ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
It does normally rain quite a lot up here, but it seems to have been a reasonably dry year so far.
FNRttC Manchester-Morecambe FNRttC 16th October 2015.
- Thread starter Andrew Br
- Start date
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U
User482
Guest
Simon and Andrew rode it in the wet, and got covered in filth.
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
It hasn't rained for over a week. The route includes chippings over mud so I'd imagine when wet it could get 'interesting'
I ride the track a lot (commuting into Lancaster). In general it drains pretty well although there are a couple of short sections under the trees that do become muddy, but perfectly rideable. The tarmaced section can completely flood given the right tide/ wind/ rain conditions.
An excellent night out with a magnificent view at the destination. Thanks @mcshroom for the company over breakfast and towards Arnside. Without you I may have felt abandoned like a condemned prisoner looking across the Bay to the hills.
Pity about the towpath to Carnforth although the night had not been notable for good surfaces. And sorry about the navigation error that sent us uphill.
Hope your wait for a train was not too long. The Cycle Way was still lumpier than expected when I found it again & there was a ghastly section along the A590 before I turned off towards Windermere. But there were no steep ramps on that stretch. I was in my Ambleside B&B by 1.45, 109 miles from Manchester
Pity about the towpath to Carnforth although the night had not been notable for good surfaces. And sorry about the navigation error that sent us uphill.
Hope your wait for a train was not too long. The Cycle Way was still lumpier than expected when I found it again & there was a ghastly section along the A590 before I turned off towards Windermere. But there were no steep ramps on that stretch. I was in my Ambleside B&B by 1.45, 109 miles from Manchester
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Well, that was gradely...
The journey up wasn't very much though! As I posted upthread, on account of lack of bike reservations on suitably timed (and priced!) trains for the return- when you have another 90 mins on a train after getting into That London, earlier is better than later- I was obliged to take the folding option. This was not, to be absolutely fair, much of a hardship. No hardship at all. Chutney's a fun to ride bike with the gear range to climb pretty much anything. And a most excellent luggage carrier (carrying most excellent luggage in the form of an Orlieb pannier). With the benefit of hindsight, if I hadn't, even with both bike reservations, I, like Sonia, would have been screwed. It's kind of handy when your bike fits in a luggage rack or corridor niche at the best of times. In these...
London-bound train from Pompey to Winchester, Virgin service to Mordor Central, another Virgin service to Piccadilly. All three ran late. Train one only by a minute or two and the Virgin one was coming in on the same platform, so no problem there. If it ran on time, I'd have thirteen minutes at New Street to make the connection at 2031. Unfortunately, it did the stopping-outside-the-station-for-no-reason thing and didn't pull in until 2030. Even if the Manchester service had been on the next platform, I'd never have made it. Next Manchester service was 2057. And that ran late too. Instead of ten on the dot, arrived at Piccadilly about 2245. Good job I'd allowed that much time! After introductions and nattering, the assembled throng pootled round to Albert Square (as others noted, architecture and lighting somewhat reminiscent of the Grand Place in Brussels) where we met up with and were joined by further others.
After Andrew's entertaining take on the safety talk, off we went. No tramlines were hurt in the making of this ride, thankfully. Pace kept steady through the urban sprawl, which included a short section of Bury New Road (memories of visiting the sister in digs somewhere along there thirty-odd years ago). The climbing started early on- as in the south, roads called '...Hill' are usually well named... Helen peeled off to home in Whitefield, before the rest of us paused in Bury to mark last year's tragic events. Just for a change, there was then some more climbing. Certainly not complaining- kept me warm, and pretty much anywhere I ride down here is lumpy. Flatter than the IOW (yes, really), and long grindy climbs aren't too bad for me. Silly low gearing is thoroughly sensible for those. I think it was on the Tottington climb that my handlepost started playing up (or more accurately, it nearly collapsed on me, the safety catch wasn't engaged- did that sharpish!). At this point, I didn't want to try and sort it, thought it was manageable, couldn't remember quite how to adjust it (though I have checked it before, it had been quite a while). More on that anon.
