Despite living in Wales for over ten years up until recently, I have never had the chance to climb Snowdon on my bike. All that changed a couple of weekends ago when I was invited by Hit the Hills to do just that.

I called up old mate Rhys Holtham to see if he was keen on this mini-adventure, who responded with his now age old retort of ‘I’ve got stuff to sort on the house.’ Luckily for him he followed it up by calling back and saying the house could wait, as it was an experience he didn’t want to miss.

Setting off from Bristol at 7am on a Saturday morning to pick Rhys up in South Wales en-route I’d forgotten that despite already being in Wales it was a four-hour drive to the northwest of Wales and the peaks of Snowdonia.

Welcome to the mountains. The peaks are savage round here. Perfect for a bike ride.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

Arrival and the epic climb

On arriving at our destination of Ben’s Bunkhouse, just south of Llanberis, we were greeted by Hit The Hills boss Christian (read his interview here), who told us our three course dinner would be ready at around 8pm so if we liked we would have time to go up and come back down Snowdon.

The climb is long but worth the effort. Remember to respect the walkers though.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

Given that the weather was meant to be frankly sh*t on the Sunday, we jumped at this and, accompanied by Christian, we set off from the bunkhouse in a rare moment of glorious spring sunshine. A quick 1km warm up on the road to the foot of the mountain and we were straight into the climb, which starts off with a very steep energy sapping tarmac climb. Enough to just about finish me off before we had even started.

Snow on the ground still, but spring is a good time to be out on Snowdon.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

We were riding up the Llanberis path, which is used by most of the punters walking to and from the summit. Setting off late in the afternoon was a good call for the descent from the top but for getting up there it was a bit of a pain as with that many walkers you have to do a fair bit of politely waiting for large groups of people to wander slowly by before you attempt the many technical sections. About 75% of the climb is ride-able and pretty challenging in places, with the rest being a push or hike-a-biking.

Shorts and t-shirt? Whatever next?

Once up into the snow line the temperature dropped significantly and many of the walkers looked pretty bemused at our shorts and t-shirt get-up. On reaching the summit we were greeted with stunning views as far as the eye could see, but accompanied with a bitingly cold wind. We hung about at the top for a while then set about getting off the mountain using the Ranger’s path, which it turns out is a pretty technical descent in places. Our host Christian lasted about three turns from the summit before his chain ripped through a few spokes and potato-chipped his rear wheel, so he unfortunately had to pootle back down the main path as it was pretty far from fixable.

Nearing the summit. Christian unfortunately couldn’t benefit the efforts and had to limp his way down.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

All that climbing/pushing/hike-a-biking was well worth the effort as the Ranger’s path down is sublime – a mixture of the best the Alps and Scotland have to offer in terms of technical rocky riding; if you can get down the entire descent without dabbing a foot then you’re a pretty gifted individual. We stopped en-route to capture some pretty pictures of Rhys sessioning certain sections, so I’m not entirely sure how long a non-stop run would take. As we started off late we had the trail to ourselves until we came across another group of riders who were dealing with their second or third puncture each – take note, run your pressures high and use some heavier duty rubber for this trail!

The descent is not for the faint hearted.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

We rolled into Llanberis at about 7pm and trundled the short ride back to the bunkhouse ready for the cake (many slices of) followed by the grub Christian had prepared us. He runs Hit the Hills on a kind of ski chalet system – afternoon tea and cake, then a three-course dinner. The food was fantastic, and there was no need for all the Spar snack grot we had brought with us as there was a serious amount of food on offer and at a very high standard.

Sunshine, hills, epic descent. And a fried breakfast the next morning. Not a bad combo.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

The Cli-Machx…

The next day we were greeted (after a very large fried breakfast) with dark skies and rain so we decided to wuss out of clambering up any more mountains and headed to  Machynlleth on the way back south for a spin around the Cli-Machx trail.

Oh yes.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

The beauty of staying with Christian is that for not much cash you can base yourselves with him, and not have to worry about food and all the boring bits in-between riding and just get out there and ride. His base near Snowdon is ideally placed for Snowdon (obviously, duh), but there is also a massive amount of other natural riding as well as the numerous North Wales trail centres, which are in close proximity.

