WE 2023

[RIP]

Let's have the gory details then people...

It was certainly as moist as ever....

Just sorting me pics out....

Thank you very much Stu and Dee - the highlight of the, er, year so far .

[MuddyPete]

Thanks to Stu and Dee for organising this, my first official, BB event and thanks to Reg's Ragamuffins for disorganising my first official BB event .

It was a wonderful weekend of heavy rain and light whimsy .

[slarge]

Was good to see people at the start - lots of old faces and plenty of new ones. I had half a plan to ride with Zippy, but he decided his fitness wasn't up for a push north, so he went south towards Nant y Moch reservoir, whilst I headed north (pretty much ignoring all the Bank Job grid refs, but I think I might have collected one by accident up by Pandy).
My target was the Arenig Fawr bothy - it was described as a 2 person bothy (or a squeeze for 3), so I really hoped the weather put any walkers or other riders off...

I headed up the lane towards Pandy, then turned north east up through some forest tracks onto Panylau Gwynion - really well surfaced tracks with great views (the forest has been felled). Quite different to when I last rode this quite a few years ago). I was heading to Dolwen and Llangadfan through the lanes - which were very quiet and pleasant (a tailwind helped). Around lunchtime I hit Llanwddyn where there is a small store serving hot food - last time here was on the TINAT400 a few years ago where it was an absolute godsend. The owner remembered that weekend well as they stayed awake from Sat early morning to Sunday morning cooking food for riders. A sausage and egg bap later and I was heading up to Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog - the small village at the start of the Wayfarer track. I had only ever ridden the Wayfarer from west to east, so was aiming to reverse that today. A fairly steady climb up with the rocky track getting wetter and wetter - I vaguely remembered it being quite wet last time - this time it was a river, and pretty much impossible to avoid getting wet feet for several miles. It was getting cold now as well - a cold wind and 400m altitude meant that hands and feet were complaining. A few photos at the Wayfarer memorial, and then a slow descent to Llandrillo with numb fingers that couldn't feel the brake levers. Eventually I reached Llandrillo as the light faded, and the rain set in for the night and the wind started building.
I contemplated a B&B in Llandrillo, and there was a toilet block, but it was too early so I pedaled on to Bala - where Pontypridd rugby club were having a weekend away. It seemed like all the takeaways were full of drunk rugby players. I topped up with water and pushed on up the lanes towards Arenig. The track to the bothy was wet but grassy, with good visibility, and all I could see were dim lights in the distance which I though meant the bothy was occupied. On reaching it I realised the lights were for houses further away, and I had the place to myself. It was tiny, with a wet floor and damp fireplace, but I could make it home for the night. Got the stove on and made a couple of pasta meals, drank a hipflask, ate chocolate and settled in for the night. Through the night the rain and hail kept waking me as it lashed against the window (as well as condensation dripping on my head). But it was good to be inside - I really would not have wanted to be in my tiny tent tonight.

In the morning it wasn't raining, but there was plenty of hail/snow in little patched, and the wind had died down a little. I packed up and headed out - today was road all the way back (I didn't fancy off road with the water levels as they were). Along the main (but deserted) A road to Trawfynnyd, then turn left past Coed y Brenin to Dolgellau. I was really wet now as the rain had started and it was a fairly stiff head/side wind. Cafe stop in Dolgellau for late breakfast and then roads back via Dinas Mawddy, Mallwyd and Pandy to Llanbrynmair.
Lots of road, but with the flooding and rain I wasn't in the mood for slogging through forests and bogs. For 10 seconds I considered some of the BB200 2014 route, but after having a stern word with myself I aimed for food in Dolgellau instead. I'd probably still be out there if I took that option.

Was great to catch up with people at the end as well - lots of cold wet faces appearing at the school as we sat inside warming up. As always, there isn't time to catch up with everyone, but was great to reminisce and chat.
Thanks Stu and Dee for the event and hospitality - much appreciated!!

