HIKE AND BIKE WEEKEND 2006 - 7th, 8th and 9th April

This year the Area 9 Round Table are again organising their annual Hike and Bike weekend in the Lake District (Ambleside, Lake Windemere). This event is open to all tablers and ladies circlers with all levels of fitness. The weekend consists of a hike on the saturday and a bike ride on the sunday finishing by lunch time giving you enough time to get home. Saturday night is an evening out with dinner and drinks. I went last year and had a fantastic time. The cost is £90 per person which includes the accommodation for friday and saturday night and food. Bikes can be rented from the hostel. I used one of these bikes last year and it was in good condition and no problem at all. The teams are generally made up of four people, but if you cannot get a team together, you can speak to me and I will bring people together or the organisers will put people together. I would like to put together at least one ladies team. If you would like to take part, please contact me (Susan) directly or send an email from the Contact Us page. For more information visit the Round Table Area 9 Hike and Bike website. Susan goes on the Hike and Bike weekend 2005 Last year, at the very last minute, I decided go to the Hike and Bike weekend up in the Lake District. I was expecting a gentle walk and a gentle bike ride for about thirty people. I was wrong. I went up on Thursday afternoon so I could catch a lift with Simon, the organiser. He informed me on the way that there were going to be more like 130 people. It is a big event. It started on Saturday, therefore I had friday to do as I wished. The guys were great and took me hiking on the friday. I didn't know anyone there and was made to feel very welcome. We stayed in the YMCA which is a lovely hostel, clean and airy. Having thought it was just a jolly I had not brought along appropriate hiking gear and had to run around the shops on friday trying to find a pair of trousers and a t-shirt. I found the necessary gear. Saturday morning was time to set off on the hike. Shortly before which I sat on my tube of moisturiser getting it everywhere, all over my trousers and bag and top. This was not going well. After quickly doing my best to remove the moisturiser I made it down just in time for our allocated set-off time. We were a team of five, none of whom I had met before and they were fantastic. The hike was a long one, but it was beautiful. We stopped along the way for the challenges which included golf, carrying heavy things and remote-control cars. I loved it. We finished the hike at about 6pm as we were one of the last groups to leave, others had finished hours before us. We then had a quick shower and it was off for dinner and drinks at clubhouse down the road. This was a dinner well-earnt. The next morning was the bike ride. I won't say too much about this as it was a nightmare. A large proportion of the course was unridable and we had to push our bikes. We got quite lost too as one has to navigate using the map supplied. The organisers have promised that this year the bike ride will be nothing like last year. I think they must have learnt their lesson as there were many complaints and angry bikers. I returned home on Sunday buzzing. Even though the bike ride had been hard, I had a brilliant time and I knew I wanted to do it again. The people I met made the weekend for me. There is nothing like a challenge to give you the opportunity to get to know people. I am looking forward to seeing them again in April. I wasn't fit at all, I hadn't been out on my bike regularly for over a year and I managed fine. If you like getting outdoors and doing some exercise I would recommend it. I am sure you'll be back the following year. Susan