Inside the accomodation. Christian runs a chalet-style set up and it really works.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

Please be aware that there is an mutual agreement between mountain bikers and other mountain users not to ride Snowdon between certain dates and times, so check that out online before planning this one. Having said that you can always ride it early in the morning (and I mean early) or in the evening.

Not a bad spot for a stay near Snowdon. But remember that Christian runs many different packages in various locations across the UK and this is just one example. Have a look at his website for all the details.
PIC © Andy Lloyd

Hit The Hills offers this trip and many similar options in various UK locations, with natural and trail centre riding on tap and a wild abundance of cake and coffee thanks to the quality catering service laid on by Christian.

A big thanks to Christian for the support, food and for pointing us in the direction of one of Britain’s ‘must do’ rides.

www.hitthehills.com

Your trusty reporter, Andy Lloyd.

Great scenery, although with the weather this weekend you might not be able to appreciate it! We reckon it’ll be a fun weekend of racing with plenty of atmosphere even if it does rain.

The organisers have just sent over this press release about the event, read it and get yourself signed up for an event that is sure to kick the winter cobwebs out!

Here’s the information from the organisers: 

THE SCHWALBE MTB MARATHON AND SPORTIVE SERIES 2013

We are just about to head out to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells to set up the event village for the 1^st round of the 2013 series (13^th and 14^th April) of the Schwalbe MTB Marathon Series powered byMercedes-Benz Vito Sport. Before the event officially opens we thought we would let you know how things are looking there.

The Riding 

Course designer John Lloyd has been super busy over the last few weeks and months (not shying away from lots of rides in the snow either) and has created some fantastic new courses for the 2013 opener. To start with the first half of the 70km route is completely different to the course we have used in the past. John has been working hard on his bike looking for new trails and has come up with some great sections of single-track across a new hill, previously never used in a marathon.

The 70km riders re-join the others at Fforest Fields before going up onto Aberedw Hill, using the best of the old and yet more new single-track sections.

The Exposure Lights Big Night Out night pilots will also be presented with an almost entirely new course with a new and very exciting finish.

And to top it all off John has given the courses the ‘weather proof’ once over.

As always there will be well stocked feed stations at regular intervals out on course and Cycle-tec will be providing mechanic services out on course and at the venue.

Get yourself entered into the event, go on!

Can I still get in? Entry on the day? 

There are still places available for the Builth Wells round as well as the other remaining rounds of the Schwalbe MTB Marathon Series 2013. You can still enter pre-enter via the online entry up to the 11^th April. Pre-entry will close then.

For further details on the Exposure Lights Big Night Out Night Marathon and for the Spring Marathon please go to the Builth Wells event page or go to the course detail page for the vital statistics of the weekend. To enter go straight to the entry page.

If you can’t make up your mind then you can also enter at the event. 

Registration and start times

The registration, camping, event village, parking as well as start/finish is all based at the Royal Welsh Showground – postcode LD2 3SY. The showground has all the mod cons, showers, proper toilets, tarmac to park on, unfortunately no hook ups for caravans, but lots of nice clean grass to camp on.

The registration is open on Saturday from 12pm (noon) – 8pm and then again on Sunday from 7-10am. Simply make your way to the registration when you arrive, sign next to your name and get all the bits and pieces you need for the weekend handed to you.

The start of the night marathon is at 7.30pm on Saturday and the start of the ‘day’ marathon is at 10.30am on Sunday morning. The venue will be signposted from Friday lunch-time onwards and the campground will be open from Friday all the way through to Monday – for everybody who wants to make a longer weekend out of it. 

Photos on course 

We will have 2 photographers out on the course; our regular photographer, Jon Brooke and his colleague – the idea being to give you an even greater selection of images to choose from. Check out Jon’s website where you can find your photos to view and to buy. It normally takes Jon a couple of days before the photos go live.

What else is going on?

Once again we will have a broad range of traders and exhibitors on site: Schwalbe and Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport will take centre stage in the (all indoors) event village. Gore Bike Wear will run their popular Try B4 You buy offer, Pivot Cycles will have a selection of their latest bikes available to demo on our specially created course and Exposure Lights will show their latest lighting equipment. We have catering throughout the weekend and the MTB-Marathon bar on Friday and Saturday night. The City College Norwich crew will provide massage services, Torq will be at hand with nutrition advice as well as retailing their products….and so on, and so on.

