Old bike, old routes and nice crash

Fixed the old bike up while the Rockhopper is in the workshop. Looks and feels crap to start with - smaller, hardly any suspension, flat handlebars etc. Get the brakes working, chain on again, but the rear hub is a bit rough. Neil is sick, so can't make it for the Sunday morning ride. I head out of a couple of hours - get lost looking for new route up Craiglockhart - carry the bike up through stinging nettles. Everything is so overgrown in just 6 weeks. After crossing under the bypass at Bonaly, I try to ride the narrow path over the shoulder of White Hill skirting Bonaly Tower. Much of it ridable, except for 2mins of steep steps - even more so if I had easier gears of the other bike. Quickly up to Bonaly Res, down to Glencorse (not too wet today) and up over Maiden's Cleugh. The hills are beautiful today - all the heather is purple. Only 1:30hr gone, so follow some other bikers back up to the col and spend time chatting. A guy with a new bike arrives slowly and is promptly sick - not sure if it was the hill or something he ate. I hope he got home OK. Another bloke arrived and climb up Harbour Hill. Always looked too steep, but looks like it just needs a low gear. The 3 bikers said they had ridden much of the other side, which is steeper. Down to Glencorse and and back up Phantoms Cleugh. Meet an aquaintance, then two other cyclists ask if I know a good way down. One has a big heavy FS bike, but they are both a bit slower than me. I lead them down through Terror Woods (WHite Hill)- i.e. the very steep and rough gorge of Dean Burn. I manage to ride much more than I have ever done before. One of the guy's say "Do you do base jumping?!". Back over the path towards the bypass. One of the guys takes a tumble down the steep slope that falls away from the narrow path. Looks spectacular! On the next very narrow set of steps I try to ride, but a log across the path makes me brake more than I should, and I tumbled down the steep hill about 20ft - the bike twice as far. Land in the nettles, but everything seems fine. Gear lever bent though, so stuck in 8th gear, and calf well bruised I can hardly walk later. Luckily the hill was just earth and plants - very different to Spain where it would have been sharp rocks. Anyway, feel I can ride much harder things now - just need to clear the logs first! 31k, 2:55hr, 660m.