FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - suggestions for 2011 please

[rich p]

Oh, my darlin´, tell me when
Mmm, my darlin´, tell me when


Tony Who?

Engelbert was more my era. I really am that young

 

[ianrauk]

Nicely bumped. Preliminary investigations have been made for a Cardiff-Mumbles jaunt. Millennium Stadium to the pier. I have a halfway stop and a destination cafe, and no hills after the halfway point. Will pester DZ to look into it further when the pressure is off after the Big Martlets Ride. Who's up for it?


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Seeing as some of my folks live just outside Cardiff, I have no excuse not to visit and join a ride have I?

 

[theclaud]

Nice piccs - I'd be tempted. I'm looking for a flattish route to strart my FNRTTC career - especially if it's next year, (by which time I'll have bought a new bike with all the trimmings if all goes to plan)

Is it easy to get a train to the start and finish though? You're living in another country for goodness sake

Cardiff's pretty accessible by train, from London, Brimingham, Bristol, Manchester etc. Swansea's also OK but direct services from some places are a bit less frequent, and the return might have to be staggered a bit (I'm not just talking about the booze) unless we were to get lucky and get a nice train manager to open up the space for about 8 extra bikes that currently exists unused on all the FGW intercity trains (). If people aren't in a hurry to get back all at once, a few stragglers would be welcome to loaf around Mumbles on Saturday and avail themselves of lunch, showers and bike storage chez Claud and pals.

 

[theclaud]

Seeing as some of my folks live just outside Cardiff, I have no excuse not to visit and join a ride have I?

That's the spirit!

 

[Christopher]

Put my name down as an interested party please theclaud - I could go stay in my caving club's hut near Abergavenny before and after the ride, good connections Cardiff to/from Abergavenny...

 

[theclaud]

Cheers Chris - just after a general impression of how many people would be interested, really - so as to talk numbers to people being persuaded to open Cafes at 3am and 7am. DZ is contemplating the 2011 FNRttC programme and said he'd be interested in a Welsh one, so I'm trying to steer him towards the Cardiff-Mumbles option. Gloucester-Cardiff Bay looks a possibility too, but Cardiff bay isn't properly seasidy in the same way.

Abergavenny eh? How often are you up there? I take it you've had a pint in the pub in the Llanthony Priory cellar, and sampled the cider at the Clytha Arms? The Skirrid Mountain Inn is also a great place to end a strenuous day. There's a black mountains mtb route in one of Nick Cotton's fab little books which features a horrific climb straight up from near Llanthony rewarded by a long descent the other side which he quite rightly describes as "stupendous". If you're a knobbly-tyres man, I can't recommend it highly enough.

 

[Origamist]

What are the pubs in Mumbles like - up to Cleethorpes A++ standard?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

What are the pubs in Mumbles like - up to Cleethorpes A++ standard?

Probably even better than Top Town

 

[theclaud]

What are the pubs in Mumbles like - up to Cleethorpes A++ standard?

Ha! A bit more genteel, naturally. But perhaps some people just have punchable faces?

Actually the Mumbles Mile is wildly over-rated, but there are good pubs and I know where they are...

 

[Origamist]

Ha! A bit more genteel, naturally. But perhaps some people just have punchable faces?

Actually the Mumbles Mile is wildly over-rated, but there are good pubs and I know where they are...

Yes, Andy's boyish good looks seem to attract trouble

I'd be up for a Welsh ride FNRttC.

 

[dellzeqq]

I'd be happy with either Gloucester to Cardiff Bay (which has considerable compensations, not least the Welsh Assembly building, the huge great theatre thingy, the seaman's church and the best small hotel I know) or Cardiff to Mumbles, which would, I imagine, be the smaller ride.

I've had a stray thought based simply on knowing where it's possible to get a sarnie, or, indeed, a pint in the wee small hours - Bristol-Cardiff-Swansea. Is that mad?

 

[upsidedown]

Wolverhampton to Aberdovey ? There's a direct Arriva train back. Wolves Police already do a daytime run there, looks great, finishes at the yeacht club.

 

[StuartG]

Wolverhampton to Aberdovey ? There's a direct Arriva train back. Wolves Police already do a daytime run there, looks great, finishes at the yeacht club.

Yep = with room for up to two bikes ,,,

 

[TimO]

Yep = with room for up to two bikes ,,,

... and a quick check with one of the train websites suggests they run every two hours, so with 60 cyclists we'd all manage to return in only three days.

 

[dellzeqq]

provisionally (and accepting that you can't please everybody all of the time)

18 March Southend-on-Sea via Junction 31
15 April Manchester to Blackpool via Blackburn/Ribchester
22 April Felpham near Bognor Regis via Cabin Cafe, Faygate
13 May Brighton via Planet Sweet, Horley
20 May South Wales FNRttC
17 June Whitstable via Andy's Café, Rochester
15 July ‘Genteel Ride’ to Brighton via Planet Sweet, Horley
21 July Newhaven and Dieppe via Gatwick
12 August Felpham near Bognor Regis via Cabin Cafe, Faygate
9 September Martlets FNRttC to Brighton
16 September ‘SuperSpeedy Ride’ to Harwich
14 October Brighton via Planet Sweet, Horley
11 November Whitstable via Andy's Café, Rochester
9 December Southend-on-Sea via Junction 31

if Mike wants to run the York to Cleethorpes ride again then I'd be up for that
not counting YtoC that's 14 rides (a record). Whitstable loses one and Bognor gains one. There's no ride in February and Southend moves out to the extremities of the season, which I regret, but if the weather is foul it's a very much easier ride.