The MTB thread

Right, I have formulated a plan while I have been sat here pretending to work!

I'll put a proper post up from home later, but I think I've found something that will suit most peeps & solve transport problems etc.

Oh, and it won't be the same weekend as the Peaks rideout cos I'm in Scotland that weekend...

[Jayneflakes]

Guess what I just made...?

Go on Guess? I will give you a clue here.

I now have cooling in the fridge, a tray of Colemans Mum's Tiffin.

One full packet of Biscuits, 600grams of chocolate with two bags of dried Cranberries, one tub of Glace Cherries and a bag of roasted almonds as extras.

Life just got chocolatey.

Hmm, might have some left for tomorrow too...

Righto, as promised, my (almost) fully formed idea...

Basically it revolves around Betws-y-coed in Wales. As far as I can tell it hits the 3 major requirements for a weekend like this:

1. Good riding nearby on 2 major trails - the Marin trail starts 1 mile outside BYC and the trails at Penmachno are ~5 miles away. I've read good things about both of these trails on t'interweb.
2. Good transport links - BYC has a train station of its own, so those without cars (e.g. me and Northy that I know of so far...) can get there relatively easily. Combine that with how close we are likely to be to the trails we'd be riding, we may not need cars at all...
3. There are loads of bunkhouses or other accomodation in BYC itself and, having done a bit of googling, they seem on average to be cheaper than those north of the border (possibly even cheaper if enough of us go). Also, if the accomodation is in or very close to the town itself, it is therefore closer to the pub!

I did a fair amount of googling around Innerleithen and Glentress too and while it looks great, the accomodation seems pricier on average and it's also a bit awkward to get to - I think the nearest train station is Edinburgh (Northy may be able to confirm/deny this). I have to admit I'm also leaning towards Wales cos I'm already going to Glencoe the 1st weekend of September with some mates.

Looking at my work rota, I'm thinking of either the 2nd or 3rd weekend in September. Personally I would plan on getting down to BYC on the Friday before lunch if possible, dump stuff at the bunkhouse/wherever and ride one of the above trails Friday afternoon, then ride the other on Saturday, meaning we can have a good few beers & a laugh on Saturday night before everyone heads home on Sunday.

So there it is, what do people reckon? If enough people are interested, I'll start ringing round some bunkhouses etc and start a new thread to make it all official.

EDIT: forgot to mention too, there are bike hire places in BYC too such as http://www.bikewales.co.uk/615/Hire.html , so if you don't have an MTB but fancy giving it a go, hire a bike!

[northwind]

Yeah, I think you're right about GT etc, it's just not very practical without your own transport... The local buses have actually banned all bikes even when there's space

BYC looks ace, loads of riding... Hmm, when I run trainline I end up getting put on a bus from llandudno junction to BYC, that's a bit weird. Coo, trains are a bit pricey too. But still, yep, definately call me a keen maybe.

Not sure how well I'll stand up to multiple days of decent rides mind, I've got a wee fort william trip planned for august so I guess I'm going to find out

Originally Posted by northwind

Not sure how well I'll stand up to multiple days of decent rides mind, I've got a wee fort william trip planned for august so I guess I'm going to find out

I know what you mean, I reckon I'll find out just how unfit I am on Saturday

Last week I went out round Rivington with a mate and we were dying halfway up a climb that we were doing clean in one go a few weeks ago - I blamed the heat at the time but I reckon we're just nowhere near as fit as we thought we were

[northwind]

I'm alright, I'll just use my stock defence, "ooh me poor crippled leg" Sadly that doesn't work as well when I'm mincing the downhills...

well northy I'd be happy to drive and share petrol costs to Wales if that's easier than public transport! September should be fine for me, altho keeping costs low would be preferred as I'll jut be back from a weeks boys holiday to Vegas!!

date dependand I'm in!

[mattSV]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Plus how much for shoes?

LIDL cycling stuff on offer from next week - including shoes for less than £20:-

Clicky

[northwind]

Originally Posted by malks

well northy I'd be happy to drive and share petrol costs to Wales if that's easier than public transport!

Now THAT sounds like a plan

for those asking about the cycle to work scheme and if it was good, well just had a letter from my employer saying if I now want to 'buy' the bike i've been renting from them they feel £25 or 3% of the ammount you spent, whichever is greater so I owe them £30 for my bike and then that's me done.

now do I need another bike on this years scheme???