After a weekend as Epic as Glentress most riders would want a couple of weeks to recover. However I was straight back on it with a trip to Coed-y-Brenin in Snowdonia. Steve and myself drove down Friday evening and met up with Andy and Chris at the campsite. Quite a slow journey really due to caravans and other similarly slow vehicles intent on hindering our progress. But we eventually arrived and had a few beers at the barn that was to be our home for the next couple of days.
Saturday morning and we made an early start on the 22km MBR circuit. Steve was really racing up the hills and pushing ahead without stopping, in similar fashion to a certain Fearingout regular. I immediately decided that my new shin and knee pads were a bit cumbersome and so opted to wear the arm guards only. This was enough to enhance my confidence though and I took more of an aggressive stance on the downhill sections, shifting my weight around effectively on some nice fast singletrack. The trails were for the most part hard packed shale and slate with the dry weather ensuring maximum grip. Starting to really get the most out of my suspension I’ve now got into the routine of locking out the ETA for the uphills and unleashing the full 120mm for the downs. Most of the ups were on fire roads and fairly gentle, so we all had plenty of energy left for the downhill sections, including a twisty but flowing descent very similar to the dragons tail at Gwydyr. Finishing the loop with a few hours of sun left, myself, Andy and Steve decided to tackle the 11km Redbull circuit. Chris retired early to the campsite as he was suffering from some back pain following the MBR.
After what seemed like an eternity of climbing we blasted down Snap Crackle and Pop, followed by another gruelling climb. This was justly rewarded with the Rocky Horror Show, a blisteringly fast single-track descent through trees that makes you realise what it’s all about. As we rode the last section back to the carpark we thought about calling Chris to ask if he wouldn’t mind coming to pick us up. We didn’t need to call – he was one step ahead and already waiting with the Saab and roof rack at the ready! Back to the campsite then for hot showers, microwave food, beer and a game of poker. Job done!
Sunday morning Chris really wasn’t doing well with his back, so it was just three of us riding. We decided to tackle the mammoth 38km Karrimor route, although quite frankly I would have settled for doing the Redbull 3 times! Still, we set off on the ride, taking it fairly steady for the first bit of climbing. The expected series of mediocre descents ensued, with a café stop for tea and flapjacks tactically positioned just before possibly the most colossal climb I’ve ever experienced. To the relief of us all this was followed by a series of four brilliant singletrack descents- Uncle Fester, Cousin IT, Morticia and Gomez. This series is arguably much better than the Rocky Horror Show on the Redbull route and left us all feeling rather uplifted. Just a shame that getting to it involves such a gruelling uphill slog. A few minor slow speed crashes to report, but no injuries and the only bike problems amounted to another puncture for me! I think I’m compensating for my incredible run of punctureless riding.
As Chris was keen on getting back and the rest of us were quite knackered from the days riding we decided to cut the weekend short and headed back Sunday night. Great weekend though and certainly a different view of Coed-y-Brenin than you’d get on a day trip.
Photos can be found at by clicking here
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