2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

Can you edit the Power Zones, can't you?
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Started ride in Whalley, this is the viaduct and the entrance to the Abbey
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Construction started in 1296, but this arch could be a 100 years later.
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Ruins are extensive and very atmospheric
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Straight into a Bridleway to reach the Nick of Pendle
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And then the climb begins, this completely exhausted me to the point of feeling sick.
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Then add in very challenging singletrack, pedal strike city
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Bitter cold and strong wind at the top
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Hopelessly lost on the way down, ended up using a footpath
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Followed the dam overun to a lovely village called Barley
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Asked for cheese and onion pie, it was very posh with rather anemic mushy peas, but tasted delicious/

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The usual cashing in on the famous Witch trials
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The bridleway paths were just full of cute little farms
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In fact it went straight through them
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Descending into the valley on another bridleway
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This was rebuilt from a printworks, nice job.
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Terrifying tree, imagine seeing that in the dark
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We'll squeeze a pub in anywhere, great day out, no bike problems, 22 miles came back with three bar, covered in mud.
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"Too Young To Be Herod" Rides

You know how it is to be a geek, don't you :) The "Too Young To Be Herod 2025" Christmas Stout by Brewery Artezan was a really limited batch! The brewery itself is located only 10 km from my place but I missed the opportunity to get that beer in December last year. Now, the brewery informed me the last pallet of that seasonal beer was only available in a store by name "Pallet of Beer" in Siekierki, Mokotów neighbourhood of Warsaw. I gave the store a phone call to learn just two bottles of "Herod" had left! Uh-oh :)

Which meant I had to ride to the train station, jump onto the train, and then pedal with traffic in Warsaw but to avoid any "bike paths" for my own safety :) It gave me the chance to ride many streets of Warsaw I would be normally unable to do!

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There! "Pallet of Beer".

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"Herod" was delicious but the other beer was even more intriguing. Sahti is a historical very strong (8% abv) ale of Finland. It is fermented but not brewed, the flavour is provided by juniper berries not hops, and the fermentation is done with baker's yeast. Of course, Brewery PINTA had to brew Sahti with more modern techniques but the taste and smell were impossibly good! The third beer I bought was Herbal Barley Wine :)


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Total 24 km for the day. Low -7C, high -4C, no wind.
 
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