EBCC Christmas Family Bike Ride - Ilkey to Bolton Abbey

Headed to the Lydo in Ilkley with Jack to take part in the East Bradford Cycle Club Christmas run, it made a change to be riding on road bikes! There was a fair group of us at the car park and after chatting for a few minutes we headed out, it was very busy with all the Rugby pitches in use, but we quickly passed this and crossed the main road heading up the quite Denton Road, staying on the east of the River Wharfe. Jack wasn't hanging around with me and quickly sped off to chat with his friends as we rode along. We made frequent stops so that everyone could catch up, this helped when keeping an eye on the kids.

The road had very little traffic, occasionally we met a car but most of the traffic was walkers and other cyclists! When we got to the main A59 road we took it very carefully and re-grouped once we had got onto the A6160. This road was busy so we took it careful and all stayed together. Car drivers must have been getting pretty frustrated as there was very few opportunities to overtake. Thankfully we made quick progress and soon turned right off the road and headed to the Cavendish Pavilion Cafe.

We got some lunch and sat outside, all the kids sat together. I quite happily sat and talked with several of the coaches who run the Saturday Kids club at Richard Dunn sports centre.

Heading back down the valley I stayed with Jim, one of the senior members who arranges many of the social events that the bike club runs, we had a puncture to mend, this was quickly sorted out. Jim fell over and banged his hip, he's in his 80's so I was relieved when he was okay! We stopped at the Stocks at Nesfield on the way back, the kids all took turns to be locked up.

Back in the car park at the Lido and Helen handed out some sweets. The route was about 14 miles but it didn't feel like we'd gone very far. Everyone had enjoyed the afternoon. Looking forward to the next outing!

Stainburn Forest Mountain Biking

Read lots about Stainburn everyone said that it is short but technical. There was a lot of talk about which car park to use, the best one is near the top of the hill on the B6451 when heading from Otley.

There's no facilities other than a car park, thankfully we'd brought a flask of tea and some snacks. There are three marked trails, Red, Black and a Decent Line. We headed out of the car park and followed the Red Route Signs after a few initial drops we headed upward into the trees at the top of the route you have a choice of either heading down the decent line on your left or turning right and following the red route back down through the trees and back to the car park. It doesn't take too long to do a lap of the red route, however you can make the route much more difficult by using some of the obstacles that run adjacent to the main route, there are several technical boulder sections and a balance section on wood work. Although the route is pretty short it's fun to do several laps trying all the different technical sections.

To do the decent line you can either pedal up the road from the car park or do the first part of the red route. The line follows a wall that which marks the far edge of all the routes. Initially you swoop through trees, once this runs out there are many technical sections, some jumps and a black listed drop off, many of the more technical bits can be avoided, so once again there's lost of variety in quite a short run. It only takes a couple of minutes to do this decent but there's lots to practice. There are several routes to get back to the car park, they are all pretty tough going as the hill is pretty steep.

We spent most of the day morning repeating these routes, Finlay wasn't too chuffed about all the climbing but Jack loved the whole place. The decent line was his favourite and he was happy pushing pretty hard trying to go quicker each time he did the decent.

After we had a break I tried to get Jack and Finlay to have a go at the Black route, we headed out of the car park and attempted the first section, the kids had no chance, even I got a bit sick of dabbing my feet and having to push through parts of the trail, it was all a bit confusing so we made our escape back to the routes we were more familiar with.

We easily spend 4 or 5 hours on the trails and it's a great place to learn about bike control. By mid afternoon we decided to call it a day, there are other trails across the road which are less technical, we'll have to come back later to have a look at these.

There are lots of trails that are not sign posed and in some places you just 'do your own thing'. The steep hill side is a struggle for the kids, this is certainly not somewhere to go for a ride with the family, it's for improving your skills and learning to do new stuff!

Gisburn Forest Mountain Biking

Jack wanted to go mountain biking at Gisburn as part of his Birthday celebration. We set off early to make sure we'd find room in the car park, having to use 2 cars to get the bikes and all of us up to Gisburn. We arrived at 9am and easily found parking, there are several large car parks and the weather wasn't great so we needn't have worried about finding room.

