A Midweek Escape with Gale Force Wind & A Smidge Of Rain.
Ride Date: 06/05/2015
Distance: 31.5 miles
Climbing: 3400ft
Route: Ashover > Kelstedge > Holymoorside > Rowsley > Two Dales
Riders : Jake & Matt
This was all set to be a multi purpose ride, not only a midweek escape, but also a reccy of Ashover in anticipation of a revisit later in the year for a Sunday ride.
With a usual 8am start we headed out of Ashover and round the back of the Poet's pub, with a nice stepped drop down and over the river and a push up what would be a superb descent at the end of the ride, once at the top we took a right and had a superb blast down through Cockerspring woods, before climbing back up via a steady fire road to where we started. Then a bit more climbing through more woods and a quarry led us out onto the road. We then headed out towards the delightfully named Robriding & hit a superb descent down into Kelstedge.
After a short rest we were off again, via a slight detour due to an error on my crib sheet, a few miles of road work and we were on another short, but sweet down through some woods, before popping out on the road and then on to a strangely satisfying climb up and over the fields to what would be the highest point of the ride. By now the wind was really picking up, made even worse by being so exposed out on the moor.
We soon had some respite though as we swung off the road and dropped down into the many woods above Rowsley, some lovely twisting, undulating singletrack took us on our journey through the woods, there were plenty of trails in the woods an there was much talk of finding a way of adding it in to a Chatsworth or Bakewell ride in the future. We should have taken a bridleway through more woods back to Beeley Moor at this point, but due to some logging operations by the Haddon Estate we had to detour, although this did give us a superb, albeit cheeky footpath blast down to Beeley village.
From here it was more road, this time a 2 mile stiff climb back up on to the top of the moor, the wind was now trying it's best to drive us off the road at this point, plus despite my timely statement that we had got away without any rain, it decided to rain! We dropped down in to Two Dales on what was in hindsight not that interesting a trail and then started to head back to Ashover.
Once back at the bridleway, we retraced our steps from earlier, with the excellent (in name & fun) Coffin lane descent, followed by the equally superb rocky, rooty drop back down to the river in Ashover leaving us just a short push up back into the village.
We just managed to sneak in to the Mucky Duck (Black Swan) for last orders, I can't remember what I ate, but it was more than welcome as I was famished, I do remember it was washed down with a pint of Sharp's Atlantic.
A bit of an epic ride all in, should have no trouble sorting a good route for Ashover later in the year plus also the promise we saw in the woods around Rowsley.
Distance: 31.5 miles
Climbing: 3400ft
Route: Ashover > Kelstedge > Holymoorside > Rowsley > Two Dales
Riders : Jake & Matt
This was all set to be a multi purpose ride, not only a midweek escape, but also a reccy of Ashover in anticipation of a revisit later in the year for a Sunday ride.
With a usual 8am start we headed out of Ashover and round the back of the Poet's pub, with a nice stepped drop down and over the river and a push up what would be a superb descent at the end of the ride, once at the top we took a right and had a superb blast down through Cockerspring woods, before climbing back up via a steady fire road to where we started. Then a bit more climbing through more woods and a quarry led us out onto the road. We then headed out towards the delightfully named Robriding & hit a superb descent down into Kelstedge.
 |
| Time for a break at the bottom of a cracking descent into Kelstedge |
We soon had some respite though as we swung off the road and dropped down into the many woods above Rowsley, some lovely twisting, undulating singletrack took us on our journey through the woods, there were plenty of trails in the woods an there was much talk of finding a way of adding it in to a Chatsworth or Bakewell ride in the future. We should have taken a bridleway through more woods back to Beeley Moor at this point, but due to some logging operations by the Haddon Estate we had to detour, although this did give us a superb, albeit cheeky footpath blast down to Beeley village.
From here it was more road, this time a 2 mile stiff climb back up on to the top of the moor, the wind was now trying it's best to drive us off the road at this point, plus despite my timely statement that we had got away without any rain, it decided to rain! We dropped down in to Two Dales on what was in hindsight not that interesting a trail and then started to head back to Ashover.
Once back at the bridleway, we retraced our steps from earlier, with the excellent (in name & fun) Coffin lane descent, followed by the equally superb rocky, rooty drop back down to the river in Ashover leaving us just a short push up back into the village.
We just managed to sneak in to the Mucky Duck (Black Swan) for last orders, I can't remember what I ate, but it was more than welcome as I was famished, I do remember it was washed down with a pint of Sharp's Atlantic.
A bit of an epic ride all in, should have no trouble sorting a good route for Ashover later in the year plus also the promise we saw in the woods around Rowsley.
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