Winter Event 2024: Power Seekers - Watt did you do?

[MuddyPete]

Static in a field?
A full charge?
Or perhaps a low drift velocity due to unexpected resistance?
Did your weekend live up to it's potential?

Feel free to tell us about it here...

[psling]

There are two ways to say 'live' but after the first three sentences there can only be one really; the trouble is the fourth sentence then doesn't read right

[RIP]

Right then, bike cleaned, body cleaned, kit cleaned.......

I was absolutely clear that this time I’d only have a pint at the Wynnstay and be in bed by 10pm. Had a very pleasant evening as usual chatting to all the family, including Verena, Peter, Allen, Eugene, JC, Nige, Josh and the Porthcawl Posse, etc.

Was in bed by 12.30am after four pints. Sigh.

In the morning it was nice to see all the usual crowd at the school but we didn’t hang around and set off up the 1300’ climb to Glaslyn via….

… the Twymyn viewpoint… “they went thataway”…



… and Penycrocbren.. “or maybe it was thataway”….



… and everyone’s favourite bridge at Dyfngwm



Then the usual route round past Bugeilyn across the desolate wastes then down into Mynydd Bychan. The track back out up to Foel Fras has had all the trees cleared so the horrifying climb is revealed in all its nightmare splendour







However the reward at the top is well worth it… looking north back down towards Machynlleth:



…and Pumlumon in the other direction. Savour the silence….



Bumped into Allen and his band of merry bikepackers at Llyn Penrhaeadr who were taking a somewhat circuitous route to their luxury bivvy spot



The idea was then to head down into Artists Valley to visit one of our two GRs. Lots of discussion ensued weighing up the merits of fireroad versus a Restricted Byway. The RB won the day and turned out to be a fun technical downhill with lots of water runoff cracks and chasms to keep us interested. On the way to the RB we passed Llyn Conach, a remote mini-lake and oasis of peace and quiet basking in the late afternoon sun. The lads pose for a picture - I like this one as it encapsulates what a great bunch of folks BBB is - although Reg finds it harder than he thought to paddle a half-submerged dinghy out onto the lake using a plank of wood. Silly boy.





So, down the RB and through our first tussockfest into Artists Valley





We knew that our main destination of the weekend was likely to be somewhat soggy, so we came prepared, Reg with a couple of binliners for his legs, but Kev far more impressively provided for with some lightweight “wellies” that he’d bought decades ago but never found a use for. Stu and Dee’s special “gift” for this year’s event was an excellent little credit card sized powerbank with a plug-in LED light, which make me think that they knew at least one group of nutcases knew exactly where they were heading for – and that they would need power to see power!

r

Suitably kitted up we headed into the old lead mine to view one of the country’s most stunning artefacts – an underground waterwheel which used to pump water out of a deep shaft next to it. It’s one of only two left in the whole of the UK (well, four as of last Autumn with two more discovered in a mine near Aberystwyth) and is remarkably well-preserved 150 years after falling into disuse. We thought it would be well worth trying to restore it and get it generating power again – a quick squirt of WD40 would soon do it I reckon. We spent a lot of time nosing around underground and came out marvelling at the tenacity of the miners who seemed to go to any lengths to follow up speculative ventures, in most cases ending up with little to show for it. How do you make a small fortune out of lead mining in Powys? Start with a large fortune. We'd hoped to ride the bikes through the long entrance adit and pose them next to the wheel but it turned out to be a little more difficult than we thought. Missed opportunity, sadly!







