RR: A.M-B UK Snowdon Ride (dead short as usual):

Well, uuhhhm, yeah - I suppose I'd better write summink about it, so, here
goes:


We all (Spademan, Bomba, Dave and his son Theo, these last pair, I hadn't
met before Friday - damned good guys), met up on the carpark above the
Mountain Railway station in Llanberis. We said our hi's, got our bikes and
gear sorted, and supposedly headed up toward this mountain Called Snowdon. I
say 'supposedly' 'cos I had to take folk's word for it - I couldn't see a
freaking mountain anywhere, unless a mountain is a hill with all white
fluffy stuff stuck to the top of it.

Theo, well, he's full of a cold and coughing his lungs up, and me, well,
I've still got a bad chest cold making me do the same, the recovery of which
is undoubtedly being hampered by the fact I'm a dirt-lousy
smoker........ahem....(getting me excuses out the way early!) Oh, and on top
of this, Theo's rig has got big gears only (44 tooth? front ring)..........

Spadey says to us we're starting off on this bit of road, not too steep,
nice warm up for the main climb. Bollox, the Fcuking cnut was lying, it was
as near vertical as it could get without being a wall. So, anyhow, we huffed
and puffed our way up, one or two walking a bit because they didn't have the
gears, but eventually, we got to the trail.

It seemed to start off fairly sane, and we trundled along over the damp
rocks and stuff. Soon enough it gets steeper, and steeper, we were all doing
OK, some much better that others, for all our different reasons. My tyres
were awesome, and had me clearing stuff my lack of fitness and 'skillz' gave
me no right to clear. Nice and rocky. Big rocks, little rocks, medium rocks,
gravel - all **** like that. Spadey and Bomba showed off a few of their
trials-ie type skills by stopping still with feet on pedals and not falling
over. They weren't even holding onto a wall or anything. Kewl.

Some of us took pictures and stuff at various points during the ride, which
I believe Bomba will be uploading and posting as soon as he gets time/pulls
his fcuking finger out.

Right, so, we've been climbing up this steep trail for what seems like
forever, sometimes pushing, sometimes pedalling. On some of the harder,
steeper bits, I'm indulging in very short spurts of energy, busting some
way-rad moves 'dudez' (ploughing frantically up and over steep rough stuff,
spinning like a hamster on coke, body English-yada-yada-yada), before
getting off and collapsing over the bike, coughing, spluttering and
breathless, and resuming the pushathon. Dave and me are pottering along for
quite a way, having a chat and a laugh about this and that, like how it's
such a small Usenet (Eh Dave?!? Heheheheh).

I had a sudden sympathy for asthmatics.

Theo seems to be fairing somewhat better with his lungs, but his gearing
situation is taking it's toll, it's really too damned steep and 'gnarly' to
stand and mash such a big gear. Bomba's low gear is also not as low as some
of ours, him having an 11-28 tooth cassette, but he's doing OK in spite of
it, the cocky *******. Dunno what the Spadey's set-up is, but he was rocking
too. Yeah, anyhow, already physically wiped out, I look at my speedo thingy,
and it says we've done about 2 miles - **** ;-(

We continued on up, squished a few hikers while saying our cheery 'hello's!'
and smiling, when we round this corner under a bridge, and someone (I
couldn't see too clearly by this point, what, with the clouds all around us
and the double vision...) points out that there is a giant seagull perched
on the ledge, right near The Corner of Death. We wave at the seagull, but it
ignores us and looks away. It was a roadie seagull.

Right here, the trail gets _proper_ steep, I mean, steeper than Harrods
prices, and sooner or later, we're all off the bikes and carrying
them........slowly.............Anyhow, pretty quickly (yeah, right) we're
sorta cresting the ridge and are now totally exposed to the weather. The
wind is hammering at us, and I watch the clouds blow fast past our feet, and
knees, and heads (etc.). I think the others are getting cold - me, I'm still
warm enough, apart from my fingers, which I can't feel anymore, apart from
the pain......yeah, so, riding along this ridge, and the wind keeps trying
to make me go off trail, but I didn't, not being in the mood nor being
equipped for, for a free-fall. This is fun, because it's a lot more level
now, and there are a few nice rocky moves to negotiate - we all giggle like
schoolgirls at how much fun this is - 'giggle giggle giggle' - just like
that.

