[Closed] Pics: STW Forum Mendip Ride - funtastic outing

Looks great. I was disappointed to miss it ( I was one of the two roadies who turned up at the car park) but had to be back home by 11.

Another great ride done and dusted. I should add there was plenty of punctures, Andy had a big off and I bust my chain. I met a few new faces today and introduced my mate Brian to STW group rides and bent rear mechs(we can chat about it in work tomorrow now). A big thanks to Buzz and co for sorting it all out. So roll on the next one ! Where next ? Oh and im liking the pic of me fixing my chain.
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This rider made this bit look easy, very smooth style.

Blimey you 2 got them put up quick ! Obviously you didn't ride hard enough ! Good day out ditto when's the next one !

Good stuff Paul - glad you got pics of the lower part of xmas trees/santas grotto.
Cripes Charlie's electrolyte "shot blocks" are probably the grimmest foodstuff I've ever tried. Probably why he wolfed down the vast plate of fried stuffs.

Lot's of smiles.

"Obviously you didn't ride hard enough"

I only walked to keep Rich company 😳

Oh and the muffins at the finish made with courgette , yummy .

OK then so you were his walkin ' bitch LOL !!!! .Rich forget the uplifts they ain't gonna happen !This isn't France ya know !

I do apologies about the lack of cake at Lillypool cafe. I rode much of the route last weekend to clear bits, check conditions etc, and popped in to warn them we were turning up today. And I made a special point of saying: "Make sure you have lots of cake!" 🙄

another big hurrah for the yummy muffins !

Rich forget the uplifts they ain't gonna happen!

Thats what you think, next time I hit the quantocks I'm bringing a van full of angry downhiller monkeys with me 🙂

Oh, and I am truly humbled by just how much fitness you can lose in a month.

Cheers to buzz and everyone else for a top ride, look forward to being first up the climbs in the Quantocks at times (those times will be when I'm driving the uplift van!)

looks like you all had a great day! i'm sorry i couldn't make it but i had my children back today so wasn't free.

hope to see you guys soon 😀

Ooo Rich that sounds good. I'm keen to improve my flaky, suspension flattered, downhill skills by doing lots of it.

Looks lovely, good photos Buzz and Knottie!

When's the next one? Purbecks, 27th Sept.

aleigh you have email

What an excellent turnout buzz - well done for organising 🙂

Looks as though you had good weather too!

we missed you CG !

We missed you GC, and Aleigh too.

😳

Thank you kindly!

Yep, lots of lovely people missing. And yet, lots of new lovely people 🙂

Cheers for the courgette cake kirsty, eating it now.

That was just top, thanks Buzz and co for waiting at junctions, holding gate, leading, encouraging, etc...brilliant ride!!!!!

yet anothere superb day out thanks one and all stw rides are the mutts nuts 😀

The courgetty muffins were a nice surprise at the end ta mrs pp

note to self must get alot fitter and practice my handleing er "skills" because they are er somewhat lacking (ok not blooody there if the truth be known) 😳 and I am abit sore at the mo

Anna I heard you were comming so I brought the bangers as promised guess what I have for tea

Mr Saladdodger!!! That's so kind...... I wasn't going then I was then I wasn't etc.... sorry. Bet you had a nice tea! Thinking about it, my own tea would have been perfect with the addition of a couple of sausages..... next time (please?!)

Thanks to Buzz et al for a great ride in great company. Nice to catch up with some old faces and meet some new.

Sorry I had to 'opt out' just before the café stop but Mrs Merman needed use of the car.

Chas_T

Chas thanks for solving the mystery .Wondered where you went to !

Yup, time was pressing on and though the all-day breakfast was tempting, I had to make like a tree and leave.

We've only got the one car, y'see. Nine bikes, but one car 🙂

Gilles , Thanks for directing me down the steps after the gate! you were pretty rapid down there!

vive la france! hehe

corgette cakes were real nice ! but tasted like sultannas to me.

Who was it who made them? to say thankyou.

[u]directing me down the steps after the gate![/u]

Bottle Bank that is. Did you make it down the evil root bundle?

Massive thanks for organising it. Great to meet up with so many riders. See you on the next one. Sorry I had to dash off home at the top of the yoghurt. Food at Lillypool looks as good as ever ...

Dave

Yep we both did quite rapidly, I was following Gilles.

