2016 Teddy bearbones

[Taylor]

Hmmm, Father's day.

I'll ask Herr Fuhrer tomorrow.

[barney]

18/19 June any good then?

That's the same date as Mountain Mayhem, I'm not riding but was planning on pit-bitchin for a mate.

If it's the date though I'll try and swing it

[wildgecko]

Anyone up for this or shall we sack it for this year? My kids will be disappointed if it doesn't happen, but we probably need to make a decision soon.

Best regards

Si

[Taylor]

18th-19th fine with us.

[ianfitz]

Did we decide on a venue?

[adjustablewench]

18th 19th ok with us too.

Did you want to look into that place in the cotswolds Taylor for bit of a change?

(Sorry even though I found it I can't for the life of me remember what it was called! )

[burty]

18/19 is fine this end

[Taylor]

Did you want to look into that place in the cotswolds Taylor for bit of a change?

(Sorry even though I found it I can't for the life of me remember what it was called! )

I can maybe check it out next week but there's not much traffic free riding to get there as far as I recall.

[gentjim]

Sorry if I'm gate-crashing but what's teddy bear bones?

[ianfitz]

Sorry if I'm gate-crashing but what's teddy bear bones?

Family friendly bike-packing intro weekend.

[gentjim]

Brilliant - what sort of aged kiddies?
Mine may perhaps be too young at 5&6.

We've not done much more than 10 miles riding, so far and only a tiny bit of rough stuff in pump tracks and family MTB trails, but they're hardy(ish) wild campers.

[custardfeet]

Did you want to look into that place in the cotswolds Taylor for bit of a change?

(Sorry even though I found it I can't for the life of me remember what it was called! )

I can maybe check it out next week but there's not much traffic free riding to get there as far as I recall.

This just down the road from me, have rented it a few times & it's great. Cotswold riding isn't Wales, but there is plenty of off-road to be had, I regularly ride 35 miles with only a few miles on road.

Through my job I have use of a 350 acre woodland estate belonging to the National Trust. Hidden away there is a very basic campsite, with a group shelter, firepit, spring water & toilets a walk across a field. For a fee & a bit of paperwork they are happy for me to camp with groups.

[ianfitz]

Brilliant - what sort of aged kiddies?
Mine may perhaps be too young at 5&6.

We've not done much more than 10 miles riding, so far and only a tiny bit of rough stuff in pump tracks and family MTB trails, but they're hardy(ish) wild campers.

never too young! all ages, tag-a-longs and on-board bike seats upwards last year

[custardfeet]

image.png

This is the little camp area.

(1.39 MiB) Downloaded 457 times

[gentjim]

In which case - very keen!

[barney]

Last year we slummed it in the camper van, I'll have to check if Erin wants to do "proper bivy'ing" this year... I suppose we can do some garden camping beforehand to test the water.

[gentjim]

Pics (hopefully) attached of my little monsters hammock camping in a local wood last year.

The little one was asleep before I'd hung the second hammock, but older one and I were chatting away till late about the world in general, eating a cheeky midnight feast of maltesers, and having the best of times.

They got "bikepacking gear" (kids version of dry-bag handlebar mounts, from the chap in Poland) from Granny (well, nominally from Granny) at Xmas, and they've been itching to use them for something other than day-trips.

Is the date set as 18th / 19th June? If so, I'll check if we can make it, but it sounds great.
Whereabouts is the wood / camp - it looks looks great in the photo.

[burty]

all I want to know is , can we get ice cream , chips, pizza and more importantly coffee in the woods, and wine
as the tbb is a proper endurance event
those who have been before will know

[barney]

all I want to know is , can we get ice cream , chips, pizza and more importantly coffee in the woods, and wine
as the tbb is a proper endurance event
those who have been before will know

Don't forget those giant marshmallows!

[custardfeet]

[quote="gentjim]
Whereabouts is the wood / camp - it looks looks great in the photo.[/quote]

The little camping area is in a secret location, deep in a woodland near Stroud. There are no facilities, only a natural spring, toilets 10 minutes walk across a field, where there is parking and a secure store. The nearest pub is about 15 minutes cycle way through the woods. I can provide bits and bops for cooking on the open fire, but no fridge for ice creams.

If people would like to use it, I would need to know numbers of kids and adults, so I could do the risk assessments for the National Trust and they will then set a fee that we would have to pay, last time it was £20 for a party of 12.

There are plenty of off-road riding around the area, I have several routes mapped that pass the site, ranging from about 6 to 35 miles. But riding from a distance away would required planning if you wanted to avoid roads.

[wildgecko]

Hi All,

As I volunteered to be the disorganiser I suppose I better get on with it.....

Date: seems a quorum of regulars can make 18/19 June 2016 so let's go with that.

Location: it's proving difficult to find anything better than the original location. Anything I can come up with lacks an 'essential' TBB ingredient. For me these are:
- Relatively safe parking
- An 8-10 mile traffic free route that can be ridden by 5yo and up. Suitable for trailers and tagalongs too.
- Wildish camping with free range kids and camp fires
- Glamping option for those who must
- A mid point to the ride with food, ice-cream and somewhere for kids to play
- Beautiful Views

I therefore propose a return to the Mawddach Trail http://www.mawddachtrail.co.uk/mawddach-trail.html with camping at http://www.graigwen.co.uk/

Camping costs are £6 per adult and £3.50 per child for bike packers. I'll give them a bell tomorrow and reserve the lower camping field. The website indicates it is available at the mo.

Looking back at this thread the following have expressed an interest:

Me
Taylor
Matt
Wench
Ian Fitz
Burty
Barney
Dave Barter
Mr Hoppy
GentJim.

Please can you PM me to let me know numbers of people and whether you want to 'wild' camp in the lower field or Glamp it on the touring field. I think numbers are restricted on the lower field but don't recall it being an issue in previous years. If it becomes an issue, priority will go to people who posted earliest on this thread. I'll figure out paying and deposits etc once I have firm expressions of interest.

Other details to follow later

Regards

Si

[Ian]

You can add the Barrington tribe to that list

[adjustablewench]

Would the forest of Dean have any suitable options? For routes/camping

[ianfitz]

PM sent with details.

well vague details TBH but I'm keen and will bring at least one child...

[Taylor]

Taylor clan for the bottom field please.