Happy birthday. I’m off to the pub later too.
Not a Weatherspoons. 🙂

Excellent video. I do believe that was me and my poorly bike on the back of that quad. 😆

Aberaeron?
It’s on your 5 hour limit but the site we’ve been to is just a 10 minute stroll into the nice harbour. Rocky beaches and a nice sandy one down at New Quay.
Loads of walking (some cliff top) and there’s the steam train from Aberystwyth up to Devils Bridge[/url]

I think the site is called Camping on the Farm. No fires though.
Good luck.

Nothing wrong with liking decent showers and electric at all. Plenty of sites around.
Can’t help with sites unless you are going up to mid Wales however. 🙂

+1. its got similar geo to an inbred, with a slack HA. Wheelbase/ front centre is longer; but the ETT/ Reach is the same as an inbred. which dates from 2002 ish. IIRC. hardly progressive.

Unfortunately for marketing people the human body doesn’t progress as quickly as they’d like so a bicycle will still pretty much look like a bicycle. 🙂

Forest of Bowland.

After that thread on here I asked for a Merkur 34c for Christmas and 30 Astra blades with some Taylor’s soap and brush.
Miles better shave than anything else I’ve used and I’ve still half of the blades left.

I read about a footbridge over the Irwell getting washed away on Boxing Day? Does that affect these routes?

Nah.

If there was it would be a ****, ****, twattery of a film.

Ya bastids. 🙂

When we are saying Darwin we are meaning from Belmont past the reservoirs around Edgeworth?
Then on over Holcombe. That’s a fairly direct route over to Cragg and Lee is it not?
Pretty much as the crow flies, having a bit of fun on the way. 🙂

Do you mean Buckden Woods? It’s a good ride down there.

From the bottom of Buckden go along the old railway line through Irwell Vale and across the line at the station there and up across the by pass and right through Edenfield and up Gincroft Lane towards the turbines.
Then you’re on the edge of Cragg Quarry and on to Lee.
Got it. 😀

The Lakes are your local trails and you’re bothering with a ‘trail centre’?
You’re doing it wrong man. 🙂

Although I do quite like a trail centre myself. The last time I visited any of the 7 Stanes must have been 10 year ago so have no idea how things have changed.
I think it might have been Ae on my last visit. Much of it was closed.

An OS map.

No. But I wish I was. The wind and the rain. That tent smell. Lovely.

So far, for us as a family of 7 we started Easter weekend in the Lakes and then Machynlleth for the Dyfi Enduro. Love it. 😀

Opticron.
I went for their 8×42 for about £140 after having their 8x25s free joining the British Trust for Ornithology.
Great binoculars.

Well how did you all get on?
After all my worrying about my lack of regular riding let alone training for the Dyfi, plus the forecast weather, which I didn’t think was all that bad I was doing well til just before half way when my tyre exploded.
It was like a bloody rifle going off. 😯
I was hoping a new tube would get me to the finish but the cut in sidewall was a good 3 inches and the tube stuck out a mile getting sliced on the front mech so that was it.
Got picked up by the toasty warm Discovery (a big thanks to you two) after about 45 minutes freezing and then back in the special bus. 🙂
I loved it. Even if didn’t get a mug.

Yeah why not. What could possibly go wrong.

Why on earth would you? Seriously?
You’ll be up for a Darwin award you know. Just make sure you take some pics.

Juliet Bravo.

Floor want’s a clean.

If you come out the bottom of Lee quarry and head through Bacup. Do a left up Burnley road then instead of going up through Weir do another left up Step Row just past Broadclough mill. It’s the old road and bloody steep but fetches you out at the old Deerplay moor pub.
Head on down towards Burnley but pick up part of the Mary Towenley, past Compstons Cross over to Clowbridge reservoir.
Left onto t’other Burnley road for a bit then climb up to the weather station.
Straight on past the the mast and do a right after the gate follow the muddy track and it turns into what looks like a river bed. Probably will be at the minute.
It’s good fun.
That takes you down to Hapton.
Hope that’s clear enough for you. 🙂

Just re read your post.
Just follow Mary Towenley from Cragg to Clowbridge is best. Then up to weather station.