Santa cruz FTW. 🙂

Cracking day out, first proper ride on the new five.
Cant believe quite how quick it goes with such little effort. Still scaring myself tho, which is fun!
I managed to get back to taunton for 4.45 and go for a 20mile quantock spin too which was nice!

you realy are a git

here I am aching like hell and you say "such little effort"

salad x

Ahhh... it was only another another 2300ft of climbing with concrete block, dog pound, picnic bench, another puncture and climb out from weacombe back to lyd hill.
Add that onto the 3200ft for this ride and it was a good day out.
3 flats is a record tho i think!

GIT 😥

Two words tho.... Keilder 100!!!!! (more like one word, one BIG number tho...)

Two words ,,,,,"**** climbing" on a mountainbike!

Its not fun. Its a waste of energy.

signed

a roadie.

Morning chaps!

Super, smashing, lovely, great!
That was indeed a fabulous ride, you have some wonderful trails down there!

A thousand thanks to Buzz for leading and sorting the route and to the other locals for marking the corners when we got a bit strung out. That was seriously a one of the best rides of the year for me. Well worth the 2hr drive each way. Brilliant!
I even came away with a bit of a tan line on my arms, although nothing to touch Rich P's glove tan! 😉

I was a bit knackered last night, but I'll get my pics sorted this evening and post a link here.

Really enjoyable ride, nice to ride some local trails with lots of new faces (to me) and in some cases riding known trails in a different direction. Thanks Buzz and thanks everyone for an enjoyable ride.

A most enjoyable spin, thanks buzz, you've shown me a few mendippian delights I didn't know about.

Great to put some faces to names 🙂

has anyone got some spare thumbs? Mine seem to have been finished off by Stone lane ...

"Mine seem to have been finished off by Stone lane"

Yeah it's quite a rockfest which one tends to hit a bit too fast. By then trying to pick a line is a bit pointless - it's hang on and hope.

has anyone got some spare thumbs? Mine seem to have been finished off by Stone lane ...

Ahh, the delights of rigid forks?

😉

anotherdeahero: Yeah I was really impressed with your rigid riding downhill on that stuff. And then you rode home to Bristol - eeek!

I have to confess I was a bit concerned with the amount of serious machinery being removed from car boots Sunday morning, most of which was allayed when I started overtaking people on 5" travel full sussers on the rockier stuff ;o) Though I was trusting a great deal to luck ...

Thanks for a great ride and thanks for everyone who waited for me up the hills and down the stony sections. Really pleased that I was made to ride through the stream being told that it was the only way - everyone else took the dry route round the top. For those that have a glut of courgettes here is the [url= http://www.allotment.org.uk/recipe/1391/courgette-muffins-recipe/ ]courgette muffin recipe[/url] - it only made 16 though and I did not include the nuts - there were plenty of them out on the ride!

Them muffins were proper nommalicious!

We have a few courgettes in the fridge that look like they might make their way into some muffins now 🙂

Who'd of though of courgette muffins? They were good!

5" travel full sussers on the rockier stuff ;o)

you didn't overtake me did you? 😯

With all the rattling going on buzz, it was a job to keep the bike roughly pointing in the right direction, without pausing to subject the riders I passed to too much scrutiny 🙂

It was more a matter of holding onto the bars in a deathgrip and hanging on for dear life than any kind of technical ability 😀

I was a little nervous when I turned up and saw so many riders

Me too - so glad it didn't disappoint. Isn't everyone nice though?

muddypuddle
you should have seen the fuss/mess most of us made on that bit.

Another vote of thanks to Buzz for ably discharging the duties of Glorious Leader (and MrsP for the muffins!)

the camera hides the terrified look on my face

Not half as terrified as PeterPoddy looked after committing to that same roll-in and finding ADH at the bottom helpfully clearing rocks away 😯 😀

Hmph. Arranging a ride on my wife's birthday. How jolly unfair.
Well you can't stop me going to the BBB next weekend, so there!

Not half as terrified as PeterPoddy looked after committing to that same roll-in and finding ADH at the bottom helpfully clearing rocks away

Oh yeah. That got the old ticker going. I don't mind crashing but taking someone else out is not good.....

😉

He he. I think your eyes came out on stalks Pete 😀

Its funny how a lot of people stop right in the line of the next rider.

[i]We missed you GC, and Aleigh too.[/i]

ahhhh thanks buzz........shame mr knottie didn't feel the same 🙁 😉

Ah um oh errrr 😳

Me ? hissy fit, not on ride no no . As for a Qs ride just say when .

