Ian wrote:... Wheel your bike through whilst hoping from stone to stone, or just wade through, with the bike up stream of you.

Upstream ?

I guess that depends on the water level.

I've always had the bike downstream, on the basis that if the current takes the bike I have the option to just let go. If the bike is upstream and is taken by the current, then I'm probably gonna get pushed over.

Crossing the Fords of Avon on the Cairngorms loop last year would have been extremely dangerous with the bike upstream of me.

Here's Craig crossing the Fords of A'an on the CL last September



And Ian Fitz a few minutes later.



I think we all used the bike forward and downstream of ourselves, front axle level with body. I don't know about Craig and Ian but I used the bike as both a support and as a means of pulling me forwards in a weird sort of ferry glide: if you turned the front wheel slightly away from you it would pull the bike forward.

I crossed the first part of the river at slack water leading to the top of the "island" which was very roughly at the right edge of the first photo then crossed the second part in the big "smooth" area up and to Craig's right. When Ian arrived we directed him this way. White water indicates that just upstream there's irregularities (boulders) in the river bed, that doesn't mean the bed is smooth but it's not as rough as at the top edge of the white water, also the bed gets scoured in these locations so can be deeper. What's also obvious from the shots is that you can't see the river bed in the white water areas.

For less dramatic conditions: find the widest part of the river as it will be shallowest. Contrary to the above about white water, stony areas of river bed are often the easiest to cross and you often find just a short channel blocking your way.

D’oh. Well spotted. Meant downstream

I suppose, to be fair, it depends on depth and rate of flow. Up stream might be ok if shallow.

Sometimes pointing inline with flow reduces bike getting carried away, but crabbing across is awkward in my experience - shown at the end of this video here by Alpinum: https://vimeo.com/92812808

When I see these pictures I get worried about my Schmidt dynamo and Rohloff Hub gear. Should I be?

Dave

Dave42w wrote:When I see these pictures I get worried about my Schmidt dynamo and Rohloff Hub gear. Should I be?

Dave

Maybe. However my oldest Rohloff is a 19 years old this year and has been drowned countless times and is still sweet.
My SON is only 10 but has also been soaked a lot. Also still sweet.

lune ranger wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 7:50 am I promised the kids to take them wild camping this weekend but the Bb200 entries open on Sunday morning.
Do I need to be ready to enter at 9am Sunday or will it wait until later in the day?

I've basically got same Q as Luke but for next weeks event...

My version (question) is... I'm at work and finish night/eve. Do I need to make sure I have a break at 10am (nursing: breaks are sometimes a bit hard come by on the wards!) or thereabouts. Or will there be chance (from experiences of years gone by) there migjt still be a few tickets left by later...

I'm not too desperate (only cos I'm one of the softer ones) and not making 'the entry window' is indeed an excellent excuse (to my inner self) for not coming

Ian wrote: ↑Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:02 pm Sometimes pointing inline with flow reduces bike getting carried away, but crabbing across is awkward in my experience - shown at the end of this video here by Alpinum: https://vimeo.com/92812808

When I saw you link a video with this description I was hoping it might be that trip!

I’m gonna be sitting waiting to get a place. Shaf if you want i’ll Get one for you as well.

Nearly half way round B150. Sitting eating dirty pizza in Minehead

lune ranger wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:45 pm Nearly half way round B150. Sitting eating dirty pizza in Minehead

Good work is it at the place run by the Polish family? I think that's the one Alan recommended to me.

Yes please Luke you superstar you...

Mineheads lovely. Stayed there (road bike) on a charity ride and when leaving it and arriving at (further South, I forgot the name) the YHA on that night, it was a dual carriageway that I had to get through and turn right off of it. Luckily it was night and traffic wasn't as busy. Otherwise that may have been the day I brrathed my last

Really fancied it this year but it the weekend before a big motorcycle trip so it's probaly not advisable to try to shoe horn it in

sean_iow wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:54 pm

lune ranger wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:45 pm Nearly half way round B150. Sitting eating dirty pizza in Minehead

Good work is it at the place run by the Polish family? I think that's the one Alan recommended to me.

First place you get toon the right when you come off the hill.

All done i’m F**ked. 25.5 hrs ish.
Wasted a lot of time repairing a tear in a tyre. Nobby Nics again - they are going in the bin.

Not nearly rested enough at the start. Did this straight off the back of 3 12hour days at work!
Pretty hanging through the night - all I could manage was soft pedalling at best.

However pretty pleased. I can’t belie how fast you went on a SS - nuts!

lune ranger wrote: ↑Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:20 pm

sean_iow wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:54 pm

lune ranger wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:45 pm Nearly half way round B150. Sitting eating dirty pizza in Minehead

Good work is it at the place run by the Polish family? I think that's the one Alan recommended to me.

First place you get toon the right when you come off the hill.

All done i’m F**ked. 25.5 hrs ish.
Wasted a lot of time repairing a tear in a tyre. Nobby Nics again - they are going in the bin.

Not nearly rested enough at the start. Did this straight off the back of 3 12hour days at work!
Pretty hanging through the night - all I could manage was soft pedalling at best.

However pretty pleased. I can’t belie how fast you went on a SS - nuts!

What route were you doing?

Sorry about the thread hijack.
Braunton 150(miles) It’s in North Devon/Exemoor.

lune ranger wrote: ↑Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:20 pm

sean_iow wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:54 pm

lune ranger wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:45 pm Nearly half way round B150. Sitting eating dirty pizza in Minehead

Good work is it at the place run by the Polish family? I think that's the one Alan recommended to me.

First place you get toon the right when you come off the hill.

All done i’m F**ked. 25.5 hrs ish.
Wasted a lot of time repairing a tear in a tyre. Nobby Nics again - they are going in the bin.

Not nearly rested enough at the start. Did this straight off the back of 3 12hour days at work!
Pretty hanging through the night - all I could manage was soft pedalling at best.

However pretty pleased. I can’t belie how fast you went on a SS - nuts!

Good effort 25.5 isn't bad at all for the B150.

Ta Duncan.
Pretty pleased all in all. Also still have the excuse to go back and go for a sub 24hrs. All the flapping about with my tyre probably cost me an hour by the time I finished.
I’d like to organise a mid summer group start for next year.

lune ranger wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:36 pm Ta Duncan.
Pretty pleased all in all. Also still have the excuse to go back and go for a sub 24hrs. All the flapping about with my tyre probably cost me an hour by the time I finished.
I’d like to organise a mid summer group start for next year.

That would be nice.

One of the Easter starts, well Richard can tell you how cold I was after the snow started falling. A lot of whiskeys in the pub were required to defrost me. Still Richard also took some for the team before Jen came and rescued us in the van..

Strange memories. Also freezing our arses off in a church the next time we tried.

Hopefully I'll get to try it again one day... maybe even with decent weather!

Richard G wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:29 am Strange memories. Also freezing our arses off in a church the next time we tried.

Hopefully I'll get to try it again one day... maybe even with decent weather!

We certainly thanked the Lord for that church. Shame it wasn’t catholic and had a bar in it to warm us up.