Too Early for a YD300 thread?

[Richard G]

Ha, yeah... not a chance for me on that one. My technical descending is a lot better than it used to be, but it just wasn't worth the risk for the 10 mins saved.

Edit - ~6 minutes lost vs you and Stuart C... but in fairness I was frazzled when I got to it.

I actually got some reasonable times in on day two before I smashed myself to pieces / crotch gave up the ghost.

[ianfitz]

The rocky gully descent, if you did the right one, was Gunnerside. I rode >80% of it - only two distinct bits I walked as the risk of OTB wasn't worth the 20 yards of trail.

I proved that quite well last year by doing exactly that!

Although it was the least dramatic and lowest speed crash I've ever had, it did result in my bike being Unrideable afterwards...

[Ian]

Yes, I thought of you when I went down there, Ian.

So, after much faffing, I've managed to stitch in the 42km that the Garmin failed to record between Starbottom and Dales Bike Centre, using my Spot data

https://www.strava.com/activities/622831372

[fatbikephil]

thanks for letting me doss in the shed lads otherwise it might have been the no-sleep strategy

Ah hah - that was you! I pity the poor swallow who was roosting in there having to share with 4 smelly snoring blokes....
I got back at 2.07pm which was way better than I expected. I might have just snuck in inder 30 hrs if the bloody army hadn't been occupying Skipton town centre. Someone did give me a two cannon salute as I ran through the crowds with my bike tho!

That was bloody hard - at times it seemed like even the downhills were uphill Lots of good riding though and great to catch up with the front group for a bit
Oh and apparently Jenny G did actually mow a rabbit down

Phil C

[whitestone]

I walked all of it (Friarfold Hush) and was just two minutes slower on that Strava segment than Ian so in the grand scheme of things not that significant.

[Ian]

Oh and apparently Jenny G did actually mow a rabbit down

I nearly collected one coming off the back of Buttertubs - nearly scared the crap out of me as I was going a fair clip at the time and it could've been messy for both of us...

Then on the road to Bainbridge, I rode within inches of a rat feeding on some rabbit roadkill

--

So, what was it like inside that shed?

[whitestone]

So, what was it like inside that shed?

Cosy

Not sure what the actual floor is (if anything other than earth) but it's covered in lots of plastic bags from animal supplement licks so you probably could get by without a sleeping mat. A step up from the calf creep feed I used on the BB winter event

[Richard G]

Where was the shed?

[whitestone]

Where was the shed?

On the descent from Cam High Road to Newby Head which is the start of the road before you had your off. Made of concrete blocks and about 3m x 2m in size.

[Richard G]

Nice. Probably better than the midge filled car park I managed.

[Richard G]

Talking of midges... bastards.





Yes, I know I have purdy legs... shut up.

[fatbikephil]

Oh and apparently Jenny G did actually mow a rabbit down

I nearly collected one coming off the back of Buttertubs - nearly scared the crap out of me as I was going a fair clip at the time and it could've been messy for both of us...

Then on the road to Bainbridge, I rode within inches of a rat feeding on some rabbit roadkill

--

So, what was it like inside that shed?

I saw the rat too - I was impressed with the way he totally ignored me and concentrated on his meal
As per Whitestones comment, the shed was cosy, dry and smelly....

[24tom]

I saw that rat as well! He did scamper back into the hedge when I passed though.

[Richard G]

I saw a huge squished rat later in my ride. I wonder if it was the same one... but having run out of luck.

[fatbikephil]

No-ones mentioned the hundreds of gates yet. By the end I was screaming at them as I faffed around trying to unlatch them, open the gate, re-latch all whilst trying to hold the bike steady. I've a nice gouge in my rear rim all thanks to one of them....

Plus they all seemed to be at or near the bottom of hills requiring maximum braking and then maximum effort to get the momentum back....

[whitestone]

Quite a lot were open this year

When I did the YD200 I counted 120 of them

[Ian]

I thought the number of gates was OK. Riding in a small group helped as we tended to naturally rotate the order of who arrived first.

Plus I preferred the chain latch to the overly spring loaded gate bolts you get in Wales, which sometimes require you to completely dismount and use both hands to open them

[Richard G]

I was getting quite pissed off with them by the end, mostly because I was having to use my left arm for everything and it really wasn't working out.

Not so bad if there's two of you, but terrible on your own.

[whitestone]

Having grown up on a farm I'm used to the smell of sheep muck and Rumevite (the mineral lick)

I can't remember there being so many rabbits around last year, it was like playing dodgems or maybe Death Race 2000!

[gypsumfantastic]

Wow! What a fantastic ride, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I'm clearly not as quick as some of you lot but I got round in one piece and with a smile on my face. Probably not the best ride to pop my bikepacking cherry on but I survived.

Stealing ideas off here and practicing setting up a bivvy in the back garden saved my backside. I managed to bivvy down whilst hallucinating and wet through

Things I have learned
1) Get more sleep in the days leading up to the event (work travel and leaving drinks left me shagged before I started)
2) Jumping in at the deep end is OK if you plan properly
3) Haribo for breakfast is perfectly OK

My 29er was great but I'd have preferred something with the gearing and stability (but not the weight) of my Fatty, I'm now condsidering a b+ machine.

I quite fancy doing something similar but on a less frenetic timetable. This may have been my first bikepacking adventure but I doubt it'll be my last

[whitestone]

Well done! You've got to start somewhere. Most definitely not an easy two days in the saddle.

There's the YD200 in August - http://riderscyclecentre.com/yorkshired ... ts-200kms/ which is much more amenable, you'll also recognise some of the trails from this weekend though you'll be going in the opposite direction. Another route worth doing is The Sandstone Way in Northumberland - 120 miles - we did it last August Bank Holiday weekend leaving the car in Berwick then doing an afternoon/evening, a full day and then a morning to get back to Berwick

[Richard G]

Blerghh...arm has swollen up like a balloon.

[gypsumfantastic]

Well done! You've got to start somewhere. Most definitely not an easy two days in the saddle.

If it was easy there'd be crowds!

I'll see if I can sneak the YD200 past the Mrs might plan to ride straight through but have the backup of some overnight kit, it can't be any worse than the YD300

[whitestone]

Well done! You've got to start somewhere. Most definitely not an easy two days in the saddle.

If it was easy there'd be crowds!

I'll see if I can sneak the YD200 past the Mrs might plan to ride straight through but have the backup of some overnight kit, it can't be any worse than the YD300

As my dad used to say: "Hard work never hurt anyone, no'but the thought of it" (I can't write it in the original Cumbrian accent )

Will be at the 200, intend to ride through. Managed to do that on last year's route a couple of weeks ago and which is quite a bit tougher than this year's. Will take the same overnight kit as I did this weekend just in case.

[whitestone]

A report from team fat bike - http://fatbiking.eu/?p=7427 a good read