WRT LHC Shorter ride

[Bearbonesnorm]

I believe that Glyndwr's Way cafe now have DIY brewing facilities / honesty box when the cafe is shut ... thought you might like to know

[ootini]

Stu, could you give a rough idea of what percentage of the route is paved vs unpaved? And also, how rough / sloppy the unpaved sections might be?
I understand this is dependent on the weather but just considering tyre choices. Thanks

[Bearbonesnorm]

It's probably 50/50. Nothing too technical and there shouldn't be too much gloop to contend with.

[Stevemorg]

I only got in from Cyprus at 1am this morning so have only just got around to looking at a route on a proper screen! Reg and I have put together a slightly different route from the one Stu kindly put together. I can send it out so could anyone coming on the LHC short confirm their emails please?

In summary it's:

SAT PM: Stu’s – windfarm – Carno (shop) – moors north of Newtown – Newtown (loads pubs/shops/etc for meals) – bivi on canal bank. (approx 25 miles) (meet Reg Sat night)

SUN: Newtown (town for breakfast if wanted) – Llanfair Caereinion (shops/pub for lunch) – Vyrnwy (shop for evening supplies & chippy & pub) – then South to bivi in Dyfnant Forest (approx 35 miles). Maybe get drinks and food from Vyrnwy to eat/drink in Forest to avoid crowded pubs.

MON: Get down to cafe at Llangadfan for breakfast – south over moors to Llanbrynmair (cafe for lunch) – Stu (approx 20 miles).

[Bearbonesnorm]

You tw@ts you've missed out all the really good bits. Did I not promise that Sunday would be the best ride of the year

[RIP]

We're just enabling the time-honoured WRT 'change plans at the last second' ploy to keep people on their toes. Feel very guilty about putting yours on hold Stu but didn't want LHC110 to feel jealous about the superior offering to the south . Chat Monday.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Don't feel guilty Reg ... this way you avoid riding out of Llandinam

[tobasco]

Can you send me the route please Steve, thanks
Sean

[PaulB2]

Since this looks like a mix of tarmac and bridleway, how rocky is the bridleway? I'm in a quandary (as usual) as to which bike to bring - gravel bike with 42mm tyres or xc full sus with 2.25 trail tyres. I had issues keeping up last year on the paved sections with the full sus so was contemplating bring the lighter faster bike. Yes, I know I won't die if I bring either bike but I wanted people's thoughts before I start planning.

[Stevemorg]

You'll have no problem keeping up with me even if you bring an 8inch travel DH bike!

[RIP]

. Same here. Paul could have a kid's trike and be faster than us.

Still, probably a good idea to err on the side of faster tyres for when we need to make a quick getaway after causing trouble in the pub

[ootini]

. Same here. Paul could have a kid's trike and be faster than us.

Still, probably a good idea to err on the side of faster tyres for when we need to make a quick getaway after causing trouble in the pub

With this in mind, would the route be do-able on Scwalbe Hurricanes?

[RIP]

I've only ever ridden the first and last four miles of the route and there's plenty of scope for random changes along the way (the only time the route will become a fixed one is the moment you ride into Stu's yard at the end ), but unless it's r*ined solidly for the previous couple of days don't see why not - they've got some edge lumps haven't they? I'll be on an almost life-expired X-King front and iffy Mountain King rear if that's any help

Obviously it'll be nowhere near as good as Stu's route but it does have certain advantages in the food/drink department which is top of the list for crocks like me and St.. well I'll just speak for meself . And you get to see a steam engine too so what's not to like!

[Shaun6055]

Can you send me the route please Steve

[ootini]

I've only ever ridden the first and last four miles of the route and there's plenty of scope for random changes along the way (the only time the route will become a fixed one is the moment you ride into Stu's yard at the end ), but unless it's r*ined solidly for the previous couple of days don't see why not - they've got some edge lumps haven't they? I'll be on an almost life-expired X-King front and iffy Mountain King rear if that's any help

Obviously it'll be nowhere near as good as Stu's route but it does have certain advantages in the food/drink department which is top of the list for crocks like me and St.. well I'll just speak for meself . And you get to see a steam engine too so what's not to like!

Cheers. Thanks for the info. I think to play it safe I'll stick with the father tyres and just up the pressure for the tarmac sections.

Is anyone meeting at the Star Inn in Dylife on the Friday night ?

[RIP]

Really getting keen now. The antici...........pation is almost as good as the reality. Might be a bit of a freewheelin' one this, have just packed two chew bars and a pint of water, and no idea about bivi spots although there's rather a decent sewage works at Newtown I believe. I expect Steve's far more organised . Only question is summer or winter sleep kit as there seems to be some banter about subzero temps, heh heh!

[PaulB2]

When I first looked at the weather, I started planning for my summer bag but the current forecast is for low single digit overnight temperatures - ie somewhere between 3 and 5C so back to the bigger bag. The wet weather seems to just be drifting later and later in the week so not sure how dry its going to be.

[ootini]

The MET are predicting a 40% chance of snow on Saturday morning.....

[PaulB2]

You made me double check and yep, the forecast for the Pennant area does seem a few degrees cooler than for Caerswys / Newtown which was where I'd looked before.

[tobasco]

Frosts widespread for Fri-Sun night, so should be some lovely mornings

[Shaun6055]

Hi I haven’t received a gpx file of the route, can someone let me know the ruff daily elevation. I don’t want to be out of my depth.
Is a small tent ok or should I only bring bivvy & tarp?

[RIP]

Don't want to step on Steve's toes here, but he's probably unpacking his travel bags as we speak, so could you PM me your email addr and I'll send it? Elevation etc...hmm, I'm not very good with numbers... something like Sat 25 miles 2600' up, Sun 35 miles 3900' up, Mon 23 miles 1700' up? Sat PM you could avoid the second big up/down if you fancied it but would miss a nice track. The whole route could change on the fly depending on people's thoughts, but Steve has final say on that . Am hoping I'll get to Newtown in time for a pint at 10.30pm Sat . Can't see a prob with a tent at all, personally I'll have a 9 x 7 tarp. Then again, if you don't anticipate r*in, just bivi bag is fine? Might just park my s'bag out on its own wi' nowt else.

PS> Oh, if you're wondering about that deep ford, so am I . But fords are ace. And there's always cake afterwards (*).

(*) Except when someone nabs the last slice of DFLDC just before I get there

[Shaun6055]

Hi thanks RIP. If I've done it correctly you should have received a PM from me with my email address?

[PaulB2]

As a tangent, it'd be nice if Alpkit did a R1g 5, ie a 9x7 tarp that's somewhere between the 3.5 and 7.

[RIP]

They're very obliging - ask 'em? Mr Pips could put a word in for you maybe .