[whitestone]

Cath and I had a plan to head south to Lluest Cwmbach bothy on the grounds that the closer bothies would be busy and we'd be more likely to get in!

After prevaricating long enough for the rain to subside we headed south on roads up to Staylittle and then into Hafren forest. Just as we got into the forest the sunshine disappeared and the first heavy shower hit. At the top of the road descent down to the ford we had a choice, continue on the road following the Severn down to Llanidloes or continue on our planned route. "A bit of a shame just to blast down the road" so turn left we did.

And so the (type 3) fun began...

The forestry track was OK, if a little soft going to begin with. Then we turned onto the bridleway at this point http://streetmap.co.uk/map?X=286883&Y=287276&A=Y&Z=120. Pictures on geograph.org showed a wide firebreak through the woods, what we got was knee deep moss tussocks, hidden pools of water and wind blown trees. Lots of wind blown trees. An hour later after pushing the bikes through gorse, over fallen trees, through young conifers we reached a track near the edge of the woods. Somewhat amazingly there was a post with a BW sign pointing the way we had come! The fun didn't stop there as the track ended at the boundary fence so we lifted our bikes over and rode the line of the BW. Except when we'd gone about 400m we got to the corner of the forest and there was a gate (on the other side of the fence of course) but there was no way you'd have even considered walking through the brash and vegetation to get there. Back over the fence to follow the true line of the BW through the fields - having to lift the bikes over one well tied gate and another fence to do so - we eventually reached the road.

At least this was mostly downhill into Llanidloes. The place seemed shut - a bit odd for a wet Saturday in January. Anyway The Traveller's Rest café was open so we had something to eat there, raided the Spar for more food for the night and grabbed a bag of firewood for the bothy fire. If you saw me heading out from Llanbrynmair with an empty rucksack, that's why

We were now heading into the very strong wind and it was an up and over job on the back road to Llangurig. Dropping down past the pub I noticed a lot of bikes parked outside. Sure enough half the bar was filled with Boners. By the time we got out it was dark. Decision time: we'd two big hills to get over and then a lot of road to get to Cwmbach so we decided to try and get into Nant Rhys and just hope there was room.

Rather than take the road we cut through the forest, the only problem was that I've only done this in daylight and in the opposite direction so we were sort of riding blind. Eventually after an hour or so we made it to the bothy. Enough room. Anyway, paid our admission fee - the firewood - and after eating sat round the stove chewing the fat.

Come the morning we decided to reverse our route back to Llanidloes and get a second breakfast there. As we were descending the fireroad the heavens opened and we then had a really nasty hour or so of riding through sleet and heavy rain. At Llangurig we had a choice of the up and over road or the flat main road. Cath wasn't feeling too good so we went via the main road, a bit wet but not too busy.

In Llanidloes once again the only café open was The Traveller's Rest so in we went. The lass serving kindly gave us a table next to a radiator so we could warm up and dry out a bit! The place was actually quite busy including a neighbour of Dee and Stu's (in this part of the world that means they live in the same valley). It was still raining when we set off, I'd added an extra layer to keep warm.

Fortunately the rain stopped not long after we set off. Our route back didn't take the main road to Staylittle but took the lanes to the east through Y Fran to keep out of the wind. Let's just say it was a little hillier than expected! "But there was only one chevron on the map love!"

We got back to the community centre just as another sleet shower hit. Time for tea, toast, cake and a natter. Even the gluten free, vegan Victoria Sponge wasn't not nice

Many thanks to Dee and Stu for putting this on. Obviously a labour of love and trusting that enough nutters will head to mid Wales in mid-winter to make it worthwhile.

[redefined_cycles]

Enjoyed them 2 write-ups Steven and Bob/Cath (and Reg for that one liner of it 'being moist ').

So sad I had to miss the type 3 fun there Bob (not).

Looking forward to the other stories coming in...

