mrkawasaki
Retrobike Rider
First Annual Creme Egg Ride - lYN bRENIG - AFTERMATH
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Had a great time once more with the retrobike masses. A good turnout and some great bikes being ridden too. Map reading suspicious to say the least Mr K but we found our way around in the end. Real character building stuff at times, especially the snow blocked road section! But as always good banter throughout and a pint in front of the fire to finish.
Anyone needing 'Retrobike Rider' tags let me know and i'll sort those through John.
Anyone needing 'Retrobike Rider' tags let me know and i'll sort those through John.
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Squadron Leader Mr K did a sterling job of guiding nine fellow retrobikers around Clocaenog Forest and over to Llyn Brenig reservoir.
After using his full allocation of right turns during the morning, a succession of corresponding left turns in the afternoon and some soggy map reading eventually returned us to our start point.
A classic old school route with a good bunch of old school people.
The apprehensive retro-riders line up outside a primary school for the group shot.
L to R: Sinnett117, woody, m-trax, volvo1980, fritz, MrK, HarryCrumb, Easy_Rider, crud. (drystonepaul behind camera)
Riding commenced up a nice steep and dirty, muddy lane. I immediately began to regret my choice to ride singlespeed, but after a point in the right direction from a friendly farmer we eventually reached the edge of the forest.
Fritz and Volvo 1980. A tale of two Alex's.
Clocaenog Forest is filled with fire roads all of which have identical junctions and magnetic compass confusing trees. So we continued on an easterly bearing through scenery like the repetitive background in an episode of Scooby Doo.
Mr Kawawherethehellarewe: Leading from the back.
Mr K had shunned the retrobike convention of doing a route recce prior to inviting other riders along. He instead preferred to rely on his finely honed map reading skills, almost supernatural sense of direction, cat like reflexes and the 50:50 approach to left or right turns. This 'live recce' approach kept us all very excited almost as though participating in a treasure hunt.
Nobody heard any banjo's, saw any squirrel rehabilitation towers, or spoke of being eaten by wolves at any point during the ride.
The rare sight of a waymarker post immediately confirmed our suspicions.... Hopelessly lost.
Despite the weather forecast predicting awful weather for several days leading up to the ride, we were thankfully blessed with sunshine and blue skys. Perfect for soaking up some fantastic views across to the Clywdian hills in the distance.
The bright sunshine added even more colour saturation to Mark 'Daffyd' Sinnett's fluorescent lycra.
A titanium test ride vs a £16 eBay special.
Crumbs that's a lovely looking AMP.
Once again a fine selection of old metal was on show including, Sinnett117's Alpinestars Ti-Mega, HarryCrumbs blinged out AMP, Mr K's Dave Yates, Woody's Stumpjumper M2, Fritz's Kona, Volvo's P7, Crud's Saracen, ER's Dawes and m-trax on her M-Trax.
Bike of the ride should surely have gone to my Saracen Sahara, with it's rattly bottom bracket, dodgy free-hub, possibly cracked frame, loosening headset and comic book graphics. Still, I did 'jet' wash it by completely submerging it in a river at the end of the ride only to pour half a litre of water out of the frame afterwards. I digress...
Easy_Rider enthusiastically accepts Mr K's offer of map reading lessons
A portrait of a man on the edge of control
Mr K spurred us all along to reach the visitor centre on the far side of the mighty Llyn Brenig reservoir. Many hot baguettes and all day breakfasts were consumed as we casually muddied up the furniture.
The weather closed in as we left the cafe
After a thorough re-fuelling we ventured back outside to be met with a heavy and sustained hail shower. Layering up we tackled the exposed crossing of the dam. Cold wasn't the word for it and we all welcomed reaching the shelter of the forest on the far side. My shoes were now full of icy water which put the fun in fundamentally unpleasant.
After increasingly lengthy patches of snow on the hill top trails we reached the summit wind turbines and the metalled road over the top.
Riders re-assemble near to the top of the wind turbines
The tarmac was soon blocked by about 2 foot of snow. This is where shorts and ankle socks really come into their own, when it comes to experiencing new levels of cold and discomfort. We carried, waded and swam through a few hundred metres of the icy white stuff before the tarmac re-commenced. Chilled by the snow a lengthy descent followed which guaranteed that any remaining sensation in toes and fingers was lost.
Stuck on a small black island
As we descended the tricky slippery and very wet forest logging trails we gradually warmed up and hit the final mud chute through a farm yard and onto the lane back to our start point.
Look at all those happy muddy faces
A quick change of clothes and we dropped into the pub to literally scrape together some cash for a pint and some banter.
In an increasingly random twist on the Bike of the Ride award saw the pub landlord awarding Woody with the prestigious sticker without even seeing anybody's bikes.
All in all a great day out with full marks awarded for company, entertainment and weather induced near misery. Love it.
"Double Butted Cromoly Tubing!!!
(Edited several times due to poor spleling)
After using his full allocation of right turns during the morning, a succession of corresponding left turns in the afternoon and some soggy map reading eventually returned us to our start point.
