BB200 - The Aftermath

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ZeroDarkBivi
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BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ZeroDarkBivi »

First things first; a massive Thank You to Stu and Dee for once again putting together another great event. From putting up with endless stupid questions from the likes of me, to serving up life-saving butties, and all the other preparations that go on unseen, it is very much appreciated.

But... What in Christendom was THAT 'fire break' all about!? I actually ditched the bike and took a wander through the wood block, convinced I had screwed up, but no, I just had to drag my the bugger through the giant tussocks whilst up to my nuts in bog. Imagine my surprise when I saw some lights closing in behind me who had managed to divert round, and with hindsight, I would definitely have done exactly the same...!

Now, having gone axle deep through a number of puddles, I am a bit concerned for my wheel and BB bearings. Having never fettled with bearings, is there anything I can do, other than just replacing them (not so so simple with PF crap)?
slarge
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by slarge »

Bearings are easy - they push out and in, but watch a vid or 2 on YouTube as sometimes there is a circlip or lip to catch you out if you do it wrong. Bearings are standard sizes for bikes, a common wheel bearing is 6802RS, but google it to find the spec then shop on eBay.
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Dave Barter
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Dave Barter »

ZeroDarkBivi wrote: But... What in Christendom was THAT 'fire break' all about!? I actually ditched the bike and took a wander through the wood block, convinced I had screwed up, but no, I just had to drag my the bugger through the giant tussocks whilst up to my nuts in bog. Imagine my surprise when I saw some lights closing in behind me who had managed to divert round, and with hindsight, I would definitely have done exactly the same...!
Craig, sadly it was a a bit of a path "approximation". On my map I could see that the GPX had cut a corner and if you rode on it looped back to the line on the other side of the firebreak. Same thing happened to me at Pont-rhyd-y-groes where I went up the road for 1/4 mile and also after Carnau where I pushed up a 45 degree braken infested slope religiously following the line.
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ctznsmith
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ctznsmith »

Lessons I learnt:

1. Ride your bike around the car park before you leave. Getting 1/2 a mile up the road and then realising my saddle was wonky AND my multitool had disintegrated in my bag wasn't the best start.

2. Learn how your kit works. Joystick died at 2am because it wasn't on the setting I wanted it on. That meant some interesting pushing with just a Revo.

3. Ignore the line, follow the path! Worked well on Carnau but was less easy to do with less light so I missed obvious turnings/path of least resistance later on.

4. Two pairs of eyes are better than one and riding with other people keeps your spirits up.

5. A bit of map studying and prep does make life easier as you know what is coming. Obviously you can over think it and take that too far. :wink:
ScotRoutes
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ScotRoutes »

Having had a look at the uploaded gpx route on the Spotwalla page I'd have replotted it more accurately before trying to follow it. In daylight I'm sure it's all clear but I hit a similar off-route incident in the dark last year, assuming the gpx route should be followed exactly. :grin:
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ZeroDarkBivi
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ZeroDarkBivi »

ScotRoutes wrote:Having had a look at the uploaded gpx route on the Spotwalla page I'd have replotted it more accurately before trying to follow it. In daylight I'm sure it's all clear but I hit a similar off-route incident in the dark last year, assuming the gpx route should be followed exactly. :grin:
I can sympathise with Stu, and his rational for following the legal right of way, as plotted on the OS map, however, you are right; if I had the time I would tweak the route using google earth to other satellite imagery, as it is so easy to be within a few metres of a track in the dark, with no idea it even exists! Even during daylight, I got stuck in a bracken trap near the steep Elan Valley descent, following the pink line...
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ctznsmith
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ctznsmith »

Personally I think the GPX was fine (sorry for bringing it back up). A bit of common sense plus good equipment choices and generally it was all pretty obvious even in the dark.
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Richard G
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Richard G »

Who was the cheerleader by the Claerwen dam climb btw? I couldn't really see, but they were stood by a van (with a cowbell).
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whitestone
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by whitestone »

Richard G wrote:Who was the cheerleader by the Claerwen dam climb btw? I couldn't really see, but they were stood by a van (with a cowbell).
This guy?

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Richard G
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Richard G »

I want to say it was Chew, but I was in survival mode at that point and couldn't really see properly.
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Dave Barter
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Dave Barter »

It was Simon
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Richard G
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Richard G »

Thanks for the wellwishing Simon. Got a smile out of me anyway. :-bd
Chew
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Chew »

Richard G wrote:I want to say it was Chew, but I was in survival mode at that point and couldn't really see properly.
Not sure I could pull off that outfit :shock:
I was too busy manning the petrol station :wink:
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by darbeze »

Richard G wrote:Who was the cheerleader by the Claerwen dam climb btw? I couldn't really see, but they were stood by a van (with a cowbell).
It was me! Hope it lifted your spirits?

There were quite a range of emotions between riders at that point!

I did have grand ideas of staying up all night to see everyone go through, but went to bed at 10... It would seem only riding 8 miles before my DNF tired me out. Must be my age!

Another fantastic event!

Thank you Stuart and Dee...

Si

:-bd :-bd
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Richard G
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Richard G »

That it did. :mrgreen:
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Taylor »

Chew wrote:
Richard G wrote:I want to say it was Chew, but I was in survival mode at that point and couldn't really see properly.
Not sure I could pull off that outfit :shock:
I was too busy manning the petrol station :wink:
I'll leave this here,
ImageUntitled by flatfishrufus, on Flickr
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adjustablewench
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by adjustablewench »

Great pic! Good see you Chew :)
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Charliecres
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Charliecres »

Yes, a big thanks from me. A cracking route, great atmosphere and life-saving tea and veggie fry-up.

Some great descents this year and a real out-there feel. The last 25k before Glaslyn nearly did for me.

