WWB - another snowy year.
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WWB - another snowy year.
Hardcore, resilient or possibly just stupid ... whatever, six folk sharing that common attrubite found themselves in a fairly non-descript carpark somewhere in steepest Wales for the 2017 Welsh Winter Bivvy.
The chosen route was mainly off-road, just shy of 50k and with 1000m of ascent. Generally, it would have being straightforward ... this weekend, not so much.
Snow and ice was the order of the day and made for some interesting riding right from the off.
The snow was still deep along many of the tracks which reduced average speed to just above f*ck all. However, it was dry and everyone seemed content with the way they'd chosen to spend the weekend.
Some time mid-afternoon we encountered the first of many sub standard-fests. Here's Mike and Steve demonstrating two different ways to deal with such terrain ... badly.
Riding on top of the bankings where possible did help but it was usually short lived.
We'd thought that if we rode slowly and took lots of 'gate breaks' then we should make the Hundred House Inn for 5ish. Surprisingly, we were only an hour out and plonked ourselves in the snug around 6.00. To maintain standards, we draped bits of clothing around the room and set about ordering some food ... proper food. A couple of hours later, we ventured back outside to discover a nice coating of ice on all and any available surface. A steep, long road climb came straight after which due to the ice took a little longer than you might have expected. Eventually, tarmac gave way to track which turned into deep snow very quickly.
The snow filled the track completely but it was impossible to walk along side the track due to the heather and general vegetation. An interesting two hours followed, where you kind of walked 18" above the the surface of the track on the frozen snow ... or you did until you fell through it. We'd spotted a small plantation on the map at around 580m and thought although high up, it might provide some additional shelter for the night. Sadly, upon arrival we discovered it was a recently re-planted forest, so we post-holed our way across the mountains and into the night.
Good fortune and good lights eventually lead us to a lovely stand of Scots Pine. The ground was flat, as dry as you could hope for and it offered some protection from the elements ... of which there were many. No time was wasted upon our arrival, everyone busied themselves erecting their chosen shelter in the hope of crawling inside before the heat generated by the last three hours snowy march was lost forever.
The night was largely uneventful except for the midnight visit from a local farmer driving the worlds biggest tractor. He'd seen our lights crossing the hills earlier and come to investigate the strange happenings. He rambled on a bit about the land belonging to landed gentry and how if we wanted to ride a bridleway at night, we might consider informing them beforehand. From the snug confines of my bivvy bag, I did wonder whether we might need to move on but once he realised he was talking to 'Mike from Bromsgrove' he seemed happier and departed on the worlds biggest tractor back acroos the hills from whence he'd come.
Morning dawned evetually with low cloud and a biting wind. Luckily, our nocturnal search for accommodation meant we'd covered more ground than we'd planned so our return leg was a fairly short one. It's a good job because nearly every track was a churned up sub standard-fest ... as you can see.
The rain held off until we were ten minutes from the forementioned carpark but really by that point, any additional water from above went largely unnoticed.
We probably pushed 20km, got fairly wet, certainly got covered in crap but had a great time ... thanks fellas
The chosen route was mainly off-road, just shy of 50k and with 1000m of ascent. Generally, it would have being straightforward ... this weekend, not so much.
Snow and ice was the order of the day and made for some interesting riding right from the off.
The snow was still deep along many of the tracks which reduced average speed to just above f*ck all. However, it was dry and everyone seemed content with the way they'd chosen to spend the weekend.
Some time mid-afternoon we encountered the first of many sub standard-fests. Here's Mike and Steve demonstrating two different ways to deal with such terrain ... badly.
Riding on top of the bankings where possible did help but it was usually short lived.
We'd thought that if we rode slowly and took lots of 'gate breaks' then we should make the Hundred House Inn for 5ish. Surprisingly, we were only an hour out and plonked ourselves in the snug around 6.00. To maintain standards, we draped bits of clothing around the room and set about ordering some food ... proper food. A couple of hours later, we ventured back outside to discover a nice coating of ice on all and any available surface. A steep, long road climb came straight after which due to the ice took a little longer than you might have expected. Eventually, tarmac gave way to track which turned into deep snow very quickly.
