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Club trip to Wales 2019
I have booked Foel Ortho near Bala again for 28/29th June 2019 for the club trip.
http://www.farmhouseinwales.com/
We will have the farmhouse, bunkhouse and treehouse. The cost will be £80 to cover both nights accomodation and breakfast. Cash to the shop or via PayPal at steve.depport@blueyonder.co.uk
We can eat out both nights, The Lake Vyrnwy Tavern has always been very good or a BBQ if we find a willing chef.
https://www.lakevyrnwy.com/menus.html
If you get there early you can ride on Friday. The main ride will be Saturday. A Sunday ride is an option for those who want one.
Great last minute Christmas present to yourself or a target for 2019? First come, first served. Rooms for couples and ladies can be reserved. The sooner you sign up, the better (for my stress levels if nothing else).
We had a B group and a C group last year, will the A group make a comeback?
Whoever ends up coming I'm sure you will have a weekend to remember
Comments
Riders so far
Right, so far I have had money through PayPal from Dave Atkinson, Emma Brain and Mike Stafford and of course I am going too. There may be cash at the shop, I haven't been in. I need to pay the deposit now of £475 with the balance to pay 6 weeks before the trip. That means I need all of the money by 17th May 2019.
There is not £475 in the pot at the moment either! Book yourself on the trip asap. Emma has already reserved the Treehouse, if you are a couple or female booking early gets you a choice of rooms. You really don't want to be in the bunkhouse with with the guys.
Latest update
Dave Rogers & John Jones have left their cash at the shop. Dave Alty & Ange Dixon have paid up via PayPal. Thanks for the support, enough cash to pay the deposit now.
Thats 8 places filled so far, don't miss out, pay up to claim your place now.
Club trip update
Dave Atkinson, Emma Brain,Mike Stafford, Dave Rogers, John Jones, Dave Alty, Ange Dixon, plus Danny Hughes, JP and Lord & Lady Lane have now paid for their weekend, including me that is now 12 riders.
The Farmhouse sleeps about 15, depending on the mix of sexes. The bunkhouse will sleep 8-12 and the Treehouse is already booked for Emma. The Lanes have the Master Bedroom.
There are three months to go before I have to pay the balance but that will disappear very quickly. The best thing to do is pay up and book your place now. It's February, it's cold, wet & grey, cheer yourself up by booking your place now.
Filling up....
Mark Webberley, Kevin Rogers and Alan Price have all paid up via PayPal, taking us up to 15 riders so far.
Filling up nicely, don't miss out
Another 2, thats 17 now
Brian Holmes & Helen Liversedge have paid via PayPal so that makes 17 riders so far.
If you are still thinking about it, stop thinking and do something. Book your place before it is full
18 and counting
Maxine Geary is joining us, still some places but book yourself on now so you don't miss out
Club Trip update
I need to start chasing you all up now. I have to pay the balance of the cost in about 4 weeks time, so if you have paid part of the £80 cost I need you to raid the piggy bank and pay up the balance asap.
If you have been thinking about going then now is the time to put your name down........and pay up!
We have 18 riders so far, there are still spaces available. For £80 you get 2 nights in a unique farmhouse, breakfast and a couple of days riding in fantastic locations and the company of your clubmates..........
It is always a weekend to remember.
This isn't like Brexit, the dates won't change, we take on Wales on the 28th,29th & 30th June and you won't need a passport or travel visa.
Still chasing.....
Mike Lloyd has paid in full to join us, making 19 riders. Still waiting for some people to pay the balance of the £80 they owe.
I have to pay for the trip next month so need you to pay anything outstanding.
Still places available
Time to get the rides organised
Time to finalise all the details. Firstly, we have 25 riders - Dave Atkinson, Emma Brain, Colin Clarke, Dave Rogers, John Jones, Danny Hughes, Mike Lloyd, Darren Rigby and myself, making a total of 9 riders who could form an A group.
I do not know everyone who is coming so have asked about what groups people might ride with, you can ride with anyone you like on tne day but this is just for the prupose of getting things organised.
Martin Rowlands has planned a C group ride and may have with him Dave Alty, Ange Dixon, Maxine Geary, Helen Liversedge, Kenny Madden, Craig Disley and Dominic Sherwin, making a total of 8 riders for a C group.
