Page 47 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021 (Crest)

able with berms, switchbacks and in a whole the ascents which is always a reminder to sit down, put it in a low gear and spin your way to the top.
Day 2 started by spending the morning work- ing on skills and building our confidence. We found a pump track to practice. The tarmac track, banked corners, jumps, and rollers were a perfect learning environment for us to try new techniques that Miles suggested without the risk of slipping or being caught out by wayward tree roots and rocks. It was also tremendous fun; we spent an hour or so practising in our own time and then we all did a few timed laps to see who was fastest round the track. Everyone agreed it was a very beneficial session.
Afterwards we returned to the trails to tackle one of the reds. The red route was decidedly more challenging than the previous blue route; 10km in distance with 200m of climbing meant we knew it would be a leg burner. It was a single-track trail, with steep climbs, twisting turns, exhila- rating descents involving berms, jumps and a boardwalk. The cycle up was hard work, it was steep and long; however, the views at the top made it all worth it. Once at the top we wasted no time in diving straight into the downhill sec- tion. This was considerably faster and more challenging than yesterday’s blue trail with a few steep technical sections made for a tough but very enjoyable ride. However, before we knew it, we were back at the bottom again. It felt like we climbed for hours only to be going back down for a matter of minutes!
On day 3, we left the accommodation about mid-morning in warmer weather than we had in the days before and returned to Whinlatter Park. We started by returning to the blue run that we had completed on the first day. This was useful as it showed us how much we had improved in
such a short period of time as well as allowing us to improve on the very basics of mountain bik- ing. After a while on the blue route, we changed onto the southern red route to push ourselves by undertaking a more technical ride which would help us build on what we learnt. The climb up was also much easier than the northern red route we had completed the day before which raised the mood of the group quite considerably! As well the amazing views at the top alone made it very much worth it.
Near the end of the red run, expedition members Wisbey and Woodyear lead by Instructor Miles went on a black route extension which they both successfully completed – although Woodyear did decide to crash on the last corner. With that done and the group back together we headed down the last section of the southern red route back to the park. This involved an incredibly enjoyable stretch of track which had great turns and jumps that married the need for technique and pure enjoyment brilliantly. This was a run that was a highlight for the group thus far and was definitely going to be revisited later in the week. That signalled the end of the days cycling for us and we headed back to the accommodation.
Having spent a number of days getting used to hurling ourselves round the curves and corners of the mountain bike trails, we decided to push ourselves and head to the natural trails of Skid- daw on day 4.
The day began with a steep road climb before we hit the hill. Much of the climb was done on our feet due to the sheer verticality of the climb.
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