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Slightly later than promised, but here's the plan for another day of bike-based fun and frolicks.
- we be rollin' on [b]Sunday the 27th[/b]
- start is at the [b]market square in Northleach[/b]
- wheels roll at [b]10:30[/b] sharp.
- there's parking on the square (possibly Pay and Display, not sure) and along main street
- there is a choice of pubs for post-pootle refreshments
As always, we will be observing The Rules of Pootle as laid down by His Pookness (may he forever bathe in rose water).
1) if you're fast, hold the gates and count the folks through
2) if you're slow - have something to talk about with the other 20 people with you
3) bring cakePootles aren't a typical 'group ride'. I started them 'cos I hated being the person at the back. I wanted a group ride for the people at the back. There aren't any people at the back in a pootle.
The route is mainly country lanes and tracks, entirely newbie friendly. The 'gnarr' element is very low, the 'pleasantly bimbling around in the countryside' element is very high. Not sure of the length, meant to check this morning but I forgot (if anyone has the Nick Cotton Cotswold MTB routes book, it's in there). We'll be out for 3-4 hours though I'd have thought.
So, there you go. Be there or be square (or doing something else warmer and dryer probably...)
*switches monitoring to this thread*
Sounds like my cup of tea this..
And you know what goes well with tea? Cake, see rule 3 🙂
I should have added, in anticipation of the usual "I'm new to STW/MTB/pootling, can I come?" type questions: Yes, you can, all welcome.
If I can get a train home again (getting there is easy enough - pedal) I'll come along if that's OK?
Bum! Can't get Monday off for travelling home 🙁
Have a fabulous time all!
Right I'm provisionally in. I'm gonna make the trip down from Stourbridge.
Oh man would have loved to come on this! Really want to find more riding in the area but I'm at the Dyfi Warm Up instead.
I should have added, in anticipation of the usual "I'm new to STW/MTB/pootling, can I come?" type questions: Yes, you can, all welcome.
Even if I bring a small army? Might well have a few people wanna come and do this one...
I'm going to have to give this one a miss. Can't really justify spending on petrol to get there when I don't have a job.
Have fun! 🙂
Bum! Can't get Monday off for travelling home
Come down and stay Saturday night with your baldy loverboy, go back after the pootle. We'll be done pootling by mid-afternoon.
EDIT - you can bring your little hairy babies too, someone will be only too pleased to see them...
If I can get a train home again (getting there is easy enough - pedal) I'll come along if that's OK?
Yep, cool. Not sure where the nearest station is though (we can get you a lift to one though if needs be I'd have thought)
Even if I bring a small army?
Yeah, no problem. As long as it's not an [i]actual[/i] army, obviously.
if mrs tang and baby tang no3 are out of hospital by then and ok im in. sounds like just what i need!
Nearest Station is Cheltenham/Oxford/Swindon or Moreton-in-marsh or kemble.Nothing to close.
Okay, I've checked in the book and the route's 28km with a massive 400m height gain...
I might come along for this - i'm liking the inclusion of cake 🙂
I could check how old you really look 🙂
Not committing yet though
Ha ha 😆
It's the combination of biking, cake and (hopefully!) chatting to some nice new people that did it for me. 3 of my favourite things 🙂
I can't make it - miniPook imminent then....
Can't make this weekend fella. Parental duties 🙁
[i]I might come along for this - i'm liking the inclusion of cake [/i]
Yay! 🙂
[i]I can't make it - miniPook imminent then....
Can't make this weekend fella. Parental duties [/i]
Boo... 🙁
"Only" 170 miles away, I wonder.....
Feed added to Newsreader to keep an eye on it.
The Biking and cake bits fine.Its the chatting to nice new people is the worrying bit!!!!!!.This is the Cotswolds you know.Strange folk up on those hills 😀
It's ok, I live in the New Forest, i'm well practiced at this 😉
Logistics sorted... a day trip is in order!
Be warned there will be northerners moving amongst you..
When the weather gets better ( if) then I/we would like to partake of a southern pootle.
When the weather gets better there is a classic pootle to do which would include some excellent singletrack in Cranham woods/then XC to Lecky etc.Needs to be dry to get the best out of Cranham.Hay Ho summers coming 😆
When the weather gets better
sorry you lost me there?
If 😳
It can only get better surely :D.Cant get any worse.It was good off road on the last Saturday of October 2012.Thats the last time the Cotswolds was dry.So you know it can be dry its just when and how long you have to wait 😉
So you know it can be dry its just when and how long you have to wait
I seem to remember dry weather sometime in 2010? but not sure anymore, it might have been a dream.
The baldy boss..... He say YES!!! Yippee!
EDIT - you can bring your little hairy babies too, someone will be only too pleased to see them...
The hairy babies will have to stay at home I'm afraid, too much travelling for such a short trip. Maybe you and your lovely lady would like to take advantage of the wonderful single tracks here in north Manchester and hairy baby sit some time?!?!? Hmmmmm.... Just an idea 😉
I think im in, first STW ride !
The baldy boss..... He say YES!!! Yippee!
hang on a minute..... oh never mind.. 😉
Yeah, that's not on, is it? There's no way you're the boss 🙂
I'll see if I can persuade Mrs MTG to make this our first "away from home" tandem ride.
Any kids going on this ?
We're trying to get Mrs MTG's 13 year old daughter in to mountain biking.
She doesn't like being with old people, such as Mrs MTG and myself, but might be persuaded if there's other teenagers there.
The little lady would argue that I have the mentality of a 13 year old if that helps.
She'd be more than welcome though. The little lady is coming and she's a newbie and, well, a (34 year old) girl if that helps...
Friday morning bump.
Being a middle-class w@nker, I'm off skiing next week. So, if someone could give this a bump while I'm away that would be super.
