24/02/10 Macc Forest and Thereabouts

We thought we'd leave it until the snow had gone - doh!  Stuart reported that the roads around his home in Macclesfield were fine and all should be well for a long delayed ride in the Cheshire / Derbyshire border area around Macc Forest and over the moors towards the Cat n Fiddle.

Or so we thought.  Was this a ride or was this a walk?

After a few miles of roadwork out through Sutton Lane Ends, climbing up alongside Macc forest, we turned right to head across the moors along a track / bridleway which is where we first found snow.  Riding didn't last long so it was a case of pushing / carrying the bikes along the top of the snow drifts.  We'd gone a few hundred metres like this when Stuart pointed out that we were walking about 6 feet higher than the actual track!  The snow was pretty solid and occasionally dipped down to only 2 or 3 feet thick.  It was hard work and we took a decision to hop over into the parallel fields and ride along there.  Nice sticky sheep droppings to clean off the bike later.

At the end of the track we dropped onto tarmac again and headed down towards the next bridleway that was supposed to take us off across the moors to the Cat n Fiddle.  Plans had to change!  This one wasn't a gentle ramp-up of snow, it was a 7 foot high wall.  After a quick investigation of how long it lasted (which involved Stuart clambering up the snow, doing a reccie for about 25 metres and briefly disappearing to chest height where the snow wasn't quite so firm!) which indicated that it lasted as far as the eye could see, a new route was plotted.  A group of about 10 MTBers arrived at that point and decided to change their plans too.  So much for waiting for all the snow to clear.

Bianchi Mutt and Rockrider 8.2 on Location (apologies for the mobile phone pic quality)

So off we went to Macc Forest itsself where there was more snow and ice to contend with and some tricky riding conditions - I've not really ridden on rutted ice before.  Quite a few folks about walking and riding in the forest, probably because it was the first time the weather was tolerable for the first time in weeks. There was a running event on too - we managed to go in the opposite direction but it was all on fire roads so plenty of room for everyone.

Some very misty and picturesque vistas in the forest, particularly on the road which passes alongside the reservoirs which were covered in thick ice.  We did a loop of the forest twice, with some very hard climbs (I admit to walking a couple of times, and Stuart is very patient as he waits at the top as he gets there much quicker, even when I'm still riding) and long, fast and smooth descents on the fire road.

We debated doing a bit more on-road riding, but given the cold and the problems with snow, we headed for Stuart's house and got laughed at on arrival - it seems we were slightly muddy!  Huge pile of scrambled eggs and tomatoes followed by fruit cake were on the menu as recovery grub.  Marvellous.