[RIP]

The usual Friday night shenanigans at the Wynnstay were very pleasant, with all the usual suspicious characters, including a surprise guest appearance by Mbnut/Nige on his way from Edinburgh to Kent, and a late (well, very early for him ) appearance from Wotsits/Jase who, after an attempted room-gatecrash, eventually decided that a night in a cold van was preferable to a night with a hot Reg after all. There was an entertaining game of Nude Connect 4 at one point (I think I remember that rightly), and a confusing situation of my order of two bottles of Fursty Ferret with a glass which came with, er, one glass. It all got a bit hazy after that.

MuddyPete was somewhat baffled to see that my bedroom lampshade was covered with bird poo. I was less baffled because I’d seen the condition of the window and frame…



Next morning Barney, MuddyPete and meself toddled over to the school to talk rubbish, drink tea, eat toast, meet Froggy, and to look at the weather which was being playful.

We’d decided to head north towards Dinas Mawddwy, but everyone else seemed to be going south so at least that meant we’d have the pick of the luxury bivvy spots. Off we went down the main road, turning right straight onto the horrendous hill up to the plateau east of the Dyfi river. I’d spotted a lovely bridleway on the map which led north and then down to the river – no problem, we’d soon be sitting in Dinas Mawddwy café supping delicious beverages and munching choicest morsels. Amazingly, considering the forecast, the morning was actually quite dry and pleasant (of course I’m desperately sorry to hear about the weather only a few miles away being “enjoyed” by other contestants! ).

Reality…. crossing the bog and stream to the gate that hadn’t been used for decades…



MuddyPete claimed he didn’t give a fig about the route issues, despite literally giving a fig to Frog…



Onwards into the forest of doom, where Frog lost his glasses amongst all the brown undergrowth… colour of glasses: brown…. luckily a spare pair was available…



The relief at exiting the forest was shortlived as we battled across a torrent caused by the days of rain……



Followed by the obligatory ridiculous tussockfest…



Still, at least we had the café to look forward to eh? Oh, new owners and they’ve decided not to open on, er, the busiest day of the week. Sigh. Pub also closed. At least we had the opportunity to check out a couple of bivvy spots in the playground and graveyard, both of which would do at a pinch. We’d spotted a little garden centre on the way into the village, so we back tracked and lo and behold there was a café there! Sadly no food since they were closing the next day, but at least we enjoyed some coffee and a chat. Barney bought a lump of cheese - as you do - and we enjoyed a nibble of that with our coffees.



They also reminded us that the woollen mill down the road was open and served lunches, which amazingly they did albeit being completely empty apart from us four smelly bikepackers.

We now had a few hours until pub opening time so I convinced the lads to explore a few of the valleys up and around Dinas Mawddwy, so it was back north again to nose around Cwm Cywarch and its spectacular cliffs and waterfalls. On the way back the heavens opened and we got soaked in a nice soothing downpour. Returning past the playground, graveyard, garden centre (where we tried to blag the night in their polytunnel which was sadly declined) and mill yet again, we arrived at the Brigands Inn at Mallwyd well before beer time so we partook of afternoon tea instead. Well, we’re civilised like that, us bikepackers. Various pub games were enjoyed including a set of Christmas cracker-style “jokes” in a box…. and a convoluted variation on whist of Reg’s cunning devising….





A spot of bikepacking food? Yes, why not eh. We reminded ourselves that we’d sadly had to forego the Pleasures Of The Potnoodle currently being enjoyed by the bothy crowd…. Ah well, it’s a tough life…



By this time I’d started to indulge in the gentle and noble art (some would say it is a game, but it's far more lofty than that) of Blag-a-Bivvy with the landlord, who would have justifiably been a little lukewarm with our smelly presence amidst all the upmarket types enjoying their gourmet meals. Ease in gently with a bit of chat about the local gossip… and yes we’re just wandering about on bikes seeing what happens… and yes the weather is awful…. what a cracking boozer you have here… oh yes our kids love cycling and going camping.. etc…. we’re getting on like a house on fire by now, and I’m probing the chinks in his armour…. and finally “so where are you staying tonight then?”… yee-e-e-s, I thank you…. well, it’s like this….. A short while later the shelters are up, just in time for the hailstorm and another beer. By this time we’d started to attract the attention of the other punters looking for something to talk about and presumably look down their noses at, but I had the very pleasant surprise of a particularly elegant lady “feeling that I need to offer the floor of my room to you” to which I could only respond that I would find her kind offer very hard to refuse… but unfortunately my mates are insisting that I spend the night with them in a soaking wet car park in a howling gale. Maybe next time perhaps?
Anyway the food and staff were excellent, highly recommended, good value, and one of the few pit stops left in the area in January.