And then into Blackburn for our rather-less-than-halfway stop at McDonalds. If UK head office were looking for a flagship branch, that isn't it. But it did the job. @McWobble's gearing needed considerable fettling to give him at least some usable options (most of us stayed in the warm). Chutney's handlepost problems didn't resolve themselves, and the fore and aft movement in the bars became somewhat alarming. I tried to put as little pressure on the bars as possible, and eased off a bit. For those who don't know what I'm on about, there's no conventional stem on my Dahon, like most folders, as the head tube is so low. The bars sit atop a long handlepost. A locking lever allows a hinge at the base to open or close and thereby to fold/unfold the bars. The lever should require reasonable force to move, it was almost flopping. There's a plastic catch as a fail safe…that was holding the bars up (!!!!). At a stop, I searched for and downloaded a Dahon manual, and @Eddie_C had the right spanner for the nut that controlled the hinge tension. After a bit of trial-and error tightening (too tight and it won't open at all or be damaged) the hinge was just about right, and the bars had no play. Phew. Trivial to fix....but definitely not trivial for safety! With that little issue sorted, I could relax and press on again.
There was a little more climbing, but the post-Blackburn 'half' was considerably flatter. More lovely countryside, and that path from Glasson Dock was fun (though if it had been wet, I'd have preferred to have been on the bike with mudguards sitting at home 250 miles south). Rather fancy yet functional cycle bridge at Lancaster (not a white elephant) and the last stretch to Eric's birthplace was nice. Weather did not bring us sunshine, but view was nonetheless fantastic. Then most of us retread our path back into Lancaster and thousands of calories at 'spoons, some of them non-alcoholic.
Made my way to the station with Kim and Katie in plenty of time for the booked 9.56 train. Did seem daft to change trains when the one I was on was going to Euston anyway, but according to the train manager the reservation required me to change, and it was faster to do that anyway. He was certainly right on the latter count- at Crewe for twenty minutes or so, but 35 minutes faster into Euston. Dozed a bit on the train, and this time no delays, into Euston on time. Despite catching absolutely every red light between there and Waterloo, I was just in time for the 1330 train home. Back home, cup of tea...and then a nap. But not until after a walk up to the LBS to pay for and collect the new bike. Which is very (add lots of verys) nice. And Pompey won too. Day full of win, really!
Cracking job Andrew, and thanks everyone else. Glad to finally cross this ride off the to-do list. It's now on the 'do again' list Eric approves.
The journey up wasn't very much though! As I posted upthread, on account of lack of bike reservations on suitably timed (and priced!) trains for the return- when you have another 90 mins on a train after getting into That London, earlier is better than later- I was obliged to take the folding option. This was not, to be absolutely fair, much of a hardship. No hardship at all. Chutney's a fun to ride bike with the gear range to climb pretty much anything. And a most excellent luggage carrier (carrying most excellent luggage in the form of an Orlieb pannier). With the benefit of hindsight, if I hadn't, even with both bike reservations, I, like Sonia, would have been screwed. It's kind of handy when your bike fits in a luggage rack or corridor niche at the best of times. In these...
London-bound train from Pompey to Winchester, Virgin service to Mordor Central, another Virgin service to Piccadilly. All three ran late. Train one only by a minute or two and the Virgin one was coming in on the same platform, so no problem there. If it ran on time, I'd have thirteen minutes at New Street to make the connection at 2031. Unfortunately, it did the stopping-outside-the-station-for-no-reason thing and didn't pull in until 2030. Even if the Manchester service had been on the next platform, I'd never have made it. Next Manchester service was 2057. And that ran late too. Instead of ten on the dot, arrived at Piccadilly about 2245. Good job I'd allowed that much time! After introductions and nattering, the assembled throng pootled round to Albert Square (as others noted, architecture and lighting somewhat reminiscent of the Grand Place in Brussels) where we met up with and were joined by further others.After Andrew's entertaining take on the safety talk, off we went. No tramlines were hurt in the making of this ride, thankfully. Pace kept steady through the urban sprawl, which included a short section of Bury New Road (memories of visiting the sister in digs somewhere along there thirty-odd years ago). The climbing started early on- as in the south, roads called '...Hill' are usually well named... Helen peeled off to home in Whitefield, before the rest of us paused in Bury to mark last year's tragic events. Just for a change, there was then some more climbing. Certainly not complaining- kept me warm, and pretty much anywhere I ride down here is lumpy. Flatter than the IOW (yes, really), and long grindy climbs aren't too bad for me. Silly low gearing is thoroughly sensible for those. I think it was on the Tottington climb that my handlepost started playing up (or more accurately, it nearly collapsed on me, the safety catch wasn't engaged- did that sharpish!). At this point, I didn't want to try and sort it, thought it was manageable, couldn't remember quite how to adjust it (though I have checked it before, it had been quite a while). More on that anon.
