SCR Trip - The aftermath

stuaff

Cafewanda wrote:

StuAff - sorry to read about the prang. Would soaking in a Radox bath help with recovery?

Me feeling envious............

Probably hurt a bit for my liking, and I hate bathing...just showers for me. Thanks for the thought though!

Feltup

Sounds like you all had an entertaining weekend. I love the look of the Gospel Pass, another one for my tick list

benno68

Looks like a great weekend! Nice pics guys.

I'm going to have to take my bike up there and have a go myself sometime soon!

biondino

James, why is your avatar a bath mat?

I don't think I've got much to add to all the above! Except everyone hated the music on my ipod (Olivia called it "bland" which is basically like punching me in the stomach and kneeing me in the balls, especially since she herself enjoys the Dave Mathews Bland), and my Boggle suggestion was not met with joy from everyone.

Darts and pool were fun, as was watching Brun trying to escape from a predatory older man. Of course there's a fine line between "trying to escape" and "playing hard to get", so ymmv.

Did I mention I surpassed 50mph? I may have...

il_principe

Some piccies I may have stolen Ian's as well...

And here they are on a map

And now 2 rather poor videos:

top of the B4560

Summit of Gospel Pass

stuaff

biondino wrote:

James, why is your avatar a bath mat?

I don't think I've got much to add to all the above! Except everyone hated the music on my ipod (Olivia called it "bland" which is basically like punching me in the stomach and kneeing me in the balls, especially since she herself enjoys the Dave Mathews Bland), and my Boggle suggestion was not met with joy from everyone.

Darts and pool were fun, as was watching Brun trying to escape from a predatory older man. Of course there's a fine line between "trying to escape" and "playing hard to get", so ymmv.

Did I mention I surpassed 50mph? I may have...

I didn't hate the music on your iPod, you've got some great stuff on there. Jane's Addiction, DJ Shadow (sort out the ID tags!).....

il_principe

StuAff wrote:

biondino wrote:

James, why is your avatar a bath mat?

I don't think I've got much to add to all the above! Except everyone hated the music on my ipod

I didn't hate the music on your iPod.

I did.

I also hate boggle.

roger_merriman

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

It's very common to brake for cattle grids even if you know it's a bad idea, on the tour of the black mountains quite a few where braking on the cattle grid coming up to gospel pass, ie uphill.

I think it was the uphill cattle grid that caused the most worry for me, standing up in a low gear doesn't afford the best grip :?

at my weight it's not a problem! there are some advantages to being heavy!

Aguila

biondino wrote:

as was watching Brun trying to escape from a predatory older man. Of course there's a fine line between "trying to escape" and "playing hard to get", so ymmv.

.

Are you a sponge or a stone?

itboffin

Il Principe wrote:

StuAff wrote:

biondino wrote:

James, why is your avatar a bath mat?

I don't think I've got much to add to all the above! Except everyone hated the music on my ipod

I didn't hate the music on your iPod.

I did.

I also hate boggle.

I'm hoping boggle involves some kind of key swapping swinging otherwise :shock:

stuaff

itboffin wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

StuAff wrote:

biondino wrote:

James, why is your avatar a bath mat?

I don't think I've got much to add to all the above! Except everyone hated the music on my ipod

I didn't hate the music on your iPod.

I did.

I also hate boggle.

I'm hoping boggle involves some kind of key swapping swinging otherwise :shock:

Otherwise what exactly?

linsen

Dear James
Thank you for getting our backsides in gear and organising a great trip. I kinda guessed you hated Boggle ;-) As for the Prince and the muck - I felt your pain....

Dear Ian
Well done for your average speed of 468mph or similar - it was impressive to say the least. You have also taught me how NOT to defrost Carlsberg....

Dear Rob
Some of your kit was co-ordinated. Could you sort that please?

Dear Liv
You are awesome on a bike. FACT

Dear Mark (Blondie)
You found the best bike storage. FACT

Dear Stuart
Chapeau - you fell off twice and just kept ploughing on

Dear Mark (BJUK)
You embody MTFU (especially after your eventful journey home too)

Dear Jon
You should have done extra laps. Of WALES. You didn't look anywhere near tired enough at any point.