A classic old school route with a good bunch of old school people.
The apprehensive retro-riders line up outside a primary school for the group shot.
L to R: Sinnett117, woody, m-trax, volvo1980, fritz, MrK, HarryCrumb, Easy_Rider, crud. (drystonepaul behind camera)
Riding commenced up a nice steep and dirty, muddy lane. I immediately began to regret my choice to ride singlespeed, but after a point in the right direction from a friendly farmer we eventually reached the edge of the forest.
Fritz and Volvo 1980. A tale of two Alex's.
Clocaenog Forest is filled with fire roads all of which have identical junctions and magnetic compass confusing trees. So we continued on an easterly bearing through scenery like the repetitive background in an episode of Scooby Doo.
Mr Kawawherethehellarewe: Leading from the back.
Mr K had shunned the retrobike convention of doing a route recce prior to inviting other riders along. He instead preferred to rely on his finely honed map reading skills, almost supernatural sense of direction, cat like reflexes and the 50:50 approach to left or right turns. This 'live recce' approach kept us all very excited almost as though participating in a treasure hunt.
Nobody heard any banjo's, saw any squirrel rehabilitation towers, or spoke of being eaten by wolves at any point during the ride.
The rare sight of a waymarker post immediately confirmed our suspicions.... Hopelessly lost.
Despite the weather forecast predicting awful weather for several days leading up to the ride, we were thankfully blessed with sunshine and blue skys. Perfect for soaking up some fantastic views across to the Clywdian hills in the distance.
The bright sunshine added even more colour saturation to Mark 'Daffyd' Sinnett's fluorescent lycra.
A titanium test ride vs a £16 eBay special.
Crumbs that's a lovely looking AMP.
Once again a fine selection of old metal was on show including, Sinnett117's Alpinestars Ti-Mega, HarryCrumbs blinged out AMP, Mr K's Dave Yates, Woody's Stumpjumper M2, Fritz's Kona, Volvo's P7, Crud's Saracen, ER's Dawes and m-trax on her M-Trax.
Bike of the ride should surely have gone to my Saracen Sahara, with it's rattly bottom bracket, dodgy free-hub, possibly cracked frame, loosening headset and comic book graphics. Still, I did 'jet' wash it by completely submerging it in a river at the end of the ride only to pour half a litre of water out of the frame afterwards. I digress...
Easy_Rider enthusiastically accepts Mr K's offer of map reading lessons
A portrait of a man on the edge of control
Mr K spurred us all along to reach the visitor centre on the far side of the mighty Llyn Brenig reservoir. Many hot baguettes and all day breakfasts were consumed as we casually muddied up the furniture.
The weather closed in as we left the cafe
After a thorough re-fuelling we ventured back outside to be met with a heavy and sustained hail shower. Layering up we tackled the exposed crossing of the dam. Cold wasn't the word for it and we all welcomed reaching the shelter of the forest on the far side. My shoes were now full of icy water which put the fun in fundamentally unpleasant.
After increasingly lengthy patches of snow on the hill top trails we reached the summit wind turbines and the metalled road over the top.
Riders re-assemble near to the top of the wind turbines
The tarmac was soon blocked by about 2 foot of snow. This is where shorts and ankle socks really come into their own, when it comes to experiencing new levels of cold and discomfort. We carried, waded and swam through a few hundred metres of the icy white stuff before the tarmac re-commenced. Chilled by the snow a lengthy descent followed which guaranteed that any remaining sensation in toes and fingers was lost.
Stuck on a small black island
As we descended the tricky slippery and very wet forest logging trails we gradually warmed up and hit the final mud chute through a farm yard and onto the lane back to our start point.
Look at all those happy muddy faces
A quick change of clothes and we dropped into the pub to literally scrape together some cash for a pint and some banter.
In an increasingly random twist on the Bike of the Ride award saw the pub landlord awarding Woody with the prestigious sticker without even seeing anybody's bikes.
All in all a great day out with full marks awarded for company, entertainment and weather induced near misery. Love it.
"Double Butted Cromoly Tubing!!!
(Edited several times due to poor spleling)
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Quality write up Paul 
Mr K's creme egg ride .....yum yum!!
Well after picking up drystonepaul in my local town we set off in terrential rain to the meeting venue ( a pub of course ) in Cyffylliog. Me and Paul were expecting the same kind of weather that we left in but were soon blessed with some lovely easter sunshine. We started off with some steepish climbs but then things got abit easier when we entered into the woods. After lunch though the weather turned against us but spirits were high and our belly's were full. Mr K lead us all the way round with only a hiccup at every junction , all i can remember is taking a left all day ..anyway we all got back to the cars safe and sound !! Somehow at the end of the day my bike won "Bike of the ride" by the Landlord of the pub! It was great to meet the usuals and new folk for a yummy creme egg ride ! Hope to see you all again soon.
Some pic's of the day !
Great views
Amazing machinery
Map reading skills ....abit suspect !