If you can’t make it: 

Should you not be able to make it to the Builth round – don’t worry as this is just the start of another great year of MTB-Marathons and road sportives.

From the next round onwards we will cater also for the road riders out there and will continue the streak of double events.

Marshbrook – England (Shropshire)
13th July 2013 – SCHWALBE MTB Marathon
14th July 2013 – SCHWALBE Road Sportives

Abergavenny/Crickhowell – Wales
3th August 2013 – SCHWALBE MTB Marathon
4th August 2013 – SCHWALBE Road Sportives

Ruthin – Wales
31st August 2013 – SCHWALBE MTB Marathon
1st September 2013 – SCHWALBE Road Sportives

All the details of the SCHWALBE MTB Marathon & Sportive Series 2013 powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport are now on www.mtb-marathon.co.uk. For more road sportive specific info please go to www.roadsportives.co.uk. Both websites are up-to-date and the online entry (provided by British Cycling) is now open. Also make sure you check the new MTB-Marathon facebook site (www.facebook.com/MTBmarathonSeries) for the latest news and updated directly from the frontline of the 2013 series.

Scott ‘Boom Boom’ Beaumont keeping it clean and winning every heat.

The four-day Easter weekend gave another great reason for riders to make the trip to South Wales and on Saturday morning everyone began to arrive. The track, although there had been no major changes over the winter months, was in absolutely fantastic condition. Probably the best it has ever been. Robbie and his crew at Afan Bike Park have put in plenty of time and effort; undoubtedly this track is one of the best in the country.

The great thing with the British 4X Series is that on Saturdays the track is open all day and the practice session is fun and relaxed so all riders get to grips and up to speed with everything. A welcome addition on Saturday was the women’s coaching session that was provided free of charge. Britain’s pro 4X stars Katy Curd and Scott Beaumont offered free coaching for an hour. This was snapped-up by eleven women looking to learn and improve upon their skills. Beginners to Elites all attended and the session was a huge success. This will continue throughout the series in 2013.

So, Sunday morning arrived and the sun was shining. Blue skies and not a cloud in sight meant the track was absolutely perfect and the racing would provide plenty of action throughout the day.

In a lot of people’s eyes, the women provided some of the best racing of the whole day. Eleven were entered in the elite women’s class, but the best part was the depth of talent that was on display. Katy Curd, the 2012 4X European Champion entered the race as favourite, but on this very rocky and loose track, 2012 Downhill World Championships silver medalist Manon Carpenter was looking like she was going to push Katy all the way.

In the motos Katy and Manon were flying, but pushing them every step of the way were Suzanne Lacey, Jess Greaves and Cara Murray. Cara in particularly looked strong and in one of the motos led Manon all the way to the rock section where Manon’s DH skills really shone through. By finals time Manon took gate 1, Katy on 2, Renee Diwell in 3 and Cara on gate 4. As the gate dropped, Katy and Cara were level, but into turn 1 Katy took the lead and just did not look back. The battle was for 2nd as Manon defended for the whole top half of the track holding Cara and Renee at bay. Down the rock section Manon pulled a lead and held onto 2nd with Cara in 3rd and Renee in 4th. The women’s racing really was fantastic all day and we believe that numbers will just grow and grow all year.

Duncan Ferris – check his crash out in the video.

In Elite Men’s, again the strength in depth was better than ever. 19 riders entered and in all honesty any one of them could have made the final. It looked like they have all been focused on round 1 over the winter months and plenty of training has been done. But when the gate dropped who was on it…

Well, Will Evans, Duncan Ferris, Alex Metcalfe, Dan Bateson and Jordan Lunn were all looking fast and mixing it up in the motos. DH rider Leon Rosser was absolutely flying. The cage fighter from South Wales was riding a single speed hardtail and with his power was just about tearing the wheels off his bike. A top day for Leon was rewarded by winning the ‘B’ final and taking the final step on the podium in 5th place. Hopefully, this will not be his only race in 2013 as he has the speed to fight for the overall podium this year.

Lewis Lacey.

