Fort William – Sun 10th July

Folks,

Myself and Alison are planning to go to Fort William next week. The plan is to camp on the Saturday night (Loch Linnhe) and stay B&B on the Sunday night. On the Sunday we are planning to ride from Fort William on the Westie to Kinlochleven, up the landrover past Mamore Lodge to the river crossing. We will then return to Fort William via the same route. Plenty of options, e.g. techier riders could do the Ciaran Path at Kinlochleven instead of the track up past Mamore Lodge and we could re-group at the Ice Factor. Plan is to leave the Glen Nevis Vistor Centre at 10:00 AM PROMPT. Let us know if you are interested. Not sure what our plan is for the Monday yet. Cheers Gerry

Lakes Weekend 29th July-1st August

Hi folks,

Just a reminder about the lakes trip. This trip is definately going ahead.

The campsite is here:

http://www.baysbrownfarm.com/

Its in a wee village called Chapel Stile, just 7 miles from Ambleside. Takes about 2.5 hours to drive from Glasgow, so those who just want a weekend can manage it too. For those who don’t fancy camping, there is lots of choice of B&B’s, and a hostel in Ambleside. The village has one country pub, and another one a mile away.

The thinking is that there is loads of choice of riding down here, including road stuff, so don’t be put off. Its as much about a social weekend away somewhere very nice as it is about the riding.

For those wanting mega stuff, there’s the High Road near Ullswater which is about 20 mins away, and there is lots of choice for single track too.

Anyway, more the merrier, mixed abilities/bike types welcome.

If this hasn’t persuaded you its a good idea, jsut remember very few midges down there! Can’t say the same for the ticks, mind.

Me, Dawn, John and Ryz are definately going (unless Iron (Wo)Man kills Dawn next week!) And, a couple of biking mates from Wales.

Sam

Navigation Skills Course

Hi Folks,

As per requests at the AGM, we’re arranging to make some navigation skills training available to all club members.  Given the nature of the sport I see this as key to becoming a more competent mountain biker and is a skill that could be useful in many areas outside of mountain biking.

The Trainers:
Maria (Maz) and Martin Frater – have extensive experience in outdoors training and leading groups in mountain environments and have previously taught at the Dounan’s Outdoor Centre in Aberfoyle.

Course Structure:

  • Theory session: 2 – 2.5 hour session in the club hall
  • Practical session: 4 hour session in the Trossachs (Callander/Aberfoyle area) putting into practice what the classroom session has covered.

The intention is to make the course as practical as possible so you have a chance to absorb and cement the navigation skills and make them useful on future rides (Trailquest anyone??).

Course Content:

  • Getting to know a map – important features
  • Map Scales
  • Setting a map
  • Intoduction to “The Compass”
  • Taking Grid Bearings
  • Taking Magnetic Bearings
  • Magnetic Variation

By the end of the session you should be happy in your own navigation ability in basic summer conditions.

 Proposed Dates:
Theory: Wed 13th July

Practical: Sat 16th July

 Don’t worry if you’re interested but can’t make these dates.  Assuming the initial sessions go well, we’ll be running future classes to ensure that as many paid up members as possible have access to the training.  Maz and Martin are quite flexible on the courses so, depending on the level of interest, we could run a couple of classroom sessions first followed by 1 practical session at a later date.

Costs:

  • TBC but maximum of £10 per session (max of 1 theory and 1 practical session per member)

We’d look for this contribution towards the costs for employing 2 qualified and experienced trainers for delivering up to 6.5 hours of professional training with a low student:trainer ratio.  For comparison, a similar course from Tiso would cost you £65.  The club will fund the balance of the course fees.  To make this good value for the club ideally we require at least 8 people to sign up for each session.

Next Steps:

  • Advise if you are able to attend the theory class only or both the theory AND practical session  (Sorry: no practical without having done the classroom one first!!)
  • If you can’t attend the first session but are interested in future sessions then please let me know and I’ll keep a note.

In summary, I think this is a great opportunity to get some really useful training in essential skills which will keep you safe in the hills and give you the confidence to tackle a few “epic” rides this summer.

 Cheers,

 Graham

Beginner Ride Rota – Volunteers Needed Please

Hello all,

The Beginner Rides which started at the beginning of May have, so far been very successful.  We’ve increased our membership and introduced more women to the club (I have to put that in for the equal opportunities part).  To continue with the rides, we need your help with running these rides. 

We’re looking for volunteers to help for a couple of hours out on a Wednesday night.  So far we’ve been allocating two club members to a ride and you’ll have access to tea & biccies in the club hall afterwards along with the jet wash. 

So far, the majority of volunteers have been committee members along with a few dedicated & willing club members……….you know who you are, thank you.

It’s a great opportunity to introduce folk to the club, along with the social aspects of getting together in the club hall.  So, put your name forward and let us know if a particular Wednesday is good for you or not.

Many thanks

Barry

Alpine Club Night – Tuesday 28th of June

Hi all,

Alpine Bikes at St Georges Cross are running a club night for our paid members next Tuesday (I know that a large majority of our members actually ride on that day…..so see below).

They are offering 20% off parts, accessories, clothing etc and 10% off new bikes.  The shop closes as normal at 6pm, but re-opens 6.30pm – 9.30pm for our members.

As the Tuesday riders will miss out, we have agreed with Alpine that if you are to order anything before the club night, pay a deposit, they’ll run it through with the discounts applied on the Tuesday.  So you can in theory, show up today and purchase an item and the discount will be honoured.  Unfortunately, they won’t be able to take orders with that discount applied after the 28th of June.  So fill yer boots!

It’s a great chance to meet a few of the new faces in the team and build relationships with these guys. 

Regards

Barry

T in the Park Tickets available

Hello peeps,

I have two tickets in-hand for the Sunday 10th July available.

I’m looking for cost price only if anyone is interested?  I paid £180 for them.

I’m meant to be attending the Saturday gig,  but to be honest I might flog that too, but that’d be a single ticket.

Please get in touch if you or any of your friends are interested.

Many thanks

Barry 07766463369

Glentress 7 – Tweedlove

Had a great time at the Glentress 7 race on Saturday. The race was really well organised and the marshall’s were the most supportive bunch of guys I’ve ever seen at a race – well done. Pretty much an xc route with a couple of steep climbs with the rain adding some interesting line choices later in the day. Fantastic event and definitely worth doing, the guys at Tweedlove managed a sterling job of hosting it. Oh, and I managed 8th.