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

[Cubist]

Bloodied but not bowed

Just a scratch.....

This was last night. It feels even more swollen this morning, and the colour pallet would confuse the best impressionists. Excuse the pose......

 

[Cubist]

Whoops, edited after TMN "liked" it. I wouldn't be insulted if you unliked it now! @User13710

 

[Crackle]

Ouch!

 

[StuAff]

Ahem. 105 miles in 8 hours is a relaxed pace?

Where did you get 8 hours from? If you come on that ride, I for one will make sure you get looked after...

 

[Origamist]

I joined the group at Marbury Park after managing to get lost en route and was drenched by a heavy shower on the outskirts of Northwich (a marginally classier town than Middlewich, but arguably, it’s too close to call). The rain and my poor navigational abilities were to reappear at various stages on the ride…

As I waited with a latte and slice of lemon cake for the group to arrive, I basked in the sun in shorts, mitts and a lightweight jersey. I was later to regret the summer kit…Soon I saw some familiar faces: @rich p, @theclaud, @wanda2010 , @User13710 etc/ It had been a couple of years but age had not withered them, apart from Rich P who sadly looked like he had been disinterred specially for the ride. I then met a few very congenial forumites who I only knew by their reputation: @I like Skol (not Troll), @Leaway2 (handsome fellow), the soon to be benighted @Cubist the hard working @nickyboy and @Tail End Charlie . After a longer than anticipated break we set off through Cheshire and headed west. There were a few hills on the way, but nothing too serious. A chap had a problem with his rear wheel and I spotted his QR had come loose – could have ended badly.

As we got to Delamere Forest (home of the Gruffalo Trail and MTB routes) the heavens opened and the wind seemed to pick up. It was pretty much a headwind from here onwards. We seemed to be towards the front of the peleton so stopped to help a fellow rider with a puncture. A young lad on a MTB with a chesty mounted GoPro filmed the event for posterity. When we got going, we quickly got lost. Luckily Rich P had a paper map and we wended our way towards the Eureka Café. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the planned route, but we made good progress and when we arrived at the café, there were not many others there. It was here that I had the pleasure of meeting @pubrunner (and his milk race pump!), @Crackle and @Rickshaw Phil and a couple of other faces from the past: @User and @McWobble . A bacon buttie and a coffee were very welcome, but we then heard the bad news about Cubist. A little while later Nickyboy and I like Skol arrived and told us what happened. On a positive note, they managed to scoff their faces in a pub whilst waiting for the ambulance…

Once again, not having a clue of the route, I did my best to ride with two fine people who made the mistake of saying they had a rough idea of the direction of travel: Rickshaw Phil and Crackle. After a few nice lanes we were on a cycle track and soon riding over rickety bridges and scraping through anti-motorcycle gates! Some more “muscular” members of the group struggled with this obstacle. We followed the cycle track (as it seemed to be heading towards Wales!) and as luck would have it, when we came to a junction (and were unsure which way to turn), we saw our fellow Llandudno riders and joined them. I reckon there were approx. 15 of us in this group. We then ploughed on in some wet and windy conditions towards Rhyl. It was pretty tough going and I was regretting my choice of kit, even with a rain jacket on. I rode away from the bunch, hoping to encourage them to chase me down, but after 6 or so miles I realized they were not playing ball and I was still failing to keep warm. This stretch was on some pretty crappy roads, but better conditions and paths were beckoning.

After some confusion at a roundabout, where Nickyboy was flabbergasted that not one of the riders knew where to go (he has learnt a valuable lesson concerning the laziness and cluelessness of his fellow CCers), we then headed on a nice path via a golf course, caravan park (Rio Ferdinand used to have a van there, I believe) and onto the seafront. The sea was choppy and the colour of a chicken bhuna. I could see Rhyl in the distance and looked at the time: 5.50pm. I knew there was a train at 6.12 from Rhyl and didn’t fancy the last leg to Lladudno – rather rudely, I disappeared into the distance without saying goodbye. I made the train with 3 mins to spare (there’s not a lot to see in Rhyl) and met the very affable @middleagecyclist cyclist who had also bailed at the station. The train back to Crewe was fine and then it was another 6 miles home. 75 miles for the day, but I felt bad for not continuing and having fish ‘n’ chips and 6 six pints in Llandudno.

Thanks to Nickyboy, I Like Skol and everyone who made the ride!

 

[Pale Rider]

Where did you get 8 hours from? If you come on that ride, I for one will make sure you get looked after...

