With an awful weather forecast and only a vague route in mind Gairy, Blackhound and myself set off in search of the sea and ice cream. It transpired that the men in suits at the met office don't really know their arse from their elbow which meant that we pretty much stayed dry ... although there was no shortage of rain on both nights.

Climbing will forever be an integral part of riding in Wales and this trip was no different. The first day involved some fairly 'interesting ups' and in fairness some lovely downs too ... one of which got the better of Gairy and put a hole in his leg A decision was made to try and get as close to Barmouth as we could before setting up for the night. Getting close to Barmouth involved gaining some height and the higher we went the windier it became. A handy forest offered a certain amount of cover, so that became our overnight spot.


Blackhounds feet and my tarp.

As soon as everyone had pitched up their respective beds the rain came and with it came an extra helping of wind. An early night seemed the best solution ... everyone tucked up and ted for bed by 9.00 It continued to rain throughout the night and the wind continued to be windy, very windy.

Dawn dawned and the rain left. Everyone packed up and we headed for a date with breakfast in Barmouth. A missed turn on my behalf resulted in an extra 2 miles of tarmac but I'm sure it made breakfast taste even better. A quick raid on the Spar and we were off again ... up another long climb, a theme that would pretty much continue throughout the day.


Walk ten paces, turn and fire!

Night two would be a bothy night in Coed Y Brenin so we turned right and headed into the Rhinogs. The climbs in the Rhinogs are less about pedalling and more about pushing/dragging/carrying and swearing but there's uaually a worthwhile reward.


He really is that big!

We arrived at the bothy to discover that we had it to ourselves. A fire was lit, wood cut, food scoffed and rubbish talked until it was time for bed and very welcome it was too!


Next stop was the ridge in the background. We had 60mph winds at this point ... just standing upright was difficult

A quick sprint into Dol' the next morning was rewarded by the worlds biggest breakfast. Feeling suitably fat we headed for home. The injury that Gairy had been carrying since day one now started to take it's toll. The eta of 3.30 came and went but he soldiered on and in doing so, invented the sport of 'speed limping' ... something I'm sure we'll be seeing in London later this year

A great trip with great company. Big hills and high winds featured quite heavily as did even bigger views but sadly we forgot to buy any ice cream

Ok, despite some serious temptation, I've not read the above trip-report by Stuart and so here's mine (let's see if any of the 'facts' tie-up):

After a great night's sleep in Stuart's bunkhouse (my first night on my new sleeping mat - comfy, just like your own bed!) I woke up and took a look around Stuart (and Dee's) place.

I'd heard some noises in the night which I'd presumed were owls but I couldn't figure out why they were so close and not moving until I saw the two handsome little buggers behind the bunkhouse - here's one looking all dignified:



So.....after some breakfast and some serious time spent faffing, fettling and chatting, we set off.....

Here's one of the Lama's as we begin the road climb away from the house:



Now I'm sure my trip-report won't be as geographically accurate/informative but let's just say we climbed some and descended some and ended up, before long, in Mach for the first of many 'Star Bar pit-stops'.

Suitably supplied we set off again out of town and up a stinky climb!

Once we reached the top we got to ride a really great trail up/over/down some (often tricky) bed-rock worn trails which was a joy and made the fact that it was a gradual climb irrelevant.

Here's Stuart and Kevin enjoying a little rest:



After a little stop and some decision making regarding potential bivi-spots for the night we began a really nice semi-technical descent.

On the way down, whilst skipping happily over a really nice rocky section, my hand slipped off the bar and I went down like a sack off potatoes - no real harm done to either bike or rider (save some knee skin I won't be getting back and financial damage as I'll be needing some new bib-tights) and so we carried on.....

Later, after a couple of attempts, we finally settled on a site to sleep for the night and began to set-up camp.

It soon became obvious that two of us were considerably more experienced at pitching-up and so I was still fannying around with my tarp while Stuart and Kevin were enjoying a nice cuppa and getting ready for bed.

I did eventually make a weather-proof (if UGLY) place to sleep just as it started raining and so I gave-up on the idea of cooking any food and ate some nuts/trail-mix, French salami and fig-rolls before getting my head down.

(I'm hoping that neither of the others posts a photo of my embarrassing tarp set-up)

During the night two things happened:

1. My calf/knee/shoulder/most-other-parts began cramping (as a result of the fall and general fatigue) and I gave serious consideration as to whether I would be able to continue in the morning.

2. My sleeping mat/bag combo were so damn comfy and warm that I woke rested, happy and feeling a hell of a lot better than I had been earlier in the night - and ready for more.....

Here's the nice shot of the woods we'd slept in (on the left) and our route down to the sea (Barmouth) for breakfast:



After a hearty fry-up we set-off once again into the hills.....

We wound our way through some fields and ended up at 'Something (insert local/famous name here) Bridge' which was nice (as you can see in the photo below) before embarking on one of Stuart's 'short push's up a tiny mountain in 60mph winds - it was fulfilling it's promise of being an adventure and we eventually made it to the top a little knackered.





Heading along the top Kevin fell in what could have been really a really nasty accident but luckily he kind of just rolled off a steep edge (in what looked very controlled and almost practiced), stood up and walked back up to the path and we carried on.

