CyB, 7-9th June 2007

[jon]

Update to the travel info - both matt and I have permission to take the friday off as long as we do the hours in the preceding days.

We've not finalised travel arrangements yet but i think we are thinking of driving down during the day, paying coed llandegla (http://www.mtb-thrashers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117) a visit on the way then meeting up with you at the cabins later on.

worth soft-planning what we're going to do for food? which night are we going to book for the ponderosa?

[cheungy]

would it be ideal to book ponderosa for saturday night, after a decent day's ride?

[stevie]

Well done on blagging the Friday chaps!

I'll go along with Saturday for Ponderosa ... it's kind of traditional. :)

I can bring along the makings of a fry-up for Saturday morning.

Friday night ... To avoid bringing food and cooking, I'm happy to go to the chippy in Dolgellau (call it carb-loading) or we could see what the Rhiw Goch is like these days. Unless anyone's keen to cook?

[jon]

easy either way - quite happy to cook fajs, it's no hassle. matt's away this week, i'd imagine he'll go with the flow in any direction ;)

[captoaks]

Yup, I'll go with the flow, Jon knows I'm on a see food diet :)

[cheungy]

that's very kind of you Jon, wouldn't it save you the hassle if we just get fish and chips? :) but wouldnt say no to your brilliant fajeater

anyhoo, just ordered a new saddle SDG Bel Air RL if anyone is looking into a new saddle (only Chrome and not titanium though) for £20 inc p&p (Titanium for only £37). Normally around £45-£55 with other online sites etc. check it out:

http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=138

[jon]

yeah it'd save the hassle, but there's not that much hassle to save.

will try to book the ponderosa for 8pm for 5 ppl today if i get chance.

[jon]

the phone number for the ponderosa is 'no longer in service' :cry::cry::cry:

[jon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=2524

rapidly becoming a monologue again.. seeing as the current forecast for the weekend looks favourable, how about considering getting a couple of disposable barbies for sat evening, seeing as it looks like the ponderosa is no longer with us?

i'm still leaning on the side of fajitas for friday night. although i'm quite happy eating f&c i can't help thinking fajitas are better cycling fuel thanks to all that carb and protein

[andy]

Weather looks good..

I have just dug out my cycle from the darkest deepest bit of my Dad's garage. Looked to be in one piece albeit filthy! All seems to be working well although looks like some fettling with the shocks (esp 5th) will be needed, thats an advance warning for you Jon ;)

I can't find my lid though, just my full face which I'm doubting I will need given I haven't ridden for about 18 month so I'll be tip toeing at first! So can anyone recommend a decent and reasonable lid? Hopefully I'll be able to order next day so should be sweet for the weekend.

I'm guessing wiggle or CRC are the best places to order from still!

Cheers, Andy.

[cheungy]

hey... andy's coming!! cool!

thought you said you couldn't make it!!

good to catch up again!

no way.... how can Panderosa close down!!!!!!! :cry:
that's another favorite pub grub gone!!!
can't imgine why John Wayne would just close the restaurant?

at least the mtb-thrashers posse are outlasting them!!

[cheungy]

btw. my friend rachel is coming along to stay at the cabin, but is only chilling out for the wkend to recover from her current poor health. hope you guys don't mind? ;)

[jon]

can she cook ;)

good to hear you're coming andy, i thought you were awol for this one!

is everyone happy with the idea of fajitas for friday eve and bbq for sat?

[cheungy]

i'm cool either way.... go with the flow and i don't think she can cook haha :-D

but i'm tempted to drive up to the Ponderosa ranch on friday to check out what the situation is....... it's the mtb cycling wkend ritual, can't just give up that easily :mrgreen:

[andy]

Any tips on the lid then dudes?

Yeah I was meant to be going on an IT away day but have managed to wriggle out of it as I leave the week after. They announced yesterday it had been cancelled anyway so I'm now available, lid pending...

I emailed some guy who runs the dolgellau website and he said he thought it was open as normal, so not sure what has happened.

[jon]

the problem with just going to have a look-see on friday is that if it _is_ shut then we're sans steak full stop, whereas if we decide on bbq then we can buy steak before we go and bbq it - if there's one thing that's good to eat off a barbie it's ribeye steak :-)

andy, i've got a giro e2 lid, not uber cheap but nicely vented and comfortable. 2006 model is £65 from crc (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=8589).

[andy]

OK thanks for the lid link.

I'll do some investigation at lunchtime and make an order. I also need a new bladder for my camelback as its looking pretty nasty!

[cheungy]

i'm gona use a full-face, so i will have a lid spare so i can lend you mine, except i have an extra large head and i think you have a smaller head than me..... so not sure whether it will fit, is what i'm saying :D

i'll be tip toeing around as well, considering i haven't been on my bike for a yr, but i don't fancy smashing my chin through my cheek bone like that guy!

[jon]

i'm bringing a spanky new full face lid with me as well, assuming it turns up that is :) i'm not going to spill the beans on it, but i think you're going to be mightily impressed by it 8-)

[andy]

What guy smashed his face up? I must have missed that one...

