It lies in wait, hidden in the undergrowth and waits to catch you unawares. Daunting, dangerous, defeatable. Many of the obstacles on a mountain bike trail are challenging; narrow gaps, steep drops or a log structure that makes you girdle your loins and race to certain doom on the hidden side but the most fearsome for some is the natural jump.
Innerleithen trail hill
A couple of days after our return from Scotland and reflection reflection on the trip and trails. To summarise; not all trail centres offer the same riding experience, pick one that suits you and a great time can be had, on the other hand one that doesn’t tick your boxes isn’t really going to enthuse you or your riding.
The weather during our trip was hot – mid 20 degC – with absolutely no wind and the trails were bone dry, lovely.
We arrived at Bryn Bettws Log Cabins situated in the heart of the Afan forest late on Thursday night. It was the first full season the cabins had been open and we quickly made ourselves at home celebrating St Patricks day with a few cans of the black stuff.
The next morning we woke early and got stuck into making packed lunches and sorting our bikes out for the days riding. By 10.30am we’d driven over to Glyncorrwg MTB centre only to discover that a few of the Afan trails were closed due to winter damage and the Japanese Larch virus that was forcing the Forestry Commission to fell 13% of the trees in the area.
The snow and mud of winter always takes a toll on a bike so the change of clocks should be seen as a prompt to cle
an your bike. As Easter has now been and gone you need to do your spring clean before it becomes a summer clean.
Check this out at 'active maps Ltd'
A while ago we were asked to contribute to the South Downs section of a new publication…..We provided lots of photos for the South Downs area (including my favourite of Rob dP on p16) and some ideas for riding spots in our corner of the world.
Thought I’d give you a quick update on my riding, did the 3rd round of the Gorrick series today, decided to race open as I’m never sure what level I am. The pack started slower than I expected so I made my best effort to push through, but its tricky in a big group, so I was held up in the singletrack which saw the leaders disappear as I found it difficult to overtake in the twisty singletrack and I try to be as polite as possible. Continue reading
Fizik Gobi Xm Wingflex
To change or not to change: that is the question. Whether t’is easier on the behind to suffer the dings and harrows of outrageous log and dune or to catch limbs amongst a sea of timber and by avoiding, miss them ? Choosing a saddle is difficult.
Some are loyal to the one seat moving it from from post to post, others may discount it as completely unimportant but a good saddle makes a difference.
Ronnie in non-orange bag shocker
If your bike lives in the garage all winter then summer gear will probably suffice for spring and autumn too. If you venture further out into the cold and the rain then a waterproof shell, long trousers and a base layer may need to be added to your wardrobe. Eventually when you have added lights, hats, full finger gloves, winter jerseys, mudguards, winter tyres and supermarket bags to waterproof your feet you might think the list was complete however even your favourite backpack may need a little help.
A great night out...
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is returning to the Komedia in Brighton on Friday 4th February and includes MTB action in the form of Follow Me by Anthill Films.
Last years’ event was a good night out with some amazingly shot and interesting short films. The one about the guy attempting to kayak from Australia to New Zealand will be remembered by me for a long time.
