Workout done, bags packed, clothes prepped, bike positioned ready to be wheeled out, car fuelled, cashpoint visited...

...pretty much guaranteed to have forgotten something important.

See y'all on the morrow.

Rang the Met Office to see if they could do something about this rain they've got planned for the Chilterns. They said that the Welsh contingent had actually asked for some because that's what they're used to. So the deal we came to was the MO will keep the rain over Radnor today or at least this morning, which means it now shouldn't arrive at Wendover until midday Sunday just when we're, er, arriving back at Tring station. So it's sunglasses and knotted hankies back on again. I won't have a word said against the MO.

What a great 24 hours.

Many thanks to Sam for his hospitality; Tim for organising everything and booking a quintessentially-Chilterns pub; Reg for planning the route; everyone for being great company and (of course) Stuart for coming up with the idea in the first place.
Pete

P.S. Santa is washed, dried, fully operational and back on display on the window sill. What a guy.

Thanks All for a great introduction to your world of bikepacking (even though my effort didn't really count as I slept in a 1.5 tonne set up) However it has really fired up some long lost enthusiasm for off road adventuring. I know I'll be bivi-ing under hedges before long.

Without wishing to blow smoke up anyones arse - you are all a sound bunch of guys and great company - also each and everyone of you would be welcome to crash at the field anytime you like.

See you again soon hopefully.

Sam.

Cheers all for the very best of English hospitality for this Welsh boy!

I must admit, the surface isn't to my mountain biking tastes, but it was a great little trip and good to meet many of you for the first time (and see some old riding pals again). I'd definitely consider coming back... when it's warm.

(Maybe even take Sam up on his offer! Next time I'll bring the beers though )

Thanks all for a great weekend, conditions would have made stu proud.
Finally woke up much later than planned and managed to true and retension my rear wheel in the round house.
Currently removing about two kilograms of the chilterns finest gloop from all the kit.

No rain for us yesterday, we even has sunshine!

Thanks all for a great weekend and for putting up with my laggardly performance on the bike. Next year you will be met by a thinner, fitter me on a bike that doesn't want to chuck me off every 30 seconds. That's the plan anyway.

I'm still uber gobsmacked by Dr Nick and Picker's journey to the pub via the length of the Ridgeway.

Hats off to Steve for his two-mile quick mark to and from the pub. And very pleased you got that wheel rolling again. Try not to give in to the temptation to see how far you can cram it up the mechanic who built it.

Till the next time.

Thanks all, it was a cracking trip. Good company, nice riding and good fun. Very muddy though, I hosed my bike, kit and clothes when I got home, it was grim. Some of the clag up in the chilterns is pretty special

I seem to have picked up a cough/cold though, I think it might have been the waiting around at a couple of points, got cold, particularly when we were in Sam's field before we left for the pub, I was shivering. Should have put 2 layers on rather than 1. Hoping to shake it before we go to Lapland

Sam, thanks for your hospitality. Fantastic once again and the improvements are ace. Reg (and Rich), thanks for the guiding. Tim, thanks for organising

We should definitely do one in the summer when it's dry, although we said that last year

What on earth is the mud made of there? My entire drivetrain is bright orange from rust (I assume), including a good chunk of the cassette!

benp1 wrote:
We should definitely do one in the summer when it's dry, although we said that last year

I really enjoyed the ride, especially the ‘ice gully of doom’ perhaps we could organise one near the summer solstice? A run down the ridgeway to Avebury then to honeystreet for nosh at the Barge inn?

A couple of pics to sum up a spot on ice, sleet, mud fest fun trip

Even though Dr Nick and I had our own agenda (101 miles along the Ridgeway), the Saturday night socialising was great - huge thanks to Tim and Sam for the time and effort put in.
We'd thank Reg as well for sorting out some excellent routes, but we didn't use them, so we won't

Indeed. Seconding what Pickers just said

Good effort on the ridgeway, must have been ‘fun’ this time of year

Cheers Steve. Overall not too bad, alot of the ground was frozen, a fair bit not though. Still had to shake ice off the tarp after three nights on the ground, some stunning mornings though.

Here's the only photo I have that's worth sharing ... Sam is presented with his birthday cake. Oh, happy memories

Haha, that cake was brighter than my lights...getting old.

Great photo. :)

One for connoisseurs such as Rich3, bunged here to keep me away from the polite-society of the Postie's-Been thread - Hail Sweary has finally turned up! Only had it for ten seconds and I'm already writhing on the floor. A lovely antidote to pleasant xmas table chit-chat. Might slip the odd nugget (and that's probably in there somewhere itself!) into the New Year's Eve conversational maelstrom and see if anyone notices ('did Reg just say what I thought he said'). Not for nothing did Terry Jones consider it to be comparable to Chaucer and Shakespeare as a crucible of the English language! Horse's handbrake indeed.

PS. Does anyone know where my garden shed key is please?

RIP wrote:PS. Does anyone know where my garden shed key is please?

Dunno, but it'll be in the last place you look

Or you could try a prayer to St. Anthony.

RIP wrote:P.S. Does anyone know where my garden shed key is please?

Lodged in your tea-towel holder?

Ace, thanks chaps - you were both right! 'Ooyah'. Can extract my bike now.