And then into Blackburn for our rather-less-than-halfway stop at McDonalds. If UK head office were looking for a flagship branch, that isn't it. But it did the job. @McWobble's gearing needed considerable fettling to give him at least some usable options (most of us stayed in the warm). Chutney's handlepost problems didn't resolve themselves, and the fore and aft movement in the bars became somewhat alarming. I tried to put as little pressure on the bars as possible, and eased off a bit. For those who don't know what I'm on about, there's no conventional stem on my Dahon, like most folders, as the head tube is so low. The bars sit atop a long handlepost. A locking lever allows a hinge at the base to open or close and thereby to fold/unfold the bars. The lever should require reasonable force to move, it was almost flopping. There's a plastic catch as a fail safe…that was holding the bars up (!!!!). At a stop, I searched for and downloaded a Dahon manual, and @Eddie_C had the right spanner for the nut that controlled the hinge tension. After a bit of trial-and error tightening (too tight and it won't open at all or be damaged) the hinge was just about right, and the bars had no play. Phew. Trivial to fix....but definitely not trivial for safety! With that little issue sorted, I could relax and press on again.
There was a little more climbing, but the post-Blackburn 'half' was considerably flatter. More lovely countryside, and that path from Glasson Dock was fun (though if it had been wet, I'd have preferred to have been on the bike with mudguards sitting at home 250 miles south). Rather fancy yet functional cycle bridge at Lancaster (not a white elephant) and the last stretch to Eric's birthplace was nice. Weather did not bring us sunshine, but view was nonetheless fantastic. Then most of us retread our path back into Lancaster and thousands of calories at 'spoons, some of them non-alcoholic.
Made my way to the station with Kim and Katie in plenty of time for the booked 9.56 train. Did seem daft to change trains when the one I was on was going to Euston anyway, but according to the train manager the reservation required me to change, and it was faster to do that anyway. He was certainly right on the latter count- at Crewe for twenty minutes or so, but 35 minutes faster into Euston. Dozed a bit on the train, and this time no delays, into Euston on time. Despite catching absolutely every red light between there and Waterloo, I was just in time for the 1330 train home. Back home, cup of tea...and then a nap. But not until after a walk up to the LBS to pay for and collect the new bike. Which is very (add lots of verys) nice. And Pompey won too. Day full of win, really!
Cracking job Andrew, and thanks everyone else. Glad to finally cross this ride off the to-do list. It's now on the 'do again' list
Eric approves.
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kimble
Veteran
The Proofhouse Junction Pause is of course the train waiting for a route onto a platform, and you'll be pleased to know that it doesn't happen for no reason: AIUI the reason is that a couple of decades ago the decision was made between building some more railway line or a shopping centre, and this - sadly - is Birmingham.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Same as it ever was......
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
No excuse needed, it's a classic!
Siclo
Veteran
Thanks for this @Andrew Br
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
I've been busy doing other stuff, hence the communication blackout, but not a lot to add to the above. Well done to Andrew for organising a brilliant ride, especially the run-in to Lancaster. It's a really nice route, and certainly seems more spectacular than 3 years ago. Although to be fair, in 2012 due to biblical proportions of rain, it wasn't easy to see much in the first half!
Andrew's gear cable snapping inside the shifter was a bit of problem. I only remembered once we'd set off again from the McDonalds that the 5700 version feeds in from the underside (I blame sleep deprivation) but that wouldn't have helped at the time when we were fiddling with it, as it had snapped right on the nipple which was jammed, so it would really need removing and carefully inspecting from underneath in daylight to sort out. So sadly he ended up doing the last half of the ride with only 2 gears, so it was lucky most of the climbing had already been done. The only other issues were a couple of other people had lights fall off, so Adrian and I both handed over spares.
Other random thoughts - Bury town centre was VERY LOUD; stars & planets are great for watching; up on the moors, all you can hear is the wind; they don't spend much on re-surfacing up north.
