Wales expedition 24/25 March 07

Dan the Man · Wales expedition 24/25 March 07

I'm planning a trip to Afan to have a go at the Skyline route on the weekend of the 24/5 March. The Mrs is away with the bambino so need to make the most of it!

Nothing concrete yet but am looking to recruit a little team for the expedition. Was thinking of heading out on Friday night or early Saturday (7am dept) and doing the Skyline (45km with 2km climbing) on sat, possibly staying over and doing the short route Twrch trail at Cwmcarn on the sunday on the way home.

All plans are sketchy at present and up for review as the team develops. I'm driving and reckon i can get three bikes and gear in my car. Fuel is free (company expense).

Any interest let me know. Dan

lefty

Dude.. well up for that. One thing is that I'm due to be moving into a new place in Loughton the weekend before.. if that all goes tits up it might affect any plans.. so provisionally yes but wont know till closer to the time? Let me know if that is a problem.

The Afan cafe does fantastic chillie.. id travel there just for that Smile

Dan the Man · AFAN 24/25 March

Glad to have you aboard.

Thats my car now full! Another pal of mine is game so that make three of us. I reckon i will be out for a short ride this weekend - so may well catch up with you then. It is my intention to ride every weekend from now until then to get into some sort of shape as have been out of action for a while with a bad knee. So will hopefully get together over the next few weeks to firm things up and swap numbers etc.

Dan

lefty

Nice one.. I might be around the forest this Sunday to stretch the legs. Drop us a line on here if you are around then and we can catch up.

Cheers

The BIG GT

Dan,
It sounds like the cars are full but is there still room on the trip if I take my car? That also allows the possibility of more joining in later?

I won't say I'm a definite just yet, but am very interested. Did a similar thing last November, drove up Friday evening (I work at West Drayton, UB7) and then very fresh for the Saturday start. We stayed over Saturday night and had a cheeky snorter around Penhydd (sp?). Still back in the 'smoke by about 7pm Sunday evening.

End of March may even be tent weather (or I'll try and borrow the sister's VW 'Das Kamper' van!), how many were you thinking of, maximum?

I'll let you know when I am a 'definite' (also may have a mate interested),

Cheers,

Gary

Dan the Man · AFAN 24/25 March

GT

Excellent news mate glad to have you aboard. In my experience a smallish group of 4 to 8 is the best. Much larger than this and the group tends to split up and form into smaller contingents.

l'll be glad for a bit of guidance from a veteran of earlier expeditions to the area too. My thinking is for a Friday night departure and head to a bunk or B&B to ensure an early start and a better chance of knocking off the route.

Bought a map today and will likely be out for a quicky on sunday. Will keep you informed on this thread.

Dan

lefty

For anyone thinking of putting their names down for this check...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS24UzUOP40

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppnR63tx5AI

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niQ9UQ8qm1A

(though the last one is part of 'the wall' i think)

http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/afanforestpark/mountainbiking.cfm
http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/images/afanforestpark/skyline.jpg

luscious trails and because its mainly rock and on steep sided hills, its almost all weather.. although all that rock can do nasty things to knees and elbows.

The trail riding is amazing in Afan and Wales in general.. only bested by the 7 Stanes.. which ill be doing come summer Razz

did 2 trips there last year. Best bet is.. pile up on the Friday.. full day riding Saturday. Then a shorter session on the way back on the Sunday (Cwn Carn) However that is a whole weekend.

The BIG GT

Be prepared for some bike fixing if it's anything like it was in November (freezing and wet and muddy!). Two of us went and I was the lucky one as I only got though two brake pads, new front brake/both gear cables, one pair of gloves and some clear shades!

My mate had a £50+ bill to repair his hydros after the Saturday ride plus some new cables. Also forced him to invest in some SealSkinz socks too! The guy in the shop said that, when wet, the earth there destroys cables, chains, discs, pads, etc. for fun!!

Should be better by March (?).

Still a great place to ride, even though it seemed to rain (or sleet) for most of the weekend!

Dan the Man · Accommodation

Folks, its only a few weeks away and i have been looking at places to stay near Afan. Any ideas as to who is up for it?

I'll check availability for say 5 or 6 riders and post my results.

