We had an invite to go ride with Greg Villalobos from the TRF for the weekend. So when Lucy finished work on Friday night we loaded the van up with the toys & headed across the A69 towards Newcastle to stay with Greg & his wife. Two hours later we were sat down to a chilli dinner & some wine whilst talking about life, bikes & the soon to be new parents Georgia & Greg.
Everybody had bunched up on H Lane so we finished the ride back into Slaley over Blanchland Common with everybody riding with headlights & Cree Lights on...
The day finished in the dark, riding over the moorland with ice on the road, something Lucy had a very personal introduction too as the bike hit a sheet of ice, slewed sideways & dumped her on her arse with the bike spinning in the Tarmac leaving a trail of sparks & heather across the road. She & the bike were both fine, just a little bruised on their respective bums!!
Another magic day out in the UK landscape, some more friendly & genuine people added to our circle of friends & a few more lanes discovered!!
The plan for Saturday was sorted, the wine bottles empty so off to bed it was!
Saturday morning dawned all grey & drizzly, we got the bikes out, sorted gear & had a bacon sandwich when Adam, (the 4th member of the day's team turned up), so more tea was drunk over introductions before we set off...
You can never drink too much tea after all!!! ;-)
You can never drink too much tea after all!!! ;-)
Greg's bike decided to play up first thing with a faulty plug, once that was changed we were off to play in the mud!
Greg took us on several new lanes over the day before riding some of the moorland lanes that Lucy & I had ridden on the 'Bottle Run' last week.
Classics such as 'Isaacs Tea Run', Slaley Forest, Limestone Brae, H lane, Blanchland Common & Coleberry Moor, (The highest lane in England) were all on the list & duly ridden as we traversed Northumbria & into Cumbria.
Throughout the day we kept crossing paths with Simon, Kevin, Mark & Arrif, who were also out doing a similar run... Arrif was on a lovely KTM 690, which was set up just how I want mine, so plenty of chat ensued about that!!
Throughout the day we kept crossing paths with Simon, Kevin, Mark & Arrif, who were also out doing a similar run... Arrif was on a lovely KTM 690, which was set up just how I want mine, so plenty of chat ensued about that!!
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| KTM 690 Enduro R |
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| US imported headlight set up for the 690 |
The full moon was glowing & lighting up everything, first with an alpen glow of pinks & greys as the sun set, then with a brightness that just set the surrounding hillsides off to a tee!
The day finished in the dark, riding over the moorland with ice on the road, something Lucy had a very personal introduction too as the bike hit a sheet of ice, slewed sideways & dumped her on her arse with the bike spinning in the Tarmac leaving a trail of sparks & heather across the road. She & the bike were both fine, just a little bruised on their respective bums!!
Happy Days...