The top riders from last year though, Nathan Parsons, Issac Mundy, Lewis Lacey and Scott ‘Boom Boom’ Beaumont, had some serious speed and these were the guys who made their way through to the main final. Beaumont took gate 1, Lacey 2, Parsons 3 and Mundy on the outside. As the gate dropped Beaumont got an amazing jump and led the race into turn 1. Lacey cut back hard and got close down the 2nd straight as Issac Mundy had swooped back from the outside in turn 1 to move into 3rd. In turn 2 it was tight but Boom Boom exited in the lead. Lacey stayed close down the rocks and Issac was close as well. With all the elites hitting the pro line doubles, the riders were 20 feet up above the crowd battling for this one but, on the exit of the final turn, Beaumont pulled away and took the win from Lacey, Mundy and Nate Parssons in 4th. Beaumont’s win made him unbeaten for the day, which was seriously impressive. Truly fantastic racing from the elites all day was an amazing spectacle for the crowd. They make it look so easy!!

Sue Lacey.

In the other categories the racing was again just brilliant all day. Here are the winners:

Rippers – Jamie Emmett

Big Fun – George Stanley

Juvenile – Brandon Fermor

Youth – Ryan Hutchinson

Junior – Jordan Fermor

Senior – Dave Richardson

Master – Nick Hill

Veteran – Dave Godfrey

Full results are here: http://www.british4x.com/news/rd1-afan-2013-results/

So that was the end of round 1. A brilliant 4X event and everyone who was there is looking forward to round 2, which is on April 21st at a new track. Will Evans has spent the last few weeks constructing a new facility in Falmouth, Cornwall. It looks like it could become one of the most fun and challenging 4X tracks ever made. Hopefully, after reading this you will fancy giving 4X a go and we will see you there.

Thanks to the series sponsors who help to make it all possible:

Schwalbe Tyres
Kore-USA
Fox Europe
Trixter

For more information on the Schwalbe British 4X Series, visit:

www.british4x.com
www.facebook.com/british4x
www.twitter.com/british4x 

There will be almost 220km of first class trails with six special stages. You get to enjoy the great trails, scenery and company inbetween the timed stages and give it your best when the clock is ticking.

Ritchey TrailMasters is less than four weeks away but there are still lots of places available. You can enter here.  If you can’t get away for three days, there’s a fully catered one day option available.

Everybody is welcome and can stay in the campground for free, so there’s plenty of space for to your support crew, family and friends. Even if your crew don’t ride, the orgaisers say they have put some extra effort in the ‘off the bike’ programme.

The weekend’s activities

We took an in-depth look at what’s on offer at TrailMasters a few weeks ago.  As well as the race for solo riders, pairs and teams of over three demanding days on the classic cross country trails around Llanwrtyd Wells, there’s lots more on.

Ritchey

Title sponsor Ritchey will be showcasing the new Ritchey Trail component range. Check it out at the Ritchey stand.

Avanti test bikes

New to theUK, Avanti will have a broad range of mountain and road bikes available for test throughout the weekend. There will be a road and off road test course marked out which can be used during the day (for the support crew members) as well as after the racing has finished (for all the keen TrailMasters out there). Some of the bikes will be also equipped with a MIO GPS  device so that you can venture a little further afield without worrying about getting lost.

MIO GPS

Also new this year is the MIO GPS range. There will be a dedicated GPS seminar where the units will be explained by the specialists fromUKimporter Paligap. You will get the chance to test these products throughout the weekend as well as get all the insights from the MIO staff.

Muc-Off bike wash and lubrication

Everything to keep your bike clean and lubed to perfection, courtesy of the clean-and-lube folks from the south coast..

NoTubes special event offers and technical seminar

Tubeless tyre technology is already popular but many riders still see it as difficult and potentially messy. The NoTubes guys will be running a technical seminar showing how easy it is to turn pretty much any wheel and tyre into a tubeless setup, answer all the questions you might have and offer a free fitting service for anything you buy.

Saris Triathlon

To make sure that everybody puts some real effort into the weekend there’s the ‘Saris Triathlon’ on Saturday Riders will race around the event venue oval and after every lap they will have to pick up another Saris product to carry around the next lap. Expect some imaginative carrying technics, some surprising tactics and some interesting tumbles.

Food at the TrailMasters

TrailMasters have joined forces with Ian from the Drop-Off Bus to make sure that no-one goes to bed hungry. Ian used to run the much loved Drop-Off café in Glyncorrwyg and is now running the mobile version of his café at cycling events around the country. He will be open for business throughout the day to look after everybody who is staying in the event village. And Ian makes some mean coffee too!