I will look after you as well, Newtie, even though I lack Skolly's power - and skill - to help you up hills.

My plan will be to start a discussion on current affairs, which will give you plenty of motivation to put some distance between us.

 

[Crackle]

@McWobble cycle past on his way home - fit fecker !

Well when I arrived at the Eureka and saw him there having set off after I'd left home from further away, I'd mentally marked him down as quite handy on a bike.

I had no idea Mossy was there. Did he ride there or was he on a pub crawl and is he still heading towards Holyhead?

 

[theclaud]

@Origamist: "age had not withered them"

I've just read his comments about @rich p to the old corpse himself to keep us amused on the Heart of Wales line. :-)

 

[StuAff]

10 am departure, arrive 6-7 pm?

Aah, read through the thread again & spotted that. Ride leader being over-optimistic there methinks. He'll have had a reminder of this on Saturday....In a mixed ability group I'd be very surprised to get back before seven. Most of my rides to Brighton and back (rather flatter) have taken longer door to door than that.
We'll get there when you get there, should you join us. Discussions on current affairs will not be required.

 

[StuAff]

Thanks Stu, but I won't be on that ride. Another time.


Good!

It's a corker, I'm sure Darrell will end up running it again.

 

[Pale Rider]

A hundred miles in eight hours is sportive territory - a race on the roads.

A mixed ability group, allowing time for stops and conversation - about the weather if not current affairs - will go far slower.

I've done Sunderland to York twice, a relatively flat 86 miles, so similar to getting as far as Rhyl on Saturday.

It's ten hours minimum, longer if there are a couple of mechanicals or someone is struggling.

Another factor is the bigger the group, the slower the pace.

If you want everyone to roll into the destination at about the same time, you would need to allow about 12 hours to complete 100 miles.

 

[Cubist]

Well, awesome geezer that he is, @I like Skol has just returned my bike to me, having driven back to Norley to collect it, and then driven it for more than an hour over to Scapegoat Hill. Left hand shifter is scuffed and twisted, and there's some paint off the driveside chainstay, but otherwise it's in better nick than I am. He's on his way back home with a bottle of fizz to get back into Mrs Skolly's good books as we speak, and FAIR WARNING... armed with an updated photo of my arse.

 

[Cubist]

This is the exact spot where you came off

View attachment 87037

Skol and I rode down the bit where you came off a bit later. You can get a fair speed up on the descent and near the bottom is a resurfaced stretch of about 5m in length. But the resurfaced bit is a couple of cm higher than the rest of the road. I think you must have hit his bump without seeing it (it was dull and under trees) and lost control. Easily done.

It was about another mile or so after the left hander you remember. Can you remember shouting at the car driver near the pub and me waymarking you down the road?

I seem to remember you waymarking. Was the car a Volvo softroader that didn't bother slowing to pass ?

 

[nickyboy]

I seem to remember you waymarking. Was the car a Volvo softroader that didn't bother slowing to pass ?

No it wasn't. If you look at the map you had to turn right at the Tigers Head pub. While you were about to turn right a car came the other way and turned left into the pub parking area. He was blocking you turning right and was a bit slow in parking up. So you shouted at him....a bit. I waved you off down the hill, then I waved Skol and TMN past. I waited a bit for Andred Br and Helen but they must have been well behind so I set off, only to find Skol and TMN tending to you in the middle of the road

You do remember the £20 I lent you to get the beers in at the pub though don't you?

 

[I like Skol]

Oy, you've missed out any mention of your epic exploits in the pub

I remember someone trying to poison me with whisky. I managed to slip some coke into it. I don't think anyone noticed and I really enjoyed it then

and FAIR WARNING... armed with an updated photo of my arse.

Here he is serving up my bacon butty and a lovely boutique coffee (service was slow but bearable!). Still wearing the same glasses he mangled when he jumped off his bike.....

It required a wide angle lens to get it all in but that is a lovely shade of aubergine....

This is where you fell. My jumper is in the road where your dried blood has stained the tarmac and the raised joint in the tarmac is just seen right at the foot of the picture although it is a smooth joint, a bit like an extremely mild sleeping policeman (which coincidentaly is what you were when we found you )

Having visited the scene again today I still cannot see anything that would cause you to fall and certainly nothing that would have an experienced mountain biker off. I think it was aliens, they also appear to have attacked @nickyboy during the night and probed his back passage. You are lucky we got to you so quickly or the same fate may have befell you