Fanylion Mountain Bike Team
Official site of the Fanylion Mountain Bike Team. Includes mountain bike ride guides, gear reviews, bike maintenance, team reports and rider profiles of the Fanylion Racing Team.
Scugdale and Goathland
April 22, 2006, North York Moors
The alarm rings. I am already awake. Is it the anticipation of another Fanylion weekend or is it just that because the ride is so close to home, I don’t have to get up at Ungodly O’clock for once? Almost before I know it I am pulling up outside the historic Chequers Café. Almost everyone is there already, in various states of undress, pulling on their cycling kit. Due to the time of year there was quite a contrast of preferred clothing - Shack, Starkey and Auld Yin had opted for a full winter set-up – thermal bib tights, layers, wooly hats, and goatskin leggings. Others had opted for a lighter-weight set-up of shorts, a couple of base-layers and windproofs. After a mid-week training ride I had decided that, irrespective of the relatively cold conditions, the lighter spring set-up was the best option, albeit with a snug Altura soft-shell.
After Sam finishes his pre-ride energy fuel (tea and cakes) and with disturbingly little Team FanyFaffTM we are ready, with one of the most explosive starts to a ride you could ever imagine. A short road ride takes us to the old Drover’s Road – a steady, slightly downhill section full of rocks, water splashes, gullies and its fair share of nasty surprises. Myself and Shorts in Winter set the pace at the front, already getting into the Fanylion mentality of racing from the off (something that new probationary member, Team GB, commented on in Wales last month). Ben’s superior fitness soon showed. Or was it the previous night’s eight pints of Guinness and a curry that proved to be a foolish decision for me? Anyway, he is soon pulling away, confident of what lays ahead as he knows the terrain pretty well. He disappears down a super-technical section at the end of the Drover’s Road and I followed, enjoying every minute of it, whilst at the same time wondering if it had caught out any Team member that hadn’t ridden it before.
As I completed the section, I turned around to watch the rest of the Team coming down and, perhaps not surprisingly, the only person to be caught out was returning Team member, Chris (aka Boy Band). After all, he had been doing an entirely different type of riding for the last 18 months in Australia. We soon regrouped and headed off into Ingleby Woods and down a set of steps. Eco Panzer displayed his local knowledge and indestructible bike, flying down the steps at breakneck speed whilst others took it more cautiously down the smoother sections to either side. Nethertheless, by the time we reached the bottom, hearts were pounding as we had quickly gathered speed and were thrown through the cut-up bottom section, making for some pretty unglamorous exits.
Soon we were clear of the woods and found the first photo-opportunity, a wide-open grassy descent with a great drop off at the bottom. Just the sort you could imagine kids flocking to every winter when the snows come. Team Twin Pin rides ahead, ready to take some pictures of us and we follow, like swarming bees, four and five abreast. Shack and Techno are quite close together as they dive down the drop-off. As we regroup, Shack asks who bottomed out as he heard a pretty loud bang. No -one knows, but we soon find out….
A short road section brings us to Hodgson’s Ladder, so called as once, many FanyYears ago, Team Hodgson (if you remember him, he has since gone to the jey-road shaven-side) attempted to ride the single-most impossible climb in the universe – I doubt that Liam Killen could manage it. Teams Shorts in Winter, GB and Shortbread all attempt it, making it to somewhere like the same place as Hodgson, some 100 metres away from the summit.
After much huffing and puffing and dragging and pushing, we complete this technical climb and start the steady and rocky ascent along the Cleveland Way towards the gliding station. At this point I am a little way behind the main pack (thank you Guinness), but not so much as to cause me worry. Then suddenly I hear a great puff behind me. It’s Starkey! I couldn’t believe it – from where I was in relation to the likes of Ben, Shortbread, Twin Pin and GB I reckoned he would be some way behind me but he wasn’t. A very big respect to him – his winter training had clearly paid off. I push a little harder, trying to shake him off and manage to get a few precious metres away but was feeling it. I was relieved to have the break when I see Shack and Boy Band staring at Sam and his bike. What had happened? What COULD happen on this very innocuous section? Probably some minor technical I assumed. I assumed wrong….
