Hi all,
Given, as usual, the list of those going changes a little in final days this is the final notification of who I have and their accomodation (there is also a free twin room space with Gavin if anyone is interested in upgrading from Bunkroom or someone else joining in?)
Meeting point for next weekend is at Bullands, they should be expecting us so shouldnt be surprised when ~26 bikers wonder in 🙂 Continue reading
Hi all,
we have a few spaces available for Balmaha. We have a space in the bunk room £15 inc breakfast. The oak tree have also had 2 cancellations of deluxe double rooms. These would be £55 per room inc breakfast. I said I would get back to oak tree ASAP regarding the double rooms as I wasn’t sure we could fill them based on the majority of GMBC “couples” already going along although perhaps Graham and Baz would like to upgrade from a twin to carry on their bromance 🙂
if anyone is interested let me know ASAP (particularly about the double rooms) might be a nice way to bring your partner and introduce them to the bike club, we are very friendly!
Happy New Year and calling Barrie Brown!
Now we are in 2015 I just wanted to make sure everyone who said they were interested in going along still are. I got a double room cancellation from Oak Tree so both Davie H and Lorna shall be joining us. Barrie Brown you can take Scotty place in the bunkroom as he wont be able to make it, can you let me know asap if you will be joining us, I believe Tim is trying to come along too so if there is a cancellation then i’ll try find a bed for him too. If there is anyone else interested but missed out let me know incase there is any additional cancellations.
so far we have:
Davie n Lorna (double)
Gerry n Alison (double)
Sam n John (double)
Gary n Partner (double)
Tom n Ieva (double)
Me n Matt (double)
Alex and Gavin T (twin)
Barry n Graham (twin)
Magda n Shirly (twin)
Bunkhouse
Thomas W, Angus, Phil, Stuart, Richard Hb, Katie, Alden, Barrie Brown
Hey y’all,
So I managed to persuade Graham into the Bowhill Medium and Long duathalon. These are off road races down at the borders where you race off road on two wheels AND two feet 🙂 The race isn’t detailed in distance but in winning time as the terrain is more an important aspect than the actual distance. Gives you an idea of the race 🙂
the race is run by durty events and are well organised and good fun. More details can be found on their website www.durtyevents.co.uk and click on bowhill winter series. Entry is through entry Central. G and I are only doing medium(18jan) and long (22 feb)versions. We thought we would make a weekend of it staying local in a bunkhouse and doing some riding the day before. After all the race is only as serious as you make it -and am just going for the mud 🙂
we can co-ordinate accommodation on the events page Graham set up.
So. Who’s up for a challenge?
Hey y’all,
Thats the Balmaha weekend full! So if anyone cant make it please let me know and if anyone is desperate let me know and we can try operate a reserve list.
With 24 of us it should be a great weekend and a busy one! I think I got the prices slightly wrong though last year they were £42.50 for a room and £15 pp for the bunkroom. I hope thats still ok with everyone. We have the following people and locations for the trip:
Gerry n Alison (double)
Sam n John (double)
Gary n Partner (double)
Tom n Ieva (double)
Me n Matt (double)
Alex and Gavin T (twin)
Barry n Graham (twin)
Magda n Shirly (twin)
Bunkhouse
Thomas W, Angus, Phil, Stuart, Richard Hb, Scott W, Katie, Alden
You’ll be well happy Baz n Graham…. 🙂
Oak Tree have confirmed they have enough space for us on the 31st January. I need confirmed names for this amazingly great social weekend by end of this week – 26th Oct otherwise you might miss out on space. (http://www.oak-tree-inn.co.uk/)
the idea is that we will descend again (quite literally off the top of Conic..) to the doorstep of Oak Tree, Balmaha, welcomed in by a warm fire, cold beer a feast of food and good banter. When that all gets too much you can rest your weary head on the pillows of Oak Tree and awake refreshed for breakfast and a cycle home.
What could possibly be better? Now the details – if you’ve read this far your definitely interested. 
The plan –Meeting in Bullands ~930am fuelled with coffee n bacon rolls on Saturday 31st leaving ~1030am and using pedal power alone to drive you along the westie to Balmaha. En route there is a sociable lunch stop in Drymen where the hardcore hit the pub and the not so hardcore hit the coffee shop for scones n tea. Arrive (preferably in one piece, particularly those who have been in the pub…) at Oak Tree Inn just before dark. Quick shower, change – fresh as daisies, for dinner around 630-7pm. More beers, banter followed by crashing out. Wake up (hungover?), breakfast ~9am – cycle back along westie to Bullands arriving back ~2-3pm on the Sunday.
Prices – Oak Tree have said they will honour same prices to last year. Thus twin and double rooms will be £37.50 and the bunkroom (housing 4 in each house) will be £12.50ea this includes breakfast also. Dinner and beer is extra – the menu is quite substantial and is yummy with something for everyone.
Logistics – last year we got a taxi to pick up and bag drop for us. It cost around £4 ea for delivery to and from the oak tree meaning you didn’t need to carry any baggage on the bike trip. This worked well as there was approximately 20 of us so the price could potentially fluctuate dependent on the number of people going. Alternatively we can see if we can work something out with cars and people nearer the time.
If your interested list your name below with what accommodation you’d like before the end of this week, twin, double or bunkhouse (there is also single rooms too)
Hopefully see you all there!
