Ride Report and open letter to Bog Trotters MTBC, copied to newsgroups uk.rec.cycling and
alt.mountain-bike
On Sunday the 3rd of August, I was to join a select few from the Bog Trotters mountain bike club for
a stint of XC MTB'ing in the area of Claife within the Uk's Lake District.
The pre-cursor to this was having found them during a web search for clubs local to me. That search
was spurred by my having been re-awakened to the joys of MTB after approx 4.5 years out of the
saddle. I'd given myself incentive to start again, completed the recent charity bike ride totaling
60 miles and felt perhaps I was ready for some off tarmac fun.
The Bog Trotters site has a listing of planned rides, and fortunately for me upcoming was a ride out
in Claife that was tagged as "easy". Now to clarify matters a little, the website gives definitions
of ride grading. Easy is denoted as "<15 miles, Gentle, but slightly faster than beginners, Maybe a
little technical..."
15 miles thought me? No problem I've done 4 times that on tarmac, it's an easy ride, this should be
good. Some emails and phone numbers exchanged and I'd got a lift arranged with Ken, just a 10 mile
early morning ride to meet him. Crunched that with no real effort, broke the ice a little and off we
trotted <excuse the pun!> to meet some others in a car park, and then onwards to the ride.
At this point it's probably worthwhile noting that at the time, I noted all of the folk were pretty
lean and fit looking. I am neither lean, lean looking nor fit.
At the destination we unloaded bikes and assembled as applicable and then the discussions about
route started. Not knowing the area, I listened vaguely but kept quiet. Quietly horrified at the
regular useage of the word "climb". Not hill, not slope, but *climb*. Uh Oh. Hills are not my
favourite, but hey, you got to go up to enjoy the down.
Off we went and within 5 minutes we were splashing our way through a stream and upwards. And
upwards. Now for those of you who have always been slight of build, let me mention that you are
gravitationally able for uphill cycling on non smooth surfaces. I and may others who are not slight
on the other hand are gravitationally challenged. Having weight high up from the floor and keeping
it inline with the centre of gravity is hard. In the saddle up hill often the weight is too far back
and the front loses traction. Stand up and it's just all the more wrong and of course the back
starts to spin. choices choices. It wasn't long until I was off and pushing 🙁 The upside was that
no-one seemed to mind, and all were waiting patiently for me at the next gate. Some flatness
occurred, some undulation and then some more climb. Off I come again, watching all merrily ploughing
their way onwards and upwards with ease. Again very patiently waiting for me round the next bend and
along a bit.
"Don’t worry" I hear "next bit is about 2 miles of downhill - you'll love it". Excellent thinks I.
Get in there. So off we plod and indeed downhill it is. Of the single-track kind. Rocky
single-track. stone ranging from small pebbles to larger than football size, but mainly between
apple and melon sized. Steeper and steeper until I'm right off the back of my saddle to keep the
centre of gravity nice and low. To the bottom we get and I'm pretty thrilled to have that sorted and
probably grinning like a fool. Now for some more uphill, undulation, patiences and finally another
downhill stretch. This is steeper than the last and more technical too, but away I go until about
2/3rds of the way down when my front wheel hits a rock and stops dead. Once again, Isaac Newton does
me proud and I'm off into the bracken. No major damage, some bruising no doubt and no obvious
mechanical damage. Apparently the bike was so neatly stacked one of the members wondered at first if
I was taking a leak in the bushes. Until I emerged feet first from the fauna. Onwards we go.
More ups, more downs, but I'm still winded and wondering if I've got stich, or maybe even cracked
a/some rib/s. I'm given an option soon, steep climb with a really good downhill, or keep going on
the relative flat and meet at the bottom of the downhill. I'm in pain so I go for the relative flat,
urging the others to go for the fun. Lunch is had at the bottom of the downhill, along with a
puncture change. We're ready to go again and I'm fit but within a few minutes I'm uncomfortable in
the ribs again. Onwards we go round the edge of the lake. Another option - climb and descend, but
the climb is killer, or gravel and tarmac to the car park. Gravel and Tarmac won me over whilst the
others went for the killer climb.
Along the gravel and tarmac I saw people, ramblers, walkers, families, loose cattle, lake Windermere
and eventually the village of Far Sawrey. Lovely it was too.
Gear back into the cars, quick change to dry clothes and into the pub opposite for refreshment. An
impromptu 15 minute display by the red arrows was well timed, whether it was arranged by the ride
lead Ken or not is still a closely guarded secret.
So why is this an open letter? Well firstly I want to say "thanks" to those Bog Trotters that were
in attendance, you made me feel welcome, you were patient, funny and I can see you're a good
spirited bunch. You're also fit, much fitter than I imagine say Mr./s average is, and certainly
positively Olympic compared to me. There was a trailside conversation along the lines of "you guys
are really fit", "nah, we're just stupid". Well I disagreed then and still do now - Fit you are,
stupid you're not. If I was down on myself I'd say I was stupid for over estimating my
capabilities, but we all started somewhere right? And you don't know until you try? And of course,
so what? I had fun regardless - I just hope I didn't hamper anyone else’s. I got a text message
from one member the next morning, to see if I was okay, whether I had fun and making note that it
was actually an "easy" ride. Well I agree, to you fit and slight built folk it probably is very
easy, but there we have the problem - definition. One MTB'ers definition could be a foreign
language to another. The fitter and better you become as a rider, the higher your standards shift
accordingly until you forget "how it was when...". Just remember, YMMV (Your mileage may vary) or
more aptly in this case, YEMV (Your experience may vary). My only slightly negative thought, was
that maybe with some people around me I might have been able to exert a little more, peer
pressure/team spirit/encouragement - whatever you call it, I know it works, I helped others to
complete the last 2 miles of the 60 miler despite the tears rolling down their cheeks. It's not a
criticism at all, I know how these things are, people form their natural pace and stick with it -
just a shame mine was a couple of hundred yards behind you all!
Will the Bog Trotters see me again? For sure - I had an ace day out, however I feel I need to be
much fitter before I show my face again. Despite their patience, I know how frustrating it would be
to have one single lagger on even infrequent ride outs. Perhaps this is my next goal (the 60 miler
being my first), to train enough to attend a Bog Trotters event and complete the trail without
straggling. Now if only could find a bike club of my own level to train with..... And so the loop
starts again...
Once again, thanks to those Bog Trotters in attendance, I DID have an ace day; you're a fun
bunch and made me feel welcome. Thanks especially to Ken who exchanged some transportation
services for a beer.
My quick photo album can bee seen here: darkwings.co.ukClaifeOpen ↗
The Bog Trotters can be found here: bogtrotters.orgbogtrotters.orgOpen ↗
The Red arrows live here: raf.mod.ukredsOpen ↗ & redarrows.comredarrows.comOpen ↗
And the area ridden is here: tinyurl.comj05wOpen ↗
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Dnc