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  • WARTY: 21 February, 2009

Author Topic: Announcing the WARTY.  (Read 81923 times)

annie

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #175 on: 10 January, 2009, 07:54:26 pm »
Well, the following certainly describes you as we stopped prior to the cafe stop:

Quote
Shivering becomes more violent. Muscle mis-coordination becomes apparent.[1][2][3] Movements are slow and labored, accompanied by a stumbling pace and mild confusion, although the victim may appear alert.




I don't feel very well at the moment and so am going to bed for a short while.  Feel very warm though, but a bit emotional and odd.

Will write later and post pics.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #176 on: 10 January, 2009, 08:00:17 pm »
Met Office: Andrewsfield: latest weather

The nearest recording station I can find is at Andrewsfield (Great Saling airfield) which give a maximum temperature during our ride of -2.8°C.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #177 on: 10 January, 2009, 08:00:24 pm »
A beautiful day, if a little on the chilled side  ::-), and 18 brave souls who made it seem like the most wonderful holiday. I took 128 pictures, but most are experimental, because it's a new camera, and won't be published, and here are the few that made it, Clicky. More will go to picasa, see sig for link, tomorrow.  :thumbsup:


Thank you all for the company and many happy returns Annie.  :-* :-*

RogerT

  • Playing with a big steamy thing
Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #178 on: 10 January, 2009, 08:04:58 pm »
Freezing Fog
Icy roads
Chattering teath
A degree of inuendo

And warm company...

what more could you ask ?

Thanks Annie and Wowbagger..a bloody wonderfull day ( again )

The invitation for the Warty to start from Ely , especially for those who prefer to perform on the flat  ;D ;D is formally extended.

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #179 on: 10 January, 2009, 08:30:24 pm »
Some of those symptoms describe me perfectly at times...especially difficulty talking, my jaw felt like it had frozen up at one point.

Rest assured, new Lobsters have been located online and ordered!

cometworm

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #180 on: 10 January, 2009, 08:33:08 pm »


(Image links to photostream with 37 images from the ride).

In addition to lobster gloves, a good idea is proper wool baselayers... I saw people in cotton baselayers! Baaad.

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #181 on: 10 January, 2009, 08:45:48 pm »
Oh I had those, I told you my body was warm!

I had a Howies merino wool longsleeved baselayer (the regular one, not the light) and a Ground Effect Popsicle merino jersey with fleecy windproof front. As well as merino socks and glove liners. I do like my merino!

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #182 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:03:00 pm »
I've put the route up on Bike Route Toaster, here.  After removing the start and end bits, including the train journey, and reducing the number of data points to 1000 (from 21000+ !) we have a total route length of just under 33 miles.  The route is fairly accurate, but the GPS flipped out briefly as we left Halstead, and I had to reboot it.  There is the odd other anomaly, but nothing which seems to be too problematic.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #183 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:05:17 pm »
What a great ride  :thumbsup:

I've had a hot bath and countless cups of tea, but my toes are still cold!

When's the next WARTY?!
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

annie

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #184 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:06:48 pm »
What a great ride  :thumbsup:

I've had a hot bath and countless cups of tea, but my toes are still cold!

When's the next WARTY?!

It will be announced very shortly.  When Wow and I have conflabbulated.

GillP

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #185 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:07:17 pm »
Well it does look like you had a good, very cold ride.

TimO, you are a rocket scientist should you not wear a hat to stop your brains freezing?  :o

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #186 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:09:16 pm »
I didn't actually feel all that cold.  My toes got a little cold, but that's because I'm just using my summer shoes with overshoes.  They didn't get cold enough to be painful.  I guess I just run rather hotter than other people. :-\
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

GillP

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #187 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:11:40 pm »
I didn't actually feel all that cold.  My toes got a little cold, but that's because I'm just using my summer shoes with overshoes.  They didn't get cold enough to be painful.  I guess I just run rather hotter than other people. :-\

Having done a shorter ride than you lot and still got cold I think it must be good to run hotter  ::-)

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #188 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:12:22 pm »
GillP, I am convinced TimO is Not Normal when it comes to his running temperature!