Drink at the TrailMasters

On the liquid side of things TrailMasters have joined up with the ‘Heart of Wales Brewery’ just a stone’s throw from the TrailMasters event village. The guys have supplied a few drinks for everybody so there will be five  drink vouchers in riders’ signing on bags.

Live band

There will be a live band on Saturday night to frame the main evening of the weekend.

Massage team

There will be a massage team in the event village for the three event days to help with any aches and pains.

Kids’ activities

The little ones will have plenty to do over the whole weekend, with bouncy castles, a water slide, face painting and kids races as well games on the lawn.

For full details and to enter go to the Ritchey TrailMasters website

Another bit of classic Old Skool trail building that has aged wonderfully and is now perfect fast and flowing XC riding at its best. There’s a real wild feel to the trail and it’s as near to natural riding as a man-made trail can be.

Don’t come expecting plush facilities or big jumps and drops but do expect great views and even better riding.

Photo © Dan Jones

How to get there

From Betws-y-Coed head east along the A5 and take the B4406 to Penmachno. Drive through the village and carry on for about 1km. The trailhead is up the forest track on the right.

Facilities

A car park and sheep at the trailhead. 3 km away is the Conwy Falls Cafe who serve great cakes and love muddy bikers. In Penmachno, you’ve got the equally biker friendly The Eagles pub. The bright lights of Betws-y-Coed are 7 km away.

Trails

Two loops, Dolen Machno (Loop 1) and Dolen Eyri (Loop 2) totaling approximately 30 km of riding. All the trails are red graded but it’s more a case of distance and climbing rather than technicality that has earned the grade. If you’ve got strong legs and are vaguely competent, you’ll be fine.

There’s some boardwalk, but nothing high or scary and most of the rocky sections have been smoothed by the passage of time and thousands of tyres. On the whole, sweeping and flowing are the main adjectives you’ll be using. The trails are exposed and remote though, so carry adequate spares, clothing, fluids and food.

Nearest bike shop

Beics Betws and Planet Fear Bikes , Betws-Y-Coed

Other info

There’s an honesty box to contribute to trail maintenance. £2 should be the minimum donation with an extra 50p for every rear wheel lock and skid. Link up with the Marin Trail for a truly big day out.

Useful links

www.penmachnobiketrails.org.uk

Location Map:

View Larger Map

The Marin Trail is one of the original purpose built trails and while some may shun it for its simplistic fire road climbs and singletrack descent approach, if you don’t mind earning your downhill fun with some uphill grinding, it’s still well worth getting your tyres muddy for.

Photo © Dan Jones

How to get there

Head into Betws-Y-Coed and then turn right over the historic bridge immediately after Llanrwst then right onto the B5106 past ‘Gwydyr Castle’. The trail head is on the right after 500m. Sat Nav: LL26 OPN

Facilities

Apart from parking, that’s about it at the trailhead. You’ve got full facilities at Betws-Y-Coed (about 2 km away) though and when you’ve got the whole of Snowdonia to play in, who needs swanky visitor centres.

Trails

Glossing over the absolute sod of a climb straight out of the car-park, think of it as either a “fun toll” or a warm-up, the stunning views over Snowdonia and classic singletrack are more than payback. The Red grade is probably slight overkill but it’s certainly not a trail for novices and, if your ride it hard, there are plenty of challenges and, on the final wonderful descent, air to be had. It can bite though and, last time I was there, the PR girl from Gore-Tex ended up with five stitches in her face courtesy of some prime Welsh slate.

Nearest bike shop

Beics Betws www.bikewales.co.uk and Planet Fear Bikes www.planetfear.com

Other info

If you fancy riding to the trail from the town centre, it’s perfectly do-able but does add considerably more slog to the opening ascent.

Location Map:

View Larger Map

Totalling over 220km of riding and with a lung-burning 7,000m of climbing, but it’s not just a straight A to B slog. Instead, there are  six timed sections throughout the three stages, which means it will appeal to people who want an enjoyable yet challenging long weekend ride as well as the more competitive types who want to test themselves against the clock and go for glory.

Earlier this year we headed to Wales to meet up with the organisers of the brand new Ritchey Trail Masters event, to find out what it’s all about. We filmed this short video interview with the organiser Michael Wilkens and course designer John Lloyd.

