[Closed] The 2011 Welsh Ride Thing is GO!

See we've put B4 & A3 on the 'maybe' list. but if we are doing okay may yomp up from A5 (our last one) up to A3..

We'll see how we get on.

It's more than 0.076mm thick then?

Seems it

Tiger - I sent you a mail re. your offer of map pdfs. It may have gone straight to junk, if so mine's in my profile. Ta muchly.

Sent

And gratefully received. See you there on Saturday!

Not much kit planning, but route sorted at 130k

Camping Sat night around B1, either before or after dependant on weather/light/beer in Machynlleth

Sun night around A1 after a pub stop in Cemmaes.

Mapboard and pad change tonight to keep me busy.

I'm currently doing some lastish minute route verification and scribing trails, cafes & public houses onto my OS maps.

The climb/s up to the start of the ridge trail (Tarren Ridge) and checkpoint B1 (sh684040)from Machynlleth/Panperthog with all those fire roads, paths and stuff looks a hard one for a non-local, non-GPS carrying rider.

Anyone got any clues or routes they'd care to pass onto me 🙂

Hmmmm, giving the game away a bit

http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?lnk=http://beta2.fantasticthinking.com/routes/stage4.gpx

Will be about 1k of very steep pushing 🙂

Pretty much as long as your legs are hurting and you're coughing up lungs, you'll be heading in the right direction 😀

giving the game away a bit

My route is via Penrhyn Dyfi, Maesywerngoch and then follow fireroad up to the NW corner of the wood and a small track to gain the ridge. A good few pages back Stu posted a link to another guy's blog about that route, though they went into the forest by Gellygen.

The last part onto the ridge is the real test / killer!

Hmmmm, giving the game away a bit

You certainly have! I've now worked out where you'll be kipping down, having breakfast and taking your morning dump from that link 😉

Anyway, thanks for that, certainly much easier to navigate than the routes I was trying to workout from the [url= http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2011/tarren-ridge-mtb-ride/ ]Tarren Ridge[/url] link route picture.

If I end up in the Railway Inn on Saturday evening I'll buy you a pint 🙂

Well Pennal is basically sea level (Had my wedding reception in Pennal BTW)

So my route goes from 20m to 633m in 4.7km. 😐

We'll be fine

Route planning? plot points and draw straight lines between them 😕 Just raided gear shops, more stuff ditched 😯

You certainly have!

but only if you twig to change the URL 😉

2 in a row...... 🙂

Horrible road climb on the way to Pennal though Tiger. Mind the maniacs in cars! 😯

Horrible road climb on the way to Pennal though Tiger.

back of me hand 🙂

my route goes from 20m to 633m in 4.7km

Anybody going off piste and planning on hike a bike to go a bit more as the crow flies?

Thought I'd share a bit of local folklore about the area just North of the Dyfi Bridge. If you choose to do the climb on Sustrans Route 8 the cottage on the right is where Led Zep wrote and rehearsed Led Zep III. Bron Y Aur stomp and all that. Its a swine of a climb but if you go straight on at the T junction at the top there is an overgrown track that leads to Pantyspyddyd and then up some more until it clears at the old mine workings, this will get you onto the ridge. Me, I,m with Tiger, the climb from Pennal is much better despite the main road slog.

Oh yes Pistonbroke that climb is proper. There's some very interesting stuff (but a bit cheeky) if you scout around at the big fireroad junction after the climb.

Just a quick last minute check, is the wind farm (North of the start) accesible?

Yep, I've spent many happy hours round there with the Mach lads before they moved on to bigger and better things in the Dyfi, I organised a TQ from Bro Dyfi in 2001 which used a lot of the going in Pantperthog but it's changed a bit since then with the felling.

sorry dnf, this is a reply to Stuarts post.

@DNF ... the windfarm to the east of Cemmaes?

If so then, yes there are ways up there.

is following tyre tracks acceptable 😉

@ Ian B

EBB now suitably greased, will give it a spin to see how quiet it is. I've ordered a Bushnell EBB which arrives tomorrow just in case! I've got 32:20 on the bike at the mo which is equivalent to the 34:20 that I ran on the 26" bike last year, which I thought was spot on. Bike and kit is lighter this year however the contours also appear much closer. I bought a 21T sprocket for the event but haven't fitted it as I need to make my chain longer, What d'ya reckon. I've got used to riding the wrong gear as I did the Kielder 100 last year with my 2:1 rato on the 26" and spent about 90% of the time in too tall a gear :oops:.

BTW my route also takes me through Penrhyn Dyfi and Maesywerngoch

looking good that I will be rolling 29er's for the first time this weekend - wish me luck 😯

You have a 29er now...you don't need luck 🙂

I hope not will be a great test to see if I like them or a complete ball ache if not 😉

35:22, 26" wheel for me.

Cheers, I'm using the wind farm as descent, looks like there are 4x4 roads through it.

27 gears for me and 26" wheels 😥

Our route is about 90 miles, 16k ft of climbing, gets everything bar the one at the top of Tarren Hendre, with lots of options and 7 pubs en-route.

We were even debating whether we need to carry anything bar breakfast as we could probably do pub lunches/dinners every day 🙂

@Pete ... Steve'll be on a 29er before long. I gave him a go on my monster crosser. Oddly even though it's a rigid, singlespeed 29er with drops he seemed to like it 😉

So, have just gunned it up and down the local steep hill and..................all quiet...anyone want to buy a Bushnell EBB? 😀

I might Paul .. I hate the one in my Sanderson, must be the worst design for an EBB I've ever seen.

@ Pete/Stu -I'm not sure about this 29er lark - can I really justify a 4th bike? (I think I know the kind of answer I'll get to that!!) Saying that - I have been looking out for a 29er inbred!
My biggest worry is that Pete will no longer be carrying any spare tubes for me to use when I have my 5th, 6th and 7th punctures!!

Aye, 'tis true Steve ... 29" tubes will just give you more room for punctures 😉

Steve at this rate I'll be running 26" tubes any how if they don't turn up tomorrow, I've got a patch kit so we'll be fine 😉

Alfa, I'm going to go with 32:21. Quite a bit of climbing on this one I think and I'm thinking of my legs (which haven't had much exercise lately) will be thankful come Monday.

Pete, 26" tubes will be fine - they stretch a bit and that's what I'm carrying 🙂

Thanks for that Ian I thought they would, I'll carry a couple just to cover Steve 😉

OK, I've sorted out my stuff. Now I've got to put it all back into the drybags and take a piccie of it all on my bike 🙂

[img] [/img]

Link to photo with 23 added notes here!.....

[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308384@N06/5762690834/in/photostream ]WRT Gear Show[/url]

We have a custom map again, route is drawn on. But I am unlikely to be there 🙁 Injuried my thumb tuesday night and can't grip the bars at the moment....really want to do it though!

Kit list so far...

Camping stuff

Laser Photon Tent
Thermarest Prolite rollmat
Sleeplight 750 sleeping bag
Hi Gear silk bag liner
Head torch
Life venture towel

That's pretty much it... clothes for biking... thermals for not biking.

How likely is it to do all eating in pubs?