To make @wanda2010 feel better, I had a Guinness, and we also toasted absent friends. Even though the Lancaster Black was only £1.49 a pint, it's not as good.
PS I have the kitty of £44.51.
PPS Next time we're up north remember how cheap the beer is, so there's no need to put so much in!
Andrew's gear cable snapping inside the shifter was a bit of problem. I only remembered once we'd set off again from the McDonalds that the 5700 version feeds in from the underside (I blame sleep deprivation) but that wouldn't have helped at the time when we were fiddling with it, as it had snapped right on the nipple which was jammed, so it would really need removing and carefully inspecting from underneath in daylight to sort out. So sadly he ended up doing the last half of the ride with only 2 gears, so it was lucky most of the climbing had already been done. The only other issues were a couple of other people had lights fall off, so Adrian and I both handed over spares.
Other random thoughts - Bury town centre was VERY LOUD; stars & planets are great for watching; up on the moors, all you can hear is the wind; they don't spend much on re-surfacing up north.
To make @wanda2010 feel better, I had a Guinness, and we also toasted absent friends. Even though the Lancaster Black was only £1.49 a pint, it's not as good.
PS I have the kitty of £44.51.
PPS Next time we're up north remember how cheap the beer is, so there's no need to put so much in!
kimble
Veteran
Ah yes. I nearly had an embarrassing off due to the distracting combination of a clear sky and a new pair of glasses rendering all things astronomical blur-free for the first time in *ages*.
The Beatles had obviously never visited the West Midlands...
Wobblers
Euthermic
- Location
- Minkowski Space
For once, I managed to make my train with more than moments to spare - a moment of triumph marred only when I my hip flask was still sitting on the kitchen worktop. Arse! But since Adrian never reminded me to bring it, even when I asked, obviously it's his fault. Not my own absent mindedness. Definitely.
On arrival at Manchester, I soon spied where everyone else was from the large collection of bikes visible on the mezzanine level.X Bike marks the spot... A pleasant hour followed meeting people I hadn't seen in far too long, even User482, who indulged in some gentle mockery over the magnificent array of lights adorning my bike.
Our triumphant departure from the town hall was marred only by the discovery that my Philips Saferide 80 was refusing to work. Arse! But that, @User482, is exactly why I had three lights - the failure of one makes for a minor irritation rather than a major inconvenience.
The last time I was on this ride, it had been raining so hard it was difficult to even see the road ahead, so it was a new and pleasant experience to be able to see more than a river flowing down the road. And, yes, there were hills, but they seemed to be more steady climbs rather than steep shocks. With a reasonably small group, we managed to make good progress so it seemed no time at all until we were at the top of the moors looking down on the lights of Blackburn.
Therein followed a triumphant sweeping descent.... marred only by *click* *click* *crunch* - hmm changing gear isn't supposed to sound like that. Arse. Snapped gear cable. Even with the help of Adam, and someone who I'd only met a couple of hours previously (sorry I can't even remember your name, but many thanks) - a perfect illustration of the spirit of the FNRttC - it rapidly became very obvious that this was beyond any mere multitool, brute force and swearing. Arse. But some expert bodging by Adam meant at least I was in a half sensible gear rather than a show-stoppingly useless one.
My earworm for the night was Ladytron's Destroy Everything You Touch. Funnily enough.
The default recourse to sweary cycling helped rather to get me through the rest of the night, though seeing signs for Preston were all too tempting as a bailout option. Still, the skies cleared, revealing Jupiter, Venus and Mars in splendid conjunction - that helped, as did the support from everyone else. Though i will confess that my heart sank on mention of the coastal path, it turned out not to be the Sustrans bog that I feared, and was a far more pleasant route into Lancaster than the road option.
Morecambe, when we arrived almost dead on the predicted 8am, rewarded us with a marvellous view of the Lake District. Breakfast and beers followed in Lancaster, but it seemed no time at all before everyone had to leave and catch trains. Soon it was just Andrew Br myself left. Sorry I couldn't hang around longer, Andrew, but I still had a long journey ahead myself and delaying it would only have made things more difficult.