Dear Linds
WTFU - lose some flab, get back on the bike and put some miles in so you no longer have the lanterne rouge attached to your bike

I loved that trip. I dd the least riding of anyone, but the good news is that I can still stand up straight and walk. I learned some things last weekend.....

1. Pinarello Princes do not dissolve in the rain after all
2. James hates Boggle
3. It is hard to find music that everyone in a group that size likes
4. It is hard to hit the numbers on a dartborad consistently when a little tipsy
5. PIzzas in Wales have more topping. FACT
6. Cooked breakfasts are good, though slightly unnecessary when you then don't ride your bike
7. I really like Guinness
8. You cannot ride up to the top of Lord Hereford's Knob on a bike
9. There are a few hills in Wales
10. I need some decent cycling shorts
11. The standard bunkhouse measurement makes rather assertive coffee
12. You cannot defrost Carlsberg in a microwave oven

stuaff

Linds, Chapeau to you too. I needed a firm but gentle word about not joining the others Monday, and got it. Ta muchly. And you did rather well yourself!! I was the lanterne rouge and don't you forget it

That was only one proper fall- the first one was more of a 'losing my balance coming off the bike' thing. Gospel Pass was a proper fall though. Viner currently at Velocity for some TLC (wheel truing, gear service, frame checks). I'm getting there, time is allegedly a great healer

biondino

Pinarello Princes do not dissolve in the rain after all

Are you absolutely sure? Has James taken it to the carbon fibre hospital for the criminally paranoid yet?

Lbaguley

oh, I'm so jealous and absolutely gutted I couldn't join you guys, it sounds like a great weekend.

When I'm back to fitness I hope to join one of the social or slowcial rides and look forward to the next SCR Trip.

DonDaddyD

I should have went along...

jonginge

Just realised I haven't posted on this thread. Very remiss of me.

It was a lovely weekend: just the right mix of cycling, pubbing and grubbing*.

Bass has reported on the Saturday and Sunday rides but Monday was the big one: 70miles with over 6000ft of climbing. The group had been whittled down by this point with both Marks heading home, Stu ploughing a lone furrow for the day and Lindsey resting her back. So, James, Rob, Ian, Olivia and I started off into the light drizzle. The route went SW from Talgarth and was part of the Tour of the Black Mountains sportive and we soon hit some 20% lumps, which opened up the lungs a bit and breezed the cobwebs away.

Did I mention it had been raining? A couple of the early descents had mud washed from the verges all over them. There were no dramas going down but we ended up very muddy. I fear the white bits of James' shorts may never be the same again. Olivia, so strong on the flat, decided after 20 miles that discretion was the better part of valour in the hills (we were directly facing a 20%er at the time) and headed for the pub along the valley road, still 20 miles away.

The four amigos then went forth up hill and down dale. There were some fantastic hair-pinned ascents out of the valleys and I had a strong reminiscence for my alpine trip last year Everyone was tired, James was a bit depressed about the noises coming from his drivetrain but we pressed on and reached the pub to be greeted by Linds and Lit (who'd been there quite a while) and shortly thereafter by a welcome pub lunch (at 4pm).

James, Rob and Olivia called it a day and got ferried back to base but Ian and I decided to finish the last 13 or so miles of the loop. We were rewarded with some stunning empty lanes flanked by meadows and the sun bursting through the clouds to form double rainbows: magic. The 2 miles descent back into Talgarth was great, too


Linds, I have perfected by poker-face during SCR. My asthmatic warthog impression I reserve for the glorious solitude at the top of a climb

I've remembered that I like whisky.

I'll post up my garmin activities tonight. The connect site has been having maintenance for the last couple of evenings.

* Eating food but not digging it up first

Bassjunkieuk

JG - You appear to be spot on the reports, I covered Saturday and Sunday and am now wishing I stayed to punish myself on the Monday :-)

EDIT: Two can play that game ;-)

stuaff

DonDaddyD wrote:

I should have went along...

Well, you had the chance, you didn't take it....It's Karen I feel sorry for. All that long hard riding you could have given her

stuaff

Lbaguley wrote:

oh, I'm so jealous and absolutely gutted I couldn't join you guys, it sounds like a great weekend.

When I'm back to fitness I hope to join one of the social or slowcial rides and look forward to the next SCR Trip.

