A very last minute decision from me ( was going to work today ) to join Wayne ( The EMF ) & Paul (Jaco) on a ride out of Rothbury ..and so pleased that I did as it was one of
the most perfect winter rides Ive ever ridden ..
The start of the off-road proper onto the Rothbury Carriage Drive / Debdon Woods ..a nice crisp , grippy cover of snow..with the odd long stretch of sheet ice ..
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Some off-piste naughty bits ..
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Dropping down Physic Lane ..Wayne needs no second invitation to get going
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The other side of the valley..and the end of a rocky ridge in the Simonside Hills ..didn't ride any of this today ..but Jaco & myself were part of a group of very naughty boys that did a few years back on normal mtb's..( not an option on a much heavier emtb due to the hike a bike involved )
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The start of the drop to Hepple Whitfield ..normally a balls out fast as you dare blast which starts gentle and steepest quickly over the course of a couple of miles or so ..today it wasn't playing nice as the snow covering was hiding solid ice in lots of places which I found out to my cost after gently feathering the brakes and wondering why I was flying through the air a couple of seconds later ( the bruise on my hip should be quite spectacular ..)
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Lunch stop in a shooters hut ..half way down
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A few "imported " Dartmoor ( ?) ponies who weren't too bothered by us being there and a nice pootle alongside the River Coquet back to the cars completed a fantastic ride ..with a pint in the Turks Head fully rounding things off ..(cheers Wayne)
The best day of work I've never done !
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