Saturday 17th of July 2010

THE BLAENAU BACK-BREAKER

Cast - Robbo, Big Al, Chris, Ron, Carl

Route - Bala, Cerrigydrudion, Betws, Blaenau, Maentwrog, Trawsfynydd, Cwm Prysor, Bala

What went well - Great breakfast in Betws, rain cleared up after brekkie, fantastic hard climbs all day, tail wind on the way back.

What didn't go so well

Al's bike fell over in car park - result - Dura Ace scratched rear mech

Robbo forgot to pay and display - result - worried all day that his car had been clamped

Al's back tyre 'exploded' - result - lads all laughed, Al shit himself

The lads got separated on the Blaenau climb - result - Ronnie took the wrong turn, ended up lost, friendly passing Land Rover had to go and retrieve him

The lads got separated on the Maentwrog climb - result - Big Al did the last 25 miles solo as he opted for the wrong road out of Traws and broke a spoke

All in all a pretty eventful day for the Crapiwheelers, 62 miles 17mph ave

Sunday 2nd of May 2010

I could have sworn that I was still fast asleep and dreaming when I saw Simon on his shiny new Colnago outside my house, together with Mark (Daniel Craig) and Al Lewis. Despite this impressive turnout from the Oswestry boys, followers of the Lantern will be saddened to learn that he was otherwise engaged this weekend. If I was a betting man, I'd say there's more chance of Lord Lucan turning up for one of our rides on Shergar, than there is of our hero making it every week. We met up with the usual suspects at Chirk, and welcomed two new riders (Carl and George) to the Crapi peloton to bring our numbers to 10 for the day.

The patron's route finding and planning skills were then tested to the max as Al Lewis begged him to engineer a course to the cafe stop that would take exactly 2 hours and 54 minutes (or something like that) to give him time to fit in a double espresso before a leisurely 10 mile run. Alas, the strain proved too much for the patron, and an impromptu route check in the midst of the Clundy resulted in hard braking and the inevitable train crash as Ron couldn't avoid touching a wheel and came to ground. The only casualty was a buckled wheel and a broken cleat as the rather more cautious group wound it's way to Maesbury. The return route was via Selattyn and a stiff climb to Glyn Ceiriog, before barrelling along the Ceiriog valley, dodging potholes as we went. 63 miles.

Saturday 24th April 2010 - Seaside sufferfest

The met office had promised a day of Sun, so we headed off to the Welsh coast for some sea and suffering. After a chilly start, arm-warmers were dispensed with en route from Dolgellau to Tywyn and we were well and truly warmed up after overtaking a slightly bemused driver doing 35+ mph on the flat. The cafe stop at Aberdyfi came all too soon, where tans and bellies were topped up during a pleasant half hour of gentle piss-taking. After the cafe, the pace was sensibly steady into a moderate headwind, with everyone pitching in on the front. At Corris, the road kicked up, as did the pace, and it wasn't long before le patron uttered the inevitable words 'I'll drag the lad up the climb, you lot can go and play'. This was Chris' cue to turn the screw and eventually Craig succumbed to the pressure. After a brief but fast descent to Tan Y Llyn, Chris, Ron, Robbo and Craig were all back together at the foot of the final long climb past Cadair Idris. Bottom gear was selected all round, as Ronnie took us up the first steep section. Chris then breezed through and casually knocked it down a couple of cogs and up a couple of mph. Ronnie and Robbo followed as Craig eventually dropped back. Chris upped the pace further whilst Robbo kept him pegged at a steady distance, before gradually joining him to reach the summit of the climb together. The fast and furious descent back into Dolgellau was a fantastic reward for all the climbing that we'd done since leaving the coast. A classic short(ish) route and one of our favourites. 50 miles, ave 17.6 mph.