Sam’s frame had completely broken, the seat tube snapped in two pieces between the pivots on his Rocky Mountain ETSX-30. After a short deliberation, we all agree that, on this occasion, the only way for Techno was back. Sam was gutted – he was bang up for this weekend as it was one of the few weekends he can make this year. After a brief discussion about the shortest route back, Starkey gave Sam his car keys so he could at least change his clothes and we set off again. Pretty soon we were at the top, with Shack commenting on how quickly we had made it to the gliding station. A steady and level section took us across to a fast downhill rocky road – don’t you sometimes just love those sorts of sections? Through a car park and along the side of Carlton Bank, Ecopanzer was soon pointing out Carlton Bank downhill course – he advised against it as apparently it is pretty extreme and none of us had body armour. Anyway, who would want to descend that, just to have to climb again? We will be doing enough of that today anyway.
We stop for a quick bite to eat, abuse each other mentally and are soon back on the bikes. Shorts in Winter, Shortbread, Boy Band, Twin Pin and GB take their places at the front. Shack and Ecopanzer seem happy to be in mid-pack quickly followed by myself then Starkey and Auld Yin. We are soon off our bikes and climbing another impossible section. I comment that there is nothing like going out for a good bike push/carry. Starkey repeats my words soon after. But it was worth it. We reach the best descent of the day – downhill all the way to Chopgate, the riders spread out, some much more confident on this really technical section than others. One minute you think you have the best line, then suddenly it disappears, the gullies and tracks badly eroded by the winter’s rain and strewn with rocks. Had it been dry and dusty, it would have felt like a Spanish descent. By the time I reached the bottom my forearms were pumped up, cramp twitching slightly in my hands.
Soon were are attempting to clear a very muddy section – pretty much the first real mud we had encountered so far. With plenty of slip-sliding, we were through it, past a farm and onto a short road section. Shack says ‘this is the sort of stuff I hate; I can’t cope with these long drags’. I commented that I quite like them, probably due to the road training I have been doing. Pretty soon I leave him for dead and we briefly regrouped before swinging left off the road and into a wooded section which heads up to Barkers Crag. By now I was actually feeling pretty good and was leading the pack, doing my bit by getting to the front and opening gates and letting everyone through. We climb through the woods, the track steepening slightly and I felt really good. I wasn’t only staying in touch with the leading pack, I was gaining on them. We stopped to regroup and I looked behind to see Ecopanzer, Shack and Auld Yin some way behind. Quite some distance back was Starkey, his sterling efforts earlier in the day clearly beginning to take effect.
We set off again and I hit the front, soon to be reeled in by Shorts, Shortbread, Twin Pin and GB but I was still keeping in touch with them when my chain slipped off the 34 tooth and jammed betwixt cassette and spokes (not for the first time today). As I cursed, the pack passed me. We made our way along the familiar Scugdale route and over the top to Sandy Bank. A very flat but tough section through the grabbing sand has us all cursing, wondering what had happened to our legs and Sheldon was feeling it pretty badly, beginning to hold us up for the first time all day.
Shorts, knowing the route, points out that the next section is only worth doing if someone opens the gate half way down. Shack duly offers, camera in hand. When he gets there he is welcomed by two guys ascending the section and as they say hello, he tries to warn them of the impending stampede of Fany. Almost before he gets a word out, we appear, owning the trail, trying to get the best speeds, beat the next guy. There are several near misses and we all have a good joke about what they must have been thinking as they saw the approaching storm.
We reach the bottom gate, Shorts attempts (unsuccessfully) to open it as Shack takes the simple route – through the smaller pedestrian gate to one side. Soon we are on the road and we have a fast descent and over a cattle grid. I make the turn; most of the others do as well. Auld Yin doesn’t, instead opting to drift into the verge and barbed wire fence in super slo-mo.
