Saturday 21 March 2015

Spring Has Sprung!!

Another truly beautiful day in the Lakes today, blue skies, mostly dry lanes & a bit of fun out on the trails of Northern Lakeland.

Gaz, Lucy & I all managed to coincide a Saturday off with a beautiful weather, so with a lazy start, the odd bike problem & plenty of tea, we managed to get out in the sunshine & cover some miles. Gaz's bike was having carb problems today & sometimes would just cut out and/or not restart, mine was galloping away at some times & something was draining the battery whenever it's been left standing for a couple of days... But Lucy's KTM was running very sweetly after it's recent oil change & front inner tube...

We just had a day of classics, nothing technical, mostly to get some miles in before the Haggs Bank Moto Madness Weekend next weekend. Lucy was feeling a little nervous as she hadn't ridden her bike in quite awhile & Gaz & I have been playing on trials bikes for most of that time too, so blow the cobwebs out, get the big bikes out & go for a play.

Lots have changed since our last outing too, the unofficial motocross track has had a load of work on it, some of it really good, so we had a play here for half an hour before hitting the mountain lanes...


People have been dumping more of their rubbish along one if the lanes near Little Broughton, it's a proper eyesore, which I find really ironic given all the hullaballoo I keep hearing about as bikes & 4x4's are blamed for making a mess of the countryside! Definitely not so in this case...




The stark contrast to the mountain lanes was nowhere more apparent than on top of Latrigg, where the locals & tourists were out running, biking, walking & flying around the base of Skiddaw. We stopped for a snack & to enjoy the views... There is plenty of old snow still lingering in the shady places, which added nicely to the contrast of the daylight & we saw one of the Ospreys flying over the hills near Whinlatter, a grand sight on such a fine day...








Once past the Coach Road, we headed over little Mell & Great Mell fells, before Gaz's XT started to become more unreliable which prompted a fast trip home, via Caldbeck & the boggy old forest lane that leads to Wigton, more great views of the Solway followed before Gaz split off from us to head home. Lucy & I took in a couple more lanes before a blast back home to sort out the usual life stuff & drink tea!!




A lovely first day out in the spring, magic stuff... let the summer begin...