Just need to book in for a hip replacement.
paramart
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by paramart »

cheers stu/dee/brewboy another well organised event, bunged gpx on garmin rode it only my failing eyes fooked up in daylight so had a trip to llanurig, other than that what a laugh through karnua didn't realise I was on the death march, :-bd
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dlovett
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by dlovett »

Many thanks to Stu and Dee and all the guys I rode with.

Now if only I had bought and brought the adventure bike last year and the fat bike this year.....
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Wilkyboy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Wilkyboy »

Many thanks to Stu and Dee for running the event, and Chew and Simon at the finish. :-bd

First BB200 for me, with only WRT for experience. That was ... brutal!

Started well enough, catching a few riders up the hills, being caught by others. Drowned my bearings on that little forest track high up after Hafren visitors' centre — 26-inch wheels. The descents were fine — full-suss. Face-planted when I tried to ride across some mud that turned into a wheel-swallowing slurry pit on the path next to Afon Bidno, flinging me instantly and unceremoniously upside-down on my face. I got up very slowly, just in case I'd hurt something, but it was just my pride — everything was now covered in mud! :roll:

In spite of that, I was still keeping to my considered 24h pace until we got to Rhayader — the long descent had made me realise my V-Brake pads were getting a bit thin. Dropped into Rhayader to visit the bike shop to get several more sets, but there was a "closed, sorry for the convenience" hand-scribbled sign stuffed into the letter box. Swapped in my one set of spare pads to the front, with Simon's help (he had just abandoned and was about to head back to the start). I would be fine ... by the time I got to Llanwrthwyl (the climb+descent out of Elan) I was re-adjusting the front brake and by the bottom of the next climb+descent (the hike-a-bike before Carnau) the lever was near the bars again — damnable Welsh grit, I have never experienced such rapid wear before! :shock:

In the end I hiked over Carnau, just to say I'd been there, done that — I was surely last on the road by this point, having dropped into Rhayader, stopped to make some dinner after deciding the brakes were probably not going to last safely, stopped to fix a puncture, probably caused by Welsh grit getting inside the tyre and wearing through the tube. I stepped onto the massif just before 1am and was up to my knees in sh!t within a couple of yards ... fortunately, having plotted my route across the moor from satellite view, I just followed my pink line and hit the trail right the way over. It was with some amusement that I watched a set of lights getting closer during the 90-odd minutes I was up there and eventually found someone who had missed the trail and was still high above the exit track. I waited while he found his way down to where I was. There was absolutely no sign of anyone else behind, and you can see for miles up there.

I decided at the bottom of that track off Carnau that I definitely didn't have the brake pads for the remainder of the course and it would be too dangerous to continue — the rear pads are down to the metal, the fronts not far behind (and that's the new set!). We both abandoned together and rode back via Elan and Rhayader. I stopped for something to eat and a snooze up on NCN81 with the sound of the River Wye burbling away below, before heading back via Hafren forest road (and another snooze) and not touching the brakeless-brakes on the descent to Pennant (okay, just for the two sharp corners).

It was great to get back to Llanbrynmair, chat with Dee and Stu, Chew and Simon, and the other vacantly-staring riders littering the hall, compare notes ;)

I stopped a couple of times for a snooze in the car on the way home — I really should try to get to bed early the night before a big ride like this ...

Overall, we were lucky with the weather over the weekend. If it had been raining as well then it would've been much tougher, if only because wrapped up in a 'proof is hot-work. As a flatlander, the hills were my nemesis and I was often spinning away in granny gear (although not as granny as some) — I just had to give it what I had all the way around; I'm aching all over today. The longer stops I took (dinner, puncture) allowed me to switch all the lights off for a few minutes and look up — the view of the Milky Way was breathtaking!

I'm disappointed I didn't manage to complete the route — physically it was brutally hard, compared to road-riding around the rather flat Cambridge and East Anglia. However, I'm sure I would've finished if I had either brought lots of spare brake pads, or a different bike. As with all these things, I learnt many things on the journey, all of which will make my comeback all the sweeter ... by which I mean I'll give it another go and hopefully prevail next time :grin:
Last edited by Wilkyboy on Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Richard G
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Richard G »

Wilkyboy wrote:Face-planted when I tried to ride across some mud that turned into a wheel-swallowing slurry pit on the path next to Afon Bidno, flinging me instantly and unceremoniously upside-down on my face.
That was exactly where I crashed and broke my shifters / garmin / rib.

Possibly even the same ditch.
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ZeroDarkBivi
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ZeroDarkBivi »

dlovett wrote:Now if only I had bought and brought the adventure bike last year and the fat bike this year.....
Surely your fat bike is an adventure bike?

I've only ridden three of these events and reckon a normal XC hardtail MTB will always be the best compromise for the variety of terrain. The FS I ride is comfortable, but I don't need the extra weight, complexity and expense.
ctznsmith wrote:Personally I think the GPX was fine
It certainly wasn't problems with the GPX that led me to clock up 126km, just stupidity (how we laughed at the start about people going the wrong way round, then an hour later I'm breezing past the Star Inn...).
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Wilkyboy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Wilkyboy »

Richard G wrote: That was exactly where I crashed and broke my shifters / garmin / rib.

Possibly even the same ditch.
Yikes! :shock: Although part of me is happy to hear I'm in good company :wink:

GWS, Richard!
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Richard G
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Richard G »

One thing I completely forgot to say... the whole ride (apart from that really strange rocky bit towards the end) felt like a "greatest hits" of my WRT routes.

It was really bizarre cycling around and knowing what was coming next. Even knowing in that one place (the chute that you push up a few miles before Carnau) where the path you actually have to take is no-where near where the right of way appears to be.
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