First off we headed up to the training area and spend 15 minutes warming up, the kids did pretty well and enjoyed trying the different graded areas, Finlay was happy on Green and Blue, Jack was happy on Red and Black!!

We headed off as a family on the Blue Route and made good progress, we stayed together until I got a puncture! Thankfully I had a puncture kit, however I didn't have a pump. Someone soon stopped and lent me their pump (Many thanks!) and we continued on out way. The Blue route has a mix of single track in the trees and fire roads. Some of the bigger hills are on the Fire Roads and are a bit of a drag. Once we completed this we had a cup of tea at the cafe. Jack and me decided we wanted to do 'The 8' Red route. Finlay and Andrea thought it best to stay on the easier routes.

The first part follows the Blue route so it was pretty straight forward, we soon turned off and headed into th hills. Jack wasn't too confident to start with but soon got his head around everything and realized that he had the ability to do the route. We really enjoyed the long runs of single track, there are a few runs on the fire roads, the steep section alongside 'Hope Line' Orange Route did for me and I pushed my bike up the hill. Jack put his bike in the granny gear and rode to the top, laughing at me for being rubbish!

The further we went the more we enjoyed the ride. We passed the Whelpstone Crag Drop in (Black Line). It looked too much for us, maybe next time. We were soon at Hully Gully, Jack had been talking about this for months, however stood at the top he didn't have the confidence to do it. I told him that I'd not come all this way to bottle out and made him follow me. Soon as Jack got going he thought it was ace and really enjoyed the run, sometimes a pushy dad is needed!

We continued along the route, Jack was getting more confident and did the Black graded drop in on Swoopy, I stayed on the red route and avoided the huge drop! We headed back to the cafe and caught up with Andrea and Finlay. 

We had a late lunch and then headed back into the training area, Jack got too confident jumping and had his worst accident of the day! Finlay wanted to do the Blue route one more time so we went together. My legs were getting pretty tired but I kept on pushing on.

Altogether Me and Jack did about 30kms. We all had a really good day, made it home for tea. Jack and Finlay wanted to go to Nando's so after a quick shower and change of clothes we headed out for a well earned tea!

Nayburn Lock, York Camping

Didn't leave home while 5pm On what looked like a very busy weekend. The Leeds Festival and York Races both meant the roads would be very busy. With this in mind I decided to avoid the A64 / A1 and instead ure the M62 and A19, this was a good decision and we arrived at 7 30pm.

At the Railway Museum

Saturday morning and the kids made friends with the kids in a caravan next door. We decided to ride our bikes into York there is a really good bike route using a disused railway for a large par of the ride. Jack - and Finlay convinced our neighbours to go to York on their bikes. The Father of the kids was a little concerned about the distance into town. I said it was all flat and a pretty easy ride. We set off and within a few miles it was obvious that he was struggling, the kids found it easy, the ride went right part the race course which was very busy. we had to take care on the last stretch as we were at the side of a busy road. Our new fiends looked shattered. We headed to a nearby Pub and got some drinks.

After this we left our new fiends and headed to the railway museum. Jack used to be obsessed with trains when he was little. Weve visited the museum before, but it made sense to visit as several A4 Pacifics were on display. They are commemorating 75 year. Mallard, Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada were on display. Me, Jack and Finlay thought this was brilliant, however Andrea sat on a bench and fiddled around with Facebook on her phone.

Once we'd seen enough trains we headed back into the town centre and had a late lunch at Pizza Express. From here we walked around the shops, Andrea enjoyed this but we were a little board. We re-traced our steps back to the camp-site and I put the BBQ on. Our new friends looked Shattered but admitted they they needed to do more exercise. After a few beers it vas time for bed.

York Races

Sunday was another busy day, Fiends came over to join us for the day. Again we rode our bikes into town, this time we spent time is the Park, walked around, this to we struggled to find a Pub that wasn't very busy, it was a bank holiday weekend. We ended up in a beer garden at a Witherspoons. Returning to Nayburn we headed to the''Blacksmiths Arms"for a meal. Steak was the order of the day, we all lived it!

Monday morning I went for a short bike ride with Jack, he'd made up his own route and wanted to show me around. After a look around the Lock beyond the camp site it was time to pack up and head home. Another good weekend. Decent weather and good company!

