UK FatBike Gathering 2 - South Lakes

 The south Lake District, Home of Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter... and for the weekend of April 28th/29th the UK Fat Bike Gathering 2...

 A campsite at Seithwaite was the venue, in the grounds sits a giant metal Ant!...

Which was one of many built as props for the Band  The Prodigy Live at Milton Keynes - Invaders must die

Friends from last years first Gathering arrived and new faces turned up, 15 fat bikes and owners made it for the weekend, along with 4 legged regulars...

 Glenn from Durham arrived with a rather nice new Titanium Sandman Hogger, and an amazing leg, with a linkage called a Bartlett Tendon,  by Left Side Inc.com ...

Yes that is an air shock, what an amazing bit of engineering...

Held on by an air vacuum it allows Glenn to cycle  perfectly...

Glenn`s bike...

Along with a 9zero7, Several Salsa Mukluk`s and numerous Surly Pugsleys were 4 Moonlanders! ...

pics by Saltyman...

                                                                             
                                                             
Both evenings were spent around a fire, logs available on site!, but it was cold both evenings as can be seen by the clothes worn...

Saturday...

 Saturdays ride was a monster 30 mile Classic Lakes route with 3000ft of climbing, too much for some so the group was split early on, the best thing to do when this happens as the weekend is for everyone to enjoy whatever fitness.  I had looked forward to doing some classic Lakes riding but chose to ride with the break away group and do a shorter route to help even out the numbers and also i ride/have rode with most of the big group this year already...

Break away group in Hawkshead....

 Back over the climb from hawkshead and food at Grizedale trail centre cafe...

Followed by a nice bit of gravel grinding around the forest on the purple route...

Cheese... -:)

Back along winding country roads to the campsite through lovely countryside...

Sadly the pub was shut...

Meanwhile the rest had what sounded like an ace day though some looked knackered when they rolled into the campsite 2 hours after we arrived back...

Again some pics by Saltyman...

The route...

 And the stats, remember this was done on fat bikes!. Some of the time stopped was a shopping break!...

Richie was the only one of the 4 Moonlander  owners would rode the big loop, a herculean effort, which earned him these goodies from Charlie Bikemonger, and Carl Hutchings at Squirt Lube...

More goodies were handed out around the campfire on Saturday evening  from Surly & Salsa UK importers ISON, Charlie Bike Monger, and East Lothian LBS Law Cycles...
It was an early bed for most as the fire struggled to keep us all warmed and tierd legs and bodies needed rested...

Sunday...
7.30am rise  on Sunday to get breakfast, pack up and convoy it across to Walney Island, at  Barrow in Furness to catch the 10.45am low tide and a beachride...

15 fat bikes, ready to roll...

Once some were finished warming up...

Onto Earnse beach...

 Last year a road cone brought amusement, this year an old basket...

Weekends like this are all about enjoying company of like minded people. And i have met the nicest people riding bicycles, many will be friends for life.. and met a few more this weekend,

Thank you so much Andy & Jane for organising camping and Saturdays ride,
And Mike for Sundays beach ride and arranged lunch afterwards...

Thank you to the following people for supporting the Gathering with goodies to hand out;


Charlie the Bikemonger  Surly evangelist and all round nice guy -:)

ISON Distribution  UK Distributor of Surly & Salsa fat bikes

in2dust  Carl Hutchings, UK distributor of Squirt Lube


Law Cycles East Lothian bicycle shop and Surly Fat Bike stockist

         
Roll on the next Gathering...happy days...
                                                           

I shot some film on the beach to add to some images...

No idea who the song is by but it features on a Collective MTB film...

Click on 720p to view in HD



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Were not done yet....

When i go somewhere i like to see the area and learn a bit of it`s history.
After Sundays beach ride Mike took Andy & Jane, Richie, Jason and myself to visit the Dock Museum in Barrow in Furness.

The town is an industrial heartland of British shipping and important for its WW2 production.
Home of Vickers Armstrong - who built the XT Class midget submarines that lie in Aberlady bay here in East Lothian which along with some of Britain's most famous ships and submarines were built here...

The Museum is built over and inside a dry dock. Behind is the massive Building of BAE Systems  where Nuclear Submarines are still built today. One of the most secure buildings in the UK...

There is loads of Industrial history to view here, along with fantastic models of ships once built here in Barrow...

Cool...

During WW2 the Germans bombed the hell out of Barrow, and it became known as the Barrow Blitz...

WW2 Shell production...

The museum is an impressive building...

And full of impressive models...

Full speed Captain Chadwick! -:)...

The work of riveter`s in ship yards is famous. Ships really were `hand built`. I bet they slept well at night after long shifts of this...

THe famous cold war ear Submarine HMS Dreadnought was built here in Barrow.
The first Submarine to sail under the North Pole...

Many Submarines were built here, including midget subs...

More amazing models...

The original walls of the dock...

A German U Boat was brought here for examination after the war...

A keel stone...

1950`s picture of Barrow shows the size of the Towns industry...

HMS Invincible was built here too..

And it all comes back to bicycles which brought us all here to this museum in this corner of the UK...

A weekend to remember...