I first decided this when I rode a FNRttC with two pairs of gloves and still had cold hands, and all he had were a pair of summer mitts that he was perfectly content in, and he continues to support this assumption every time I ride with him  ::-) As someone who suffered a bit today, to say I am envious is an understatement!

annie

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #189 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:24:49 pm »
A few pics from today:




























Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #190 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:26:12 pm »
TimO is not normal but he needs a hair net at least.

Wowbagger, on the other hand, needs a beard guard.

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #191 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:32:17 pm »
It was a tiny bit cold in places - you've got to remember to keep wiggling your fingers for at least 5 minutes.

However it was all good fun in excellent company.  As a description you can't really beat

Frosty, sunny days are amongst the most beautiful, the cleanest, of all, but today would have lost something without the mist. It imposes a silence on the world which clear days lack, and the trees were laced with hoar frost so thick that it was falling into the road and forming a layer like a dusting of sugar which crunched under our tyres.

The train back to Liverpool Street was on a go-slow and suffered a delay of almost an hour, so I didn't get back home until after 7.30.  Tomorrow I'm working on splicing together the video clips that I took.  :demon:
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

annie

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #192 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:35:51 pm »
It was a tiny bit cold in places - you've got to remember to keep wiggling your fingers for at least 5 minutes.

However it was all good fun in excellent company.  As a description you can't really beat

Frosty, sunny days are amongst the most beautiful, the cleanest, of all, but today would have lost something without the mist. It imposes a silence on the world which clear days lack, and the trees were laced with hoar frost so thick that it was falling into the road and forming a layer like a dusting of sugar which crunched under our tyres.

The train back to Liverpool Street was on a go-slow and suffered a delay of almost an hour, so I didn't get back home until after 7.30.  Tomorrow I'm working on splicing together the video clips that I took.  :demon:

You are right, Wow's report made me very emotional, in a good way I hasten to add, it was just so beautiful, I think I may print it off and stick it in the  downstair's loo.

Adam, about your video clips..... any with me in them, feel free to scrap ;)

cometworm

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #193 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:47:45 pm »
The highlight of the ride may have come on the stairs on my way out of Liverpool St station coming back. Carrying the bike up the stairs, two women had to wait briefly for me to get to the top, at which point one of them said "Oh my god, you look good!." Not a bad self-esteem booster for a cold and tired cyclist...

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #194 on: 10 January, 2009, 09:58:44 pm »
Loverly ride. Chilly weather, but warm welcome at the pub - we must visit that one again.

The least shaky of my pictures from the day can be seen here.

...but here's a few of my favourites:


Annie on the road


The Wows


Yes, I was taking these by pointing the camera backwards while riding.  :o


Distant riders




The Custard brothers


The pub


An Icyphant
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

toekneep

  • Its got my name on it.
    • Blog
Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #195 on: 10 January, 2009, 10:08:48 pm »
Great pics John, and the rest of you. I suspect this will be one ride that you all remember and savour for a very long time.

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #196 on: 10 January, 2009, 10:09:58 pm »
A wonderful outing folks - well done to everyone for staying with it, I think we probably all had moments of pain and suffering with the cold, but despite this there was a keen appreciation of the beauty of the frozen countryside. I don't think there are many people who could maintain a jolly disposition in those conditions and eighteen people from this forum did - you all deserve a medal!

annie

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #197 on: 10 January, 2009, 10:17:29 pm »
Considering this ride was organised at the last minute, both Wow and I were amazed at the number of people that agreed to come along and still turned out despite the rather hazardous conditions.  