We also got the chance to ride some of the trails that will be used for the event, including two of the special stages. The area is absolutely stunning with a true wilderness feeling to the trails; you’re far removed from civilisation out here. That’s reflected in the trails too, which are all as natural as you’re going to get.

If you like your trails smooth and manicured, this isn’t the place to come. If you’re after some proper real mountain biking though, then free up your diary and get yourself entered, it just could be the best event of the year.

John Lloyd knows the trails around this part of Wales better than anyone else, and has put in the time and effort to scour the landscape for some brilliant trails for this event. The route looks to be one that will ensure that fitness and riding skills are thoroughly tested, while leaving people with a real sense of accomplishment. There’ll be smiles at the finish line for sure.

The idea of combining timed sections with untimed linking stages isn’t a new one. John and Michael have been doing similar for years with their previous event, the TransWales stage race. The Trail Masters is the TW reborn, with a more compact format that takes place over three days. A long weekend, essentially, with an emphasis on great riding.

Michael was also keen to stress that, while the riding is the clear priority for the event, the fun won’t end when you cross the finish line. They’re planning to have loads of activies going on in the event arena; test courses, test bikes, a bar, live bands, technical seminars, film and photo shows, chill out zones, pub quiz, which should all keep you entertained long into the evening.

For those reasons, we really think this is going to be the most exciting event of the summer. And we’ll be there. Will you?

How to enter

The event can be entered solo or teams of three. There will be an open and veterans category, and there’ll be £10,000 of prizes up for grabs.

Entering costs from £175 for the ‘bronze package’, £225 for the ‘silver package’ (which adds all your food, breakfast, lunch and dinner on top of the basic entry), and finally the ‘gold package’ at £250. That gets you a three man tent already erected onsite for you.

Enter now at http://www.trailmasters.cc

The stages in detail

Day 1: Friday 17th August 2012
Start: 12pm (noon)
Route Distance: 55km
Total amount of climbing: 1900m
Predicted Riding Time: 4 hours
Lunch stop: Trallwn visitor centre. (toilet / cafe) @ 16Km. Grid Ref: 883 544
Water stop: Llynbrianne viewpoint. @ 36Km. Grid Ref: 815 499

1st Special Stage (within):
Distance from start: 24km
Style: Technical challenge / loop
Distance: 3km
Amount of climbing: 60m
Start order: first come first serve

Day 1: Friday 17th August 2012 – night ride
Start: 8.30pm
Route Distance: 20km
Total amount of climbing: 620m

2nd Special Stage – night stage:
Venue: approx. 9km from the event venue
Style: Technical challenge / loop
Distance: 3km
Amount of climbing: 60m
Start order: based on 1st special stage of the day – fastest rider goes first

Day 2: Saturday 18th August 2012
Start: 9.30am
Route Distance: 85km
Total amount of climbing: 2600m
Predicted Riding Time: 7 hours
1st Water stop: Claerwen Resevoir @ 26Km. Grid Ref: 871 637
Lunch stop: 60Km. Grid Ref: 805 569
2nd Water stop: 70Km. Grid Ref: 856 507

3rd Special Stage (within):
Distance from start: 48km
Style: climb
Distance: 3km
Ascent: 230m
Start order: first come first served

4th Special Stage (within):
Distance from start: 51km
Style: technical descent
Distance: 8.5km
Descent: 240m
Start order: first come first served

Day 3: Sunday 19th August 2012
Start: 9.30am
Route Distance: 60km
Total amount of climbing: 2000m
Predicted Riding Time: 5 hours
1st Water stop: 18Km. Grid Ref: 856 390.
Lunch stop: 31Km (end of special stage). Grid Ref: 836 396
2nd Water stop: 48Km. Grid Ref: 837 429

5th Special Stage (within):
Distance from start: 6km
Style: loop
Distance: 2.3km
Ascent: 90m
Descent: 90m
Start order: first come first served

6th Special Stage (within):
Distance from start: 30km
Style: technical challenge
Distance: 2km
Ascent: 20m
Descent: 90m
Start order: first come first served

Forestry Commission Wales is today warning mountain biker that they are risking serious injury by ignoring signs urging them to stay clear of trail sections while forestry operations are taking place.