Summer Holiday - La Rochelle

We headed south to L'Houmeau near La Rochelle. The Au Petit Port de L'Houmeau camp site was a 2 minute cycle ride from the beach, however there wasn't much sand just thousands of barnacles and oyster shells on rocks. This made for great rock pooling but no good for sun bathing. Finlay was in his element and we spent a couple of evenings looking for crabs Finlay, is quite happy to grab anything he can get hold of, some of the crabs he was going after were bigger than I would have liked to pick up!

We rode into La Rochelle on the bikes, it was about 4 miles, some of the route was on protected cycle routes and other parts were on cycle lanes on the roads. Both kids are pretty safe now, even on the right hand side of the road. We headed through the Parc Charruyer and left our bikes next to the beach.

Heading into the old town we got some food and enjoyed the atmosphere. Andrea and me visited La Rochelle before we had kids, on one of our motorbike touring holidays. So It was interesting to go back with the kids. we took lots of photos, walked around the shops and walked around looking at the boats and ancient buildings. When we arrived it war sunny and hot, but as the day went on it clouded over.

The kids were getting board so we got back on our bikes. In the park the kids found a small off road mountains bike track, this kept them occupied for a while. We then headed back to the camp site.

We ate out at a sea food restaurant on the sea front at Le Plomb, we were made welcome by the owners, even I enjoyed the food. Normally I struggle with "fishy feasts". Finlay and Jack both had muscles and Andrea had some weird fish which she enjoyed.

On our final day on the camp site we had our first Lazy day, the kids played on the camp site and both Andrea and me read our books all day, pretty unusual.

Summer Holiday - Amiens

The camp-site Camping Parc Des Cygnes was next to a park, on the bank of the river Somme, it was about 2 and a half miles from Amiens, via a path on the side of the river, ideal for the kids, no traffic.

Jack in Action!

Once we got settled we headed to the park, there was a kids play area with some fountains, Finlay thought this was ace and spent over an hour running through the water, cooling off. Looking around we noticed there was a skate park. lt looked like a huge swimming pool that had been drained, not the sort of place for little kids to learn how to skate.

We had some tea in the van and the kids got their state boards, we headed back to the park! Both Jack and Finlay did pretty well and flowed around the park taking care not to have accidents. Jack got braver and wanted to "drop in", I said I'd catch him, before long he'd cracked it, the smallest ramp was over 6 feet, Jack wasn't phased even after the odd near miss.

Finlay in Amiens

Andrea had been doing a reckie mission and had found the path into Amiens so we rode the bikes into town. We headed to the Cathedral,  the amount of detail, fine carving, and sheer size was pretty impressive. Everywhere was closed so we decided to return in the morning to have a good look around.

The weather was still okay so we headed into town as planned. We soon found a toy shop and the kids got some "cheap tat". We walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere Amiens is a nice place and we relaxed, looking at the shops. We went inside the Cathedral which was pretty stunning, lots to look at!

We got everything needed for a barbecue, heading back. The weather looked to be deteriorating, dark clouds were gathering.

I set the barbecue up and started cooking, the heavens opened, there was thunder and lightening, the wind picked up, thankfully the horning on the van kept me dry. The storm passed but the weather didn't look settled. We stayed in the van, tidying up ready for our next move to Paris. Overnight there was more rain and I was concerned that we'd struggle to get off the pitch, I was relieved when we reversed off the pitch safely. We were only a couple of hours drive south to our next site in Paris.

Ambleside Camping

By the large Cairn on Black Crag

We have had this booked for a while, one of our friends dad signed up to do the ‘Great North Swim’ in Lake Windermere. It’s an open water swim over a 1 mile course. It was a good excuse to have a weekend away in the Lake District.

Friends booked us into Skelwith Fold Caravan Park on the outskirts of Ambleside. Set off after work on Friday and made good progress up to the camp site. Setup camp and had a quiet evening on site.

Out and About

Saturday morning and we decided to go for a walk, I wanted to do the Fairfield Horseshoe, but the weather wasn't  good enough so we decided to walk up onto Black Crag, this was a far shorter and easier walk, so the kids were happy! We walked in the lanes before heading on the Bridleway which goes past Black Crag, it was a straight forward walk and we were soon at the top. Although it was cloudy we still had great views, we ate the sandwiches that Andrea had made and I took some photos. It was a bit windy and the kids started to complain that they were cold so we headed back to the camp site.

