After a week’s rest I was desperate to get back on the bike. My back and glute were still a little sore but I thought a little gentle recreational riding would do them good (not so by the way). With friends up for the weekend, 5 kids under 10 to entertain and a great weather forecast it was bikes, scuffed knees, elbows and lots of sweetie stops to keep them going.
We had 2 under 4s on seats, a 5 yr old, 8 yr old and 10 yr old on bikes and of course a few mum’s and dads itching to get out and play on Cannock Chase which was in perfect condition, leafs starting to change colour, blue skies and dusty dry trails.
On Saturday the Mum’s managed a cheeky ride on Follow the Dog before Sarah’s crank fell off, and Steve and myself even managed to get a lap of The Monkey Trail in before the compulsory BBQ. On Sunday it was a mass ride, driving the bikes up to a car park in the middle of the Chase to gain some height we all rode around Hednesford camp before brunch at the Marquis Drive visitor centre. I then found some kiddie friendly exciting trails most of the way home to Milford. The kids even did Ewocks, an aptly named star wars singletrack or ‘sniggletrack’ as Holly calls it, which flys through the trees below the deer lawns above the stepping stones. (Apologies those who have know idea where I am talking about but it’s all fantastic riding)
It was then the Dad’s job to ride out and fetch the cars, of course just having to take in one more decent on the way. Although very tired the kids rode the lot – all 17km of it !