Lakes

So the Lakes is pretty much a second home to Cal and I. I think we must have been there every year since birth. And it really is one of the best places to ride bicycles on big(ish) mountains. It only seemed natural to haul Ste, Dave W and the trusty miniDV up there to get some trails on film.

Helvelyn in early spring seemed like a good idea. We had made it to the top on rigid bikes in ferbuary many years ago, so despite the weather report being less than favourable we headed up for a weekend. The trip started with Cal and I scoring an ultimate driving win over Dave W and Ste. We knew there was no way going via Penrith was faster, and so it proved. Gave us a nice half hour spell to get ready though.

Once we hit the ridge we realised the suimmit was probably out the question. You literally could fly a bike like a kite in the wind, so instead of the up and over plan, we elected to head for Sticks Pass. Heading of the summit ridge we got some cool shots on the top, beofre rolling down to Sticks Pass Quarry. The trail had been a little sketchy until this point, but once we hit the quarry things got a bit gnarly. The camera was out and we got a few nice shots, admired by the the Duke of Edinburgh kids swarming the trail. We got some real nice footage, expecially of Dave and Ste.

Once back down we headed over to Boredale Hause, to ride the high level singletrack round Ullswater. We also took the time to test out the cable cam rig, and much to our joy, it worked. The trail was super gnarly, and whilst I don't think we quite captured the ganr on film, we still got some super sweet cable and boom style shots.

After 11 hours out on the trails the fish and chips in Grange Over Sands went down a treat, as did the first can of the season at breakfast the next day.

The wind got up again over night, so we called of plans to hit up another Lakes pass and instead headed over to Grizedale. As Ste said, the natural trails there have so much flow, so after getting a few long range pans on the open bits of trail, we decided it was time to get ambitious with the cable cam. Hopefully you can check out the results in the film. I was amazed.

Once we had Ste and Cal's shots in the bag we headed across the valley and got a few shots of Dave and I, before a horse shit laden final descent of the day really capped of the weekend in style. I really didn't think I would be seeing dust this early