Whelpside Gill, Helvellyn

“The Struggle”, Kirkstone Pass (454 m.)

Ride round Helvellyn (949 m.) at the end of a day when the roads had been cleared by rain driving the tourists back to their lodgings. My route took in Thirlmere, Grasmere, then up the 18-20% sustained gradient of “The Struggle” to Kirkstone Pass (454 m.), and back along the north shore of Ullswater.

• Skiddaw Circuit

Photo montage of many of the people at the GBMCC AGM weekend. Happy smiles after a sunny ride and the thrill of the Lake District topography after the monotony of the M6, as well as celebrating getting together again as a club. This year - after a couple of deferrals - we were able to gather in Patterdale YHA for the long weekend. Great to see friends again, new riders and just under 50 bikes in the parking. Bikers arrived from far and wide, including Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland as well as the more populous areas of the UK. This wasn’t everyone in the club by a long way: GBMCC has more than 500 members in 2022.
Thanks to the run leaders and to Graham who organised the weekend.

Hi-res version is on the GBMCC app & website (members only)

• GBMCC London Christmas lunch 2017 montage
• GBMCC London Christmas lunch 2016 montage

Coffee stop, Middleton-in-Teesdale

GBMCC AGM weekend, Patterdale

Four counties ride day with GBMCC to the North Pennines and Dales

Cumbria, Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire then back to Cumbria. In just one run this route took in most of the best of riding in the UK. After the twisty lakeside road out from Patterdale, then up the multiple hairpins to Hartside Summit, the route took in single track roads, moorland open roads and narrow roads with dry stone walls on both sides and grass in the middle. Steep climbs and hairpins, deep valley bottoms compressing the bikes’ front forks, summits with a tendency to go airborne and straights to hit the revs limiter, at least on my 250. Views over to Cumbria, Morecombe Bay and down Teesdale to the North Sea coast.
Very physical but great sport for me wrangling my little Ninja Z250SL to stay in the same time-zone as the litre-plus bikes, and good of Scott, Paul, Nic, Cal and Ian to accept me to ride with and encourage me in this group of famously “progressive” riders.

More photos: Teesdale - Wensleydale - Littondale - Ribblesdale - Dales National Park

Hardknott Pass (30%, 393 m.)

Fell Foot, Little Langdale

Stunning scenery riding the steepest and wildest road passes of the Lake District with Nic who’s here early for the GBMCC AGM meet. We enjoyed lunch at Dalegarth station cafe on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Heritage Railway. Little roads like these are where I could really do with a Trail/Rally bike: we chatted with another group on a KTM 690 and a CRF250 who were clearly having a lot of fun.

More photos: Hardknott Pass (393 m.) - Birker Fell - Dunnerdale - Wrynose Pass (393 m.)