The snow filled the track completely but it was impossible to walk along side the track due to the heather and general vegetation. An interesting two hours followed, where you kind of walked 18" above the the surface of the track on the frozen snow ... or you did until you fell through it. We'd spotted a small plantation on the map at around 580m and thought although high up, it might provide some additional shelter for the night. Sadly, upon arrival we discovered it was a recently re-planted forest, so we post-holed our way across the mountains and into the night.
Good fortune and good lights eventually lead us to a lovely stand of Scots Pine. The ground was flat, as dry as you could hope for and it offered some protection from the elements ... of which there were many. No time was wasted upon our arrival, everyone busied themselves erecting their chosen shelter in the hope of crawling inside before the heat generated by the last three hours snowy march was lost forever.
The night was largely uneventful except for the midnight visit from a local farmer driving the worlds biggest tractor. He'd seen our lights crossing the hills earlier and come to investigate the strange happenings. He rambled on a bit about the land belonging to landed gentry and how if we wanted to ride a bridleway at night, we might consider informing them beforehand. From the snug confines of my bivvy bag, I did wonder whether we might need to move on but once he realised he was talking to 'Mike from Bromsgrove' he seemed happier and departed on the worlds biggest tractor back acroos the hills from whence he'd come.
Morning dawned evetually with low cloud and a biting wind. Luckily, our nocturnal search for accommodation meant we'd covered more ground than we'd planned so our return leg was a fairly short one. It's a good job because nearly every track was a churned up sub standard-fest ... as you can see.
The rain held off until we were ten minutes from the forementioned carpark but really by that point, any additional water from above went largely unnoticed.
We probably pushed 20km, got fairly wet, certainly got covered in crap but had a great time ... thanks fellas
May the bridges you burn light your way
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
Brilliant time was has by me. Even if i had to freeze my ass off at midnight to secure our spot for the night. I will wet myself if when i go back to work the lads tell me a farmer had called them or even funnier if the rozzas had to verify my story
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
brill w/end think out of all the bikes the ss won it for me, only loosing traction with power input, think he's a machine well rode steve cheers all
it's not that I can and others can't, it's that I will and others won't.
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
fantastic weekend thanks everyone, some unexpected snow high up and move walking than most years ,
But all that make it memorable .
I will post some pics later
But all that make it memorable .
I will post some pics later
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
PC160094 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160103 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160118 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160130 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160133 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160135 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160139 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160151 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160164 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160165 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC170184 by mjc_226, on Flickr
So glad we finished early, its taken me awhile to clean up after this one
PC160103 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160118 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160130 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160133 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160135 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160139 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160151 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160164 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC160165 by mjc_226, on Flickr
PC170184 by mjc_226, on Flickr
So glad we finished early, its taken me awhile to clean up after this one
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
Gutted I missed it looked fun as always instead i had the screaming kids all weekend
Trying to ride bikes.
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
Buggeration...
That looks a proper snowy sh1tfest!!
Cool....
Si
That looks a proper snowy sh1tfest!!
Cool....
Si
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
Good stuff.
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Re: WWB - another snowy year.
Like the 9th photo best. What's someone just done Stu?
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
Twas a brilliant weekend, weather held up and just enough of the "how the f*ck will this end up" to make it fun. Thanks for the company and laughs, and thanks to Mike to sweet talking the farmer, Burty for the whisky, Scott for showing his non native roots ordering chocolate fudge cake with custard, Mart for demonstrating the advantages of fat bikes in the snow, and Stu for not moaning about having cold feet, plus organising it all. Cracking route, and one to return to in the dry weather.
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
just a few pics from the weekend , and as you will see no one is actually riding a bike , loads of pushing but a cracking weekend all the same
the question is how did we all get in the to 10 on strava for some of the hills when we walked them
IMG_0386 by paul burty, on Flickr
IMG_0411 by paul burty, on Flickr
IMG_0400 by paul burty, on Flickr
IMG_0382 by paul burty, on Flickr
the question is how did we all get in the to 10 on strava for some of the hills when we walked them
IMG_0386 by paul burty, on Flickr
IMG_0411 by paul burty, on Flickr
IMG_0400 by paul burty, on Flickr
IMG_0382 by paul burty, on Flickr
Re: WWB - another snowy year.
I noticed the strava thing burty, maybe it's worse in the summer or there is only a few people ride it,
it's not that I can and others can't, it's that I will and others won't.