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

[Twinks]

Have really enjoyed reading the last few pages and seeing photos of the day. ( I get alerts to the thread as me and OH were coming along originally till some stupid rellies decided to come from the states this week and so a family get together was organised.)

Though to be honest not sure now if we would have been up to it, especially with the challenging weather you were so unlucky to get dumped with. Hats off to you all. Blimey no wonder that beer went down so well.

The thing that shines through though is the camaraderie, I suppose that's what it's all about. Folks from all over the country getting together to make a journey with the same spirit. I hope we make it to a cyclechat ride sometime and meet some of you.

 

[I like Skol]

Do, it is well worth it. I travelled up to Manchester on Friday, spent a night in a bit of discomfort in the Travelodge, took a train to halfway, only managed about 15-20 miles of the ride before having to abandon with back pain, spent a night in less discomfort in the Travelodge, travelled back from Llandudno. It was still a good time.

Bad back, yeah right!

But still, you have met me now so it was well worth the journey

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

@Rickshaw Phil really impressed me with his cycling ability - he'd set out that morning from Shrewsbury, yet seemed to effortlessly glide along the entire trip - which must have been something to the order of about 110-120 miles ?

You are too kind. I was just happy to maintain the same pace as everyone else given the bike I chose to use.

The mileage was 106.9 miles in the end which I think is my second longest to date. The write up is over in "your ride today" for anyone interested who hasn't seen it yet.

 

[mybike]

I reckon that the muscle relaxing medication was proving effective.

Aren't you having a good stretch, the expression certainly indicates agony.

 

[middleagecyclist]

@nickyboy. If you do run this again and if you, or anyone else, wishes to avoid Rhyl/Prestatyn, then this inland route from Flint is very nice. It does add a tad more climbing but the views are worth it

 

[mybike]

I just bought one . No more lost newts I hope.

If you need a clip for the bike, I use one of these.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261084851663?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDXT
Only trouble is if you forget which way it went in it's a pig to get out. I haven't had a problem with it coming out on the towpaths tho'.

(edited to put the sc in - sorry)

 

[middleagecyclist]

I just bought one . No more lost newts I hope.

Wow! Hope you like. It comes with a 'basemap' which is quite basic. The 20 and 30 both allow insertion of a micro SD card with more detailed maps which you really, really want. The 10 doesn't allow this hence my suggestion it's too basic. Don't (hope you haven't?) fork out big bucks for the Garmin maps. You can download free openstreemaps or buy a pre loaded SD card for about a fiver.

Happy travels

 

[Andrew Br]

I just bought one . No more lost newts I hope.

Now all you have to do is learn how to construct routes or to download them from the interwebs.
It took me a long time ..........

There's loads of advice out there so search for it and make sure you know what you're doing by having it guide you around a familiar route before attempting the "audacious".
DNAMHIKT.

It was great to see you at the w/e. Let me know if you need a wheel to follow in Normandy

ETA: Plus what MAC said about the maps.

.

 

[Crackle]

I just bought one . No more lost newts I hope.

You hope: Mine didn't work on Saturday because my route file was corrupt. I'd have known that if I checked before I left home. Don't tell Nicky though.

 

[Andrew Br]

That was a splendid weekend.
The only thing that was wrong with it was the weather and I'd have probably ignored that if I'd brought better gloves. My hands get really cold and, when that happens, it's very painful. It was my own fault; I'd looked at my Winter gloves before I left but I thought "No need, it's April".
Idiot.
I thought that I'd spend the first half of the ride looking after Helen my team leader before she peeled off near Chester to get the train the rest of the way. Afterwards, I'd planned for HDAU along the coast but she made it to the Eureka and then was keen to carry on. That she made it to Llandudno in those conditions impressed me mightily. I know she can do those distances but her longest ride this year was 30 miles. Fantastic.
We left the Eureka with a small but perfectly formed group and, it seemed, I was the only one with the route, so I led the way.
My low point on the ride came just after Flint where the rain was at its hardest and my hands were really cold. It felt like someone else was changing gear for me; I couldn't feel the levers.
Rhyll wasn't inspiring but our stop at McDonalds was very welcome and, after that, it got better and better as we rode into the sunset.
Sadly we missed the fish 'n chips and, once we'd found the Travelodge, Helen team leader, Wanda and I could only be arsed to wander across to the Wetherspoons for food and beer. It was very welcome although I should have taken my lenses out and put my specs on; everything was getting blurry by then.

On Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast back in Wetherspoons before Helen team leader, TMN, Adrian and I rode to Llandudno Junction for trains to home. In perfect weather. Grrrrrr.

Many, many thanks for organising this Nicky, it was a great day out and I was impressed by the way you took control after the accident. I was just about to suggest that some of us should carry on to get the slower riders on their way when you said exactly that.
It was also great to see some old familiar faces again and to meet some new CCers.

My Strava, it's less impressive than BRounley's :-
https://www.strava.com/activities/292975559

And yo, Wanda. Sis .

.

 

[mybike]

Oh dear, lost newt for a decade or so yet then.

Good tip, thanks!

Base camp is very easy to use. http://www8.garmin.com/support/mappingsw.jsp

 

[Wobblers]

* Note to self - buy @McWobble a calculator for Christmas.

I didn't say I stopped after two, did I? Though I do seem to be with pint in hand in your photos. That can't be representative, surely...

 

[Wobblers]

@nickyboy, as others are saying, you have already done the major part of the work - and I think you have created the potential for not just one but three possible rides:

(1) The full route, advertised as a tough one with a brisk average pace. Start time a bit earlier, say 8 am, and forget trying to get to the chip shop by 7 pm as there are loads of places in Llandudno to eat.
(2) The route from Manchester to somewhere like Shotton or Flint, which is a good reasonably taxing 50-60 miles. Same start time, less rushed coffee and lunch stops. People make their own arrangements for returning (train, car parked up, ride back).
(3) The last part from Shotton to Llandudno, which sounds nice, flatter, and easily within most people's range. Could be done in the other direction for a tailwind, but with returning to lovely Llandudno by whatever means for post-ride food and beerage.

Just a spontaneous idle thought really. Nos 2 and 3 could perhaps be tweaked even further to miss out some of the main roads - although I didn't think they were all that bad personally and ironically that wasn't where anyone came to grief was it.

Chester might make the obvious end or start point for 2 and 3 respectively, especially given that it has a better train service. Some thought's probably going to have to go into how to get in and out of Chester as some oik in a planning office appears to have taken what was a perfectly charming historic town and wrecked it with a ghastly series of dual carriageway ring roads...

Perhaps I should come clean and confess that one of the reasons why I cycled back home in the dead of night when every other sensible soul was sleeping off their hangovers was because I've been pondering whether or not this would make a decent route for a North Wales night ride. Well... it's flat, and there's no traffic to speak of. But it's also the most soul destroying forty miles I've ever cycled in my life. Think of an extended never ending version of Crawley, only without the charm... I was bored stiff by the time I'd left Rhyl. And frozen stiff as well as being bored stiff by Flint. So, no, I can't see that working. @middleagecyclist's inland route might work - I'll need to look at it more carefully - but there will be hills, and plenty of them unfortunately. I'd be happy to organise something if there's any interest.

 

[middleagecyclist]

...Perhaps I should come clean and confess that one of the reasons why I cycled back home in the dead of night when every other sensible soul was sleeping off their hangovers was because I've been pondering whether or not this would make a decent route for a North Wales night ride. Well... it's flat, and there's no traffic to speak of. But it's also the most soul destroying forty miles I've ever cycled in my life. Think of an extended never ending version of Crawley, only without the charm... I was bored stiff by the time I'd left Rhyl. And frozen stiff as well as being bored stiff by Flint. So, no, I can't see that working. @middleagecyclist's inland route might work - I'll need to look at it more carefully - but there will be hills, and plenty of them unfortunately. I'd be happy to organise something if there's any interest.

The route I've done inland was the outward leg of a 400k audax. It was very pleasant in the daytime but climb/views ratio might not be quite the same in the dead of night. The lanes would be black though so star spotting would be great if there were no clouds. The coast road from Rhyl to Flint was part of the return leg at night. It was certainly interesting cycling thru these towns at 22:00hrs on a weekend! I have to concur though it was the most boring part of the ride. However, if you start at Bangor and use the cycle path to Conway, you get the amazing view of the floodlit castle as you enter Conway along the west shore of the river on car free path. Bangor to Manchester Night Ride anyone?

 

[I like Skol]

Here we go, just for Rich P.....

Sung by Bonnie Tyler, whereas the performer we finally remembered that sung Lylac Wine was Elkie Brooks.