Bump.....! Does this mean I get the bottle of wine instead of the baldy boss?!
8)
Can't wait!
Bump
Le bump
is the route snowpocalypsageddon proof?
Bonjour! I have returned.
Well, it wouldn't be the Cotswold Pootle without a week of freak weather beforehand 😯
The route will be fine in snow, in fact it should be good fun. Then again, by next week it'll probably all be gone and we'l be riding in in slushy grimness.
So, anyway, bump.
Still intending to be there with a small entourage... See you Sunday!
Smashing, more the merrier.
Should be lucky this time weather warming up.Saturday is suppose to be 7to8 degrees.That will be nice.
Really? Well, that answers any 'what shall I ride in' questions
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Wednesday bump.
The good news is that it will have stopped snowing by Sunday. The bad news is that it'll probably have started raining 🙁
Anyhoo, for keeping warm when out and about in inclement weather is why god invented both kinds of flask - thermos and hip 🙂
aaaaaand Thursday lunchtime bump.
Well i'm still planning on coming along (as long as others are!)!
No cake though sadly - my oven is broken 🙁 Brilliant timing as it's a great time of year for salads....
Fortunately I can still EAT cake though??!!!
[i]Fortunately I can still EAT cake though[/i]
Oh, I see, we have a cake scrounger do we?
If you're VERY good and laugh VERY loud at ALL of my jokes, and never at any times appear fitter, faster or more skilled than me, I may let you have a SMALL piece of flapjack. But only one of the burnt bits.
Honestly, some people.... 😉
I know - you just can't get decent newbies these days can you!! 😆
Well out of 4 that said they were coming with me 3 have dropped out so I'm wavering 😳
[b]*cough*[/b]pansy[b]*cough*[/b]
There will be plenty of Snowball cakes up there 😆
A quick check of various weather forecasters suggests that it might be raining heavily or it'll just be occasional showers, unless it's just overcast or it might be sunny. But it won't be snowing, unless it is...
😕
My mate lives in Northleach there is plenty of snow up there still.Should be some left for you sunday.
Final Friday bump.
Weather's looking, er
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Still in, whats the worst that can happen ? 😀
Exactly 🙂
It seems the weather picture I linked to up there -^ updates automatically too, how's that for service? Looks like it's going to be sunny 🙂
Sunny but V wet underfoot one suspects!
Still about 6 of us coming, so see you there in the morning... What vehicle you driving these days mate so I know to look out for you? I won't be in the works van so I won't be so obvious to spot.
Yeah, it'll be a bit damp but it's all/mostly tarmac and hardpack gravel so we should be fine (he says, famous last words...)
I'll be in a silver T5 camper.
Where exactly are we meeting in Northleach? Postcode anyone...?
I am rubbish at directions 😳
This is the one ive found, but would be nice to have it confirmed. GL54 3EE ?
That'll do it. We're meeting in the market square car park, where the post office and war memorial is - Northleach is tiny, you can't miss it
Northleach is tiny, you can't miss it
Oh dear, you've said it now.....!
I think I'll tag along on this one as well 🙂
Its hard going out there plenty of snow around in the Cotswolds.100 yard 3 foot snow drift in greenway lane today crazy.Bad up by Birdlip then not much snow in Cranham.Looks lovely though out there.Have fun.
After canning the last cotswold pootle we hope to be there, hang overs allowing. 😳 Subject to remnants of snow it sounds like tandem terrain so keep an eye out for bright red bouncy tandem with two Idiots on board. Weather does not look bad either
Macgyver
Cliff says don't park outside his house or he'll get the angry stick out
Thanks all for a good days riding 🙂 And nice to have the weather on our side....
PS if anyone has the route recorded could I have a copy, Garmin turned of halfway around 🙄
Lump, if you send me your email address, I'll send you a GPX later...
Nice to meet everyone that I didn't already know, just got home and about to tuck into my dinner, then a big old bike cleaning session ensues!
And cheers Si for leading.
Aye, good to meet new folks and catch up with folks I've noy seen for a while. Glad you enjoyed it. I loved the last muddy lane, it was far more fun that it deserved to be 🙂
The bikes have had a bit of a clean to get the worst off the drivetrain, but I'm off to buy a hosepipe tomorrow...
Thanks all, it was a good day with good company. Because I'm a tart my bike is now spotless (and no doubt the wheel bearings are greaseless).
Great ride and lovely to meet everyone! Thanks for making me so welcome - very pleased I didn't have to revert to Plan B, which was to buy an OS map and disappear off by myself if you all turned out to be axe murderers.... 😉 😆
Good luck with the event we were chatting about solarpowered 🙂
Oh, and i'm embaressed to say my bike has had a half-hearted hose off in the dark and i'm completely ignoring the large lumps of mud that I obviously missed!!
Hey! Brill day! Thank you all! Had a grand day out and giggled a lot 😀
Thank you so much Missnotax for your race advice - will let you know how HTN goes.... Eeeek! Meeting Jedi in march thanks to a wonderful Xmas pressie but would love to be taught by you when you're up & running! (Need a lot of help for sure)
Sorry for not going to the pub after - that was my fault as I wanted a cuppa then off home.
Will look forward to another pootle on the near future ! Thanks again everyone xxx
P.s. tandem peeps .... AWESOME! A lot of respect there. You are/must be mega fit! I will bring you cake next time 😀 x
Thanks all it was great to make the most of a sunny day at long last.
Was a bit windy at times though! A few hairy moments when the back end if the tandem stepped out of line in the gloop. Think I brought half the cotswolds home with me on the bike - it took some cleaning. Will see if the good lady can post her pics of the day so will post a link when it's done. She has to write an article for work first.
P.s. tandem peeps .... AWESOME! A lot of respect there
+1!
+2 😀 Very impressed
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