Whilst it may seem unwise to tackle riding back to Preston with a less than well bike, well it was a nice, sunny afternoon and it's mostly flat. So who needs gears anyway? Besides, I'd spent a good chunk of Friday afternoon planning a route (in lieu of Doing Science) so it would have been a waste not to... Indeed, cyclist and bike were holding up quite nicely by the time I got to Preston, and it would of been almost an hour to wait for the next Ormskirk train, so it seemed rude not to press on. And it's flat over there anyway, right? So who needs gears?
Well, almost flat. There were a few unexpectedly gratuitous hills in the last few miles, and missing a turn meant a few extra miles, but three hours and 44 miles from Lancaster I spotted a sign for the station. Hooray!
So, 115 miles from Manchester, mostly on two speeds. And I'm still tired, my legs still ache, the Philips light's looking rather terminal and I haven't even dared look at the bike yet.
Clearly I need to not leave it a year before doing my next FNRttC.
Thank you Adam, chap with gear cable, and most especially Andrew Br. I'm glad I joined.
On arrival at Manchester, I soon spied where everyone else was from the large collection of bikes visible on the mezzanine level.
Our triumphant departure from the town hall was marred only by the discovery that my Philips Saferide 80 was refusing to work. Arse! But that, @User482, is exactly why I had three lights - the failure of one makes for a minor irritation rather than a major inconvenience.
The last time I was on this ride, it had been raining so hard it was difficult to even see the road ahead, so it was a new and pleasant experience to be able to see more than a river flowing down the road. And, yes, there were hills, but they seemed to be more steady climbs rather than steep shocks. With a reasonably small group, we managed to make good progress so it seemed no time at all until we were at the top of the moors looking down on the lights of Blackburn.
Therein followed a triumphant sweeping descent.... marred only by *click* *click* *crunch* - hmm changing gear isn't supposed to sound like that. Arse. Snapped gear cable. Even with the help of Adam, and someone who I'd only met a couple of hours previously (sorry I can't even remember your name, but many thanks) - a perfect illustration of the spirit of the FNRttC - it rapidly became very obvious that this was beyond any mere multitool, brute force and swearing. Arse. But some expert bodging by Adam meant at least I was in a half sensible gear rather than a show-stoppingly useless one.
My earworm for the night was Ladytron's Destroy Everything You Touch. Funnily enough.
The default recourse to sweary cycling helped rather to get me through the rest of the night, though seeing signs for Preston were all too tempting as a bailout option. Still, the skies cleared, revealing Jupiter, Venus and Mars in splendid conjunction - that helped, as did the support from everyone else. Though i will confess that my heart sank on mention of the coastal path, it turned out not to be the Sustrans bog that I feared, and was a far more pleasant route into Lancaster than the road option.
Morecambe, when we arrived almost dead on the predicted 8am, rewarded us with a marvellous view of the Lake District. Breakfast and beers followed in Lancaster, but it seemed no time at all before everyone had to leave and catch trains. Soon it was just Andrew Br myself left. Sorry I couldn't hang around longer, Andrew, but I still had a long journey ahead myself and delaying it would only have made things more difficult.
Whilst it may seem unwise to tackle riding back to Preston with a less than well bike, well it was a nice, sunny afternoon and it's mostly flat. So who needs gears anyway? Besides, I'd spent a good chunk of Friday afternoon planning a route (in lieu of Doing Science) so it would have been a waste not to... Indeed, cyclist and bike were holding up quite nicely by the time I got to Preston, and it would of been almost an hour to wait for the next Ormskirk train, so it seemed rude not to press on. And it's flat over there anyway, right? So who needs gears?
Well, almost flat. There were a few unexpectedly gratuitous hills in the last few miles, and missing a turn meant a few extra miles, but three hours and 44 miles from Lancaster I spotted a sign for the station. Hooray!
So, 115 miles from Manchester, mostly on two speeds. And I'm still tired, my legs still ache, the Philips light's looking rather terminal and I haven't even dared look at the bike yet.
Clearly I need to not leave it a year before doing my next FNRttC.
Thank you Adam, chap with gear cable, and most especially Andrew Br. I'm glad I joined.
U
User482
Guest
So you brought two spare lights and no spare gear shifters?
Wobblers
Euthermic
- Location
- Minkowski Space
I think you'll find that I brought an entirely and completely separate gear system employing the front chainrings
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