Our friends arrived on site just after we got back, so we caught up and decided to head into Ambleside for a look around. We’d brought the bikes so it made sense to use them. Luckily there is an off-road track adjacent to the B5286, this was useful as the road is narrow and there are several blind bends. We had to be careful as we entered Ambleside, the one way system doesn't help!

Black Crag

After having a drink we decided to get everything needed for a BBQ and headed back to the camp site, we used the quieter back road ‘Bog Lane’ into the site. The weather had improved as the day went on and we enjoyed eating Al fresco, however as the evening progressed the midges came out and forced us into our motor homes!

Sunday and we got on our bikes again and headed through Ambleside and long the shore of Windermere to Low Wood Marina. Catching up with Tom who was doing the swim and Vicky is increasingly nervous wife! Several of the family had also come along to see how he would get on. There was hundreds of people doing the swim, every half hour another wave of swimmers set off. It was soon time for Tom’s race, off he went and we watched as the swimmers left the jetty and headed into deep water. It took Tom a long while to swim the course but eventually to everyone’s relief we spotted him heading towards the finish. It took him just under 1:30 hours to do the swim, he’s 70 years old, we didn't see anyone near his age doing it so it was a pretty good achievement.

Ice Cream at Kirkby Lonsdale

We headed back to the camp site and got changed before going out for a meal at ‘Lucy’s On A Plate’. The food was brilliant and nothing went to waste. Headed back to the camp site for a few beers before bed.

Monday morning, we used the BBQ to make sausage and bacon sandwiches before packing up and heading homeward. We stopped at Kirkby Lonsdale for an Ice cream before arriving home mid-afternoon.

A good weekend, the kids got Monday off school so they were happy. The weather had been good and the camp site brilliant. We’ll be visiting Skelwith Fold Caravan Site again, it’s a great place to use as a base for some great walks!

Kirkby Lonsdale Camping

Leck Beck Waterfalls

Got away as soon as we finished work on Friday and headed up the Aire valley to Skipton and up the A65 making good time. We soon arrived at Wood close Park, we've stayed here several times so soon had everything setup. After tea we headed over devils bridge and had a walk around town. Andrea booked a table at the Royal Hotel Pizzeria for Saturday evening. It was nice to see the building back in use, the last time we were here all the windows were boarded up.

Heading back to the camp site and settled down for the night. Saturday morning and the weather was overcast, but at least it wasn't raining. We headed towards Cowan Bridge and headed up Leck Beck. We followed the watercourse up stream and had some lunch at the waterside. We soon reached a ravine with some interesting waterfalls, further up the valley we could see Bull Pot and the area where many potholes are found. The kids didn't want to go any further so we headed back down to Cowan Bridge. Stopping at the local shop we had coffees at the tables outside.

Once back at the camp site we got cleaned up ready to go out for tea. The kids played on their skateboards and got told off by one of the people in the residential caravans. The pizza at the Royal Hotel was really nice band we all enjoyed a really nice meal.

Off roading near Bull Pot

Sunday morning and we decided to do a bike ride, however the weather was pretty poor, it was raining and there was low cloud. By lunch time it started to brighten so we set off heading towards Bull Pot, there was some pretty steep hills to climb as we headed up onto the tops using Fell Road. Finlay bailed out and I had to push his bike up the steepest parts of the road. Once on top the kids settled down and started enjoying the ride. At Bull Pot we turned right and headed off road, Jack setoff at speed, it was all down hill and this is just what Jack likes. Finlay did really well and made steady progress over the boggy ground.

The off road section ended when we met the Barbondale Road. From here we headed down into Barb on and stopped for a drink at The Barb on Inn for a drink, we were all caked in mud, but the kids didn't mind. From here we headed back towards the camp site, stopping for another drink at the Pheasant before using the bridle path by the golf course back to the camp site.

