[tony_d123]

The Lancashire possee...





Here's a sight you won't see very often, trail bikes as far as the eye can see!





It was all easy going, fire roads and gravel tracks, this is going to be an easy day I thought, wrong!



This section was moss about a foot deep, like riding on a sponge. Waiting for the next section to clear...



This boggy, muddy climb was on the other side....



Quite a few people struggled....







Dave B's XLR gets muddy...



Thinking that was the worst bit over, we started to relax, then this....



This section was extremely tricky, all downhill, boggy, ruts, lots of deep ditches and drop-offs running across the trail. I hit the end of a fence post lying down in the grass just after this pic. The bike stopped dead and I went flying, luckily it was very soft ground! It took around 30 minutes to do a few hundred yards constantly pulling out sunken bikes....



A good day, unfortunately an accident put a bit of a downer on it. Two guys collided and ended up with broken bones and a trip to hospital, hope they recover quickly. The good thing is that the right procedures were in place and Rodger was there as sweeper to make sure they got swift treatment.
Well done Rodger and all the Northumbria crew.

[John Morgan]

Thanks for the report, been wondering how the Lancs members went on.
Looks like a great event

Note to self, get my application in earlier next time

[xtractif]

Good pictures Tony

I had a great day on my first TRF ride, XT600 was a bit to much in the bog

Nice shot of me on the Yam contemplating the bog!!

Thanks to Roger, Nic and Steve for a great day

Not easy to control so many riders

Hope it becomes an annual event.

Mike Cottam

[tony_d123]

I didn't know that you were one of our forum members Mike. Thats the problem with user names, but the xt bit makes sense now!

Yes, it was a good pic with your face in the mirror, it sort of summed up that bit of the ride as we watched the KTM struggling. I will email you a higher res copy later.

Got an update and some good news from the Northumbria guys. Its still a bit sketchy but it seems that the two riders who were taken to hospital were not as badly injured as first thought. It seems that both were discharged from hospital on the Saturday night and that one has a broken thumb and bruising and the other possible knee ligament damage. Wishing them a speedy recovery.

[Adrian]

Great write up Tony. I just want to echo yours and Mikes (sorry Mike, i saw you there but didn't realise you were a Lancashire lad) comments on what an enjoyable weekend this was. Just such a shame about the daft accident on Saturday, but at least it seems no-one's been seriously hurt. In fact i think the guy with the broken thumb was more pissed off about the fact that he'd had ALL his riding gear cut off him by the medics, AND lost his sat nav in the undergrowth. Apparently he was sat in casualty waiting for his wife to pick him up in just his boxers.

I think we all felt for Roger and the Northumbria boys who'd organised it and so desperately wanted it to go smoothly. I hope the Forrestry Comission will see that, although the accident happened, it was dealt with responsibly, and was possibly caused in part by trying to take all 65 of us through in one go, rather than smaller, seperate groups. Anyway, hindsight's wonderful, and i just hope we don't get a negative reaction.

I stayed on on Sunday, and Nick lead a group of us round some local lanes. Think Neil and Steve went with another group with Will in it. Not sure where we went, but we had lunch in Alston and crossed Slaley moor at some point. It was a lot more challenging than Saturdays ride, but not as long at around 80 miles (think some of us did around 140 on Saturday) and really good fun. Rained a bit, but far less than forecasted. No pictures, cos i never think to take any, and no track-back as flat batteries in GPS. Bugger!

I urge those who didn't go to make sure you do next time. Its great to share a beer and a chat with like minded people from different regions, and something we should do more of. Thanks again Roger for helping organise it.

Adrian.