Crudcatcher Ride - Snowdon!!

Proutster

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

The trouble with starting off up one path, then coming down another is that you then have an almighty ride to get back to where you left the car. Unless you can organise some kind of car split thing.

Isn't that route a loop though? It shows it is on the pdf:

clicky

YeehaaMcgee

Oh, I hadn't seen the PDF, silly me. Yes, that's a loop, I thought they followed the ranger's back to Rhyd ddu.
That's one of the popular snowdon routes. The descent is very technical in places though, may be worth waying up the skill levels of our band of riders and maybe splitting into groups if needed.

Proutster

OK, good point - not everyone's as daft as me!!

What would be your recommended route for the more sensible ones, so that we can offer a choice?

tudj

In! Not fussed about routes/accom - happy to go with the majority

YeehaaMcgee

Proutster wrote:

OK, good point - not everyone's as daft as me!!

What would be your recommended route for the more sensible ones, so that we can offer a choice?

the best route for the less technically inclined, would be a straightforward up/down the llanberis path. If the rest of us choose the more technical route, we could do that loop and still all meet up together in Llanberis.

Proutster

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

the best route for the less technically inclined, would be a straightforward up/down the llanberis path. If the rest of us choose the more technical route, we could do that loop and still all meet up together in Llanberis.

Right everyone - that's the plan then, two routes - 1 "easier" as above and 1 the pdf above.

The plan will be to meet up on the Friday evening, ride Snowdon on the Saturday and then either Penmachno, Coed y Brenin or Antur Stiniog (depending on votes etc.) on Sunday. Then we all go home into our virtual worlds and forget that we've ever met each other....

Can we confirm who's going and I'll start to dig into accomodation etc.?

As far as I can work out, this is the list so far:

Going:
Squareflops
welshkev
Proutster
pilch
lawman
thekickingmule
Yeehaa (no accomm)
Bails87
Richie63
Tudj
Maybe:
Angry Bird
VWsurfbum
Pesky Jones
Projectsome
DodgeT
Northwind
TheNorthernTrain
Mike Deere

Anybody that I've missed, please add yourself over the next few days and on Monday next week I'll start on researching / booking the accommodation

pesky_jones

you may want to remove MTB_TR from 'going' list as I changed my name - I can see Pesky Jones in the maybe list and you can leave it there...not sure if im fit enough for snowdon - I wouldnt want to hold people back as this would be my first group ride as such, and am not sure of my capabilities XC in comparison with you guys. Normally do 20-40 mile in a day but that is at my own pace (probally do more in a group to keep up!) - and also this is on pretty flat ground around herts and essex. Anyone in a similar situation going?

EDIT: By "Normally do 20-40 mile in a day..." I dont mean everyday, i mean if i ride XC this is normally the max I can do

DodgeT

Bearing in mind I cant read maps for toffee, but that looks like beris path up, rangers into telegraph down?
If so I'd prob go for doing the beris up and down I think as rangers/telegraph seemed like a big waste of a ride/push up as I remember it. Of course if its a different route, yeehaa you mentioned rhyd ddu, then I'd be interested to hear..

YeehaaMcgee

You don't really want to end up in Rhyd ddu. If you do, you have to ride over some big-ass hills to get back to Llanberis!

pilch

It pains me to say this, but i'm going to have to cancel

I promised to help out with one of the local road races in a moment of weakness ages ago.... and i've just realised that it's 6th April, I guess I could do the ride the sat then go home sat night missing out on beers - but that's not gonna happen

If for some reason anything changes before i'll be back up for it, but please don't book any accommodation for me at the moment.

DodgeT

Ah, when I clicked on the link before (on my tab) it only showed the map, now i've read it on pc, I can see the whole description... It is rangers into telegraph.
Anyone here rode it? I rode it a couple of years ago and from how I recollect it, it seems STW have made it sound better than it is / was.
For me, i remember;
first bit after turning off beris path was singletrack, which quickly turned into a bit of a scree field
then there was some tight switchbacks, but not many
then there was the chutes / boulders that they talk about, but only for a couple of hundred yards
it was then an averagely flat path down to where you shoot up for telegraph valley
telegraph valley was literally just a flat paved path with water bars every couple of hundred yards to hop over
Compared to the beris path, which is rocky, techy, gnarly, pretty much all the way. Id say beris 80% tech 20% easy, rangers/telegraph 30% tech 70% easy. The picture you see on the rangers bit, its only like that for a very short section.

Be interested to hear some other thoughts of you guys who have rode it. I remember thinking that next time id go up beris and turn straight back round and come down the same way.

Another option of course, to cater for all (if they so wish of course - but techy wise, rangers only has say 200yds worth of stuff which might have to be walked) could be to do both routes, ie do it twice? Should be perfectly doable.
When we did it, it took a real steady paced 2hrs up, then took the same down - but due to 3 bloomin tube changes.. First one due to breaking the friggin valve on tubeless setup, which ended up in much messyness. Then 2 pinch flats on the way down as the pump I had with me decided not to work very well... Dam those water bars and my lack of bunny hop technique :roll: Realistically, 30 mins to an hour down should be easy - barring mechanicals...

