Sat waiting for my connecting train so thought I'd put a couple of words on yesterday's escapades
1 - day time BRUTAL ,sheet ice and 50mph winds on top of the longmynd makes for interesting skating ,
2 - the pub in Bridges is run by very miserable people unless it was the sight of 6 muddy tramps dripping over their floor

3- coming down what's a slippery descent in the summer when you can't see your hand in front of your face is a guaranteed off (for more than just me )
4- just cause the weather of the daytime is sh#te dosent mean your night will be too as there was no wind or ice and still using my summer quilt
5-after such a sh#te battle yesterday do you know how happy it makes you to wake up to a spring type morning looking down on the Salop hills
All in all a great weekend and thanks to everyone who made it
Pics to follow

Top summary there Stu! That was blinkin' brilliant. Am sat here on my Crewe - Milton Keynes train stirring my tea with my Minimorph pump and getting some funny looks.

Our little bunch included Ben, BDS, Mam, Scotty, Si, Pickers-in-spirit and meself but the great thing was bumping (that got typoed as 'bumming' there which is a bit worrying) into the gents from over the border, culminating in a mass jamboree at the Ragleth including Scattamah (bon voyage chap), Mike, Steve Large, Chickenlegs, Wotsits, and apologies forgetting anyone else.

Stormed up over the Mynd with MaM telling us all he knew exactly where he was going which was an impressive feat considering we couldn't see our fingers in front of our faces. Think WWB conditions plus fog, not that we play the one-up-person-ship game Here, oh no . Utter lunacy. Managed to avoid the low flying gliders, but the conditions up there were mental. No visibility, rain, 40-50mph winds, sheet ice everywhere. People pay good money for skating rinks, but we had our own one for free, the size of a mountain top, AND we were allowed to skate with our bikes too! A most un-nerving sensation happened at one point where I dismounted and put both feet down, only to feel myself moving, very slowly at first, without doing anything, still on the bike with both feet down, sliding along, getting faster and faster with the only stopping method being to crash into a ditch. Hilarious!

Couple of sherberts at Bridges, ticked off another ford (managed FIVE fords over the weekend which was a good score) then back out for more punishment. The ice was insane, and the fog disorientating. Coming down No9 was 'interesting' - snapped chain for MaM, a couple of prangs, etc. Dinner in the Ragleth was a cracker, followed by Ben's Allcomers Darts Match at 1am. Up to the spot in the trees, very nippy indeed but a good kip.

Back up onto the Mynd this morning for a scream down Minton Batch which turned into a random cliff edge due to route miscalculation. All rounded off with second and third breakfasts at Jemimas, joined by pub-garden-amateur-bivviers Ben and Scott , plus SteveL from his van, Chickenlegs etc etc.

Jumped on the train with MaM and done and dusted. Superb company, huge amounts of rubbish spoken, loads of ice crashed on, drinks drunk, abuse hurled, ribaldry traded, bikes broken. An ideal BB weekend in fact! Thanks gents, what a cracking time we had. Now at home laughing out loud at the idiocy of it all

x by Frozen Reg - Flickr2BBcode LITE

As I posted in Stuart(bbn)'s thread, same applies to you hardy people:

Respect to all those that took part in the Winter Bivvies; conditions were not ideal

Thank you Peter. There's something seriously wrong with me but I wouldn't have changed a thing.

What a great Place this is.

Cheers all strangely it was one of my favourite bivvy’s of the year, apocalyptic weather and a lot of laughs. Personal highlights included nearly managing a 180 degree skid, accidentally while clipped in, luck or latent talent? and sliding down a large muddy hill headfirst.....on my back

Till next time..

Good work fellas and I'm glad you were able to accommodate the eastside WWB refugees

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Good work fellas and I'm glad you were able to accommodate the eastside WWB refugees

When I got the phone call Offa Mike I knew that we were gonna be in for some fun on the route and later in pub

Very good weekend thanks chaps. Friday night was freezing, real evil wind. Saturday was then real icy with wind and rain thrown in for fun.