We're near the very top now, and head towards the upper train station, where
there is a nice warm bar and café, with beer and everything, but the fcuker
is closed, what, with the trains not running, because of the bad
weather......******s...... We huddle at the back of the building for a
while, chit-chat about this and that, try and get our extremities to come
back to life, I'm panting and coughing over and over and still can't get my
breath, but somehow I manage to put my coat on anyway, and roll a
cigarette - seems I have some skillz after all.

Bomba, Spadey and meself head off up to the summit point just above leaving
Dave and Theo at the café just below, we snap a few photies and head back
down to the trail. Theo has gone on ahead, 'cos he was frozzed. Anyhow,
pretty soon, we are descending in Earnest. Earnest being the name of the
local Mountain Rescue helicopter.

Only kidding!

Now, although the cloud is lifting a bit, it's still bloody cold and windy,
and I have a few near endos because I can't feel half of my hands,
especially the half I'm trying to control my brakes with, but this is all
good fun! Dave is at back of me, and the others somewhere in front (still
can't see a damned thing). Eventually, we come to the steep bit that was
just after The Corner of Death on the way up, but is now just before it -
wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! This is fun! Luckily, as we come down this fast stretch,
we drop below the cloud line, so we can see that we need to slow down and
turn, and The Corner of Death becomes more of a Corner of Mild Surprise.

We stop under the bridge and gather together - still no sign of Theo, as
he's flown off in front, being a bit of a gravity freak and all that, as
well as dying to get somewhere warm. Spadey sets off and drops off a water
bar, all smooth like, so I follow him in a more ungainly fashion, and soon,
we're all off and flying, bouncing over the rocks and stuff, generally
having a ball. Hell fire, Spadey and Bomba are quick, very bloody quick -
this ground is rough as hell with a hangover, and they just soak it all up!
******s.

I'm doing OK now, for me, apart from on some of the really steep, rocky
sections where my nervousness and lack of 'skillz' see me slowing right
down, where my forearms then take a real beating - I have to stop to ease
their fatigue several times on the way down, because it really was rather
difficult to steer while they were sleeping.

Bomba's right hand grip comes off, and I see Spadey is trying to give him
one of his bar plugs to help, but it won't fit. So, I take one of mine off,
and he fits that. I try the other, but it won't budge - Bomba says he's
alright, the left grip isn't loose.

Off we go again, zooming, bouncing, launching, carving, dropping and having
fun. I see Bomba move quick to the left in front of me and sorta lean on
some grass and rocks or something as I fly past, slowly. Seems his other
grip came off. I catch up with Spadey and wait. We're waiting for ages, when
Dave comes along, and tells us Bomba got a puncture. Now, we all know Bomba
doesn't get pinch flats, because he inflates his tyres to 50 psi, so this
wasn't a pinch flat, although it happened in just the same way. He gets it
fixed and catches us up, while Spadey and meself are bashing away at getting
my other bar plug out, which we do eventually, and fit to Bomba's bars -
he's a happy bunny again.

More fun and frolics, and we finally catch up with Theo, at the side of the
trail, bike upside down, tube in hand. We fix him up, and proceed downward
in our jolly manner. The sun is shining, BTW. Somewhere at least. I reckon.
Odds-on and all that.

So, we're now about at the end of the trail, then actually at the end of it
(funny how that happens), and onto the road again. A bit of road ripping
descending, and we're back at the carpark, all intact, no major mechanicals,
totally fooked (well I know I was).

