The 2016 SOTA Cycling Week will start on Monday 18 July and run through to Sunday 24 July. The idea is simple; use a bicycle for some or all of your journey to a SOTA summit (or summits). Additionally you may wish to share your planning and activation reports in this thread.
As an additional incentive to get on your bike, SOTABEAMS will give away a LASERBEAM-DUAL General Purpose filter module to the writer of the most interesting report published on the SOTA reflector. I will be doing the judging.
Now is a good time to start planning your activations and letting us know in this thread.
I will do GW/NW-042 & 43 as a mountain bike ride from Llangollen. I may do this as one weekend ride or two evening rides. Probably just go for 2m HH for ease of carrying kit in my Camelback.
I hope to be out Richard. I will be descending GW/NW-049 on a downhill mountain bike after completing a HF activation of the summit.
Normally we / I drive to the top, but due to the bikes close range gearing optimized for sprinting, I wonāt be cycling up it. However I will push up to the top in accordance with the rules.
Hopefully I will have captured some good footage on the GoPro for later on.
Was going to do HF but the conditions have been so rubbish lately.
More than likely a 2m FM activation with a 5m (50cm when collapsed) fishing pole and a slim jim.
I have been racking up the miles on the bike, itās been an essential tool in the last 18 months accounting for my 6 stone weight loss. So looking at G/WB-018 or G/WB-004 as theyāre tarmac all the way to the top.
Bike is MERIDA BIKES International
Picked it up on eBay for a bargain, had to collect from 18 miles away though.
I have panniers for the bike that I use daily for work, so will clear them out and hope to get all the equipment in the bags. G/WB-004 has loads of wooden posts to strap gear to and G/WB-018 has fence posts and 5 bar gates that can be utilized with bungees and velcro strapping.
More than likely a Friday afternoon activation if the WX is agreeable.
I donāt know if anyone else picked this up (in bold above) but congratulations, and what a difference it will make to you. My XYL lost 2 stone over one year and she can now keep up with me going up hills, even leaving me behind if I have more weight in the sack and there was no way she could do that before losing that 2 stone as she got out of breathā¦
SOTA Cycling weekā¦ Took part in the 2013 event and really enjoyed itā¦ I feel tempted to do a ride somewhere in the TW area of England or Scottish Borders on my Dawes XC24 Mountain BIke as it is gathering dust and needs riding before the tyres perish. I would drive to the start of the ride and cycle the rest of the way. I hope I find a free day in SOTA Cycling week 2016 and will alert if I go. No filming unfortunately in my case.
One final stone (14lbs to our American Friends and 7kg to our Metric friends) to go, then I will be about right for my height and build.
Wish I had done it sooner, wouldāve made my MG far easier.
Trying to find the 2m Slim Jim I have made, it has been almost a year since I was out on the hills properly, bar a short trip up Callow Hill G/WB-015 with the dog to test a 20m dipole (I never logged the QSOs, so have not included it).
Iām tentatively planning to do Wendover Woods, G/CE-005.
Itās the only CE summit Iām missing to complete the region!
I need some excuse to travel there, so cycling might just sway me.
Iāve sorted a route which is 78 miles each way, so a nice 150 mile activation if the weather plays ball.
I have spent many a day mountain biking around Grizedale Forest in the Lake District. Therefore G/LD-048 Top oāSelside is very much on my āto doā list that week from the visitors centre in Grizedale. The activation will be on 40M & 2M.
SOTA Cycling Week starts tomorrow (Monday 18 July), Donāt forget to write a short account of your cycling activities here. The report that I like the best will win the writer a LASERBEAM-DUAL DSP filter module.
I wish I still had the Trek mountain bike I took to Australia and had there to do an activation with for the SOTA cycling week. Great bike - pre the wimpy front suspension bikes (although in later years I can now see the value of that cushioning on the hands and arms). The red āTrekkieā was a real go anywhere 12 Kg mountain bike. Solid and yet not too heavy. Probably not the class of your Dawes Phil, but reliable and simple to maintain. And fast as well!
I only have a āshoppingā bike here in Germany - as soon as that sees a real track it would most likley collapse!
Not planning a cycle SOTA, but I am planning a trip to the Isle of Coll next week. The island is only 13 miles by 3 miles, so at over Ā£100 to take the car, itās simply a no brainer to take my bike instead. Itās free to take my bike on the ferry.
Unfortunately, the highest point of the island only just makes it to HuMP status, so no chance of SOTA, but I am packing my first run MTR and end fed antenna for 40m and 20m. Iām not taking an antenna support, Iām living out of my rucksack for a few days and I donāt have the space. I am taking a sea fishing rod though, so maybe itāll double up as an antenna support.
The Isle of Coll counts as EU-008 for IOTA.
Just put a new pair of tyres on my old Mountain bike ready for itās Scottish adventure!
My plans to catch the bus 2L service from Ludlow to Kidderminster and pop off in Clee Hill Village have been scuppered. They donāt allow non folding bikes on the bus!!! The plan was to stop off in the village, go off road to the summit and then road all the way home via GB3VN to get some photographs of our repeater.
However, it may have to be WB-018 now! I have thought about cycling from town to Clee Hill G/WB004, but not sure if that is overly wise in this heat!
More head scratching required as to what to do. I am tempted to take the car and bike rack up Clee Hill, leave the car and get the YL to take me back up to pick it up at a later time in the day.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisionsā¦ damn this public transport!
G/WB-018 looking the favourite with a Train Ride home
Last year involved biking to my nearest SOTA summit G/SE-001 Walbury Hill , 21.8Km from home.
The next nearest summit is G/SE-004 Butser Hill , at 37.8Km .
I am not sure that I am fit enough for a 75.6Km cycle round trip so have decided to bike part way, then take a bus to East Meon and walk the final leg to the summit from there . Returning home by the same route.
As an OAP I get a free ride on the bus but canāt travel until after 9.30am.
The earliest free bus leaves at 11.00am so all being well I will be qrv early afternoon.
Taking linked dipole for 7/10/14 and trusty FT817.
David G3RDQ