Initially I have found a self catering bunk house type place with room for 6 for £240 for the weekend. In reality this is only economical if it is full so if we drop riders it gets expensive and a B&B at £25 a night would be a better option.

Let me know your thoughts guys.

lefty

Couple of suggestions - I think you might have seen these already

http://www.ivyhousewales.com/ £235
http://www.brynteghouse.com/rosecottage.html £240
http://www.brynteghouse.com/tariff.html £25 per person

All recommended by my m8 who rides down there all the time and says they are super bike friendly

Got a couple of friends riding in NZ at the mo.. back soon they way well be up for it. Should be able to find out by Monday? That would make 6? However no idea if they will be up for it having spent 2 weeks biking already.

Dan the Man · places to stay

Yeah checked out the brynteghouse website their bunkhouse looks really nice.

Keep me posted as to what your mates are up to as i think it would be cool to get the bunkhouse rather than BB's.

I will defo be out this weekend, hows things going with the move.

Dan

The BIG GT

Oh, crap!

That's my moving house weekend!! I will see if I can push it forward one week (I'll ask the landlord tonight/in the morning) and get back to you tomorrow.

I usually get on OK with him, I'll see what I can wangle but my notice should end then.

I REALLY want to go on this, I've been rubbish with riding since Christmas, hardly been out at all.

lefty · Re: places to stay

The BIG GT

Good news!!

I am now moving on the 31st/1st so am back in the mix for the trip! Nothing else is booked so I am now officially 'IN'!

How many do we have now?

I'd book lodgings ASAP as we had trouble getting anywhere 3-4 weeks before we went to Afan in November, ended up in B&B in Port Talbot, by the old docks. Not ideal!

Let us know which one you get and how much it'll be. Cheaper is good for me, what with costs of moving, etc. My car's cost a bomb lately too...

Thanks, Guys,

Gary

Dan the Man · Numbers

Gents,

Looks like there are now 4 of us - however i can only carry three bikes on the back of my car so we will need to bring another motor!!! Gary this may mean we take you up on your offer.

I would suggest that we split up to share the cost of fuel so that the cost of the extra car doesn't fall to one person - although we will need to see how this works for us all meeting up on friday to get out of london. While on the subject of departures my thinking is to leave from east London (leyton area either early on at say 3pm or later at 7pm) to avoid the rush hour on the western M25 & M4 what say you?

I will make enquiries with brynteg house for 4 spaces in their B&B. If i need to make a booking i will come back to you. Lefty, what would you like me to do if i need to book somewhere before you can commit?

Dan

The BIG GT

Dan,
How many do we need to make the bunkhouses (?) a viable option? I could try and get a couple of mates interested if that would be enough people?

As for travel, I work in West Drayton (near M4 at Heathrow) and last time went straight from here on Friday night. The traffic was not a problem and if the B&B does not mind a later arrival by us, I think it is the best option. You get a good full night's sleep and can get up, breakfast, etc. on Saturday and get straight out on the trails?

Although it can get very wet and muddy, it's not the same ride-ruining mud that you get in Epping, it's a sloshier, bike-ruining mud instead!

Take a few spares if you have them, too. Saves paying top whack at the Centre's shop....

Dan the Man

Gary,

the bunkhouse at Brynteg House has accommodation for 6 so if you can get some additional bodies i reckon that would be great.

However at £240 for the whole weekend starting on friday night - i reckon that is also the best option even if there is only 4 of us as it is only £60 each.

I'll call them tonight. Dan

Dan the Man · Accommodation

Folks i have booked the Ivy bunk house which is 2 miles down the road from the bike centre in Afan, is self catering, near a pub and has secure bike storage.

See the link on Lefty's reply on page 1.

£235 for the weekend and i have been asked to put £60 in the post as a deposit. This works well IMO if their are four or more of us but gets expensive if there are only three! Now that i have put my hand in my pocket i would be greatful for as much notice as possible if anyone has to bail out.

Things are looking good.

The BIG GT

Nice one Dan!

Thanks for doing that. Or I could see us sleeping in a tent.....

I have 2-3 possibles although not sure of the fitness levels of two of them, they may be worse than me! Shocked

The other guy's much younger and I'll struggle to keep up with him!

Is the bunkhouse 2 miles from Glencorryg (sp?) or the other one?