I know this is the final road section so, in my usual style, I take the foot off the pedal(s?) and have a reasonably easy warm-down ride for the final couple of miles back to Chequers Café. We regroup at the café and some of the guys discuss the idea of doing an extra loop, so they can sample the delights of one descent we didn’t manage today – Black Hambleton. As Shorts, Ecopanzer, Twin Pin and Shortbread take off, the rest of us decide to call it a day, preferring to save something in the tank for Sunday’s ride.
Starkey is looking quite flustered. It seems that his car is missing. So is Techno. Shack spends the next fifteen minutes winding him up, saying he can see a car at the bottom of the gulley, Starkey takes it all in – he is clearly very concerned about his motor. Finally a very sheepish looking Sam turns up – it seems that, in his boredom, he decided to go for a pint in Sheldon’s car. He didn’t expect us to get back so soon and clearly was embarrassed at being caught out.
At this point, Team Hodgson, the founding member of Team Fanylion, along with his heavily pregnant wife Ellie drove from Leeds to catch up with us. Ellie looked great, in that way only a pregnant woman can. Hodgson looked like a jey road-racer, complete with shaving nick from an unsuccessful attempt to shave his ginger legs. Tea and cakes are consumed (or in Team GB’s case; tea, cakes, coffee, baguettes, ice cream, soup, crisps, chocolate, milkshake…) we pack up and either go home (Boy Band, Shorts, Ecopanzer and Techno - only Techno having a valid excuse with his broken steed) or head east to Goathland, famous for being the village in which Heartbeat is filmed (and some scenes from Harry Potter too, apparently).
Saturday’s ride details
Distance ridden: 27 miles (not including extra loop)
Height climbed: 1067 m
Average speed: 9.6 Av
Maximum speed: 40 max
We are soon at Moorhaven, a simple B&B with amazing views over the Moors. Shack is raving about a pub that is ’10 minutes away’ in Beck Hole and is well worth a visit. We quickly convene in the foyer and head off, the evening sunshine and mild weather making for a pleasant ‘10 minute’ walk to this much-adulated pub. 20 minutes later Shack is claiming ‘it is around the next corner’. It wasn’t. The Team was growing impatient; they had worked hard all day and were looking forward to their beer. Auld Yin, along with his lovely wife Irene – Auld Yin was making a romantic weekend of it, were dropping back. We finally reach the pub and Flossie is looking, well, sheepish. It is shut. Without another choice, we head back up a very steep hill, thirstier than ever, winding up Shack about his lack of organization. (To be fair, you would assume a pub would be open at 7pm, but don’t tell him that).
We get back to Goathland a full 45 minutes after we set off and finally walk through the doors of a pub – the Goathland Hotel or, if you look at the sign on another wall, The Aidensfield Arms. After sitting in the same part of the bar that is used on the Heartbeat set for a couple of very quick beers, we walk across the road to The Inn on the Moor, more renowned for food befitting Fanylion riders. We enjoy a couple more beers before the food arrives and everyone falls into silence, the hunger apparent as within a few minutes there is hardly a thing left. Twin Pin finishing off whatever garnish he can find.
Sunday morning arrives and I am woken by sounds of howling wind and car tyres splashing through puddles that meant bad weather – damn, this is going to be tough. The Team head down in dribs and drabs for breakfast and sit sullenly looking out of the window. I felt sluggish and was joking that I wasn’t riding, although I didn’t meant it. Did I?
