Banshee 200.

4°C, bright but rain later.
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New tent; for wild camping. It’s similar to erect to my old faithful Tempest 300. The idea is to pack this into my 65 litre pack and use for wild camping. I shalln’t wait for the Diamond Challenge trip, with the first excuse, I’ll go. That means keep the big pack ready to go. The carry mat I used in the bivvy last year seems heavy, perhaps one of those cheap foam mats with foil on one side could be strapped to the pack.
It matters whether to lie foil up or downwards. In the bivvy, it should be upwards so you can turn over in the night without the mat sliding away.

Fun times lie ahead.

Clieves-Eight, x2

7°C, brisk SW, mostly clear with some showers.
I rode Fixed Paddy-Wagon with MapMyRide+! Distance: 9.60mi, time: 36:30, pace: 3:48min/mi, speed: 15.78mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1350870575
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Not much time, so had a quick blast with the fixed. Cold wind blew from the southern approaches, on a short one, that doesn’t really figure.
Today has not been an example of a well used day. This ride did blow the cobwebs away. Without cycling, I would have lost my marbles long ago.

Coldest night.

-6°C clear and still.
I knew it would be cold so took precautions.

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Pistyll Rheaedr, highest drop waterfall in Wales.

Last night I used my survival bivvy over the sleeping bag. It gives an extra layer, especially when there’s a breeze.
My Rab bivvy is full sized, enough to pull over my head (and zip closed). It also has plenty of wriggle space which is enough for a fleecy blanket. That seemed to work well. I was comfortable even when the thermometer reached -2° inside the tent.
There were a few possibilities for the coming day. Walk on the hill again, shop in Betws-y-coed, or go home. The decision was made while fixing breakfast. The campsite has outside sinks and taps. They were frozen. No water! I’m not walking without water.
Betws-y-coed has one of the finest cafes in Wales. After careful packing, I headed for a nice lunch.

QMD: Cadair Berwyn.

0 to –8°C. April northerly. Mostly clear sky.
Full mountain day, after packing up camp, I heard the car rumble by, my colleagues had arrived. We convened a meeting around an outside table to decide which route.
Choices ranged from 7 to 12 miles. The big one got the go-ahead. Initially, there is a climb out of the valley along well maintained paths. Meltwater ran down and exposed ice on top of slate. Slate can be slippery at the best of times, but with ice!?
Before the first kilometer, it was apparent that we’d headed up the wrong valley. We wanted north and faced West. Oops.
I proposed that we take a quad bike track over the spur and intercept the path. Good.
Route mended, white summits poked above the grassy ridge.
From this point, the walk became fantastic. Fantastic in the sense that we strode out into a wonderland of snow and ice sculptures. Crunchy snow like this offers good grip and filled over those hollows between tussocks.
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The higher we got, the more fantastic the scene became. Wind was the sculptor here, and it had been very creative. Grid wire fences had long crystal growths of water ice, razor sharp and pointing downwind. Either the ice grew quickly, or the north wind had remained this way for days.
Worrying about time, we decided to skip Cadair Bronwyn and descent from the Bwlch before.

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Ice waffles.

The walk out was a considerable distance along sheep filled valleys.
Getting dark, we made camp at about 6pm. I was tired, partially my own fault. I didn’t eat enough. My boots repeatedly unlaced, the laces had iced up and slid loose.

Berwyn arrival.

-3°C to -6°C (at summits). Brisk NE, mostly sunny.
February mountain day! There’s a first.

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The morning after.

Arrived yesterday about 6pm as it got dark. The camp owner fixed of us with some firewood and directions. I drove down the pastel track to the field but got the car stuck in the bottom corner. The mud was fees and gummy. The priority was to sit.I the tent and make food. The car can stay where it is for the night.
But there was an odd noise in the field.
For the first time I used firestarters with no kindling. Surprised, it worked quite easily. Sitting to fact your supper under a cold clear sky is, under these circumstances, a pure pleasure. It was so clear that even under a bright first quarter, the stars and clusters were in sharp contrast. Not far from the moon were the Pleiades.
There’s also little white lights of a another kind- horses. They hung their heads over the gate to greet. Some horses are agreeably good looking like the one in Poldark. Here were not those horses. The Shetland pony was especially ugly, a real bag of spanners.
After fixing the fire, next was time to cook. This is also the time snow started to fall. There’s another first- prepare a meal in snowfall. The tricky bit, apart from handling the pans with cold hands was visibility. Each flake was bright in the headtorch beam. In the contrast, more distant objects were harder to make out.
Eventually, fed and watered, I sat by the fire reading and occasionally looking up at the stars that appeared from time to time.
By bedtime, the whole sky had cleared and temperatures fell hard and fast.

Quicker

I rode The Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 18.33mi, time: 01:26:13, pace: 4:42min/mi, speed: 12.75mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1345027265
Much faster today. The puddles are shrinking and surfaces firmer. In response, I put the hammer down. This north east wind is piercing though. It eats through your clothes and bites your skin underneath.
I did set off with the intention of riding the ‘cross. The fixed gear Paddy Wagon has a flat rear tyre. So it seemed series, at the time, to jump on the Jake.

Planning a hike.

Maybe next week:  Cadair Berwyn just beyond the Welsh border.
It’s approximately 800m high on a ridge with soft heathery slopes on the west and cliffs, opposite,
With luck, the weather will be terrible. Mist would be great, or blazing sunshine, either really. The sun brings colour, the mist brings interesting navigation.
I want to camp there for at least one night. I have never camped in February before.
Continue reading

Favourite route, 1 st. Lighter.

I rode Fixed. with MapMyRide+! Distance: 51.99mi, time: 03:42:53, pace: 4:17min/mi, speed: 13.99mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1337951053
Climbed Bannister Hill for the first time in ages, possibly six months. Last time I went up weighing about a stone more. It still felt hard though, but my lungs didn’t feel as though they were about to turn inside out.
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A very satisfying day’s ride.

First proper Sunday 50.

9°C, no rain but very wet roads, minor flooding in places. Storm Henry is brewing up.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 49.59mi, time: 03:44:52, pace: 4:32min/mi, speed: 13.23mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1329584081

I’ve worked hard today. Up before five, catalogued more LPs, marked for 4 hours, then rode all afternoon.

First proper Sunday ride of ’16. Windy, wet roads often covered in mud. The average speed is quite low and it all felt like wading through treacle. Another week to build up should improve on that. I have lost form during the previous fortnight. With patience and effort, I can pull it back soon.
Easter is early this year, so the question remains, will I get the usual 1 thousand miles done in time?

Found a new cafe today in Shackerstone. Well, new to me it is. The place was empty; these places do struggle in January each year. However, the guy running it was very amiable and probably appreciated some company. I shall go back in the next few months. It will probably fill with steam train people in the summer. The coffee smelt good but I opted for tea, can’t risk disrupted sleep.
I took no photos today, so here’s one from yesterday:
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What are you doing in my kitchen, it’s still January?
I carefully lifted her off with a piece of paper, then put her in the first place I could think of- a Spider plant pot.