They charge for the bike washes at the centres and you have to queue (2 at Glencorryg and 1 at the other place (name?) so I'll be taking my pump-up pressure bike-wash thingy with me too (better than it sounds!).

Am I going to be the only HT guy again?

I'll take my travelling tools for any evening fixes so bring any specific parts and we should save a few quid in an emergency.

Note also that we'll have an hour's less kip on Saturday night as the clocks go forward.

Bugger.

Looking forward to trying out my new bits in Wales!!

lefty

Dan the Man

The bunkhouse is in a little village called Cymer about 2 miles south of Glyncorrwyg.

I went for it as the other places i checked out were all booked up until June!! The owner gave me her number and said that she is cool with us arriving between 10.30pm & 11pm - which is probably the earliest i can get there from London. unless i take the afternoon off.

The place has 3 bedrooms - 2 with double beds and a pair of bunks, the owner said that the sofa's are cumfy too. Based on this i have a feeling that 4 or 5 is probably the optimum number unless you guys are happy sharing a double bed!

I'm taking my E5 and a bag of tools and spares too. My own fitness is not great at present as only been out 4 times this year due to poor weather and injury. Will hopefully be up for a big ride by the time the weekend rolls around though.

Am really looking forward to this ride guys.

The BIG GT

I have to work til 5pm and am based in West Drayton (UB7 - just North of the M4 at Heathrow). If you are all leaving earlier and can meet me there, that would be great!

If you are leaving later, I can hang on there for you or meet at the next services out on the M4 (not sure where!)?

I suppose it depends quite a bit on who I might have coming along as well by then?

I am commuting again tomorrow (32 miles round trip) but really must get out this weekend for some off-road antics or I am going to be even more useless by the time we get to Wales!

Dan the Man · accommodation

Gents,

i checked with Ivyhouse today and they have received the deposit and we are all booked in & ready to go.

Good ride on saturday, sorry i had to bail early but had family committments that were non transferable - John it was great to meet Charlie, Shelly & Chris, would be good to hook up with them again sometime.

I willhave more of an idea about what time i can leave on friday later in the week so will keep you all posted.

Dan

lefty

House update .. looks we have exchanged and are confident we will be able to complete tomorrow.... YAY. Thus im pretty much certain to be able to come.

What this does mean is that as of Wednesday evening I will no longer have internet so wont pick up any updates on here.

No worries about shooting off Dan... it was the slowest ride ever back to Snaresbrook... we kept stopping to chat / fall in the mud.

See you all soon

Cheers

The BIG GT

Dan,

Do you want to PM me your mobile number (I forgot on Saturday) so we can sort any last minute stuff? I'll send you mine in reply.

I have had no luck with extra bodies so will I be picking people up from my end of town? If so, how many? If I just have the one to take, I'll leave the rack and just put the 2 bikes in the car,as it's easier, safer and more secure.

If I will be waiting a while for the rest to get out this way, I could do the food shopping while I wait? If I get a list of what people want, it will save time in Wales. Or should we just find a 24hrs Tesco when we get there? My car is an Astra, what size is yours, so we have an idea of how much we can squeeze in?

Have not been well this week (migraine, etc) so no chance to ride at all on the commute. I am hoping that this means that I'll be rested, not rubbish!

Cheers,
Gary

Dan the Man

Gary,

this week has been pretty damn hectic - not even a chance to clean my bike since saturday (will need to do tonight) and looking like i won't be able to get away much before 5pm (earliest) from work so will be a 6pm dept from east london tomorrow.

I reckon your idea of doing a shop while waiting for us to get around to the M4 services would be great as will definately save time and shopping arguments enroute. I would suggest getting some pasta, chicken & sauces, fruit, beer and nuts bars of some sort for dinner friday as I reckon we'll probably do a pub on saturday night and eat out.

I have an audi A6 and the boot is big enough to sleep in so will try and get one of the bikes in there rather than have all three on the rack. I'm also going for the rested rather than rubbish approach as haven't managed any exercise since saturday.

Dan

The BIG GT

Dan,

I have sent you a PM with my mobile number, etc.

I'll pop out after work tomorrow and get enough healthy, filling food for a dinner for four for Friday night, plus some extra nibbles for general snacking and for the trails? Also some energy-boosting breakfast stuff for Sat/Sun morning, milk, butter, bread, etc and the beers for Friday with the grub!

