19th June 2008 - Ings for Garburn

'Garburn'...but which way round? whilst I was waiting near the Watermill at Ings, I was thinking clockwise or anti-clockwise or is it into Kentmere or out of Kentmere, who knows...! Anyhow John turned up looking at the clouds wondering what to wear; Neil turned up after thinking the rain in Windermere might mean he stayed home and did some work, but no the lure of a RADs ride got him out; George turned up to make it 4...what no Paul (too painful), no Grant (too damp), no Joel (too busy), no Jamie (probably cycled out to Staveley instead) and no Charlie (out collecting passport stamps).
So 4 it was, I talked everyone into the clockwise route, meaning heading up the lane to Dubbs as a nice warm up, past Dubbs and the first gate was open (with a Volvo parked up), open gates mean no rest as we pause to open them, this became an ongoing theme for the evening. Then we tackled the steady climb up Garburn which makes a ridable challenge, I say rideable 'cause one day I'll do it! Nice views on the way up, we tried to decipher where we rode the Tongue in Troutbeck valley. Once at the top we talked downhills, just watch those rocks. Nice and steady, not too bad, it's a great descent just go easy. How come it only takes 2 minutes to drop down to the first brook, then a ride down looking for Joel's ravine! Re-group at the bottom turn right and head up to 3 rivers, bottom gate was open so straight through, then I got to the first set of double gates and held them open so the boys could keep going, a few choice words muttered under breaths (help or hindrance), anyhow George made sure he got to one of the top gates just to have a rest. Next were the 2 rivers, these were reasonably deep, so no chance of dry feet, keep going and enjoy the descent, past the farm, up the tarmac climb, then left at the top, through some puddles, past the farm and onto the narrow ride back to the lane, the undergrowth was overgrown and heavy with rain hanging over the narrow track, hiding the rocky floor, so it turned into a lotto, always fun! We came out with a few grazes and bramble cuts. Back to the cars, 9.30-ish plenty of daylight and guess who was waiting there, Jamie, just there is say hello (too busy to ride as tinkering with lawnmowers) and hand out a few recipes, maybe we'll bring some cake next week.
Next weeks it's our long mid-summer ride, meet at Ribblehead, on B6255 (at the junction of the B6479) near the Viaduct. We are planning the Craven and Dales way route. Grid ref: 766794 OS outdoor leisure 2 Yorkshire Dales.