I bought an MTB in the spring of 2006. I still clung to my roadie roots, with leggings and a lidless helmet, so I didn’t quite qualify for the “All the gear, No idea” tag. But I was definitely suffering from a severe case of beginner’s enthusiasm. One of the first things I did was to go online to find a nice little (40 miles isn’t far, is it?) off-road route around Swaledale.

And what a great route it was. So when Paul Crane asked for a volunteer to lead the club ride I jumped at the chance to share it with others.

Not too early for a Sunday morning, Rob O and Chris C pile into my car and in not much more than an hour we are unloading at Reeth village green.

We set off at a steady pace up the road for Langthwaite. Just over the top of the climb we turn left up a well-drained double track and keep climbing. Eventually we reach the top and Rob points out that we had been climbing for a full hour, but you just have to look around to appreciate why. We are almost at the summit of the hill and have views of Swaledale to our left and Arkengarthdale to our right, with a succession of further peaks lying in front of us.

Those who have ridden with me know that I’m not a great technical rider, always get dropped on the downhills and my fitness lets me down on the climbs. But to me, that moment sums up what MTB riding is all about - deep in the hills with panoramic views on good tracks and with great company.

We follow some more undulating double track to the next big climb of Great Pinseat. At the rather indistinct summit are a series of cairns set in a barren, rocky moonscape. There is no view to reward our efforts because of the low mist and cloud, so we go straight into a lovely descent. It’s not too steep, but a few loose stones are all it takes to make me feel like I’m travelling so much faster than I really am.

Another joy of MTB’ing is seeing the ridiculous speed differential when you meet another group coming up your descent. I tend to rely on shouting hello rather than risk a wave, and the camaraderie is just as strong off road as it is on. From the looks on the faces of the guys we pass, they are enjoying the climb as much as we are thrilled by our speed.

By now we are high above the head of Gunnerside Gill and out comes the map. I’d clocked up a second ride on this route, and both times I have got to the old mine buildings on the stream bank and ended up with a serious bike carry to get up and out. So today we are going the other way round the first loop of the ride and I reckon we will either be able to pick out the track better from up here or worst case face a downhill carry. I choose a footpath which I reckon will link us to a second section I had found trying to get out last time. I am sure that there is a rideable route for this section, but we don’t find it. It is quite a scramble before we get to the gill then a super fast descent to Gunnerside village, helped by a pretty smooth surface and a strong tailwind.

There is an amazing contrast now as we take some sheltered tracks along the valley floor criss-crossing over the Swale and back. We are out of the wind, it feels 10 degrees warmer and the tracks are boggier.

Chris suffers an awkward puncture (we can’t find the thorn and it gets the fresh tube as soon as we fit it), even so we arrive back at the car in good time for a pit stop with 25 miles done and phase 1 complete.

There are lots of reasons why I like this route so much. There are several places on the first loop to bail out and get to the valley road if things go badly. You don’t get too far from your car. You can limit the amount you carry, knowing that you will be passing your car again before too long. You can take either loop of the figure 8 as a ride in itself. And all the “tough” and “thrilling” sections are short enough to push if your fitness or your confidence fail.

As soon as we start on phase 2 the benefit of the pit stop are clear. Fremington is a tiny place between Reeth and Grinton. In the past I don’t think I’ve even noticed it when on a road ride. I guess I was always taking advantage of the flat road to grab food before the next hill. We take the sign for High Fremington, and although it is surfaced it is steep enough to make you concentrate so as not to pull a wheelie. Continuing up past the last house the full challenge suddenly appears.

Fremington Edge is a real beast. When the tarmac does eventually end the track kicks up steeper and heads for the tiniest of chinks in the ridge above us. Now I reckon I could “clean” this one day. That’ll be the day when the weather is perfect, my fitness is at an all time high and everything goes just right.

I tend to focus hard on picking a line and trying not to get bumped off it. When I do lose it and put my foot down my first response is to curse my poor skills. Then I am hit by a sudden realisation that my pulse is beating unfeasibly fast, and what I really need is more power, not more skill or better luck.

So as I recover and look for a place to restart, I get the chance to shout encouragement at my mates and suggest a better line than the one I took (well if someone actually asks you what went wrong then of course it was anything but a lack of fitness).

It’s funny, isn’t it, how you genuinely will the others to make it clean, but at the same time you feel a sense of relief when they don’t get that much further than you. And it is this moment that gives you the spur to restart before they look back and see you still slumped across the bars. And so today the 3 of us leap frog each other to the top.

It is footpath only along the edge of the Edge, but the bridleway eventually finds it again and here we begin the best descent on the route. It’s open and fast at first, and a line of painted rocks is a huge help in following the route. Then the gentle grass slope changes to much faster single track towards the remains of a very old quarry. This feels like the limit of my downhilling skills. I guess a proper MTB’er would laugh at the drop offs and chutes (I suppose there are only a few and it’s not that long a section either) but it seems to do the trick for all 3 of us and we regroup with the sort of silly grin that would be embarrassing at any other time.

Back down in the valley all that remains is to find the road at Langthwaite and follow it back to Reeth. This ride was genuinely one of my highlights of the year so far. I would recommend it to anyone. If you want full details of the route just drop me an email, but be warned that I might just try and invite myself onto the ride with you.