Let me know if there is anything else that I've forgotten that I need to get?

Cheers,

Gary

lefty

Move complete.. no internet as such but someone local has left theres unsecured so i thought id hop on for a bit Smile

-- cheeky

Gary.. yea dude pick up some food im always hungry so dont hold back. Remember to keep note of the spend so it can come out of the communal budget.

The BIG GT

Guys,

I've looked at places to meet you (Jon, I assume that you are coming in Dan's car?) and Services are few and far between.

Reading is a long way out and Heston is in the wrong direction for me and requires me to go back to the Chiswick Roundabout and come back!

So I have a 2-option plan:
1) Meet you at the roundabout at the junction of the M4/A312; If you pull off the M4 and take the exit AFTER the A312 (Heathrow/Hartington bound) which is almost on the slip road to get you back on the M4 Westbound towards a Park (Cranford?) and wait just on the road before the bridge, I'll meet you there.

2) After the M25 Jctn, take the 1st junction exit (Datchet/Colnbrook) at the Honda Building R/bout and head south (1st exit off r/bout), then 1st Right into 'Hillrise' and I'll meet you there.

P.S. I have Bluetooth so you can call me anytime.

In case you don't get this, I'll text you later to cnfirm,

Cheers,

Gary

The BIG GT

So.......

what weekend in April are we going again? Wink

Top weekend guys, only downer being Dan's nasty stack at Penhydd.

Oh, and my new hydros blowing a hose before we'd even reached the start on Saturday!

Am definitely up for some more of that action so let me know when you are too and I'll try to get fitter so you don't have to wait so long on the climbs!

Thanks all round, especially to Dan for organising it,

Gary

lefty

Yep was super sweet... just collating photos to get on here Smile

Dan ended up in A&E with his injuries.... knarley... more on that later I am sure Smile

lefty

Pics from Wales 2 weekends ago Smile

Who Dan (Dan the Man) Gary (Big GT) Jon (Lefty) and Ray and Richie

After a late start due to some mechanicals we are off. Only a few mins into the climb and already some serious height has been gained.

MMMM Sarnies. We all stop at the top of the Whites Level Black run to strap on the armour and fuel up with grub

Sweet berms at the back end of the super rocky black run

Ouch GT gets wedged in some thorns in the North Shore section

We nail the 6km Skyline descent after doing the Whites Level climb for the second time 3500ft up and 3500ft down all in one afternoon.

Back at the lookout cafe for some post ride beers.

Our awsome cottage... with views out over the river valley.

Roll on day 2

Ready to start the technical stuff after a long fire road climb. Dan stacks hard just after these photos in an area called Desolation but is soon back on the bike. Has to do an A&E trip that night to sort himself out however.

Just about to enter a section called the hidden valley. Probably one of the best sections of techincal riding I have ever come across. A real treat.

An excellent weekend away - great trails, perfect weather, good fun.

Thanks guys.

Mick_the_Greek

Nice pics, not to sure about the trip to A & E , hope to see you all soon in the forest.

Emily

Ahhh, Wales - Lovely pics!!

The BIG GT

Great pics, Jon!

It does seem that I am grimacing (if not just looking exhausted!) in most pictures that I appear in! Embarassed

I did enjoy it, REALLY!!

Cool

Rai

Yo there are some great quality pics there mate! You have a good eye! Shame about the other one! LOL

smellyengine

Good to see someone else in tights!!

Rai

Yeah, tights are the way! No snags, no wind resistant sail like material! No problems!

Yo dudes! When are we planning our next trip to WALES! Having withdrawal symptoms!

Crazy RAI!

lefty

Pete you missed out on a real treat... it was a veritable tight fest....... it wasn't really that cold i wore them to stop the body amour chaffing... Wink

worked like a charm Smile

Rai.. sling over your photos when you get a chance. i will PM you my email Smile

smellyengine

Don't talk to me about chafing.....there's always a nice creamy pot of chafe ease...

Wales expedition 24/25 March 07

AFAN 24/25 March

AFAN 24/25 March

Accommodation

places to stay

Re: places to stay

Numbers

Accommodation

accommodation