I remember several heavy downpours during the night but it’s surprising how resilient, and indeed cosy (honestly!), a humble 10’ x 8’ tarp can be, and I slept pretty soundly. Obviously we all had our porridge supplies and so on, but a parting shot to the landlord was worth a try the previous night… I don’t suppose we could possibly pop in for breakfast at all? Just a bit of toast and tea would be fine, honestly. We could if we were quick before The Normals? Lovely, thank you!







Yes it’s a hard life this bikepacking lark…. Eventually we had to drag our bloated carcases away and head out into the rain, Barney to sensibly take the quick way back, and the rest of us following the back lane down to Cemmaes Road and our single grid reference (the Dyfi bridge) which we’d carelessly avoided avoiding due to some miscalculation. The rain was still making its presence felt and even panda was taking shelter….



From there it was up the usual bridleway running next to the railway line up to Commins Coch, and the never ending climb up to the plateau above Llanbrynmair. Amazingly the guys never rumbled my game of “yes the top is just round this next corner”… I think I managed a total of five pronouncements during the climb which is a personal record.

Still, there are some cracking views from the top, including west to the coast, and east along the dodgy ledge towards Llanbrynmair….





The final descent was as sketchy as ever, slithering all over the wet grass and ploughing through rivers of cow slurry….



Unbelievably we arrived back after Peter S and Kev Raggedstone which is also some sort of record, but at least there was still time for more rubbish to be spoken with all the other BB illuminati sporting their various battle wounds and kit disasters.

Thanks to Lu, Pete and Barney for putting up with my many foibles and dodgy route “planning”, and obviously to Stu and Dee for their inimitable organisation as ever!

[sean_iow]

....a confusing situation of my order of two bottles of Fursty Ferret with a glass which came with, er, one glass.

I was once in my local when my mate ordered a pint of bitter and a lager top, they poured 9/10s of the bitter, topped it up with lager and handed it to him

Sounds like everyone had a proper winter trip, plenty of 'weather' all round.

[summittoppler]

Many thanks to everyone for making this a great social

Arrived at around 7:30pm on Friday for the pre event 'warm up' by consuming the wrong type of calories...which incidentally had me fall asleep in the car with the lights on through the night! D'oh!
20230106_215941 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

The evening was good (from what I remember!) and the Connect 4 championships kicked off the weekend perfectly.
20230106_215802 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

I was one of the 10 from JC's group. A range of abilities and bikes had us having a good craic despite the tough climbs. I'll be quite honest and say I didn't really know where we went but it wasn't too far from Staylittle.
6 of the 10 decided that we should cut our intended route short due to aching limbs. Our intended destination also made this decision an easy one.
Some pics...

20230107_110301 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_110124-01 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_123320-01 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_115008-01 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_121207-01 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_140641-01 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230108_102851 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_165702 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_165154 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_181443 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_172505 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_213854 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20230107_183620-03 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

[MuddyPete]

The relief at exiting the forest was shortlived as we battled across a torrent caused by the days of rain……

That's me at the top in red thinking "Yep, this is rideable"...just before spotting the big drop into the steep torrent of sharp rocks... .

[frogatthefarriers]

Reg has given a comprehensive account of our trip, so there's not much more I can add except a few photos, so here's my contribution...



I think it was at this point that Pete suggested that this could be a promotion for the RSF.

Aaaw, the wonder of a child asleep...


At our one grid-ref...


And finally...



