Next Big Thing - Pass'portes du soleil 2013 !!!!!

80km, mostly downhill
15 chair lifts
French-Swiss Alps

What's not to like !?

28-30 June, we're booked :)

Major decision is ..... will my trusty GT hardtail be fit for purpose or
should I "invest in" a full-susser. I'm thinking to spend around £700 on a
previously-loved £2k+ bike would be a mostly sensible thing to do.

Lakes weekend 2010

Nice trip this year as always. Much riding, drinking, socialising and eating. PLUS, this year - extra bonus *not* - some falling off. Last year I dealt with the steep boardwalk ramp on the Whinlatter South Loop reasonably successfully. This year, not so successful, in fact not successful at all :(




Was it the steep and deep ramp, the narrow run-off, the large rock, the still_wound_down_in_uphill_mode forks, SPDs^TM, or all the above?



We'll never know; suffice to say I was pleased to bump into Emma, the gaping_wound_expert_and_physiotherapist who cleaned and bandaged the arm and then gave deep massage 5 minutes later when my quads totally cramped up. Nice!

some stats for the stat-heads

Stats by Garmin .....

Distance: 53.8 miles
Max speed : 35.1 mph (my max speed)
Trip time : 8 h 30 mins
Moving avg : 9.9 mph

Not sure what that means, the Garmin was switched off for lunch, does that
mean we spent about 3 hours faffing about getting lost, reading maps,
waiting for people, laughing at them fall off and arguing with scary farm
ladies about rights of way?

They think it's all over...

This morning,after a quiet night apart from slavering dogs, wheel-spinning chavs, noisy sheep and late night stalkers (Nick) we've de-tented, loaded up and just finishing off the croissants, tea bags and camping gaz.
Great weekend, a few minor tech problems, a few bruises and scratches and 8 happy (if hung over) faces. Good one James, thanks for making it happen.

Not far now, just another 3 miles.

Clun. Just another 3 miles from here. Trouble is they're all steep uphill, and then followed by another 6 or 7 ! The best bit was the descent from 300 to 210 m over the last few miles. Woo-hoo. Take no prisoners.
This downhill burst spurred Jens to be first back. That, and gravity. He had to race back because he'd forgotten to bring a towel and so couldn't reserve the shower.

When is a castle not a castle?

When it's Stokesay Castle apparently. So this place is only a fortified manor house. What a swizz! Anyway, 3 down, 3 to go.
And speaking of 3 down, Matt had had a slight 'leaning the wrong way whilst stationary' moment, and James was wishing he hadn't swapped his MTB tyres for slicks after a bit of steep and not-so-much-technical-as-just-rocky-and-muddy byway.

To Croft Castle, or not to croft castle. That is the quest...

This place was pretening to be one of the castles we were searching for. There was a big sign - CROFT CASTLE. After the photo call we saw the small 'you are here' dot on the map. So in fact this was only an erstwhile shed, gatehouse or lurv shack for the castle. Anyway, 1 down, 5 to go.
And speaking of 1 down, Martin, some one who shall remain nameless rode through a gate and stopped, forgetting they were riding with SPDs. The rest is history, and pain.