I met up with Geoff and Lee, two mates of mine on Sunday morning nice and early at Grindleford Cafe in the Peak.
Geoff had his shiny new Freeride 350 out to play and Lee had his PR4 AJP, which has just come back from being serviced and fettled a little bit...
The plan,finish a route we started last year but Geoff's KTM had no teeth left on his front sprocket so we had to bail... The route ran in a loop out to Macclesfield and back, so across a couple of counties at least!
First lane was a great short little twisty climb, leading to tarmac and then into a descent that was the same but longer... we passed through sleepy little Derbyshire villages, climbed up hill and down hill all finding some lovely lanes that were just a joy to ride.
As we inched our way west, the terrain changed from the long steady limestone lanes to the rougher gritstone and sandstone versions, we saw a couple of groups of other riders out, one lot on old classic trail bikes, some grumpy and some chatty... then we saw a group who we eventually got to have a chat with.
It turned out to be the lad who had showed Greg Villalobos through the Peak on his Green Lane Relay from Newcastle to London a couple of years ago... Along with another AJP rider which always make Lee smile!
Lunch was at a little farm cafe that we'd used last time, and a quick tightening of chains was needed for Lee and I at this point... Geoff's Freeride was a big hit, Geoff loved it, the bike just went where he pointed it and as it was much lower than his previous KTM 450 EXCF, he was much more relaxed on it. Fuel range was about 60 miles with a 15 mile reserve.
We came across a group of quad bike riders, all nice a polite, albeit a few loud exhausts on them, they let us past as we were a bit quicker but then I fluffed a big step at the bridge on the Three Shires and held everyone up!
After this it was Hollinsclough and then onto the lanes back to Grindleford to round off the day.
One of the things that struck me was the amount of lane closure paperwork that has been stapled to various lanes on this route... we saw about 10 sets altogether, Derbyshire County Council are busy beavering away at changing the landscape to suit their idea of perfection and a cost effective management structure and bugger the consequences it appears.
Despite this we had a good day out and all of the cyclists, horse riders and walkers we saw were chatty and pleasant, no issues what so ever...
We rounded the day off with a descent back to Stoney Middleton and a blast back up the road to Grindleford before the long drive home...
Another great weekend of biking spending time is a beautiful part of the country and with some good mates...
Derbyshire County Council Green Lanes Website Info Pages
Geoff had his shiny new Freeride 350 out to play and Lee had his PR4 AJP, which has just come back from being serviced and fettled a little bit...
The plan,finish a route we started last year but Geoff's KTM had no teeth left on his front sprocket so we had to bail... The route ran in a loop out to Macclesfield and back, so across a couple of counties at least!
First lane was a great short little twisty climb, leading to tarmac and then into a descent that was the same but longer... we passed through sleepy little Derbyshire villages, climbed up hill and down hill all finding some lovely lanes that were just a joy to ride.
As we inched our way west, the terrain changed from the long steady limestone lanes to the rougher gritstone and sandstone versions, we saw a couple of groups of other riders out, one lot on old classic trail bikes, some grumpy and some chatty... then we saw a group who we eventually got to have a chat with.
It turned out to be the lad who had showed Greg Villalobos through the Peak on his Green Lane Relay from Newcastle to London a couple of years ago... Along with another AJP rider which always make Lee smile!
Lunch was at a little farm cafe that we'd used last time, and a quick tightening of chains was needed for Lee and I at this point... Geoff's Freeride was a big hit, Geoff loved it, the bike just went where he pointed it and as it was much lower than his previous KTM 450 EXCF, he was much more relaxed on it. Fuel range was about 60 miles with a 15 mile reserve.
We came across a group of quad bike riders, all nice a polite, albeit a few loud exhausts on them, they let us past as we were a bit quicker but then I fluffed a big step at the bridge on the Three Shires and held everyone up!
After this it was Hollinsclough and then onto the lanes back to Grindleford to round off the day.
One of the things that struck me was the amount of lane closure paperwork that has been stapled to various lanes on this route... we saw about 10 sets altogether, Derbyshire County Council are busy beavering away at changing the landscape to suit their idea of perfection and a cost effective management structure and bugger the consequences it appears.
Despite this we had a good day out and all of the cyclists, horse riders and walkers we saw were chatty and pleasant, no issues what so ever...
We rounded the day off with a descent back to Stoney Middleton and a blast back up the road to Grindleford before the long drive home...
Another great weekend of biking spending time is a beautiful part of the country and with some good mates...
Derbyshire County Council Green Lanes Website Info Pages