This will count as my January BaM. I'll put the pic in the Bam thread.

[RIP]

Hmm that first pic ploughing through the bog shows up my sartorial elegance a little too closely for my liking . Washing up gloves, sandals, inside out fleece leggings with no shorts or knickers etc. Then again I suppose that's exactly what all the best-dressed bikepackers are wearing these days. A trendsetter is our Reg .

[frogatthefarriers]

Hmm that first pic ploughing through the bog shows up my sartorial elegance a little too closely for my liking . Washing up gloves, sandals, inside out fleece leggings with no shorts or knickers etc. Then again I suppose that's exactly what all the best-dressed bikepackers are wearing these days. A trendsetter is our Reg .

You are a fashion guru Reg, and no mistake..

[sean_iow]

Is there a technical reasons the fleece leggings are inside out? Or did the fleece just tickle you and put you off

[RIP]

I think I had the vague idea (most of my ideas are vague) that the seam would be better on the outside than chafing my extremely delicate nether regions. They were a recent investment for winter. Already, but only recently, a firm disciple of the Wright School Of Going Commando, I soon realised that shorts are also a complete waste of time. I never stash things in shorts pockets so it's pointless having the associated pocket-carrying garment. Raining? Stick the Berghaus Paclites over the top. The added benefit of just wearing the leggings is that all and sundry can then take great delight and laugh at my expense at my Max Wall impression.

(Max Wall? I know, uncanny isn't it -



)

At the risk of labouring (oh go on then) my love of the Temres gloves; once again they were ace. Lot of rain, lot of wind, down to 2 or 3 degrees at some points, but at all times my hands were bone dry and warm. I'll admit to the addition of some thin Berghaus fleece inners this time but that's all. Tuck 'em under the Marmot Essence sleeves to keep water out. That Essence jacket is also still superb. Only 200g or so, very thin, but excellent at moisture management along with a bamboo base, bamboo mid, and extra fleece(s) as transport layers. Again, inner layers all dry at all times. 'Effort management' and a bit of venting prevents sweating and those problems. Effort management is easy when that - and fun - is all you care about and have no interest in distances, speeds, heartrates, time of day, or even sometimes where you are.

Same for sandals - ace, much lighter than boots, easy to get on/off at night, and dry/warm with waterproof socks.

Pretty much standardised kit now, just extra mid layers for winter:

Half frame bag: workshop about 300g, bathroom 80g, kitchen incl 2 breakfasts 200g, 1st aid 100g, tube 100g, extra backpack 80g, powerpack and charger 200g.

Stemcell: tyre pump, filter, 175ml milk container, sweeties and chewbars.

Stemcell: 500ml water

Fleece pocket: papers and cards

Jersey back pockets: few snacks and lamp battery

Jacket pocket: phone, ??g

10L Seatpack: sleeping bag, down jacket, down hat, night socks and pants. Approx 1100g in winter, 700g summer.

10L bar bag: mat, pillow, pump, tyvek, tarp, lines, pegs, pole(s). Approx 1250g, 900g summer.

[NeilA]

Winter Event and BAM for Jan 23

David and I attended the event, clutching a carefully planned on/off road route, primarily to hit a bothy.
Neither of us was particularly match fit but very excited to enter this prestigious occasion for the first time, and it was David’s first Bear Bones gathering.
Dee introduced me to Kev (Raggedstone), a BaM chap from my neck of the woods, he from East of the Malverns, me from North, with talk of a future get together for a wild camp.
Stu handed me a BaM patch, for some coins. OMG I got one, in my world as much for fighting the procrastination as for the wild camping!

Following too much faffing around setting up bike and luggage (wish I had a van again!!) David and I set off south, then right at Dolgadfan.
Into a wonderful hilly world to Tal-y-Wern, Melinbyrhedin, eventually to a large forest, spilling out on the plain leading to the foothills of Pumlumon.
Crossed Afon Hengwm at the footbridge, brief look at a remarkable refuge, the copse bounded by a stone walled enclosure, and then came the mighty Nant y Llyn. Yes it presented itself as too deep and fast for us mortal bikers.

