Manchester - Llandudno 25 April 2015 featuring the Inaugural Hill Climb Sausage Challenge

[rich p]

I'm hoping about 30 people will dropout!

 

[nickyboy]

In the unlikely event of an adverse wind, that could be tough. There is a need to ensure that, if it has to split, there are people who have the route in each bit of the ride. That and getting people with trains to catch at the front of the queue for food.

Wot he said. Bit of common sense on all parts should see us deal with these issues. If you're keen on a tight train time then you need to leave Acton Bridge with the first riders you see (not wait for me at the back), get your food at Eureka and then try to ride to Llandudno with some quicker riders that will help you.

The only thing that can stress the timings is a strong headwind. In the event of that we need to get our heads together on the day to make sure that those tight on time get helped along sufficiently. There are plenty of strong, fast cyclists on this ride who could easily do 16mph average on a still day. If conditions are difficult I'll be looking for these guys to help out folk like you

 

[david k]

I think the train tickets are open so will mean we can get the later one, not sure how booking the bike on would work? It's a case of seeing how it goes on the day, we can make many plans and assumptions and we could end up in front of behind, I'll be taking enough money for a taxi to the station
It takes me around three weeksn normally to fix a puncture, is that normal?

 

[nickyboy]

I think the train tickets are open so will mean we can get the later one, not sure how booking the bike on would work? It's a case of seeing how it goes on the day, we can make many plans and assumptions and we could end up in front of behind, I'll be taking enough money for a taxi to the station
It takes me around three weeksn normally to fix a puncture, is that normal?

Re the bike booking, it is specific to a specific train. So if you book a space on train A, but get train B, you will have no reserved space. It'll be up to the Train Manager to allow you on train B. Having said that, experience suggests that Arriva Wales are pretty relaxed about this; it is a popular tourist route so they know that there are plenty of cyclists using the trains.

Suggest you practice fixing punctures. I had one on the route yesterday

 

[david k]

Re the bike booking, it is specific to a specific train. So if you book a space on train A, but get train B, you will have no reserved space. It'll be up to the Train Manager to allow you on train B. Having said that, experience suggests that Arriva Wales are pretty relaxed about this; it is a popular tourist route so they know that there are plenty of cyclists using the trains.

Suggest you practice fixing punctures. I had one on the route yesterday

I'll get it down to a fortnight

 

[mike3121]

My solution to the train problem - I have suggested to a couple of members of my family that they have a day trip to Llandudno. Lift home sorted

 

[Ootini]

It it goes ahead, living in Colwyn bay, I would be happy to join you from Prestatyn.

I'm in the same boat, I'll join up at Prestatyn.

And if you need a hand picking pubs let me know, Llandudno is my home town.
So I'm barred from most but y'know....

FYI, Fish Tram Chips is opposite the finest pub in Llandudno, The Kings Head. If there's enough people let me know and I'll have a word in the Landlords ear about sticking a big BBQ on. He does it a couple of times a year for music festivals and I'm sure he won't be offended at taking some hard earned for a burger / hot dog n chips.

 

[nickyboy]

I'm in the same boat, I'll join up at Prestatyn.

And if you need a hand picking pubs let me know, Llandudno is my home town.
So I'm barred from most but y'know....

You're now on the list. Welcome to join the ride wherever suits you best. There is no official "stop" at Prestatyn so I would expect we'll be quite strung out by then (some riders will be pushing on a bit to make sure they catch trains) so ride along with whomever takes your fancy. There will be an official stop at this place: http://www.bikehubrhyl.uk/ for a rejuvenating cuppa (it is about 30 miles from Eureka café, our lunch stop, so us social riders will be ready for another brew)

I'd welcome your feedback on Llandudno pubs. We are eating at this place http://www.fish-tram-chips.co.uk/ and this pub is across the road http://www.kingsheadllandudno.co.uk/ so we'll decamp to there initially I think. After that, I'm open to suggestions

 

[Ootini]

You're now on the list. Welcome to join the ride wherever suits you best. There is no official "stop" at Prestatyn so I would expect we'll be quite strung out by then (some riders will be pushing on a bit to make sure they catch trains) so ride along with whomever takes your fancy. There will be an official stop at this place: http://www.bikehubrhyl.uk/ for a rejuvenating cuppa (it is about 30 miles from Eureka café, our lunch stop, so us social riders will be ready for another brew)

I'd welcome your feedback on Llandudno pubs. We are eating at this place http://www.fish-tram-chips.co.uk/ and this pub is across the road http://www.kingsheadllandudno.co.uk/ so we'll decamp to there initially I think. After that, I'm open to suggestions

Fish Tram Chips is very, very small. Nice but small.