Here’s the official press release from the FC:

Some bikers are even removing tape and barriers from trails leading into areas where forestry machines are working and trees are being felled – endangering not only themselves but others following behind them who may be unaware of the danger.

An increasing number of incidents involving mountain bikers entering prohibited harvesting areas in Welsh Government woodlands in the Afan Valley have been recorded over the past few months.

The area is home to some of Wales’s most popular trails – including the Whites Level, Wall and Skyline – and Forestry Commission Wales, which manages the woodlands, fears that it could be only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt.

Wales Harvesting Team Leader Darroch Lyon said, “I am increasingly concerned for mountain bikers’ safety if this casual disregard for trail diversions and closures by a selfish and irresponsible minority continues.”

The hundreds of miles of mountain bike trails designed and built in Wales’s woodlands are among the best in the world and attract thousands of people, who are the lifeblood for many rural economies.

But this environment is also a working forest, where a multi-million pound industry exists side by side with outstanding recreation facilities.

In order to manage these different interests so that everyone can use the forests safely, FC Wales sometimes has to exclude the public from active operational areas.

When this happens, diversions are put in place so that mountain bikers can still enjoy the forest despite the forestry operations.

FC Wales Mountain Bike Ranger Howard Sims said, “I invest a significant amount of time and effort in planning, establishing and checking and maintaining diversions and closures.

“All the time and resources I spend replacing damaged signs, barriers and tape is time I am not spending on maintaining the open sections of trails so that everybody can enjoy them.”

The forestry industry is a major source of employment in South Wales and these foolhardy actions cause unnecessary and costly delays, which is also becoming a major problem for these firms.

FC Wales Mountain Bike Manager David M Williams said, “If this selfish minority of mountain bikers continue with their irresponsible behaviour, it will result in the closure of entire trails for the duration of the necessary works.

“This is not something we would enter into lightly but if this wilful disregard for their own safety and the safety of others continues, we will have no other option.”

For the latest updates on temporary trail closures, take a look at this webpage www.forestry.gov.uk/recreation

Now in its second year, the BM3D is a three day, three stage, mountain bike endurance event set in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

It’s going to be hard

Taking in at least 4355m of climbing over its 160km length, it’s a hard event. It’s an extremely rewarding event. The route takes in all that the Black Mountains have to offer. There’s some pretty unforgiving terrain in places and some tough technical trails to deal with.

Riders will find themselves in some amazing scenery and epic landscapes. Riders will traverse moorland, forests, valleys, hilltops and scale steep cliffs both ways. There will be some hike-a-bike sections, although the fitter the rider the less of this there will be. The BM3D is very different to multiple lap endurance races.

“Having the opportunity to show riders the outstanding riding and scenery in the Brecon Beacons was one of the highlights for Bearded Man’s trail crew. Putting on a fully serviced event like the Black Mountains 3 Day has been a lot of work, but the response we got from riders has made it all worth it. The atmosphere and spirit of last year’s event was brilliant. Seeing the state of the riders on Sunday afternoon I was sure we had achieved our objective of hosting a tough weekend of riding – fortunately everyone was still talking to me which was good,”  says David Warren, BM3D organiser.

It’s going to be easy

BM3D is an event with a difference. It’s an event with quite a few differences. One vital difference is the fully-supported nature of the event. The riding will be more than demanding enough for competitors so the organisers Bearded Man make everything else as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Arriving at the finish of each day’s stage, competitors will have everything laid on for them. Hot showers, mechanics, bike wash, massages, tailored nutrition and, most appreciated of all, the pre-pitched tented village.

“I enjoyed the entire weekend so much! The course was long enough to make it a challenge, technical enough to make it enjoyable, signposted very well to never get worried and the scenery so gorgeous that it was hard to believe I wasn’t on holiday somewhere. I really hope it will take place again next year and me and along with everyone else I spoke to during the weekend.” – Emmy Hoyes, BM3D competitor.

The BM3D route

The entire route will be clearly marked with signage. In case sheep decide to eat some of the race tape it’s recommended for riders to use a GPS if possible. Marshals will be located at critical points on the route to ensure the safety of both the riders and the public. There’ll also be roaming marshals moving along the route in case of emergencies and to help with any problems or issues. There will be at least one full feed station available on each day’s stage. Due to the length of the stages there’ll also be free chain lube available at these stations too.