So, following a recce which established no better crossings, we each hatched a plausible plan:

Neil removed shoes, socks, lifted leggings, and threw said shoe over the watercourse (it worked once over a stream in summer). With too much effort applied, catching my fingers on exit, my first shoe went vertical, thence nose diving to sit like a boat on the fast flowing water. Sharp scream emitted, standing in disbelief as my shoe floated like the very unsinkable Titanic. Then it disappeared. Oh how do I explain this to the many gurus on the forum! But lo it reappeared picking up pace. With little disregard for slippery stones I was in, doing my Whim Hoff impression, standing in wait, hoping I could wrestle my sodden shoe. I did, thus saving some sort of survival situation, plus oodles of unknown kudos from the aforementioned learned gurus!! Could this event gain me an early award! I did actually throw my other shoe, using total concentration for success. Ultimately both attempts bordered on a court martial offence. My left shoe was dry and the right totally sodden.

David, reluctant to follow my lead, dug several black plastic bags from the depths of his luggage. Carefully placing his boot in each bag, holding both with one hand he crossed, pushing his bike. Halfway across the current overcame his defence. The outcome wet boots too!

It was raining, we needed to get on. Following the track south, full of puddles and flowing water, ch lasting seemingly forever. Eventually the track was more cycleable, but again we hit a barrier, this time a herd of road dwelling cows. Neither of us is that good in their company so some tense moments ensued before they all decided to eat grass, as we weren’t particularly amusing anymore. We were now soaked and dark fell from the sky.
Its downhill all the way to Ponterwyd.

Then to a our planned hostelry, the George Borrows Hotel .
We sat by a roaring fire drinking and eating chips. And warming up. Muchly needed.
Conversation turned to the bothy. Would it be packed, should we use the pub camping field instead?

Correct decision made, we stopped at the nearby garage for sugary stuff and took the mainly uphill 3 miles with ease. Komoot navigated us easily to Nant Syddion which appeared lifeless, nevertheless a wonderful sight even in the pitch black. Our intended destination welcomed us with rooms galore. Yet no inhabitants! A veritable five star establishment, dry and spacious. Much food and drink, then a reasonable night’s sleep, and a late rising. We enjoyed the experience.
Breakfast took up the morn drinking tea and coffee with a meagre portion of food. We discussed a route, since David’s bike suffered mysterious handling problems yesterday (loss of pressure from his tubeless tyres), and his knee was giving him gip.

Our choices: going back up top and on to Dylife, create a new route skirting round west wards or take the road via Llangurig and Llanidloes. The path of least resistance won.
We tidied indoors, signed in the Bothy book, topped up with water from the nearby stream and paid homage to the privy!

Back to the garage in Ponterwyd. David topped up his tyre pressures.
Then heading eastwards.
Blue Bell Inn, Llangurig tempted us in with their ‘coffee and cake £4’ sign. Very good too, a lovely hostelry for WRT. Been there on one of my previous WRT events.
We took the scenic lane route to Llandiloes. Now there may well be easier routes back from there as I since have discovered, but we were locked on the B4518 route home and it’s never ending hill!!

Our pace was slow, David’s bike handling worsened. He considered the mystery fault was the carbon front fork and quite clearly dangerous. We stuck close, staying at a safe but very slow pace. Our tired lighting was also struggling as dark hit us for a second day. Thankfully the downhill to Pennant signalled easy cycling hereon in.

We arrived back about 1630 and as expected were the last crew. Some 60 miles and 6000' ascent.
Dee welcomed us with toast and a lovely cake.

David and I were well pleased with a great weekend and must say thank you to Stuart and Dee for making this a must go to event happen. David is now keen and looks forward to WRT, and even the BB200.
Pros and cons to come, when I get time!

[Boab]

EscapeGoat makes bikepacking.com feed...

https://bikepacking.com/news/bear-bones ... 023-recap/