After a weeks rest I was desperate to get back on the bike. My back and glut 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 the age of 10 to entertain, and a great weather forecast it was bikes, scuffed knees, elbows and lots of sweet stops to keep them going.
We had two under 4’s on seats, a 5 year old, an 8 year old and a 10 year old on bikes and, of course, a few mums and dads itching to get out and play on Cannock Chase which was in perfect condition: leaves starting to change colour, blue skies and dusty, dry trails.
On Saturday after entertaining the children around the Stepping Stones, the mum’s managed a cheeky ride on some of 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. After 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 flies through the trees below the Deer Lawns and 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 descent on the way. Although very tired by the end, the kids rode the lot – all 17km of it!