Hi Bikers,
I have begun enquries into a potential 8th year descent from conic hill to Oak Tree Inn on either the 25th or 31st January. I am waiting for them to get back to me with avaliability and more importantly prices! For those not aware what this weekend is, its emphasis is sold on social ride with the three B’s, Banter, Beer and Bikes (not necessary in that order)
For those who havent had the pleasure of this amazingly great social ride it begins at the Bullands for coffee and bacon rolls, a taxi ride for your overnight kit, a ride along the westie to Drymen for tea and scones (or a pint or two for the hardcore) and a continuation onto Conic Hill and down into Oak Tree Inn for the evening of good food and beer before riding it all in reverse the next day. The ride has numerous bail outs to make the ride less technical, and the pace is very much social so there its totally suited to all those who have done the introductory rides this year. The price has been £40 for twin/double rooms or £15 for the bunks including breakfast.
If the Oak Tree will match the same prices then I think this should be another excellent weekend! I will keep you all informed when I hear details but just wanted to plant the seed as a few people have asked if this would be on the calender.
Speak soon and happy trails!
So what’s everyone doing in January 2014. Feeling fat, bit like sloth? Can’t be bothered , need an incentive to get yer butt moving?
Well fear not! I have the perfect solution! It’s our 5th Anniversary of the Oak Tree Inn ride! (http://www.oak-tree-inn.co.uk/)
Yup we have been granted permission to descend again (quite literally off the top of Conic..) to the doorstep of Oak Tree, Balmaha, welcomed in by a warm fire, cold beer a feast of food and good banter. When that all gets too much you can rest your weary head on the pillows of Oak Tree and awake refreshed for breakfast and a cycle home.
What could possibly be better? Now the details – if you’ve read this far your definitely interested. 🙂
Hi All,
Hoping you all looking forward to the Oak Tree Inn weekend on the 28th Jan! There is still one space available in the bunkroom, £15 for bed and breakfast! If your interested let me know. Continue reading
The fabulous four (Gerry, Alison, Ryszard and myself) turned up in a rather damp and misty Ardgaten visitor center today at 10am. After all of us trying to win the verbal competition on who had done the least biking and who had eaten too mince pies over the festive period we decided to get cracking and let the trail determine who had been secret training and who in actual fact had eaten too many mince pies. (place your bets now please)
The Ardgaten Route isnt a technical route, its mostly fireroad with 7km of singletrack which is nothing really too techy if your on a mtb…. thing is I wasnt and nether was Alison or Ryszard. So this made things….. errr …. interesting? Gerry was on his full suss (and was still as fast if not faster up the hills than us)… all about the gear ratios thou…. apparently… this made for an interesting topic the whole way throughout the ride. It was noticed that I had a mtb cassette on the CX and was sporting a triple chainset which technically means I should have been flying up those hills but unlike some I wasn’t lying at the start of the ride when i said I’d lost all the Ironman status that I had built up the previous year, I was cycling more like couchpotato man (I managed to surgically remove the remote control from my paw in time for the ride).
The route is undulating to say the least – I think riding a CX bike makes it more fun, if not a little more bone rattling on the descents.
The route just before the half way point drops down into Lochgilhead after following 7km of “singletrack” (more like narrower and steeper firetrack with sections of rough ground, still fun thou) before this we were treated to fantastic scenic views of Loch Fyne and Loch Goil, ……at least we would have been if the damn mist had lifted – so we all imagined the views from the last time we were there. Gerry kept us going by talking about food, I love cycling with Gerry hes one of the only people that shares in my belief that exercise should be followed up by eating something horrendously calorific and tasty – more talk resumed after that of slow cookers and the “carvery restaurant which sells good top nosh for only £3.69 and desserts for a mere £1.39”.
Anyway back to the ride – so on the trip down to Lochgoilhead we came across many horizontal trees, Q the fabulous 4 and the teamwork we performed to get through em. Finally upon entering Lochgoilhead we went through a section of fireroad that sported some highland cattle, one was on the path, those that know me know I have an infinite fear of cattle be it the fluffy ones or not. Cows should be in a bun or on the other side of the fence … the other side of the fence to me that is. I handled it all with style and finesse….. I’ll let you guess how I actually handled that.
Out of Lochgoilhead is a NEVER ENDING FIRETRACK HILL which follows the main road beneath you and takes you up and over the rest and be thankful, thankful I reckon cos you’ve never been so F’kin thankful to be at the top in all your life!
Finally if your looking for a fabulous workout on those bingo wings then a rigid bike on the final descent is a great workout and comes highly recommended.
Every ride has an order of ability/fitness that naturally occurs as the ride progress – I can confirm that I won the competition of being totally truthful about my fitness, ie it doesn’t exist. Alison did amazing on really skinny tyres (and a compact) Ryszard is just plain stubborn and will grunt and groan his way up any hill, and Gerry did fantastic on his mtb and most of the time was seen way out in front of us with CX bikes including up the hills!
We were totally soaked through by the time we arrived back at the car park, the weather was pretty dire. I personally had been dreaming of dry pants a good portion of the way round the route. Rides like this are made all the better when you have people to share it with, somehow its easier to laugh off the less than perfect conditions and the pain of going uphill… FOREVER. Left to just me and Ryszard riding I think I would have just swore at him the whole way up the hill, so thanks Alison and Gerry for a great day out.
ps Gerry am still considering the slow cooker but I really am not interested in the Carvery.
