Greg©️

Much cooler today due to white cloud obscuring the Sun, although it did make a welcome appearance on the return leg to warm us up. Simple & easy gravel ride to Rother Valley and back just to get legs & bike limbered up ready for the Summer. Using sections of the Trans Pennine Trail & Cuckoo Way following the canal and the former railway line and a great descent through the Wooden Statues in West Wood.

Beautiful, warm & sunny, early Spring day - it'd be a crime not to get out and enjoy it. Lovely, mellow & easy gravel ride, perfect to get wheels & knees moving again. Still some slop about in the usual places, but firming up nicely. Linacre never disappoints, beautiful all year round, nice to mosey along enjoying the warm air and light clothing.

Warm Spring Sunshine Walk around Graves Park, famously home to wild Parakeets of which we saw none today. The Lakes are pretty and popular but the woodland walks along the Valley are much quieter, really nice, tranquil with birdsong and some great views over Sheffield from the top.

First signs of Spring, mild & sunny and the odd daffodil in flower, the slop has turned into a paste, drying out nicely in places. A walk to the small & pleasant Kenning Park which was gifted to the community by George Kenning (the motor dealer) in 1931.

Into the slop! Very wet & muddy XC ride with an exploratory loop around Pleasley Vale Wood and also Shirebrook Wood. The small section alongside the River Meden "Riverside Path" was a real struggle as the mud was very sticky/claggy, locked both my wheels solid, ended up carrying the bike the last 150m. Fantastic to get out on the bike although the welcome change to the dusty/dry Summer Trails is wearing a bit thin. Hard work but still fun in the wet muddy/squelchy/slippery very changeable surfaces.

Cold Cloudy Sunshine with an interesting mix of frozen solid ice & slop after the last few days of low temps and rain. Found a great link between Holmewood and Doe Lea, avoiding the main roads and M1 at Heath junction 29. Minimal tarmac, some splendid woodland singletrack linked together by gravel trails (Five Pits, Rowthorne, Teversal & Silverhill) Took the mtb option up through the Trees to the Miners Statue on the top of Silverhill and found a nice mtb descent to the far pond. Another fun ride in the conditions, correct clobber again meant I was warm and dry. Got plastered in mud, just bunged jacket, trousers & gloves in the Washing Machine, shoes on the radiator, clean and dry underneath!

Sunshine, cold wind and a mix of slop & solid ice, some very slippery parts with water lying on sheet ice. Difficult to suss the surface especially when the low sun is in your eyes. Another XC loop with some interesting link sections, not as sloppy (in places) as it could have been if it wasn't frozen but still plenty of mud flying about!

Bright Sunshine but Frrrreeeezing Cold chill factor -5, lots of layers and a Snood/Buff/Neck warmer, (whatever it's called). Thick windproof togs and gloves, 2 pairs of socks, got it just right, splendid XC Loop. Most of the slop (not all) frozen solid, loads of gravel & woodland, perfect ride for the conditions.

New Year's Eve and a guaranteed lovely & mellow walk around the beautiful Linacre Reservoirs. Plus an extra loop around Kitchenflat Wood to the North East. It's a shame the iconic wooden Boardwalk has now mostly been replaced by a "Rubble Mound" crushed stone walkway, similar to a breakwater in a sea harbour. With plastic (imitation wood) handrail/fence. Still a fabulous walk anytime of the year suitable for all people on a good firm & wide surface (not including Kitchenflat).

Another chance to forage some Rat's Ears, plentiful at the moment in the damp woodland. Mild & not raining it's so nice walking on the mulched Autumn leaves through the wet woodland. Very slippery where there are no leaves, the streams are running nice and full again. Reaquainting myself with the River Rother, the source being in the area, North Wingfield Nature Reserve is sandwiched between the river & the railway line.