June 19, 2021
In
My Rides
North Pennines ‘a must do for every bike-packing mountain biker’
My first weekend away since March 2020 and how better but ride somewhere new and be guided by my good friend Saul and his amazing navigation skills.
Having been picked up at 7am on the dot Saturday morning and bikes packed with bivi bag, sleeping bag and sleeping mat we were ready for some adventure. Our start and end point would be a little village called Blanchland an ideal spot to park and use the amenities in the village. We setup our bikes quickly as both of us were eager to start riding and if I know Saul there will always be a hill climb to start with so we can gain height quickly early on. I wasn’t wrong a country lane quickly turned into a steep bridleway across a field and I’m glad I had gears unlike Saul who was riding his much loved Travers Ti Singlespeed running gear ratio of 32/18t.
The scenery was amazing and the lack of people really did make me wonder why this wasn’t as popular as the Lake District or the Dales. Anyway its not for me to question I was enjoying the company and riding.
We were making good progress as our plan was to ride 50 miles up to High Cup Nick and bivi at the top. We slowed our pace a little and took every opportunity we could to explore the beautiful villages we rode through.
It’s not often that the ‘Weather Gods’ are in perfect sync with our cycling plans as I had taken the risk of not taking any waterproofs and relied on the forecast which turned out to be spot on dry and warm.
Our tea time stop was at a pub called the Langdown Beck Hotel which served the purpose for our hungry bellies and any toilet needs. Falafel burger, chips and Spinach cannelloni hit the the spot and we were ready for our final miles to High Cup Nick. Obviously from Langdon to HCN there are still plenty of miles and climbing to do so I’m glad we refuelled when we did. The moors and tracks we rode across were just amazing and feeling very lucky and grateful to be able to do this with ease having been riding all winter and also enjoying some time out of work riding my bike everyday.
As we finally reach HCN and admired the views with sun casting shadows as it was about to set we unloaded our bags and set up camp at the top of High Cup Nick so we could enjoy the views and wake up to a fab sunrise.
The night passed quickly and sleep was on/off we woke up to mist so no views and decided to pack up and descend to a village called Dufton. The descending from HCN is technical in places and we were on our rigid bikes so were absorbing all the rocks along the way. Having reached Dufton we sat on the bench and had our breakfast. I had bought 4 chocolate croissants and a can of cold coffee/mocha which myself and Saul shared the croissant which did just the job for our ride up to Great Dunn Fell and if you haven’t ridden it before then it goes on forever.
It’s about 6 miles and 2,000 feet of climbing from Dufton. We past another cyclist on our way up who was also bikepacking but going at a much slower pace. Saul passed him with a quick chat and hello I was behind by a few seconds and caught up with him who then shouted out ‘F@@@ing single speed how you riding this singlespeed f@@@ing singlespeed’ I was chuckling away as that what Saul does he loves riding his SS and the challenge of clearing all the climbs fully loaded keeps him stronger than the most of us.
We summited and had another stop for food at the Nav station at Great Dunn Fell with the mist still surrounding us.
We now needed to descend to Gregs Hut (Bothy) which would be our next stop and the riding from GDF to GH was brilliant and there was plenty of technical riding and when the mist finally cleared the scenery was amazing. A quick nosey into the hut and we pressed on to Alston for a stop at Blueberrys Tea Shop for lunch.
Our next part of the trail was to ride some of the Isaac Tea Trail which you would think would be a simple enough trail with a name like Tea Trail. Anyway it wasn’t if any of you have ridden the Manx100 then the Isaac tea trail gives the Manx a run for its money. Rocky, technical and tough.
We were now heading for Allendale through the quiet villages and a water stop and Garrigill from a chap renovating his house was much appreciated.
Enjoying the steady riding as there was another 10/15 miles to do and plenty of off road climbing. The bike never really felt heavy and the legs felt great throughout the whole ride it was nice to finish the ride with a fabulous moor crossing to Slaley Forest and then descend back to Blanchland.
Distance stats and other stuff
105 miles and 12,000 feet of elevations over 2 days with a bivi up High Cup Nick. This was a perfect mini adventure for two ageing mountain bikers who just love riding their bikes.
Bike
Van Nic Ti Zion Gears- Salsa Cutthroat Forks, Carbon Jones Bars, Apidura, Surly Bike Bags, Hope Wheels
I would highly recommend this ride especially now whilst the trails are super dry.
Many thanks to Saul for creating the route and being chief navigator.
Next stop Leeds Orbital -Longest Day/Shortest Night ride and the cracking JennRide in the South Lakes.