We did about 3200 (+) feet of climbing in around 4 1/2 miles, and
coincidentally about 3200 (+) feet of descending in around 4 1/2 miles. I
think that qualifies as reasonably steep. I can't speak for the others, but
that was the damned toughest 8-9 miles I've ever done, by a long shot. I
really enjoyed myself, as I'm sure all did, and I would have even more, if I
hadn't been gasping for air all the way - smoking's not only bad on its own,
but it wreaks havoc with chest infections.
(Yes, it's on my list, so don't bother ',;~}~ ).

I'd recommend that ride to anyone brain dead with fcuk-all common sense - it
really was fantastic. Oh, and for anyone with an ounce of skill, it's
definitely all rideable. We reckoned ol' Jock Duff could ride all the way up
and down that trail on a rigid singlespeed balloon tyred beach cruiser.

Dave, Theo - good to meet you guys! Spadey, Bomba - good to get together
again! See you all again sometime soon, eh?

Mark - next time, eh? Andy and Huw - we missed you, look forward to seeing
you both again on the next one!

Take care!

Shaun aRe - Now where'd I put my respirator? ',;~}~

"Shaun Rimmer" wrote in message
...
Well, uuhhhm, yeah - I suppose I'd better write summink about it, so, here
goes:

small snip - ouch!!

Dave, Theo - good to meet you guys! Spadey, Bomba - good to get together
again! See you all again sometime soon, eh?

Mark - next time, eh? Andy and Huw - we missed you, look forward to seeing
you both again on the next one!

Take care!

Shaun aRe - Now where'd I put my respirator? ',;~}~



Does it for me Shaun, missed out the bit about catching the old venicular up
and down though ;-)
I certainly think it's got to be the biggest ride in England / Wales ...
But for me, the best bit was the company 8-D (aahhh, bless 'em!!)
Still gotta clean the bike (right!).
Theo then went on to spend 3 hours at a BMX park when we got home, bloody
kids!!
Take care y'all and see you again, hopefully. I will get Theo geared up
reasonably for it next time (probably)
Cheers,
Dave.
p.s., excellent RR by the way.
pps - it is a small usenet ;-) heheheheheh

Shaun Rimmer wrote:

Some of us took pictures and stuff at various points during the ride, which
I believe Bomba will be uploading and posting as soon as he gets time/pulls
his fcuking finger out.

Cheeky get! I only got back two hours ago. Still, I'm nothing if not
good to you: http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/

Should have Spadey's pics up tomorrow.

Right, so, we've been climbing up this steep trail for what seems like
forever, sometimes pushing, sometimes pedalling. On some of the harder,
steeper bits, I'm indulging in very short spurts of energy, busting some
way-rad moves 'dudez' (ploughing frantically up and over steep rough stuff,
spinning like a hamster on coke, body English-yada-yada-yada), before
getting off and collapsing over the bike, coughing, spluttering and
breathless, and resuming the pushathon. Dave and me are pottering along for
quite a way, having a chat and a laugh about this and that, like how it's
such a small Usenet (Eh Dave?!? Heheheheh).

I had a sudden sympathy for asthmatics.

The asthmatic in the group didn't seem to be having anywhere near the
problems you were having...

Right here, the trail gets _proper_ steep, I mean, steeper than Harrods
prices, and sooner or later, we're all off the bikes and carrying
them........slowly.............Anyhow, pretty quickly (yeah, right) we're
sorta cresting the ridge and are now totally exposed to the weather. The
wind is hammering at us, and I watch the clouds blow fast past our feet, and
knees, and heads (etc.). I think the others are getting cold - me, I'm still
warm enough,

http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/18.jpg
When this picture was taken, it must have been pretty near 0 deg C with
wind chill. The ramblers in wooly hats and Gore-Tex were absolutely
freaked to find some nutter at the top of Snowdon in October in a vest
(that's an English vest) and shorts.

