As can be guessed from the title, this post is about a birthday cycle.

Oh yes, Wozzer is 18! Yup, he’s old. And for his 18th birthday, Benni, Mat and myself (wozzer) went up to the Lake District for a cycling weekend. We headed up on the Thuirsday (12th) and hit the Grizedale Forest on Friday and Saturday, then back on the Sunday. Friday, it was foggy drizle sort of weather, but we wnet riding anyway, like the mad nutters we are!!

We hired Mat a bike (Dad was driving, so we had his bike, ben brought his bike, and so did I, and we can only get 3 on the carrier, besides, Mat rides a road bike, so wouldn’t suit the off-raod trails) and Started our ride. And, half way round I managed to hit the only, single, tiny shred of glass in the entire forest! After swearing and puncture mending we were off once more. And just after a nice steep decent we hit the closed trail – closed for forestry work – and were now at the bottom of a steep hill with not enoguh will power to bother crawling all the way back up. Thankfully, there was a nice footpath right next to the closed sign, and so we used that! Seriously, the footpaths were more fun than the actual trails! The traisl being big forestry rocky, gravel roads, and quite fun. The footpath was single track, rocky, wet, steep, treed and rooted – and brilliant! Those lucky walkers have more fun paths! andway, after some single track we followed a tarmac path back to the Centre, riding past some interesting sculptures. Having had enough and being soggy and muddy, we returned Mats  bike and dropped the other bike s back at the cottage before going on to Ambleside for some shopping and stuff, bike shopping of course. and That evening we watched Red Nose Day – i gave up at 2am, after everyone else had fallen by the wayside over an hour before.

Saturday was brilliant. The evening before I had come up with a plan of rthe next day. So that (saturday) morning we went rowing!! The cottage (which was more of a mansion separated into several flats) owned a boat, and said to ‘help ourselves, life jackets and oars are in here, key on the hook there’. So wekitted up, grabbed some oars and went rowing. With mat at the prow, me on the oars,a nd Ben sitting aft went headed out into the Lake. While deciding on a destination or plan Mat spotted an interesting yellow sign on the opposite bank. So we rowed over there, in a rather interesting line, which was rather snaky and wobbly – my right shoudler is stronger than the laeft thanks to some injuries in the past – the sign was about poaching. Then Mat had a go at rowing, and we soon discovered, he can’t! After going more sideways than forwards, I took over once more and we headed for shore (lol that rhymes) and we then returend to the flat for bacon sandwhiches.

That afternoon we headed for Grizedale once more. The weather was better this time round, we even saw some blue sky!! This time we were doing the “green” route. It was about 10 and a half miles. And the climb wasn’t bad, not too long and / or steep, and then, right at the end the most brilliant part – adn 3 / 4 mile downhill!! Long and winding, corners everywhere, some of them over 90 degrees. not under 20mph for a good five minutes! utterly fantastic!!!

Ben and I have decided to go back next year, when we both have more money and cars. Theres a fantastic looking single track trail around the whole forest, called the “North Face Trail” and we are determined to do it!

Overall it was the most fantasticly brilliant birthday I’ve ever had! a good 18 miles, of solid offroad, lol a mile for each year!

Untill the next post,

Uncle Austin Wozzer