I will give my dad a call later and ask him if he can spot my lid, I had a quick look when I collected my bike but couldn't see it anywhere.

I guess I can bring my FF but the weather it looks a bit too hot, I'm probably going to pass out anyway without the darth hat on

[andy]

Jon's new hat sounds interesting.

I'm guessing its going to be like the one from StreeHawk and have inbuilt HUD etc. GPS navigation to the nearest faj hut etc.

[jon]

rofl not quite that funky ;) no gadgets, just nice liddage ;)

[stevie]

Latest news ... I've forgotten what the cabins were, although you should be able to ask at the desk ... I think that one was 84 (they are almost neighbours). I'll send out some text messages tonight. Both were just above the shop. Going by the map they seemed to be about the same location as the first time we went.

Jon ... if you're up for prepping fajitas, I'm happy to help out.

You may also have noticed that Andy is coming along now... should be with us Friday night, but not sure whether he's with us for Saturday night too.

Michael also mentioned that we may have Rachel along too. Hence the possibility of having one on the floor/sofa.

I reckon if the Ponderosa is no more, the George serves good food, so I'd be up for that.

[cheungy]

the weather report has now changed to rain on sunday! just hope it doesn't creep into saturday! :confused:

[jon]

only light rain atm tho, the big stuff looks like it's coming on monday!

[andy]

Hi Guys,
I've picked up a dozen eggs, 16 rashers of bacon and 3 tins of naked beans for brekkie. Should cover us for one sitting so no need to bring tons if you were thinking about it too. Catch you guys tomorrow evenin.
Cheers, Andy.

[andy]

Photos look great, nicely done.

Don't know about any one else but I'm covered in red blotches, so itchy! Tried some Piriton but hasn't helped much!

Good news is I took my tail gate apart when I got back. I took apart the locking(hmm) mechanism and it must have just been jammed as when I reassembled it the motor started working, so quite a result. Its probably the worst bit of engineering I've seen, no actual lock just a plastic cam that gets moves sideways so it catches against a lug and won't turn. If you ever need to break into a Clio just get a small bit of wood and tap a hammer sharply gainst the boot release button and it snap the plastic notch and just open - awesome!

Thanks again everyone for a good weekend, look forward to the next I'm literally itching to get out again (badaboom)

[jon]

heh damned midges.. i managed to get away without being bitten until yesterday's ride, mainly because i didn't put any jungle formula on until we were out on the trail :-(

yesterday's ride was very good - much shorter but far more up-to-date style-wise; thoroughly recommended for use as a quick thrash before going onto a longer route.

might re-do some of the pics as i'm not totally happy with the colour balance.. did you have a look at the pics from coed llandegla? easily the best ride of the weekend for me - we really do have to pay it a visit as a group

[andy]

Yeah they looked good, some nice air by Matt. Us northerners could do that on a day trip if youi fancy?

I drove back via Betws but couldn't see Snowdon it was very hazy and I think I got lost too. I ended up drivign back past Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, quite a diversion but was nice to see the sea, although it didn't smell so good.

Definitely going to do some riding at the weekend, probably just some fitness riding as am keen to get back up to speed. I've taken the initiative and managed not to be tempted by rollies, hope I can keep it going!

[captoaks]

Awsome pics Jon! It's good to be in them for a change!

Thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome, I had a great weekend and am looking forward to the next one!

Luckily I seem to have missed out on the red blotches and itching though :)

[jon]

sounds like a plan 8-) takes about 2h15-2h30 from harrogate. not sure how long dalby forest would take to get to from shef, but that's worth considering too. not quite as extreme as wales, but supposedly some of the best riding in england according to a recent survey

[andy]

Google maps is saying 2 hours from Sheffield to Dalby Forest, which is definitely doable for a day trip.

I was looking at forks last night and swapping to some single crown zocchis is going to cost quite a bit. Cheapest I could find the 66 for was 400 for a 2006 model and my forks can be bought new for 380 so its going to cost a good few hundred to swap.

I think I'll keep mine for now, but invest in some SPDs as they will probably be a bigger benefit. I think if I swap the spring in my forks they should be better suited to my weight, apparetntly they are very similar in weight to long travel single crowns anyhow, so I'll hang fire for a bit.

[jon]

yeah probably worth trying a spring change first as it's a much cheaper option :)

i can't say i've ever been anywhere near happy with my shermans, so don't expect them to handle like bombers for the money they're worth but a lighter spring is bound to improve things :-)

[andy]

Looks like I've had a bit of a reaction to the midge things!

[jon]

ouch! evil little b*st*rds!

[jon]

is anyone else starting to think that we chose our weekend rather wisely, considering how much water has fallen in the last 24 hrs? :-o

[captoaks]

Yeah, I was thinking it much earlier in the week! We couldn't have got it any better! I'm rather stoked after our weekend, can't stop thinking about all the descents and the slack mornings! Great way to spend a weekend!