We wanted to have a barbeque but needed to get some meat. I headed into town with the kids but the supermarket was closed, we stopped in the skate park as the kids had bought their boards. To my amazement Jack wanted to learn how to drop in, rt he ramp was over a metre . I told him to bang the front wheels down and lean forward. I got ready to catch him, for the first few tries I had to stop him from having a huge accident but it didn't scare or put him off, after a few more tries he cracked it, we were well chuffed. Finlay decided to have a go and to be fair he did pretty good, he's still only 7 so just having a go was pretty good.

We headed back into town and got bacon, burgers, chicken breasts and sausages. Straight back to the camp site and we had a great barbeque, and the weather was good enough for us to eat outside.

Monday morning and time to pack up and head home, we'd had a good weekend and kept busy even though the weather was mixed.

Barmouth Camping

It didn't feel like spring, we've had some serious snow recently and it was touch and go whether we would be able to set off. Most of the local lanes are still pretty unsafe with snow drifts and ice, even the main roads are down to single lanes due to the deep drifts.

Once we got away from Queensbury the snow disappeared and we made good time passing Manchester and Chester by lunch time. Once we got into Wales we headed back into snow. Thankfully as we got nearer to Barmouth it improved.

We headed through Barmouth and quickly found the Hendre Mynach campsite, it didn't take long to Get everything setup. After I had a beer and Andrea a glass of wine we headed into Barmouth for a look around. A 10 minute walk along the front was all it took, we enjoyed browsing in the shops and looking for restaurants and cafes. The kids had some sea food, cockles and muscles and we headed back to the van for tea.

We woke up and decided to do the Mawddach Cycle trail, the weather was cold but dry, so we all headed off into Bar mouth and over the railway / pedestrian bridge and headed along the train towards Dolgellau. Findlay wasn't too chuffed and made pretty hard work of everything. It was difficult to keep him motivated and he just didn't get his head around it. We stopped at the George III hotel for a drink and some lunch. The food was really nice and we all enjoyed the rest.

Andrea and Finlay decided to head back but me and Jack headed onto Dolgellau. We had a walk around town before retracing our steps. Had a quick drink back at the George III, some cheeky devil stole my bike hat! We then headed back to the camp site. Jack was in good form, I could just about keep up, we were soon back at the camp site! In all we'dAndrea and Findlay did 16 miles and Jack and me about 21 miles.

We headed into town so the kids could spend their money, Findlay bought toys and Jack get a skateboard, there was a small skate park next to the campsite, good one Jack.

In the evening the sea was really high and waves were bashing into the front. The kids loved dodging the spray and we spent a couple of hours watching the waves and using the skate park.

Next morning we decided Tobago for a walk , we spent all day on the hills behind the camp site, it was really good to be up high, for part of the day we were above the snow line, so it felt cold. The highest point on the walk was Crag Y Grut, but the whole walk was really good. Unlike the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District it was very quiet, we only saw 3 people all day and we spent most of the day walking on paths that had not cut through the grass. In all we did about 8 or 9 miles so we'd worked up quite an appetite!

We decided to head into town and had a great meal at The Anchor restaurant. The kids were well looked after and the food was really nice, especially after a day walking on the hills!

Our last full day and we decided to take the train up to Portmadog. It was about an hour on the train, but the views from the train made the time fly. We could see Portmeirion across the bay. We spent most of the day looking around the shops, the kids spent the last of their money and Andrea bought a few things. Jack wanted to go on the miniature railway but we managed to persuade him not to bother.

Our last morning and we got a kite out on the beach, the kids played in the skate park for the last time and I packed up everything in the van. Heading home we were surprised that there was still snow everywhere. Back in Queensbury the snow was just as we left it, roll on better weather.

Barmouth was good fun, even the very cold weather didn't spoil the weekend, luckily there wasn't any reason or snow!

Spen Valley Greenway Cycle Ride

Lots to look at and climb on!

Several years ago we took the kids on this bike ride, Finlay was a baby and was in a carrier on the back of me and Jack was on his first ever bike, a tiny little green bike. We only did a short part of the track and Jack struggled to get backup the hill, how times have changed!

The route is good when the weather is poor, the whole route is well made with tarmac. We started out at Oakenshaw Park and headed out of the Park onto the track, it's all downhill from here! It was pretty busy with other cyclists and walkers. The route passes Cleckheaton Golf Course, then over the A58 and M62. He kids wanted to stop and watch cars are a little while.