I didn't want to bail as a) it was my birthday b) I consider myself to be fairly tough, being from oop norf n all c) I wanted to see everyone

On unloading the bike from the car I had a little moment in the car park, my legs went in different directions, fortunately I was alone and somewhat grateful that I had been practising my yoga moves and felt slightly more flexible in the hip joints than normal.  The car thermometer registered -4, but according to the weather forecast it was predicted to warm up, the fog was to clear and we were to bathe in glorious sunshine.  Ok I lied about the last bit but was desperate to see Wowbagger in his bikini, desperate might have been an exaggeration on my part.

It was then up and over the stairs to greet the folks on the other side of the railway line, in true yACF style, smiles and hugs aplenty.  I even received some early morning presents and like a big kid I popped them into the car to open later.  Thanks to Tim for helping me down the stairs with the bike, it was slippery and I am scared of heights and get a little sea sick from time to time, oh that's not really applicable here is it?

The rest of the gang arrived and we were soon on our merry way.

I have to give a huge great Annie thanks to Wow for organising the route, I know he likes to play with his maps and so was more than happy to let him guide us into the depths of Essex and beyond.

It was great to catch up with everyone, having not seen some of you for the best part of a year and others having never met you at all.

It wasn't long before the chill began to bite and several of us suffered around our extremities, particularly myself and NSTN.  We wriggled our fingers and toes as much as we could, nothing seemed to work but we carried on regardless.  

The roads were treacherous in places, sheet ice stretched out before us, only the bravest of souls were keen to try their bike handling skills over these stretches, the rest of us walked or shuffled.  I took the opportunity shortly afterwards to run alongside my bike to keep warm, managing to clock a fairly decent 7mph I felt the blood slowly return to my fingers and a smile to my face, a happy pixie once again.

On one particularly bad stretch NSTN said she wanted to call a taxi, I really felt for her and tried to cheer her up and in doing so made myself feel a little braver for a few short minutes until I too succumbed and it was her turn to make me feel better.  We even discussed hiring a minibus.

Despite the cold and the treacherous conditions it was without a doubt the most beautiful scenery I have ever been witness to in my .. years.  I felt like Alice in Wonderland, everything else felt surreal and somewhat larger than it would normally have been.  I think we all worked really well as a group, looking out for one another.  There isn't much that comes close to that feeling of being part of something like that, hard to explain but unmistakable and unforgettable.  

Yes we cut the ride short in terms of distance but not in terms of enjoyment and fun with a capital F.  Smut and innuendo flowed at just the right level and kept a smile upon my face for most of the day.

I particularly enjoyed the little dance session at the side of the road with Bobb and the spur of the moment push up session, suggested by Cometworm, I only managed 10, I didn't want to put the boys to shame ;)

Thanks to Delthebike for my yummy lunch and share in the delightful pudding.

It was the perfect way to spend the day, let's do it again soon.
 :-* :-*
 

Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #198 on: 10 January, 2009, 10:27:48 pm »
Where was the icyphant?
Thanks to Delthebike for my yummy lunch and share in the delightful pudding.
Thanks for breakfast and the warming hug in the pub.  :-*

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Announcing the WARTY.
« Reply #199 on: 10 January, 2009, 10:32:10 pm »
Blimey. That was fun. Cold, but fun.

Picking up various points, yes the mittens are Dachsteins. The loops aren't to stop me losing them on the way home from school, they're to stop me losing them half way up a mountain when I need to take them off.

I didn't realise how cold people were getting. Good decision Wow to cut the route short.

In Wobbly John's photo up there ^, I'm asking Wow what those birds are over there. I think he said they were Plovers, but my memory may have been hot by the cold. I also saw an owl and two kestrels. There was a bit of a Daphne Du Maurier moment as a great flock of rooks gathered in a field.

Icyphant was on the A120 just as we entered Marks Tey. Not everyone rode past it - Wow, Sue and annie at least took the official route, turning off in Great Tey.

I've never seen such thick frost on trees, unbelievable.

Lovely to meet all those old and new faces.

Our train back to London was cold and running slow - overhead line problem and stuck train put us about an hour behind. Adam and I slept through it. And guess what? The train from London to home was cold too.


And big thanks to annie for the treat at the cafe.
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)