By now it had got dark so we headed for Borth and a nice dinner, via Ynyslas to see if we could find a bivvy spot. After passing up a particularly playful bus-shelter with room for four, we settled upon the visitors centre which I’d enjoyed a few years back. First it was time for a few beers and a meal in the pub, where we baffled the locals as usual. I was a bit wrecked and subdued after a strenuous day but the other lads chatted various people up including a couple who’s hobby was driving vintage tractors around the country. However even I perked up after Sharon declared that she’d "like to warm me up". The other chaps swear that she actually said she’d like to warm my pandas up, but why on earth would she want to do that eh? Anyway, I politely declined her kind offer and we wandered back along the beach road to the visitors centre. Last time I'd ridden this road was in a torrential storm and 50mph+ winds. Plenty of room for all of us, but rock-hard Kev headed for the dunes where we found him frozen solid next morning at 6am. You can see the outline of his bivvy bag – I thought it looked like those white outlines that the police draw round the location of dead bodies!



The rest of us slept fairly well although the morning revealed a scene looking like underneath the railway arches at Waterloo railway station…







There was even a defib machine in case Lu had one of his turns in the night. It was tempting to use it anyway to jolt him awake in the morning – that would have been a pretty impressive use of “power” and would have seen him “ranging” across the dunes lit up like a Christmas tree!



It was pretty nippy getting down to about -3c and I didn’t bother whipping any upper clothes off: bamboo baselayer, two fleeces and a Ghost Whisperer down jacket. Didn’t overheat despite the -9c PHD Hispar 400. Circulation must be getting worse with old age – what on earth am I doing at the grand old age of 65? Should be nodding off in a chair in a carehome instead of freezing out here in the dunes. We had a nice lie-in until 8am just in time for the visitors centre lady to turn up. She didn’t bat an eyelid, asked us if we’d slept well, and said would we like a cup of tea! So we sat there in the early morning sun telling each other how fantastic life is and profusely thanking Stu and Dee for providing us with the “power” to get out and enjoy all this. You can stuff the care home!! My other, admittedly somewhat eccentric, clothing choices worked perfectly as usual: sandals and waterproof socks, washing up gloves, etc etc.



Just before we departed I really wasn’t looking forward to putting my freezing socks back on (spare pair was the only thing I forgot – nitwit!), but someone had the brainwave of microwaving them in the café. I took the slightly less drastic step of filling them with hot water in the toilet, which worked a treat!



Unfortunately, unless you head back over the mountain via Anglers Retreat again, the other main way back to Mach is along the main road – not much fun, but we livened it up by stopping at yet another source of “power”: the (outdoor!) waterwheel at Furnace, which was used for iron-smelting purposes.



Another quick stop near Ynyshir osprey reserve gave Lu and myself one of our “ahhhh” moments as we spent a few minutes gazing across the peaceful sunlit estuary towards Aberdyfi.



Upon arrival at Mach we headed straight for the White Lion and second breakfast. Oh. The bad news: they’d just stopped doing breakfast. Ah! The good news: they’d just started doing Sunday lunch! I had some very nice veggie sausages with gravy, mash, peas and a rare appearance of mashed swede. There was also a mini-Yorkshire pud with a tiny "toad" in it.



Time was moving on so we ought to do the same. The choice was back via the lane north of the Dyfi and the bridleway to Commins Coch, but MuddyPete hadn’t done the forest road behind Stu’s before so we headed off up the long drag through Forge and the mountain road. Fun was had crossing the ford at Rhoswydol Mine, then over the pass into Stu’s valley where we screamed down the long fire road as a sort of “grand finale”.









A quick stop at the “seat of power” and away down the road back to the school to be one of the last back, for tea and toast and cake.



What can one say? An absolutely superb weekend, yet again, in fantastic company – thank you Lu, Kev and Pete for putting up with my ridiculous hare-brained schemes and my smelly socks. I’m sure I’ve left out some of the most embarrassing moments (at my expense obviously) so hopefully they’ll be along to chip in! Thank you to them for providing many of the above photos.

THANK YOU STU AND DEE FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK, YOU HAVE GIVEN MY 2024 A FLYING START!

PS> Blame Stu for the origin of my above ravings - it's all his Volt, ho ho ho

[Tractionman]

That looks brilliant, thanks for posting the pics and words

[RIP]

Cheers TM

[gecko76]

Great stuff

[slarge]

Enjoyed that Reg, sounds like you all had a great time!