2 sets of Mountain Kings have turned into clown wheels with very little riding for me too.

Anyway. My new Hope XCs will have their first proper outing in this coming weekends Dyfi Enduro, so I’ll let you know how I/they get on. 🙂
Just wish I could have the rear wheel in time.

To be honest I’ve only had experience with the old Hope XC hubs. I must have had them on the bike 8 years and they were superb. I think I changed the bearings myself once or twice in that time and were still going strong when the bike got nicked.
It was my only bike as well which was used a lot, all year round in filthy Pennine, Welsh, Lakes and Scottish conditions.
So for those reasons I decided on new Hopes.
Although if you saw the wheels currently on my Soul, owt would be better. 🙂

Expecting a Hope 4 xc front wheel next week. Initially I was after Hope Hoops with something like Stan’s Arch rims before finding out about Hope having there own now.
No experience with DT hubs, just there rims.

Is that the entire valley you’ve de-silted? 🙂
We’ve loads of tadpoles at the moment. Would love to see some damselfly this year.

I’m doing it again this year and can’t wait. The last time was 2008 I think and again I’ve done not a jot of training.
You’ll be fine.
Just make sure you get back before the showers run out of hot water, cause it’s not nice otherwise. 🙂

I’d be more impressed if you could tell me how I’ve never had the foggiest idea when it comes to numbers.
I haven’t a clue. Even basic stuff.
Any kids out there? Learn your maths. 🙂

You’ll know when it’s shut when you get shot at. 🙂
We did, going on our holiday after stopping in a lay-by late at night.
There was a loud bang on the side of the car after we set off again resulting in a nice clean air pellet sized hole in the side of the car just below the window I was next to.
So don’t tow a caravan and be careful near St Asaph. 😀
We keep going back though.

Would love to have an air rifle again. Lots of fond memories of us lot shooting at each other. 😯
A couple of mates both had Wiehrauch rifles and they both had their ends of a finger snipped by accidentally pulling the trigger while loading a pellet.
This was late eighties so what model could that have been?
Can still here the screams for mummy. 🙂

Came off the bike on Wednesday leaving a friends. As I tried to hoik up my jeans my other hand shot off the bar as I hit a pot hole. I then spent what felt like ten minutes doing my best superman impression trying to control the bike with my nuts. One second I was thinking ” I’m off here. Just get on with it”
The next ” It’s pretty good how far i’m going laid across the bike”
Then down I went.
Think I got up quicker than I went down being more worried whether someone had seen me.

I didn’t feel much until later that evening when the leg and the hip started to become sore. I also noticed a mark on my chest which I had to press. Arrrrrrrrr ‘kin hell. Bruised ribs as well. I can tell they’re not cracked though. I can pass the sneeze test without crying. 🙂
Bloody sore since though.

How much do you like this not very close friend? Are they likely to get you other work through them?
Trouble with mates rates is you end up working for fek all most of the time.

At it again here in Rossendale. Shame I’m tiling.

An Osprey has been spotted over a reservoir up here in Lancs.

Kites used to be all over cities one time didn’t they?
There’s been a Black Kite seen in Suffolk recently I hear. Heard my first Chiff Chaff in the lakes Easter weekend.

Blimey. 😯

Unless you’re going on cheeky routes of which I don’t know then Warton Crag is just an up and over. A long climb from Silverdale side or a very steep one from Warton. There is a permissive track to the left as you go down to Warton IIRC.
It’s pretty much short of off road with quite a bit of road around there.
It’s all nice riding though whatever you do.
I used to stay at my parents caravan near Carnforth so I’ve fond, rose tinted memories. 🙂

Posted from Moon Base Alpha tent on Low Wray campsite near Ambleside. 🙂

Warton near Preston or Warton top of Morecambe bay?

The Morecambe Warton has routes such as Warton Crag, Arnside Knot and near by Hutton Roof.

Sleep in a hedge? Sounds cosy. 🙂

I call stove top fans hokkum. Convection shall circulate air more than a fan ever will.

Same here. We bought a fan and felt sod all difference.

I’ve always loved a good steep, lumpy and bumpy climb and I hate it when some of my favorite climbs become sanitised with flatness. I can’t get enough of those endorphins man. 🙂