As we neared Coed Y Brenin the rain started and so we opted to spend the night in a bothy (which I didn't take any photos of???) and so another warm/dry night was enjoyed by all (as it rained all night again).

This time though I didn't wake feeling too good at all.

My left knee was eventually feeling the effects of both two days cycling and being smashed against a rock in my fall and so I set off on day 3 in a little bit of pain.

As the day wore on the pain increased and I can only apologise once again to Stuart and Kevin for my piss-poor effort at keeping up using a combination of riding incredibly slowly and (on anything above about 2% gradient) 'speed limping' my bike back to Stuart's.

I took no photographs of Day 3 as I was too busy limping and wincing but, once again, the scenery was real puuurdy!

We arrived (much later than planned due to someone, naming no names, being slow) back at the ranch safely and packed-up and said our goodbye's.

Despite me being a pain-in-the-ass on Day 3 I had a great time and enjoyed every second of my time.

Thanks so much to Stuart and Dee for putting us up (you've got yourselves a beautiful place there!!!) and to Kevin - I'll be seeing you again sometime soon (Bear Bones 200?) and maybe next time I'll manage to keep up???

Cheers folks and let me know how you get on with your reconnection with the humble 'Star Bar'.

Gairy.

I was wondering how you chaps were getting on, the forum's been quiet with you away!

Looks like you had a good trip, hope your knee recovers soon Gairy.

Stuart, how was the tarp during the 'weather'?

Stuart, how was the tarp during the 'weather'?

It was very good. I seam sealed the peak and the three outer guy points last week as I'd noticed a drop of water coming through one guy point the previous week. I also attached guys to the three points and used two of them on this trip.

The thing didn't budge (or leak) ... the silnylon must have stretched a tiny amount with the rain, as it was slightly 'baggier' in the morning but certainly not enough to be an issue. SallyH has just ordered one with the extended, roll-away beak, so I'm looking forward to seeing how much more coverage that gives.

s8tannorm wrote:SallyH has just ordered one with the extended, roll-away beak,

It'll be an expensive year for her I expect, when she buys a hammock on the back of WRT. :D

flatfishy - It'll be an expensive year for her I expect, when she buys a hammock on the back of WRT

I blame you and Stuart for me having no money to retire on :)

Glad to hear you all had a good time, hope the knee recovers soon Gairy.

anthony and ray,

thanks, the knee's feeling a lot better.

although.....i was supposed to be riding in Afan Forest today but i didn't end up going as i rode to the shops yesterday and it's still giving me a lot of pain when pedalling uphill - bugger!

the only good thing is that it hurts to kneel down and so i've gotten out of changing a fair few knappies :D

Bit slow with report, sorry.

Stuart, Gairy and myself had agreed to do a three day trip into Wales but the couple of days before I was not looking forward to it too much as the forecast was for fairly continuous rain. The trip got off to a bad start with a puncture on my car as I entered Wales. I had not changed one in 20+ years but managed to sort it out in the Tesco car park in Welshpool much to me relief.

Monday morning was nice and bright and after too much faffing we eventually left on the what was the start of the BB200 and it was interesting to see how many tree’s had been chopped down since. We were headed initially to Machynlleth and Stuart found a nice route therre avoiding any of the major hills I had found in previous trips. We stopped to pick up some food and brake pads before heading off up a super steep climb I recalled from January’s Mach & back.

Weather continued to be dry, if a bit windy as we set off across a moor towards Tywyn eventually giving views of the sea. Gairy took quite a heavy fall on one descent and after a few moments he manfully got back on his bike and rode. We stopped at some woods across the bay from Barmouth and after getting our tent and tarps up the rain started almost immediately. The rain and high winds continued overnight but when we got up it was dry again and we headed down into Barmouth in sunshine for breakfast.

We continued North on more tracks unknown to me before a vicious climb out of a valley with further views of the sea. On the descent I was coping quite well with a selection of ruts for some time but eventually my luck ran out and I ended up arse over tit on down a steep slope.

I seemed to bounce quite well, only a slightly sore neck, and we continued down avoiding a couple of lads on moto-cross bikes. The rain eventually started, later hail, and we made the decision to head towards Dolgellau and up to the bothy in CyB. The weather soon brightened and we arrived at the bothy dry and settled in for some food and a good rest. Next morning it was again nice and bright as we headed into Dolgellau for breakfast. The climb out of town was tough and I was struggling again pushing the bike. As the day wore on though it was Gairy who was suffering more and more to put pressure on his knee. He was ok on the flat sections but any climbing required a walk. A nice drop into Corris and across the A470 for some more climbing before heading up a road I recalled from Mach & back and back to Stuart’s finishing just before 6pm.

After a brew I headed home through some fairly heavy rain thankful it had held off. We only did 100 miles over 3 days and 15 moving hours but I really enjoyed it. Barely saw anybody else, nice tracks and great scenery. A wonderful 3 days out. Best wishes to Gairy and his knee.

Day 1 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/169665313
Day 2 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/169665325
Day 3 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/169665329

Pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12617230@N ... 489611952/

Now to read the other reports.

Having now read the other reports I can confirm to gairy ,yes, I am well practised at falling off!

it looked it - certainly more 'styled-out' than my effort!