Was a cracking weekend, great to catch up with people, also great having a bird hide to myself!

[Johnallan]

Sounds wonderful!!

[psling]

Great write up Reg
Glad you finally made it in to see the wheel.

I passed by the bird hides earlier in the day Steve, bit too early to stop in the daylight so ended up further on in Dyfant Forest after a stop at the shop in the village below the dam.

Another great WE but after a period off the bike it nearly killed me physically, not mentally though Cheers Dee & Stu

[summittoppler]

Firstly many thanks to the 17 of you who voted for my photo in the comp, and thanks to Stu and Dee for the pole and a great weekend


So, frozen socks, shivering hands and hydrated food was NOT what we endured
As per the norm, we had a great group of riders who followed JC on his merry little route. I'm not sure as to where we went but it was great, the scenery and people in our fellowship were spot on!
A few pics and a video coming soon....







Nom nom nom




Cheers all

[AndreR]

Excellent summary there and thanks to John for inviting we to join his merry band! Had a brilliant time with some really lovely people!

[JohnClimber]

For the first time ever some (4) of our band of merry men and women actually did a Plan A route from start to finish with no short cuts or changes, we even hit 4 GR's too.

Some random photos from the start to the end of the weekend





















Thanks again to Dee and Stuart for yet another amazing "event"

[summittoppler]

...and here's a short 1 minute film of what we got up to, I might edit a longer one soon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLREY0_4YSM



.

[slarge]

...and here's a short 1 minute film of what we got up to, I might edit a longer one soon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLREY0_4YSM



.

Loved that Jeff

[MuddyPete]

Great stuff, Jeff

[Escape Goat]

I absolutely love these events.

Nice bumping into you Reg. Still love that hop over the water you done!

Thanks for everything to The Boss and Stuart.

…majestic wee pose there too eh.

[frogatthefarriers]

Well, what a weekend it was! It was great to ride with (follow - I had nothing to do with routing, I just tailed along) RIP, Muddypete And Raggedstone. And we got to see THE waterwheel in the mine. Impressive!

Apart from the riding and good companions, my WE was notable for forgetting my riding jacket and boots and for locking my keys inside the car at the end. Then I forgot which breakdown service I was with. Eventually I phoned home to ask Lady Frog and happily my son was there and brought my spare key. Phew. We had a meal at the Wynnstay before I was able to head back after nine o’clock.

I’ll add my thanks to Stew and Dee for brightening up the post Christmas blues.

[jameso]

Looks like a great weekend there! Sunshine, some excellent bivi spots and that water wheel cave is quite a thing.. brilliant stuff.

[RIP]

Bit disappointed we only got 4 or 5 trip reports there, out of 60-odd riders.

Did nobody see a farmer with a chicken on his head?

[NeilA]

Winter Event and January BAM

Taking it easy!!
Fuel and engine issues?!?!?!

Our second Winter Event.
Dave and I set ourselves an easyish plan for the weekend.
Why? Following November's 'Two Bothies Tour' our biking had been negligible, and both of us suffered colds over Chrimbo.

The chosen objective, Nant Syddion Bothy.

Day One...Llanbrynmair-Pennant- Pennant Isaf- Staylittle-Hafren Forest- Sweet Lamb Complex- Wind Farm- Bothy...25 miles
Tis always a pleasure to take part in Bear Bones events. We were keen. As the miles rolled by and the ascent grew we suffered some fuelling and engine issues, at times walking what otherwise we'd cycle. Clearly not our normal selves. Reaching the wind farm, dark drew in. We were now on a minor track dropping hundreds of feet down to the bowels of a valley. Steep, loose and slippery stones made progress very slow, and hazardous. Thankfully we survived this ordeal, although both of us considered the worst, then how would one identify our location for a rescue helicopter! Now passing a familiar junction, light was visible from the bothy. We joined many others inside, some partaking in WE, several hikers, and latterly a group of youngsters who arrived in vehicles . By a quirk of fate the only bedroom spare was the largest. Lucky us!! Time to eat, drink and socialise with like minded souls. We slept well, as did the other inhabitants.