We did it in the morning, then rode penmachno straight after, don't mind admitting it killed me. But snowdon up and down twice in the same day should be fine. Start at 9 ish, eat at pete's for lunch, then up again after lunch?

Proutster

pilch wrote:

It pains me to say this, but i'm going to have to cancel

I promised to help out with one of the local road races in a moment of weakness ages ago.... and i've just realised that it's 6th April, I guess I could do the ride the sat then go home sat night missing out on beers - but that's not gonna happen

If for some reason anything changes before i'll be back up for it, but please don't book any accommodation for me at the moment.

That's a shame mate, would've been good to see you again!!

YeehaaMcgee

DodgeT wrote:

Id say beris 80% tech 20% easy, rangers/telegraph 30% tech 70% easy.

You reckon? I've not ridden Rangers, but I've walked it, and from memory it had some massive rock steps on the way up that I remember thinking would be a bit sphincter clenching on a bike, and that section went on for quite some time.
Llanberis path though, I've ridden and walked it, and there's only one or two short sections that I would have considered challenging.
My memory may be foggy, admittedly.

But, you're right about Telegraph. Locals here would have me strung up for saying it, but it's nothing special really. so, sssh, I never said that, right?

EDIT:
Hmm they have been doing maintenance on the paths, maybe we rode it in a rather different state of repair?

DodgeT

It's been a couple of years since I rode it, so memory aint 100%, but I certainly dont remember there being much that was nasty, I do probably ride slower than most though.
Your right about beris being not particularly challenging, but, my thoughts are i'd prefer interesting for most of the run, than mega rad gnar balls out for a few hundred yards, then pretty much easy paths for the remainder.
Each to their own though and we can just decide at the time / the top. Good thing with going up and considering coming down beris, is you've got a good idea on whats to come. Or just do them both then we'd have a perfect comparsion

YeehaaMcgee

Hmm, I do have a helmet cam now, I wonder if I can find the time to ride both before April so y'all can see them first

DodgeT

/\ /\ So, weekend has been and gone, did you do both routes??


Prouts, remember Alex from Stiniog?, think he will be up for it too. Mike is interested also.

YeehaaMcgee

DodgeT wrote:

/\ /\ So, weekend has been and gone, did you do both routes??

No. Had a lazy, and unexpectedly expensive weekend :evil:

tudj

I'm going to drop out of this, I'm signed up to club rides the 2 weekends either side and would like to leave this one for none bikey stuffs.

cat_with_no_tail

Now it's starting to look more like a proper crudcatcher event.

YeehaaMcgee

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Now it's starting to look more like a proper crudcatcher event.

you mean, people coming up with their own alternate plans, and/or cancelling completely?

cat_with_no_tail

The very same.

Gazlar

For that reason I'm back in



no I'm not

yeah I am

Actually, no I'm not now

Proutster

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Now it's starting to look more like a proper crudcatcher event.

you mean, people coming up with their own alternate plans, and/or cancelling completely?

So, on that vein, can we get a definitive ins and outs list?

Proutster wrote:

As far as I can work out, this is the list so far:

Going:
Squareflops (although doubtful in my mind if his buddy NM isn't coming)
welshkev
Proutster
lawman
thekickingmule
Yeehaa (no accomm)
Bails87
Richie63
Maybe:
Angry Bird
VWsurfbum
Pesky Jones
Projectsome
DodgeT
mike_s14
Alex off of Epic Brakes
Northwind
TheNorthernTrain
Mike Deere

Oh and Gazlar, schtopppp - you're confusing my tiny brain with your in, out, in, out, shake it all about

DodgeT

And to confuse matters even more.... myself, mike and alex will be doing it full monty style, ie one night only, that being the saturday night, assuming thats OK.

cat_with_no_tail

I've got a vein for you right here.

Proutster

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I've got a vein for you right here.

Hook, line & sinker....

Proutster

DodgeT wrote:

And to confuse matters even more.... myself, mike and alex will be doing it full monty style, ie one night only, that being the saturday night, assuming thats OK.

So, you're definites but no accommodation for Friday night - just Saturday night?

cat_with_no_tail

Proutster wrote:

DodgeT wrote:

And to confuse matters even more.... myself, mike and alex will be doing it full monty style, ie one night only, that being the saturday night, assuming thats OK.

So, you're definites but no accommodation for Friday night - just Saturday night?

I assumed that he meant they were riding in the buff.

Gazlar

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Proutster wrote:

DodgeT wrote:

And to confuse matters even more.... myself, mike and alex will be doing it full monty style, ie one night only, that being the saturday night, assuming thats OK.

So, you're definites but no accommodation for Friday night - just Saturday night?

I assumed that he meant they were riding in the buff.

What? Just one of them tube scarves?

DodgeT

Proutster wrote:

So, you're definites but no accommodation for Friday night - just Saturday night?

Aye, barring floods, an ice age etc. Oh wait, that's this week..

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I assumed that he meant they were riding in the buff.

Have to see if it warms up a bit first.