Funny Face

Jack enjoyed using several small off road side tracks, ramping and balancing broke up the fast pace as we headed further down the track. At Cleckheaton we passed Tesco and then started seeing several interesting pieces of industrial sculpture. The kids thought these were great and we stopped several times to look more closely. Some of the seats were great to look at and practice to sit on as we had a quick drink before moving on.

We went as far near Littletown and decided to start heading back, going up the hill was pretty easy, both Jack and Finlay romped up the hill and we were soon back at the car. Next time we'll go all he way to Dewsbury. We'd been on the bikes for about an hour and half, good fun!

Yorkshire Cyclocross Todmorden

Finlay Pushing!

Sometimes it's pretty tough being a parent, asking kids to do something that they struggle with, but that's life! The kids are now regularly going to Cycle club on Saturdays and we've talked about cyclocross a couple of times. The Todmordon event was the last Yorkshire round of the season, so my idea was to give the kids a taste of what it's all about, so next season we can do more rounds. Jack should really have used his Islabike with nobly tyres but we don't have the tyres, so he used his mountain bike. Finlay didn't have a choice having only one bike!

The weather was appalling it had rained for weeks and the ground was completely saturated, it was also very cold. It was very straight forward to register, the kids paid on the day and it was only £1 each. Jack was in the under 12's and Finlay I the under 10's, so they were both pretty young for their groups.

We watched the under 14's race and it looked pretty hard going with all the mud. After the race Jack and Finlay had the chance to do a couple of warm up laps. Neither were that chuffed. Finlay couldn't get his head around pushing his bike through the mud, but he soon got used to it. Many of the Dads were helping the little ones get around the course, but I kept outbid the way and left them to it.

Finlay raced first and he did okay his race was lasted 15 minutes, some of the kids are very good even at such a young age, but Finlay did his best and finished near the back but not last.  The poor little guy was wet through, covered in mug and freezing cold. He went straight back to the car to get changed.

Jack doing his best.

Jack was up next his race was for 20 minutes, he struggled. The heavy bike with large tyres and his lack of experience made it very difficult for him. He was soon knackered struggling. He redoubled his efforts and made it to the end but he was flat last. He got a huge cheer from the people running the event as he crossed the line, but he was very disappointed. 

There was a TV crew at the event taking quite a lot of footage. We'd no idea which station they came from or when there might be aired. To our surprise the footage was shown on Look North, Finlay was famous for all of 5 seconds and Jack was on screen briefly at the start of his race, so here was some positives from the day.

This whole episode takes me back to the beginning of my gymnastic career as a 12 year old. I did the Yorkshire Championships after recently joining the Calderdale Gymnastics Club. I not only came last but recorded the lowest score ever in the competition. This just made me try harder, and ultimately I became a great gymnast representing Yorkshire and England, Travelling abroad and becoming a national tumbling champion, you've got to stick at it!

Finlay on Look North!

Off-roading with Jack

Spot the pint of bitter!

For a while now Jack has wanted to go off-roading. Andrea has done it with Jack a couple of times, he always complains that 'Mum always tells me to slow down an be careful'.

We set off along the main road towards Halifax, at the end of swalesmoore we headed up the track in front of Rose Temple. The muddy hill was pretty hard work, we'd both were soon out of breath. Once we climbed the hill we headed along the top of swalesmoore, it was good fun heading down the strap track back to the road by the ski Centre.

From here we headed along the track just below the Sportsman pub, this section is great fun, heading downward with good clear wide sections. There's plenty of mud, but it's pretty straight forward to make good progress. You pass a couple of farms. The path turns into the wider Turner Lane, an unmade road. Here we turner left down Jerwood Hill Road, a very steep track. 

Turning left again we headed along  Horley Green Lane, this quickly becomes very narrow and steep, Jack has happy to charge down the track sending rubble flying everywhere. The track opens back put and we headed down further to Shibden Mill Inn. It didn't take that long to get here, but from here it's all up hill to get home.