We're near the very top now, and head towards the upper train station, where
there is a nice warm bar and café, with beer and everything, but the fcuker
is closed, what, with the trains not running, because of the bad
weather......******s...... We huddle at the back of the building for a
while, chit-chat about this and that, try and get our extremities to come
back to life, I'm panting and coughing over and over and still can't get my
breath, but somehow I manage to put my coat on anyway, and roll a
cigarette - seems I have some skillz after all.

Mr Health himself:
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/19.jpg
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/20.jpg

Doesn't he look happy?

Bomba, Spadey and meself head off up to the summit point just above leaving
Dave and Theo at the café just below, we snap a few photies and head back
down to the trail.

http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/21.jpg
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/22.jpg

Now, although the cloud is lifting a bit, it's still bloody cold and windy,
and I have a few near endos because I can't feel half of my hands,
especially the half I'm trying to control my brakes with, but this is all
good fun! Dave is at back of me, and the others somewhere in front (still
can't see a damned thing). Eventually, we come to the steep bit that was
just after The Corner of Death on the way up, but is now just before it -
wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! This is fun!

http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/27.jpg

We stop under the bridge and gather together - still no sign of Theo, as
he's flown off in front, being a bit of a gravity freak and all that, as
well as dying to get somewhere warm. Spadey sets off and drops off a water
bar, all smooth like, so I follow him in a more ungainly fashion, and soon,
we're all off and flying, bouncing over the rocks and stuff, generally
having a ball. Hell fire, Spadey and Bomba are quick, very bloody quick -
this ground is rough as hell with a hangover, and they just soak it all up!
******s.

http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/28.jpg
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/29.jpg - Spadey
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/30.jpg - Shaun
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/31.jpg - Dave

The last picture shows Dave after he's just jumped off the water bar and
about 1/2 a second before he crashed

Off we go again, zooming, bouncing, launching, carving, dropping and having
fun. I see Bomba move quick to the left in front of me and sorta lean on
some grass and rocks or something as I fly past, slowly. Seems his other
grip came off. I catch up with Spadey and wait. We're waiting for ages, when
Dave comes along, and tells us Bomba got a puncture. Now, we all know Bomba
doesn't get pinch flats, because he inflates his tyres to 50 psi, so this
wasn't a pinch flat, although it happened in just the same way.

I was running them at 55psi+ on Friday and I got my first pinch flat in
years. Huge holes in the tube...

We did about 3200 (+) feet of climbing in around 4 1/2 miles, and
coincidentally about 3200 (+) feet of descending in around 4 1/2 miles. I
think that qualifies as reasonably steep. I can't speak for the others, but
that was the damned toughest 8-9 miles I've ever done, by a long shot.

I've had rides that are tougher on the lungs and legs, but for technical
uphill it was very tough.

I
really enjoyed myself, as I'm sure all did, and I would have even more, if I
hadn't been gasping for air all the way - smoking's not only bad on its own,
but it wreaks havoc with chest infections.
(Yes, it's on my list, so don't bother ',;~}~ ).

Gonna give up already?

I'd recommend that ride to anyone brain dead with fcuk-all common sense - it
really was fantastic. Oh, and for anyone with an ounce of skill, it's
definitely all rideable.

Hmm, I think most of it's rideable, but there are some parts that need
to be hiked.

Same again next year?

"bomba" wrote in message
...
Shaun Rimmer wrote:

snip
Mr Health himself:
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/19.jpg
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/20.jpg

Doesn't he look happy?


Ha ha! That's a great shot. Looks to be having a blast!


http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/27.jpg


Beautiful country, when you can see it.

Sounded like a good adventure despite the charm of British weather, which
looked damn miserable (like Shaun in the photos above).

Matt

"MattB" wrote in message
...
"bomba" wrote in message
...
Shaun Rimmer wrote:

snip
Mr Health himself:
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/19.jpg
http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/20.jpg

Doesn't he look happy?


Ha ha! That's a great shot. Looks to be having a blast!


http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/27.jpg


Beautiful country, when you can see it.

Sounded like a good adventure despite the charm of British weather, which
looked damn miserable (like Shaun in the photos above).