Very enjoyable Saturday night with the return of the other lot, meant we were 11 strong in total. Drank quite a bit so being able to pitch in the garden was a real bonus, although it still
rained even though the forecast was clear

Not sure which thread to post in, as we (Mike, Sacttamah, Chickenlegs and me) were heading out to meet the Welsh bivvy crowd, but ended up with the Shropshire bivvy crowd.

The others day started earlier on Friday, but I met up with them and BenP1 on Friday night in the Ragleth in Little Stretton, and after a few bevvies we headed up onto the Long Mynd, where we pitched up amongst the trees and were in our pits around 2am. Cold, but dry at this time. Saturday morning we left Ben in his tent as he was heading back to meet up with the Shropshire party, whilst we headed to Bishops Castle for breakfast. The weather was starting to happen, and as we headed up onto the Kerry Ridgeway it was getting serious. High winds, freezing rain and sub zero temps, coupled with icy trails and after about 5 miles of sliding and slipping we decided to head back to the warmth (!) of the cafe. We weren't sure where the Westside storytellers were, and figured they wouldn't be daft enough to actually ride from their end of the Ridgeway. Back in the cafe we stripped and dried our kit, not sure how welcome we were, but we didn't care. Deciding to head back to the Ragleth, Scott took the low road and we three took the high road. Up on the top of the Mynd it was biblical. Massive sub zero winds, and sheet ice everywhere meant we pushed up, pushed along, and pushed down, eventually meeting up at the Ragleth, thoroughly cold and wet. I decide to wimp out and sleep in the van Saturday night, but the others made plans to bivvy up in the hills again. A decent feed in the Green Dragon, and we headed back to meet the Shropshire lot in the Ragleth, where we drank, warmed up, talked crap and played darts until the small hours, then headed out into the weather (my walk was to the carpark, but the others either headed up onto the Mynd or into the pubs garden). A decent night, and we all met up again at Jemima's kitchen for breakfast. More chat and food, and we all then headed our separate ways.

It looks like that was the last ride with Scott as he heads down under in a couple of weeks, but he has promised to be back in a few years.

It was good to meet up with everyone, and to put faces to forum names, you all know who you are. A great weekend, with weather that will be a talking point "for those who were there!" for years to come. The only regret was not meeting up with the others, but you can't do it all.

some picks from the weekend
IMG_20181215_141220 by Stuart Dean, on Flickr
Saturday afternoon on top of the mynd
IMG_20181215_135818 by Stuart Dean, on Flickr
scott and si trying to hide
IMG_20181216_080132 by Stuart Dean, on Flickr
either I was mental or the rest have gone soft as it was the only tarp with the salop lot

the Christmas dinner

IMG_20181215_192921 by Stuart Dean, on Flickr
24hrs later


IMG_20181216_092209 by Stuart Dean, on Flickr
sorry about the double post think I made the first pictures too big when transferring them

Yep, a cracking weekend. Thanks to Reg and Stu for organising and everyone else for adding to the fun.

I nearly bailed on Friday night after looking at the forecast but a Reg pep talk sorted me out. Amongst other pearls of wisdom the sage advice to 'bring bigger pegs' spurred me on to dig out the biggest I could find!

The only low point was leaving the pub to find my front tyre flat and a brief struggle with a loose valve core (thanks Scott for the assistance!).

Cheers
Si

This was the state of Minton Batch on Saturday morning, and why I was so late. Ice everywhere (the puddle is solid ice), had to walk downhill, not fun. And freezing!

My second picture from the trip. I didn't taken enough pictures, again

And this is proof of my staying out on Friday night. View of the eastside Welsh Winter Bivvy lot heading off on Saturday morning. Picture was taken from my tent, wind was blowing quite hard and was pretty cold, I laid back down for a while short while, then had a brew