Time for a drink before the long haul up Blake Hill, Jack doesn't have enough mussels to make consistent progress and has to keep stopping. I kept waiting for him, and we kept talking to take our minds off the pain! Still this is much easier than trying to head home on the muddy paths!

Good fun to spend time with Jack doing this. Only a few months ago he'd have cried off all the uphill peddling!

Railway Bike Ride - Queensbury to Thornton

Jack and Finlay on Thornton Viaduct

The Great Northern Railway Trail has recently been extended enabling good walks and bike rides from Station Road in Queensbury all the way to Thornton. Riding from home to Thornton and back is exactly six miles. 

We set off from home and carefully made our way through the village. Once we got on Station Road it should have been easy but Finlay got upset because he knew that we had to peddle back up the hill!

Finlay got his head around everything and we started to enjoy the ride, soon crossed Cockin Lane and headed along the new stretch of the track. The railway builders must have been kept busy building all the bridges and cuttings. There's a huge bank as the railway crossed a valley, heaven knows how much work this took to build. We then crossed Headley Lane and headed over the viaduct.

Map of the route

I took a couple of photos and we headed back. True to form Finlay wasn't happy about peddling up the hill, but he stayed on his bike and did get to the top. His reward was pop and crisps!

It'a a good track, I can't wait until it gets joined up to Harecroft. If this ever does get completed it will be possible to ride from Queensbury all the way to Cullingworth without having to ride on roads. All good!

Bradford Kids Saturday Bike Club - Go Ride Games

Go Finlay!

Looked on the East Bradford Cycling Club web site and noticed that there was an open day 'Go-Ride Games' at Richard Dunn sports centre so I loaded the kids bikes into the car and off we went!

Since doing the Bradford Sky ride we've been trying to start doing the Saturday Morning club with the kids, but with holidays and other commitments we've not managed it.

It was a really good day, from 10:30am through to about 3:00pm the kids were kept busy doing all the activities. There were kids of all abilities and ages. Jack and Finlay were in their element, both got stuck in and were enthusiastic about all the events.

Jack insisted on taking the racer.

One of the coaches had brought an Olympic torch and all the kids got to run with it as part of one of the events, this was really well appreciated by my boys.

At the end of the games everyone got a goody bag and a certificate. Jack came second in one of the events so he was well chuffed. As always Finlay was happy and content to be joining in with all the activities.

The kids still have not joined the club, as today wasn't a regular Saturday club, but we'll try again soon!!

Summer Holiday - Murol / Auvergne

The Castle and Church at Murol

We were glad to be leaving the Cote D'azur, it had been red hot and none of us had much 'get up and go' with the heat. Ironically the day we left it rained and the weather was cloudy and wet, so it was just as well that we were hitting the Peage. We retraced our way along the south coast and headed in land, we were heading for a village called Murol in Auverge, Camping L'Europe.

The kids had spent all day in the van and wanted to go for a swim in the pool, it was pretty funny watching both Jack and Finlay get into trouble for running or going down the slide backwards. They couldn't understand what the lady was saying to them and just looked surprised to be in trouble!

Over night it came very cold, this was a relief after the heat of the Med. I checked to see how high above sea level we were and was surprised when I found out were were over 2800 feet up!

Finlay!

Next day we walked down into the Murol and found the streets filled with a second and market, we pottered about looking at all the stalls and took some cool photos of the imposing castle above the village. The kids would't go for a look around the castle and both were adamant that they were NOT going into the castle!!!

Andrea went for a run after tea, she's got a club run when we get back to Britain, so needed to at least go for the odd run!!

We headed back to the camp site and chilled out for the rest of the day. In the evening there were several hot air balloons overhead, the views were pretty good from the ground so it must have been spectacular from the air.

Out on a bike ride!

We decided to go for a bike ride in the morning and set off with a rucksack full of drinks. The cycle tracks around the village were perfect for the kids, most of the trails were away from the roads and the lanes were very quite. We did several miles, Finlay moaned about a couple of the hills, but the kids did okay considering how hot it was.

We spent more time in the village, this time the market was even bigger. Please must come from miles around, both stall holders and shoppers, the car parks were full and cars parked on all the grass verges leading into the village.

We all spent more time in the pool, sorry that we'd be moving on again in the morning.