Do you know roughly what time you'll be aiming to stop at Bike Hub in Rhyl? I reckon from my house to the Bike Hub would take 20-30 minutes so I'll time it to meet you guys there. A few of my mates will be coming along too, but they're not on here.

 

[Ootini]

Also, one more thing to consider for those using the train. Llandudno is a terminal station, so trains aren't that frequent. Llandudno junction on the other hand feeds Holyhead, so you'll find there's a lot more trains headining in and out of Junction.

 

[nickyboy]

Fish Tram Chips is very, very small. Nice but small.

Do you know roughly what time you'll be aiming to stop at Bike Hub in Rhyl? I reckon from my house to the Bike Hub would take 20-30 minutes so I'll time it to meet you guys there. A few of my mates will be coming along too, but they're not on here.

It's only about 16 miles from Bike Hub to Llandudno so I'd guess at arrival time minus 1.20

So probably around 5 ish, although faster riders pushing on to get prebooked trains may be a bit earlier.

I think hope that everyone knows by now about Llandudno/Llandudno Junction stations but it's worth reiterating. There's no point getting on a Llandudno, you should get on at Llandudno Junction. It's a gentle 4 mile ride from the chippy to Llandudno Junction station

 

[Ootini]

For those people staying in hotels that won't accommodate bikes inside, my parents live in Llandudno and have a reasonable sized garage that I could squeeze 5 or 6 bikes in to over night. If that's of interest to anyone?

 

[Ootini]

It's only about 16 miles from Bike Hub to Llandudno so I'd guess at arrival time minus 1.20

Yeah, doesn't seem like much of a ride. I think we might plan to meet up with the group somewhere closer to Flint maybe.

 

[Ootini]

Sorry to keep banging on at this thread but I thought I'd offer some services / favours:

If anyone needs to post anything to Llandudno for the evening. Clothes, toiletries etc Send me a pm and I'll send you an address in Llandudno to send stuff to. I can make sure it's waiting at the end point.

A list of pubs you may (or may not) wish to visit: *

• The Kings Head - Decent pint, do food too, and it's opposite the chippy.
• Club 147 - Llandudno's only night club. Full of chavvy kids.
• The Lilly - Formerly Fat Cat's. Typical Fat Cat's type bar.
• Fountains - Dump.
• The Parade - Locals pub but still not bad.
• The Queen Vic - Nice enough place.
• The Gresham - Small but a nice little place.
• The Carlton - Dump.
• The London - Not a bad pub, quite big, usually got entertainment on.
• The Cottage Loaf - Nice little place, bit of a gastro pub these days.
• The Town House - Small, bit rough around the edges but not a bad pint.
• The Alex - Dump
• The Cross Keys - Small locals type pub.
• The Kings Arms - Dump
• Weatherspoons - Cheap booze, no atmosphere.
• The Albert - Not bad but more of a restaurant than a pub really.
• The Queen's Head, Glanwydden - Outside Llandudno, but very nice.
• Rhos Fynach, Rhos -On-Sea - Again outside Llandudno, but very nice.

Places to get breakfast:

• Weatherspoons - obviously.
• The British Legion - this brekkie could kill a donkey! Highly recommended.
• Kava: near by the end point, very nice but small.

Anything else anyone needs to know about Llandudno in the mean time, let me know.

 

[Ootini]

?

Full of 20 something's drinking Kopperberg fruity cider saying "yah, yah" a lot. Used to be a busy little place, but seems to have died off recently.

My personal choice would be:
The Kings Head.
Cottage Loaf.
Weatherspoons, to get tanked on the cheap. They sell Westons Cyder (8%)
Cross Keys (if you wanna rough it a little) but they usually have bands / entertainment on.

Seeing as some people have done trial runs of the proposed route, maybe I should jump on the collective grenade and do a quick tour of all the potential watering holes? Hmmmm.....