By 9.45am the Team was assembled and after some last minute changes of kit to be ready for what we thought was going to be a very cold ride, we set off out of Goathland onto Goathland Moor. Shack had warned us that after his ‘reconsictence mission’ (I know), he knew it was going to be very tough and muddy. The overnight downpours wouldn’t help either. It wasn’t actually that bad as we climbed up a grassy bank and onto the moor proper and I was quickly beginning to feel strong, a tight pack of us led the way, no one rider ever gaining much over the next, each taking it in turns at the front of a winding bridleway through the heather and mud that makes up the moors at this time of year. The ‘locals’ (myself and Shack) point out some landmarks – namely RAF Fylingdales – the early warning and listening station. Twin Pin tells us he used to work there as a cold-war double-agent. Or something like that. By now the Team was stripping down – the sun had appeared again and the day was quickly warming up.
After another half mile, we get the second serious technical of the weekend. We had stopped to regroup and Shortbread was fiddling with his seat post. Crack! The collar of the seat pin had snapped clean off. After brief discussions on a solution, he decides to carry on, letting the layback seat post simply jam in the frame. This meant a lower riding position and the risk of further damage to the bike. Pretty soon we come up with a better solution – Shack had some electricians tape in his bag and we used it to ‘shim’ his seat post so it didn’t damage the frame unduly. Not ideal, but a pretty decent trailside solution.
After a few miles of boggy bogs and muddy mud, we reached Cropton Forest and some sweet fireroads (believe me, fireroads can feel sweet after all that bog-trotting). I was feeling really good, leading from the front at times, with Twin Pin and GB for company. Shortbread taking it a little easier to ensure he didn’t suffer any terminal failures to kit.
By now I was beginning to think Shack didn’t entirely know where he was, the map-reading stops becoming quite frequent. After one stop, he assured us that the muddy track disappearing down the side of the forest was the right one. And aren’t we glad we listened? A sketchy descent of roots, stones and gullies soon became a man-made series of berms. What on earth were these doing in the middle of nowhere? Then as soon as they appeared, they disappeared, to be replaced by a super-technical super-steep descent through loose mud and huge sharp rocks – like something you would see in the Alps. Twin Pin and GB led, followed by myself, Shack and Shortbread. After a few near-misses, I finally copped one – hitting a rock and being thrown off my bike. Shack offered the friendly advice ‘don’t stop’! Like I wanted to! Definitely the best descent of the day, possibly the whole weekend. A quick detour to see a train line (like wow, thanks Shack, very interesting, I have never seen a train line before) and we were back on the fire road. Twin Pin and I were at the front and we were nearly broadsided by a deer jumping out of the undergrowth – a fantastic sight.
We regrouped again, Starkey now really beginning to suffer with a combination of the pace, conditions and tiredness from the previous day’s riding. Shack led us one way, up a really steep rocky climb, back the way we came (don’t tell Starkey – he was suffering enough) then on the road past the beautifully named Raper Farm. The owners seemed fine though, as they waved a cheery hello as we puffed and panted our way past. A series of sharp switchbacks quickly gained height with one section that could challenge as the steepest road section ever ridden by Fanylion. We agreed to let the pace slow slightly as we were making really good time and wanted to ride as a group for the remainder of the ride. After dipping in and out of the forest for a bit, some fireroad, some tarmacadam, we reached the final sections. A steep road descent with a biting headwind made us all suffer, with one short off-road section to give us a final taste of the moors before hitting the road back to Goathland.
It was still early afternoon so after hastily packing up and changing, the Team dispersed, most opting to go for tea and cakes with just myself wanting to make it back home so I could get the worst bit done and sort my dirty kit out.
Sunday’s ride details
Distance ridden: 18 miles
Height climbed: 585 m
Average speed: 9.1 Av
Maximum speed: 35 max
So, all in all, another FanyTasticTM – expertly planned by Team Shack, with some amazing natural trails and even better weather.
Team Mastiles
Riders present
Shack
Starkey
Mastiles
Twin Pin
Shortbread
GB
Saturday only (not riding Sunday)
Ecopanzer
Boyband
Shorts in Winter
Techno
Auld Yin
Enjoyment level
Fifa World Cup 2006