Go east!

Today I had the opportunity to take a day off work and decied to head east - well into North East Derbyshire and Nottingham to have a look at their lanes. As some of the area is an hour's ride from home I don't go there all that often. I certainly haven't been since the NERC bill and so it seemed worth a look.
I took along a camera and GPS unit as well as my marked map so that I could record any signs that gave hints on the current legal status of the routes I went to. In the end I only managed to cover 4 lengths of lane (although some of these stretched for miles at a time) before I got cold and wet. For some reason I had left home in my 'old' gear which is no longer waterproof. It did remind me why I bought new!
I've logged where I've been and written to a council for more information on two of the routes. Mostly the terrain was very flat and easy. In one spot I got caught in mud that had been turned into a quagmire by horses but I was too busy pushing to take a photo! I did record this ford though:



The ford was shallow and fairly flat bottomed so not a problem. I have more information on the area and will have to go again as it seems to get little usage which must be a good thing. On a few occasions I was a very short distance from the terribly busy A1 and yet I was bimbling along a tree-lined avenue.

Edinburgh Success

At last I have reached the medals in a classic trial. I have been awarded a Bronze medal (ie 2 faults) and because I had 1 stop and 1 foot I have been listed ahead of all of the other Bronze medalists! Great, 9th out of 39 starters! I hope this is a sign that at last I'm progressing, can I maintain or even improve upon this? Time will tell.



Incidentally I've just seen photos of the new BMW G series and think they could be perfect for me. See:

BMWMOA's site.