Day Two...Bothy- Ponterwyd garage- Afon Hengwm Ford- Mynydd Bychan Forest- Llyn Cwmbyr- Glaslyn- Dylife- downhill to finish 27 miles
Clearly a cold night, evident from the brilliant frost outside, but the building was undoubtedly warmer. All part of the easy plan!
With time on our side, brekkie was slow. And enjoyable. Off we go, heading for the George Borrow Hotel hoping for more food of the egg and bacon variety but lo they were closed. So down the road to the garage in Ponterwyd for supplies. Now the long uphill slog for many miles through some wonderful countryside. My legs kicked into gear today but Dave struggled throughout. His food supplies were not yielding fast energy. Eventually he succumbed to eat one of my special chocolate brownies to flood his body with energy. Given time this worked for him. We gratefully enjoyed a magnificent downhill for many miles to finish later than most, but still during daylight.
Recently finished were Reg and crew. Was great to see you all.
Many thanks Dee for a lovely cake and toast, muchly appreciated.

Thank you Stuart and Dee for organising another great event. Love the Power Ranger pack

Thoughts/good points/not so good:
Must take more pics!
Dave's goose down socks
Dave partaking in BAM for 2024 ???

Fuelling for the future:
Both of us have 'crashed' during Bear Bones events in the last 12 months!!
Neil to drip feed fuel regularly and avoid certain sugary stuff which trips him out
Dave to involve carbs as essential fuel

We both need 'OS Locate' and 'What Three Words' apps
Try out some check points 2025 WE. Maybe!

Total miles 52, ascent 6149'
Neil 1 of 1, 25 of 25

[RIP]

Nice one Neil, always enjoy your reports . George B was closed? Not good as it has been open on past WE's . Places to eat in BB Land are becoming ever more thin on the ground .

[MuddyPete]

Excellent stuff Neil and Dave. Sounds like you were fully immersed in fun of the "Type 2" variety there .
Down socks: I completely agree

It was a pleasure to meet you both and (of course) thanks to Stu & Dee for all of their hard work .

[NeilA]

Nice one Neil, always enjoy your reports . George B was closed? Not good as it has been open on past WE's . Places to eat in BB Land are becoming ever more thin on the ground .

Thanks Reg, and I enjoyed your remarkable WE report .
Just wish this forum has the facility to LIKE, and other emoticons. So so many reports viewed on the forum are worthy of a quick appreciation when time is short.
The sign outside the pub said closed, but we didn't cycle the extra few yards to check the door!! They missed two mega brekkie orders and a fair few pints too

[NeilA]

Excellent stuff Neil and Dave. Sounds like you were fully immersed in fun of the "Type 2" variety there .
Down socks: I completely agree

It was a pleasure to meet you both and (of course) thanks to Stu & Dee for all of their hard work .

Lol we have racked up a fair few 'Type 2' events, none more so than during 2023 WRT, searching for a bivvy spot in the middle of Mach on a Bank Holiday Saturday night, never felt so out of place as then
Fortunately we snuck in the Comedy Festival campsite for a cheeky uninvited incursion amidst VW's etc

Forgive me Pete, sat listening to your story I wasn't comprehending your tales of 'Valley of the Artist' etc nor able to speak. Reckon i was bombed out from brain freeze following a wind chilled 6 mile downhill

[RIP]

Fortunately we snuck in the Comedy Festival campsite for a cheeky uninvited incursion amidst VW's etc

I'd forgotten about that! Very stylish indeed that was . I must tag along in your wake (*) sometime, I appreciate seeing connoisseurs at work .

(*) nooo-o-o, not that sort of wake .. hopefully things never get that skitterish....