Yup, it was a smashing weekend (and that's not a reference to my prang!), shingles is a PITA, so hope you get better soon. +1 about the next trip, and rides......

jonginge

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

JG - You appear to be a day out of sync with the reports, I covered Saturday and Sunday and am now wishing I stayed to punish myself on the Monday :-)

Rats - you are quite correct. I foresee a bit of revisionist history coming on...
Edit: I don't see any problem
Edit2: m-wah-ha-ha

stuaff

To complete the ride reports set, 'Wot I did when all these mad buggers were crawling up the Black Mountains, or trying to'. Linds and Rob in particular were of the firm opinion that I shouldn't go for that one, and though part of me wanted to metaphorically go 'la la la' and kill myself up those climbs, the rest of me saw sense and sort of planned my own route for the day. Some of the climbing on Saturday, and Sunday to a lesser extent, had really taken it out on me, through poor technique/lack of ultra-low gearing/lack of willpower/just being too darn skinny/all of the above, so it was definitely the best thing. Ironically, if I'd taken the Jetstream, I'd probably have been in better shape- down to 22", so I could have just sat and spun....
I was not, however, ready for the wicker basket just yet, nor was I going to do thirty miles or something and then just sit around the lodge, oh no. I left with the others about 1230, they went one way and I went the other. Originally, I thought of going up to Hay, then Clyro, back round to Talgarth, and then do further laps of that. But I ended up going back down to Brecon, via the A roads mostly. I say mostly, because the traffic was a little heavy for my liking (easier in a group) and the road surface was that really annoying buzzy tarmac that sends vibration right through to your hands and posterior. So I pulled off the main roads onto the tracks, and worked my way, eventually, via a 'creative' route, to Brecon. No Garmin, no GPS, no map, just my sense of direction (somewhat unreliable at times!) and road signs. The others had been somewhat keen to get the pack off my back, so for lunch I nipped into Morrisons for a sandwich, having left my carbon masterpiece unlocked outside.
Getting back from Brecon without a map proved to be a bit of a pain. One route led to a dual carriageway (er no thanks), took an hour just to find the right way out of town, but eventually, after much trial and error- no, hill repeats - plus detours up a couple of farm tracks- I went the right way, finding myself on the road to Llangors (near the lake), and I knew where I was from then on. Back up to Talgarth just before five, texted Linds to see how the others were doing. Still out on the road, another hour or more out, came the reply. So I went back up to Hay then Clyro and back. Despite a stiff headwind on the return, I was still back well before the others. Total mileage I reckon 60 or so, including the detours, certainly comfortably over 50. And plenty of climbing and descending practice....

il_principe

For those who are interested here are the 3 bigger climbs we did:

Saturday Morning Llangynidr
Saturday Afternoon Gospel Pass
Monday Heol Senni

Not sure how accurate the data is.

roger_merriman

Il Principe wrote:

For those who are interested here are the 3 bigger climbs we did:

Saturday Morning Llangynidr
Saturday Afternoon Gospel Pass
Monday Heol Senni

Not sure how accurate the data is.

not very but one gets the gist.

sounds a blast just a shame I got unemployed for so long! now back at work commuting a whole 4 1/2 mile around trip....

Bassjunkieuk

Il Principe wrote:

For those who are interested here are the 3 bigger climbs we did:

Saturday Morning Llangynidr
Saturday Afternoon Gospel Pass
Monday Heol Senni

Not sure how accurate the data is.

I assume the numbers for height is measured in metres? It's od being able to look at the first climb for Saturday and being able to remember just where each ramp up in grade came :-)

jonginge

Well, that was harder work than the weekend but the 705 data is now up on garmin connect:

Saturday
Sunday
Monday

Oddjob62

Unfortunately my new bike is a week too late for this trip. Definitely next time.

biondino

Here are my pics - mostly the same as everyone else's... Please in particular notice the pic of my computer

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21373331@N ... 037217799/

Cafewanda

Biondino, that computer's not pink. What's up with that?

Linds, I didn't know you COULD defrost Carlsberg in a microwave :shock:



Me even more envious........

linsen

Cafewanda wrote:

Biondino, that computer's not pink. What's up with that?

Linds, I didn't know you COULD defrost Carlsberg in a microwave :shock:



Me even more envious........

you can't, but we had fun contemplating it