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September Mountain Bike Meet

After the dismal weather of late it was lovely to see Sunday dry and bright for the September Mountain Bike Meet.  John Harrison, Roger Mellen and myself met at 10 O' Clock in Coniston and after a quick discussion on our options, decided on a reasonably testing route of about 20 miles running in a clockwise direction around the lake.

 

A short ride out of the village led us to the start of the first off-road section leading up Lawsons Park onto Parkamoor. This was a sustained climb with some testing little sections that were both slippery and steep.  A breather at the top gave me a chance to adjust my brakes for the 'cheeky' downhill sections that I knew were in store for us as the day progressed!!

 

Parkamoor undulates its way across the top of the East side of Coniston Water and gave us spectacular views along the full length of the water and down onto Coniston itself and it was here that we had our first break and a snack.  We veered off the main easy path at this point for a bit of a challenge... some harder 'off roading' along a little known path led us to a hidden boggy section .  Could we manage to keep our feet dry...? The answer was NO!  Still what's mountain biking if you don't get a bit muddy eh?? A  tricky and technical descent led us to a brilliant long downhill section through deep muddy puddles and into the village of Nibthwaite.  It was as good as being in the Alps (well nearly)!