The weather starts to turn against us.
April snow !
Last downhill to the pub !
Creme egg ride tasted lovely !
An unexpected win !
Thanks to Mr K for another brilliant retro ride!
Well after picking up drystonepaul in my local town we set off in terrential rain to the meeting venue ( a pub of course ) in Cyffylliog. Me and Paul were expecting the same kind of weather that we left in but were soon blessed with some lovely easter sunshine. We started off with some steepish climbs but then things got abit easier when we entered into the woods. After lunch though the weather turned against us but spirits were high and our belly's were full. Mr K lead us all the way round with only a hiccup at every junction , all i can remember is taking a left all day ..anyway we all got back to the cars safe and sound !! Somehow at the end of the day my bike won "Bike of the ride" by the Landlord of the pub! It was great to meet the usuals and new folk for a yummy creme egg ride ! Hope to see you all again soon.
Some pic's of the day !
Great views
Amazing machinery
Map reading skills ....abit suspect !
The weather starts to turn against us.
April snow !
Last downhill to the pub !
Creme egg ride tasted lovely !
An unexpected win !
Thanks to Mr K for another brilliant retro ride!
mrkawasaki
Retrobike Rider
Excellent reviews Paul and Woody, both acutely revealing my finely-honed man-on-the-edge-of-control stylee that couples haphazard entertainment with a sense of bewildering randomness (as seen in the face of the landlord, when asked to decide BotR without seeing the metal...).
As my deputy is away on the sick I am able to point the finger in the general direction of the Wirral re. unnecessary left turns; running out of creme eggs; map reading by consensus etc.
I am however unrepentant by the old school nature of the route - damn your carpeted, duck-boarded trail centres! Adventure is what our real bikes and their riders crave - I think we garnered that in spades. Four seasons in one day, views to savour, grim conditions to tests the mettle and banter of the highest order. The moment 'Dafydd' - the only Mike Kloser lookalike in the village - hove into view, I knew I could count on bitching of some quality!
New peeps bravely sampling a Mr K rideout included Fritz and his awesome squashed frog 2CV - his only vice seemed to be a longstanding acquaintance with Gus; Volvo - eternally looking for the next pub and being disappointed; and the Boulder Brothers - fresh from recce'ing all the wrong parts of Clocaenog the week before.
I'd love to tell you it isn't always this 'relaxed' - but I'd be lying...
Mr K
Leading from the back
Random Memories:
* 10 turn out - 10 I say! I expected 3...
* The thrapping of a slammed 2CV down the valley
* Mark's holy grail - even holier in the flesh
* Dafydd in pink
* Saracen's aciid house graphics
* Views towards Moel Famau - be there in June!
* Into the trees - turn left!
* Squirrels' Stannah chairlift
* Lack of civilisation = Deliverance
* Temperature 8 degrees throughout - allegedly
* Bleak Llyn Brenig and the morbid fishermen
* Full fry up, tea and toast - £4.85 - steal!
* Lindsay phones for Parker
* Hail the hail
* Wind farms, snow blocks and frozen sheep
* Shitty descents
* Liverpool Running Club's happy hour
* Whip rounds for beer
* BotR goes to Woody's original 1993 Stumpjumper M2 - sweet!
As my deputy is away on the sick I am able to point the finger in the general direction of the Wirral re. unnecessary left turns; running out of creme eggs; map reading by consensus etc.
I am however unrepentant by the old school nature of the route - damn your carpeted, duck-boarded trail centres! Adventure is what our real bikes and their riders crave - I think we garnered that in spades. Four seasons in one day, views to savour, grim conditions to tests the mettle and banter of the highest order. The moment 'Dafydd' - the only Mike Kloser lookalike in the village - hove into view, I knew I could count on bitching of some quality!
New peeps bravely sampling a Mr K rideout included Fritz and his awesome squashed frog 2CV - his only vice seemed to be a longstanding acquaintance with Gus; Volvo - eternally looking for the next pub and being disappointed; and the Boulder Brothers - fresh from recce'ing all the wrong parts of Clocaenog the week before.
I'd love to tell you it isn't always this 'relaxed' - but I'd be lying...
Mr K
Leading from the back
Random Memories:
* 10 turn out - 10 I say! I expected 3...
* The thrapping of a slammed 2CV down the valley
* Mark's holy grail - even holier in the flesh
* Dafydd in pink
* Saracen's aciid house graphics
* Views towards Moel Famau - be there in June!
* Into the trees - turn left!
* Squirrels' Stannah chairlift
* Lack of civilisation = Deliverance
* Temperature 8 degrees throughout - allegedly
* Bleak Llyn Brenig and the morbid fishermen
* Full fry up, tea and toast - £4.85 - steal!
* Lindsay phones for Parker
* Hail the hail
* Wind farms, snow blocks and frozen sheep
* Shitty descents
* Liverpool Running Club's happy hour
* Whip rounds for beer
* BotR goes to Woody's original 1993 Stumpjumper M2 - sweet!