There is a potential B group but would somebody like to step up as leader? The riders who might form the B group would be Jonathan Parkinson, Mark & Clare Lane, Kevin Rogers, Alan Price, Brian Holmes which is 6 riders.
Two more riders are joining us, Mark Webberly and Clare Gibbs but I am not sure which groups you would like to ride with. That makes a total of 25 riders which is an ideal number for three groups. Apologies if I seem to have put you in the wrong group, blame my ignorance not your lack of ability.
The ride we have done the last few years for the A &B groups has been to Barmouth, which I have a route I can share. It is 90 miles and 9,000ft of climbing with two cafe stops. Here is last years Strava route -
https://www.strava.com/activities/1658754562
There are shorther routes for anyone looking for a ride on Sunday after we check out of the Farmhouse, all starting in Bala.
https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4561199.html This is 34 miles, up the easy side of thew Bwlch, araound lake Vyrnwy and then back over the Hirnant valley.
https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4299151.html The same route as above but Hirnant first.
https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4103695.html A route of34 miles out to Trawsfyndd
Happy to talk about routes if anyone wants to ask about them.
I will post another update on accomodation, etc.
Accomodation
The accomodation is at Foel Ortho and we have the farmhouse, bunkhouse and treehouse. The following rooms are allocated -
The Treehouse - Emma Brain
The Master Bedroom - Mark & Clare Lane
The Library Bedroom - Ange Dixon, Helen Liversedge, Maxine Geary
The Secret Bedroom - Claire Gibbs
The other three bedrooms in the farmhouse are The Blue Bedroom with 2 x double beds, East Wing with a double, The Baronial with 2 singles. Everyone should bring a pillow and a sleeping bag so you can avoid having to top and tail if you end up in a double bed.
The Farmhosue will sleep the 6 allocated plus 8 more.
The Bunkhouse will sleep from 8-12
All of the available beds, bunks and mattresses are first come, first served. Remember to bring a pillow and sleeping bag.
I will provide plenty of food for breakfast plus some bread and nibbles for pre-dinner. You will need to bring your own drinks.
Get the directiosn from here, the postcode is not much good. An app called What3Words can be used and is very accurate.
http://www.farmhouseinwales.com/download-centre/
I have booked the Tavern Brasserrie in Lake Vyrnwy Hotel for both nights at 7.30pm for dinner.
https://www.lakevyrnwy.com/tavern-brasserie.html
Any other questions about the accomodation and food please ask me.
Don't forget...
Don't forget a pillow, a sleeping bag, a towel.
Saturday night is a BBQ at the farmhouse, bring whatever you want to eat. Chef Colin Clark will be in full-on chef mode
Bring your own booze.
Minor tweak to Barmouth route
Looking at the route there was a track around 59/60 miles that we couldn't use. You couldn't get lost as the road and track meet up again after a few hundred metres but this route takes that out.
https://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_4333074.html
The final summary of 2019
Having checked, that was the 7th time we have been to Foel Ortho, although we call it the Bala trip because everyone has some idea where that is!Another fantastic weekend of cycling.
There were so many people leaving on their bikes on Friday afternoon when I arrived I thought I was a day late.
Saturday saw two rides, Martin Rowlands led a group on a 60+ miler recommended by Bala CC and the A group did the classic 90 mile, 9,000 feet Barmouth run. That evening was also followed by a brilliant BBQ, thanks to Colin, Darren and Emma for that.
Not as eventful as last year.........well plenty happened but none of it required anyone to be rescued but what happens in Bala stays in Bala
Final thanks to Dave Atkinson for helping with all the organisation again
Final accounts - after a couple of refunds I took £1,980, the weekend hire cost £1,550, leaving a balance of £430. I spent £150 on all the breakfast foods, snacks, bread (lots of bread) and nibbles. That leaves a balance of £280.
The trip is run as a bit of fun with me as the benign dictator, my decision is final...unless I change my mind.Dave Atkinson recently cycled 249 miles in 16 hours and 11 minutes with 21 other riders to raise money for the Police Teatment Centres who offer intensive physio and respite treatment for serving and retired officers. Your benign dictator has decided to donate the £280 to support Dave in his fundraising efforts.
Thank you all for supporting another great club trip
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