Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Outdoor Activities => Cycling and Boarding => Topic started by: MG1 on January 17, 2011
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On Saturday 666_pack and i decided to take a different route to meet up with the guys for the summit. As it was are first trip since the MMM in September due to baby and work commitments, we thought we'd start the year with a hard one.
So we decided on biking in from Newcastle sticking to off road trails as much as possible. We parked up in Donard wood got are bikes ready took a swig of the auld trusty tonic, and off we went. We took the ranger trail up past the YMCA and kept gaining height ever so slightly. Then we started feeling the effects of 4 months of being lazy and to much food and beer over xmas :'(
So we pulled in and considered bailing out. But not wanting to fail on our first trip of the year with continued with the pain. We finally got out of the trees and could see tollymore forest at the top of another hill. So we kept moving having to push the bike s now as the trail was like a small river.
We got to the top and found the single track pointed out to me by suspectmonkey, This lifted or spirits flat and down hill, we made up a lot of ground here. We then came across a style and hoped over and into tollymore. Then came a monster of a down hill section. Once i got over the fear of going so fast i began to enjoy it.
We wanted to get out of tollymore before it got dark so we headed for the mountain centre and onto the road to Meelmore lodge. We stopped here and got a break and let some of or gear dry out. Trying to get in touch with guys on the summit to confirm the location of camp, before we head back out in the rough weather.
We found out that camp had been moved to a lower site so we adjusted or route and headed back out.
Following the Mourne way for while we spotted 3 head torches. They seemed to be signaling us, so we started to head toward them. Thinking that some of the guys we're bailing from the higher camp and we coun't get a phone signal at that time to confirm.
We lost sight of the 3 hikers and finally got through to the camp.It wasn't any of or guys. But now we we're off are route the weather was terrible. We couldn't ride the bike much we kept coming off when we pushed the bike we fell over. We pushed on for about another mile and finally came to the river and path that would lead us to the saddle were the guys had pitched.
Both of us were busted it was to dangerous with bike to continue upwards, so we retreated crossed a farm onto the road and back to Meelmore lodge. We we're drying off in the toilets when we decided to bivvy in the toilets of the lodge through the tarp on the ground roll mats down pipedreams out and crack open the Buckfast ;D By this stage we had been cycling in the shitty weather for almost 7 hours, its was a hard day but still enjoyed it ;D
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Wish I knew you had gone back to meelmore lodge, I would of stayed with you guys and shared my port. When did you get back to Meelmore lodge.
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Good effort all the same Gareth! It's a shame you guys didn't make it up to the wall, but I've no idea how you got as far as you did in that weather, in the dark! Hopefully get better weather for the next cycle epic :)
I would of stayed with you guys and shared my port.
Bloomin' heck Lenny, that port of yours must be racking up some mileage :P ;D
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I would of stayed with you guys and shared my port.
Bloomin' heck Lenny, that port of yours must be racking up some mileage :P ;D
It'll not be racking up too many more miles... Lenny said to me, on the way up Meelmore, that if he didn't make it this time he would give me his port. I have MikeD and Landyliam as witness to that statement. Looks like I'm the proud owner of Lenny's port ;D
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I would of stayed with you guys and shared my port.
Bloomin' heck Lenny, that port of yours must be racking up some mileage :P ;D
It'll not be racking up too many more miles... Lenny said to me, on the way up Meelmore, that if he didn't make it this time he would give me his port. I have MikeD and Landyliam as witness to that statement. Looks like I'm the proud owner of Lenny's port ;D
now hang on a minute, I said if I was not going the right way, I was going the right way its not my fault you didn't make the summit (that night you did the following day). ;)
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I would of stayed with you guys and shared my port.
Bloomin' heck Lenny, that port of yours must be racking up some mileage :P ;D
It'll not be racking up too many more miles... Lenny said to me, on the way up Meelmore, that if he didn't make it this time he would give me his port. I have MikeD and Landyliam as witness to that statement. Looks like I'm the proud owner of Lenny's port ;D
now hang on a minute, I said if I was not going the right way, I was going the right way its not my fault you didn't make the summit (that night you did the following day). ;)
Must have been the wind and I didn't hear you right lol. Did you get the picture showing a glimpse of the future that I sent to your hotmail account?
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I would of stayed with you guys and shared my port.
Bloomin' heck Lenny, that port of yours must be racking up some mileage :P ;D
It'll not be racking up too many more miles... Lenny said to me, on the way up Meelmore, that if he didn't make it this time he would give me his port. I have MikeD and Landyliam as witness to that statement. Looks like I'm the proud owner of Lenny's port ;D
now hang on a minute, I said if I was not going the right way, I was going the right way its not my fault you didn't make the summit (that night you did the following day). ;)
Must have been the wind and I didn't hear you right lol. Did you get the picture showing a glimpse of the future that I sent to your hotmail account?
lol I did just there, forgot to turn my internet back on my phone. that is class bit of photoshop. (get abit bored at your computer ???) I am up for that one day soon. maybe this sunday with a route up and down the otherside and back to the car. starting where we did the other night?
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Awesome attempt. I assumed you locked the bikes at Meelmore and tried to hike up instead. It was pretty bloody blowy but once we got settled it was ace. Obviously we knew where you'd stayed when we saw the Bucky bottle :D
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We got there bout 9 lenny.
We set another challenge for this year. We want to bike on to all of the 7 7's. So we had to try and get the bikes up there.
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Awesome attempt. I assumed you locked the bikes at Meelmore and tried to hike up instead. It was pretty bloody blowy but once we got settled it was ace. Obviously we knew where you'd stayed when we saw the Bucky bottle :D
Nah mate we had the bikes with all the way!
Great times. Nice write up stain.
Wait till you see the pic's!