Stage 1, Friday June 29

The weekend kicks off in style with an early evening Time Trial around the Myarth Woodland in the Glanusk Estate. Incredibly fun riding to be had in the woodland. Some steep climbs and twisty singletrack winding through the trees. The start is literally right at the tented village so there is no neutral section to get to the start.

Stage 2, Saturday June 30

The BM3D ‘proper stuff’. Over 70km of trails. More than 2300m of climbing. The real meat of this stage begins at around 15km in so riders will be nicely warmed up by then. The real gem of this day’s route is the cheekily challenging Mynydd Du forest trails. The subsequent Hermitage climb between Mynydd Llysiau and Waun Fach will test riders’ mettle. This year the route heads over Llangorse to take in a great 7km descent. An epic day is an understatement.

Stage 3, Sunday July 1

Not as much climbing as Stage 2 (a ‘mere’ 2055m) but at 76km Stage 3 is the longest day of the BM3D. This day’s route is all about two high points. At the 27km mark riders will be rewarded with an awesome view overlooking Talybont reservoir, arguably the best view of the whole BM3D. The other high point of the day is the infamous Gap and its rocky demands. The route finishes with one last hurtle around Myarth Woodland before heading back to camp for a well-deserved rest and celebration.

“I had an amazing time! From the second we arrived to when we left everything was sorted. The atmosphere at the event (on the trail and in the village) was brilliant. From the great food, top coffee and the massage team it was just excellent, that’s without mentioning some if the best trails I’ve ridden. I am so pleased to have taken part! One of the toughest, most ridiculously fun weekends I’ve had in years.” – Aidan, BM3D competitor.

Find out more about BM3D and enter online

There’s loads of information available on the BM3D website. Entries are available online there too  http://blackmountains3day.co.uk

Last weekend saw the start of the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series 2012 powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport, which headed to Builth Wells in Wales for a weekend of marathon riding.

Luckily though the weather managed to play ball (at least to a certain degree) and the riders still came in huge numbers, over 1,200 turned up to test themselves on the four courses on offer.

With the first event falling on the busy Easter weekend expectations were conservative but the Exposure Lights Big Night Out had almost 250 riders on the start sheet.

Saturday night ride

With darkness setting in slowly everybody lined up to get any last minute instructions and at around 7.45pm the Exposure Lights Big Night Out finally got on the road. The riders were treated to a specifically designed night marathon course in the hills surrounding Builth Wells.

Even with the temperature being more what one would expect of in April, the conditions out on course were superb and super with the fastest rider only taking a little more than two hours to complete the 43km loop. With a high quality field and everybody out there wanting to prove themselves the leader position was hard fought over all the way to the finish line. The first rider made it back into the event village in 2 hour and 4 minutes picking up the ELBNO T-shirt while the list rider took 4 hours and 25 minutes to complete the course.

Sunday marathon

At the slightly later start time of 10.30am (to give all the night riders who wanted a second ride more recovery time) almost 900 riders lined up to tackle one of the 3 single track packed courses on offer.

Even with the strong winter keeping riders from getting their ‘spring legs’ in time for the event the long distance remained the most popular distance of the weekend. Due to the high calibre field and the super conditions out on course the approx. 70km long ‘middle marathon’ was completed in just 3 hours and 5 minutes with the last rider crossing the line to pick up the well deserved event T-shirt after 6hours and 49minutes.

The first event was a great showcase of what the MTB Marathon Series will be all about in 2012. If you couldn’t make it don’t worry as the upcoming months have lots more new and great stuff up their sleeves.

Upcoming events for your diary

Selkirk – Scotland
19th May 2012 – Vitus Road Sportive
20th May 2012 – Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon – & UK Marathon Championships

Marshbrook – England (Shropshire)
14th July 2012 – Vitus Road Sportive
15th July 2012 – Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon

Abergavenny – Wales
4th August 2012 – Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon
5th August 2012 – Vitus Road Sportive
(Please note that the MTB Marathon is running on Saturday!)

Ruthin – Wales
15th September 2012 – Vitus Road Sportive & Exposure Light Big Night Out (Night Marathon)
16th September 2012 – Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon

To find out more about the various locations go to the events page of the MTB-Marathon site and if you want to find out more about the Vitus Road Spotives powered by CycleOps Power then please go to our Vitus sportive site.