Sky Ride - Bradford

Activities in Lister Park

This Sky Ride event has been going on in Bradford for a couple of years, however this was the first time we've been able to get involved. We loaded the bikes onto the bike rack and headed down to Bradford City Centre. Finlay was excited because he's just got a new bike with gears!


We pushed the bikes across to Centenary Square where all the activities were taking place in the city centre. We soon found our way onto the traffic free route that wound its way up onto Manningham Lane. It was a bit strange using all the normally very busy roads and not competing with other traffic. The whole route was well marshalled and we made quick progress along to Lister Park.


There was lots of free activities for the kids to get involved with, Climbing Walls, Bouncy Castles etc, Jack and Finlay were kept busy for over an hour, all good. The kids queued to have a go on a short track that had been set-up. It turned into a half our coaching session run by East Bradford Cycling Club. Finlay was happy to play with his gears on the bike and rode around the course without a care in the world. Jack quickly became very competitive and wanted to go around the course as fast as possible.

Finlay on his new bike!

At the end one of the coaches came to to have a word with us, asking if Jack would come to the Saturday morning sessions at Richard Dunn sports centre. Jack typically played it cool and shrugged his shoulders. I'll take the kids for a look one Saturday morning to see what they think.


He set off back into town before the roads re-opened and headed home for tea, the rain had held off and it had been a good afternoon out and about.

Jedburgh Camping

We left Dunston Hill and headed up the A1, stopping at Sainsburys in Kelso for some lunch. It was a nice drive down to Jedburgh and we arrived mid-afternoon. The site was on the edge of town so we walked along the river to have a look around. The weather deteriorated and it started raining! We trudged back to the van and had some tea. The kids were happy as we now had electricity so the TV was working.

The Lanton Loop

The weather had improved slightly by morning so we decided to go on a bike ride. There are lots of routes around Jedborough and many of them avoid roads so it was ideal for the kids so we decided on 'The Lanton Loop'. Not long after setting off it started raining again. Finlay was not happy and after initially protesting about the hills and the rain he stopped and wouldn’t ride his bike. The route was circular so Andrea and Jack continued on their bikes and I pushed both my and Finlays bike round the rest of the route. 


The weather was really bad and Finlay cried and moaned all the way back to the van. The ride really was too long and difficult for Finlay. We had a shower and settled in for the evening.

Wet, Wet, Wet!

No more bike rides! Thursday we headed out in the van to Jedforest Deer and Farm Park for a day out. It was pretty good, old fashioned but great for the kids. It's easy to get close to all the animals and there's a good adventure playground for the kids. It does feel like a working farm, some people might be put off by the unkempt nature of everything, but it is a real farm, not an all out tourist attraction.

There was a Powerfan freefall pole and I dared Jack and Finlay to have a go. Jack climbed three quarters of the way up it before bottling out, Finlay got to the top of the ladder and jumped off. So I had to have a go. I confidently climbed to the top and then through about the harness and the attachment, hoping everything was connected up correctly I jumped off. A great adrenalin buzz. I would have been much more confident if I'd have had a second go. I'm still able to do stuff my kids dare not do!

Finlay on Jack Bike

Bridge over River Teviot

Go Kart

Back at the camp site and the kids had fun trying each others bikes out. Finlay rode Jacks bike, he was really funny, such a little guy on a big bike! He had fun and enjoyed the challenge.

Monument Walk

Last full day at Jedburgh and we decided to go for a walk, the weather was okay but we knew it would start raining as the day went on. We decided to walk up to the Waterloo Monument on top of Peniel Heugh. It's a very prominent tower and it looked like an interesting goal. Part of the walk follows the St Cuthberts Way. Again we were jinxed by the weather and as we climbed away from the River Teviot it started raining. We got to the monument and quickly headed back under the cover of the trees, had a few sandwiches that we'd packed and headed back. We got wet through again!!!


Saturday saw us return home, it was supposed to be Senior TT day on the Isle of Man, but the weather caused disruption and the race was cancelled so there was no radio commentry for the drive home.


We'd had a good week off, at Dunstan Hill the weather was good but at Jedburgh we saw way too much rain. We had large bags of really wet clothes, and even I ran out of dry cloths, boot and coats! Better luck next time.