Day 1
The first day was just a long drive to IJmuiden to catch the ferry to Newcastle with a car laden with bike, camping and rocketry stuff. Traffic at IJmuiden was dire due to some Tall Ships event, but the SatNav found me some back streets to avoid the jams and people.
Day 2
Drove from Newcastle to Carlisle to pick Phil up from the station. That was funny, cos they didn't open the door to get Phil's bike off, while some other guy was panicking about getting his tandem on! Eventually the guard opened the door and all was OK. Then it was off to Helvellyn YHA.
Day 3
Was p***ing with rain, but we met up with Howard at Whinlatter and did the Altura Blue and both halves of the Altura Red loop. Although we did have to stop for a warm lunch half way. Blue trail is very flowy. Red had some annoying climbs - the kind where you think there's no more up, but then another hill appears.
Day 4
We successfully rode up to the summit of Helvellyn. Well bikes had to be pushed for many sections, but we made it. I think going up Greenside Mine to Sticks Pass and then along the top to Helvellyn is not the best way. Should be much easier to carry on up the gravel track from Greenside Mine road up to Keppel Cove. That's the way we came back down, in 20 minutes, and that included a few brief stops and passing many walkers.
Day 5
Off to http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-5k2b6b to do the trails there. We hadn't spent much time planning our own XC routes, so figured it best to do another trail centre ride. The red Northface Trail had some pretty good sections, but also some annoying uphill singletrack rocky sections, and also some quite long fireroad sections between the bits of singletrack. In a way it's good - allows some people to to a gentle ride and others to do more techy parts and keep meeting each other along the loop. The last section of Red from Moor Top carpark back to the visitor centre is best, and all of the boardwalk stuff is there to cross bogs, not just for ewok village stunts.
Day 6 - Mon
Drove up to Largs for http://www.irw.rocketry.org.uk/. Only a few rockets were flown in the evening.
Day 7 - Tues
Flew the Qubit on D11-P, and the Saucer twice on Phil's and Dan's microhybrids, with Epoxy/Alumininium fuel grain. Beautiful weather too.
Day 8 - Weds
First day up on the moor, which was also sunny and calm. Flew the Qubit again, and the Saucer on Dan's microhybrid, this time with Epoxy/Garlic. Also flew the VB Extreme 29 on an E30-7T, which shot off the pad like a scalded cat.
Day 9 - Thurs
Saucer flight was attempted twice with Phils microhybrid, this time with Wax/Aluminium. First attempt failed due to injector in the wrong way. Second pretty much was a cold gas thrust.
Day 10 - Fri
Flew nothing
Day 11 - Sat
Flew nothing, but spent half the day helping Tom find his rocket that had spent a night out on the moor. Eventually it was found 1km away in a river!
Day 12 - Sun
Prepped Skyripper Hybrid motor (H124 - PVC grain) for most of the day, and then flew Slightly Scuff the Sky on it. Ignition was strange. The igniter went, and presumably most of the PIC. Then nothing. Still nothing. Then after some seconds, the motor just lit and the rocket flew pretty quickly, much quicker than I'd have imagined for a small hybrid. Unfortunately neither drogue nor main ejected, and it came in ballistic up on the moor, never to be seen again.
Day 13 - Mon
Got ferry back.
Day 14 - Tues
Drove back home.
More pics here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/MTBLakeDistrict2010
and here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/IRW2010
GPS tracklogs are on Everytrail...
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=786546 (Whinlatter)
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=786556 (Helvellyn)
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=786574 (Grizedale Forest)