Matt



Yeah, but (typically!!) it was gorgeous for both the drive out and back!!!

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 06:29:25 -0700, Shaun Rimmer wrote:

- I couldn't see a freaking mountain anywhere, unless a mountain is a
hill with all white fluffy stuff stuck to the top of it.

To be a proper mountain it must have erupted within the past 500 or os
years. ;D

Yeah, anyhow, already physically wiped out, I
look at my speedo thingy, and it says we've done about 2 miles - ****
;-(

Ain't that a hoot!

We wave at
the seagull, but it ignores us and looks away. It was a roadie seagull.

Hee hee.

Nice RR Shaun.

gabrielle

"bomba" wrote in message
...

http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/18.jpg

"Unfortunately, after the sex-change operation Olive Oyl became hopelessly
addicted to crack."

"Shaun Rimmer" wrote in message ...
Well, uuhhhm, yeah - I suppose I'd better write summink about it, so, here
goes:
snip


We're near the very top now, and head towards the upper train station, where
there is a nice warm bar and café, with beer and everything, but the fcuker
is closed, what, with the trains not running, because of the bad
weather......******s...... We huddle at the back of the building for a
while, chit-chat about this and that, try and get our extremities to come
back to life, I'm panting and coughing over and over and still can't get my
breath, but somehow I manage to put my coat on anyway, and roll a
cigarette - seems I have some skillz after all.

Hehe, you look like you're laying an egg in those pics. Heeheehee!

How the fork did you manage to roll one in that weather? As soon as it drops
below 50 F all my dexterity goes out the window. Yes, I still smoke also. Of
course, I do have Raynaud's Syndrome, which doesn't help.


snip

I'm doing OK now, for me, apart from on some of the really steep, rocky
sections where my nervousness and lack of 'skillz' see me slowing right
down, where my forearms then take a real beating - I have to stop to ease
their fatigue several times on the way down, because it really was rather
difficult to steer while they were sleeping.

Wimp. Didn't look bad at all. :-)


Bomba's right hand grip comes off, and I see Spadey is trying to give him
one of his bar plugs to help, but it won't fit. So, I take one of mine off,
and he fits that. I try the other, but it won't budge - Bomba says he's
alright, the left grip isn't loose.


I found that Krazyglue works great for grips. Mount the grip, use a very small
flat screwdriver to lift each end, and apply a tiny drop allowing it to run.

snip
We did about 3200 (+) feet of climbing in around 4 1/2 miles, and
coincidentally about 3200 (+) feet of descending in around 4 1/2 miles. I
think that qualifies as reasonably steep. I can't speak for the others, but
that was the damned toughest 8-9 miles I've ever done, by a long shot.

Looks like a kick coming down...

I
really enjoyed myself, as I'm sure all did, and I would have even more, if I
hadn't been gasping for air all the way - smoking's not only bad on its own,
but it wreaks havoc with chest infections.
(Yes, it's on my list, so don't bother ',;~}~ ).

Ditto.

Take care!

Shaun aRe - Now where'd I put my respirator? ',;~}~

Thanks for the RR!

--
Cameron

"Shaun Rimmer" wrote in message
...
Well, uuhhhm, yeah - I suppose I'd better write summink about it, so, here
goes:

snip
Take care!

Shaun aRe - Now where'd I put my respirator? ',;~}~


Cheers Shaun, maybe next time I'll just read your excellent RR and save
myself a lot of effort...

Steve.

"bomba" wrote in message
...
Shaun Rimmer wrote:

Some of us took pictures and stuff at various points during the ride,
which
I believe Bomba will be uploading and posting as soon as he gets
time/pulls
his fcuking finger out.

Cheeky get! I only got back two hours ago. Still, I'm nothing if not
good to you: http://j-harris.net/bike/snowdon/


Ahh nice piccies Bomba, brings it all back, sniff sniff.

Same again next year?

Indeed! As mentioned was thinking of going again in Spring when theres some
snow on the top...Anybody else?