we cleared the summit of the moor and gently rolled down the first of many puddle and slush filled lanes.
Just half a mile after the first repair, another pedal failure halted us. Spending a bit more time in a more sheltered location, the same offending pedal underwent a more rigorous and hopefully lasting repair.
The start of the NWA trail-side bike build thread
With the pedal secured we dived headlong through melting snow drifts and slush pools to drop back down the other side of the moor and up a narrow slippery climb up to join another lovely rocky old lane.
Rays of sunshine on the distant hills - not quite visible in this photograph...
After winding out a couple of turns of our brake lever barrel adjusters we tackled the next descent and it's slabs and steps. Great fun until we rounded a bend to find a short section still completely filled with snow.
Most of us were cast asunder by the white road block but Kaya nailed it straight through like a snow plough. Great riding skills.
Further down the lane we stopped in at the pub for a selection of athletic power snacks and isotonic sports drinks.
With several portions of chips, potato wedges, garlic bread and onion rings in our bellies all washed down with beer, we saddled up for the tarmac climb back out of the valley.
MrLee's DIY ice tyres were singing along on the asphalt until the deflating sound of a puncture brought us to another short break. The tube was patched in time to tackle more large ice filled puddles.
Spirits were still high though as we hit another of the characteristic slab and step sandstone descents around these parts.
MrLee dancing his disco Kona down the drops
Woody takes it all in his stride
HarryCrumb grabs another four fingers of brake lever to remove the anodising from his new rims
Kaya cruises down his old familiar routes
After the rocks came another great descent through the woods, past some cows in the lane and almost to the valley floor. Another sustained climb brought us all up to a final view of Manchester before dropping down the final downhill back to our starting point.
The light levels and temperature were again beginning to drop but we didn't have far to go now.
More confident downhill action from Kaya
Going, going...
Gone! HarryCrumb tastes the local dirt.
HarryCrumb practised his over the bar acrobatics, Mr Lee's rear tyre failed and Kaya's pedal gave up all within a mile or so of home. But we all made it back safely just before dusk had really set in and the beast of Mellor Moor left it's lair to feast on stranded bikers.
Another polystyrene portion of tea warmed cold fingers while we all loaded up our vehicles, compared notes and eventually went home.
Thanks again to Chris, Lee, Martin, Vern and Pete for a great day out again.