Sorry to bump this, but does anyone know who those fine younger chaps from Salisbury-way are?

And do they think they could organise a suitable route on their patch?

i'm waiting for poddys pics

Hey everyone, this is my first post on the forum and yesterday was my first STW group ride. What a cracker of a ride it was too! I was really impressed with the riding on offer in the Mendips and will have to head back that way again!

Thanks to Buzz for organising the ride and also thank you to anyone who opened and closed gates or stood on corners as a human way-marker.

Sorry to bump this, but does anyone know who those fine younger chaps from Salisbury-way are?
And do they think they could organise a suitable route on their patch?

I assume I am one of these "younger chaps", I was riding the black Meta 5.5 and did chat to you quite a few times along the way. I am sure we could sort out a route if your interested but it wouldn't compare to the stuff you guided us around yesterday! You really are lucky to have that sort of riding locally!

I look forward to the next ride 🙂

Theres plenty of good riding around salisbury. Annabanana sorted a cracking ride back in July .Ok it wasnt as rough but beautiful scenery and its all riding .

Flatfish - Here you go -
Sorry for the delay, I fell asleep on the sofa last night! 😳

Biggest cheesy grin of the day
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Crappest wheelie of the day 😉
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Juciest blackberries of the day
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Our leader for the day
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The rootiest bit of the day
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The most serious 'race face' of the day 😉
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And the rest are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peter_atkin/sets/72157621942187541/

Good job Pete. I do like this one (and well ridden too)
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Top photo's Pete,

Thanks for making the effort to lug round a good camera - especially down the fun runs ..

Dave

cheers pete,

muddypuddle looks like she's in the middle of saying ooohhh sh*t

Heheee!
I think she was! She's a better rider then she thinks she is too, if you know what I mean?
😀

Look at her positioning on the bike in that pic: She's a naturally talented rider, IMO. She gets it right without seeming (To me anyway) to be trying too hard.

Question: where was PeterPoddy when he took the picture of Buzz
Answer:
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Cor, you'd think some people would cheer up when they're out on a ride eh? 🙄

The most serious 'race face' of the day

Always without fail, in every photo ever taken (apart from when he's pissed) he has the 'MBR' gurn.

Tart.

🙄

So the upshot was that Mendip riding ain't that bad?
8)

Best ride this year for me I reckon. Although Rich P did beat hands down you with THE BEST PUB STOP IN THE WORLD in the Purbecks. 😉

I'll have to up the ante for my next one.

We should start some form of rating system, and have an award at the end of the year......
😀

Lilypool Cafe was convenient for that route, but its pretty basic - there are some half decent pubs lurking though.

If Buzz organises 'Mendip - The Return' I'm sure he'll work something in. He seems quite the pub connoisseur...
🙂

BEST PUB STOP IN THE WORLD in the Purbecks

If we'd stopped off at the Crown you might have changed your mind on that 😉

By the way Pete [boring question alert] what sort of camera bag was that you were using?

Mendip riding ain't that bad

About 3 weeks ago I was getting a bit depressed by trail conditions and considering calling it off. But Roland told me not to worry and the week of largely dry weather helped loads.
Visiting dignitaries from Salisbury/Farnborough/Shropshire said they were impressed with what they rode, that it was more techy than they expected.
I think the route worked well because it was 95% legal, varied and you felt like you travelled a bit. Including "Xmas Trees" was like adding extra chilli in the curry.

You and me both Buzz - I think because Mendip is seen as secondary to Quantocks - which is fair enough - the assumption is that it has nothing to offer at all.

Extra chilli in the curry - quite!

My camera bag is a Tamrac Adventure Zoom 3. I've got a LowePro mini which can carry more but is a bit too bulky for me. I might have to start using it when I get a flash though.....

Good effort. Nice to see folk enjoying Mendip trails.

([i]Feels the lonely pain of exile...[/i]).

Cheers Buzz for showing me round my local trails, it was good to link up sections differently to how I normally ride them. It was even better to meet fellow riders and make new freinds, you were all great company. I enjoyed the ride immensley, so much so thet im out with the LBS group tonight to do it all again! looking forward to the next one, Purbecks is it?
I was going to post a couple days ago with a link to my Garmin so anyone who was interested could see dstance, accent etc but unfortunatley its not letting me upload it (damn and blast technology). The other downside is my rear wheel snapping another spoke and in desparate need of straightening. Another email to Hope needed. by the way WHAT MUFFINS!? 😀