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Posts Tagged Riding

Cannock and a Cave

May 10

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

Last weekend turned out to be a bit action-packed, leaving me thoroughly exhausted after 14 miles cross-country on a downhill bike, and far too long spent grovelling around in a grubby cave at Harborough.

On Saturday I finally managed two things which I have wanted to do for ages: ride the new bike properly, and visit Cannock Chase trails. A timely invitation from G to join his band of adventurers found us tackling the Follow the Dog and Monkey XC trails. I took the LTS-DH, hoping to hit the DH trails, but fate had a different plan in store. Not far into Follow the Dog, my seatpost clamp snapped in two, forcing me to ride the (longer than anticipated) rest of the trails on a bike with 5" of saggy travel, and with the saddle touching the top of the seat tube.

Rest stop, halfway around the Monkey Trail. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Rest stop, halfway around the Monkey Trail. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Nevertheless, the excellent company kept it enjoyable and the downhill bits were great fun on the new bike. The front end is amazing when pointing in the right direction, despite feeling ridiculous when riding along tarmac. I was worried that having spent four months building it, I might have created some kind of awful monster, but it seems all my deliberation and decision making has been vindicated. It was helped along by G's nina-style brake bleeding skills, undertaken with a home-made bleed kit in the car park – good work!

Finally, the LTS-DH gets into it's home environment. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Finally, the LTS-DH gets into it's home environment. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

By the end of the loop I was pretty much shafted, and not really able to make the best of the downhills after the effort of hauling / pushing the bike up the uphill sections. An awesome sandwich / cake combo* at the cafe finished the day off nicely though, and I can't wait to get out again soon for some proper DH action.

Yesterday I met up with James at Harborough Rocks for his first taste of Peak District single-pitch cragging. Not having rock boots, he chose to climb in his B2/3 winter boots and as per usual showed me up anyway. I ticked off some routes I'd wanted to do, took James up Trident Arete as I think it's the "must-do" route of the crag, and then foolishly mentioned that I wouldn't mind a look at the routes in the cave.

Things start getting a bit funky on Skylight Chimney (VDiff). Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Things start getting a bit funky on Skylight Chimney (VDiff). Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

I've looked at the two routes before, and they've always looked grotty and horrible. I can now confirm that close up they are indeed grotty and horrible. I started on Cave Chimney (VDiff), and quickly got coated in filth while squirming my way up the first bit. Assuming the worst is past, you launch sideways and upwards towards the hole in the roof, only to find more grime waiting for you further up. Still, it was fun in a weird kind of way.

Pleased my current position doesn't require any digging. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Pleased my current position doesn't require any digging. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Having finished Skylight Chimney I returned to the guidebook at the bottom of the crag, only to realise shortly after that James was eyeing-up the other route in the cave, Cave Chimney (HVD). Sure enough, I soon found myself wedged in another grotty crack, desperately wishing I had a spade to dig out some kind of hold on the flat muddy shelf I was confronted with at shoulder height. With a lack of gear I wimped out, and James soon found himself in the same position. Possessing a sense of ingenuity I had wholly failed to display, he cunningly threw a hex into a crack a good four feet above his high point and, with that clipped, proceeded to launch himself onto the aforementioned ledge.

James gets to grips with the top half of Cave Chimney. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

James gets to grips with the top half of Cave Chimney (HVD). Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

From there more squirming (and a load of bad language) led to the top. Definitely worth it's zero stars! After these subterranean adventures we returned to the glaring sunlight and knocked off a couple more routes to end the day. I'm now safe in the knowledge that I need never venture into the cave again, and James enjoyed himself despite all the grovelling around in the dark.

Another filthy chimney route ticked off the list. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Another filthy chimney route ticked off the list. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

I left him to travel home in a newly souped-up Uan (new alloys, new signwriting and a hammock!), while I made my way back to Leicestershire dreaming of a hot shower.

* – BBQ chicken baguette followed by a chocolate-topped caramel rice crispie cake, since you asked.

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Fearless offroad duathlon

Feb 17

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

Photos by Frogfish Photography, available on their Flickr site.


A new experience for me on Saturday – my first duathlon. Fearless was a 5km off-road run, 18km lap of the Llandegla red MTB route, and another 5km run. Mud and sweat were both involved, along with pain and snow, but mercifully no tears.

Entering seemed like a good idea when I did it at Christmas; I was at the peak of my training and didn't own a house. Things spiralled downhill on the fitness front from mid-January, with me spending most nights doing DIY until very late and eating the least healthy diet known to man. As a result, my specific training for Fearless consisted of one jaunt to Sherwood Pines the week before. I rolled up on Sunday morning nervous but excited.

The excitement soon gave way to even more nerves as I was surrounded by a lot of people who were evidently taking it very, very seriously. Nevertheless I registered and set my stuff up in transition whilst trying to look like I knew what I was doing (everyone re-arranges their kit fifteen times, right?). My entry number was 53, so given my lack of training I arbitrarily decided that if I could finish 53rd or above, I'd be happy.

Fearless duathlon at Llandegla. Image copyright Frogfish Photography.

Fearless duathlon at Llandegla. Image copyright Frogfish Photography.

The mass start got under way on time, and everyone spread out over the first climb up a fire road. After a short steeper section we headed downhill and went properly off-road. While the fire road was mediocre, I seemed to get on much better on the uneven rooty stuff in the forest. A quick jump over a ditch led to more fire road, and the transition area after what seemed like a mercifully short run. My time, not that I knew it at that moment, was about 18 mins for the first run, which is quicker than I'd normally do 5km.

T1 went smoothly and I set off up the switchbacks at the start of the red run. The climb up to the top of the forest is always a bit of a bitch, but I managed to reel in a fair few people who were obviously struggling with the unrelenting gradient. Snow began to fall as we cleared the trees, and the next hour or so passed in a haze of holding on for dear life. I was riding Becs' hardtail Giant with undamped, elastomer-sprung Suntour forks, so while I kept up with everyone else on their posh full-sus beasts, I had to work much harder over the same ground.

Grit your teeth and hold on. Image copyright Frogfish Photography.

Grit your teeth and hold on. Image copyright Frogfish Photography.

T2 came around just as the threat of throwing up approached – I probably pushed myself too hard on the final climb from the fire road towards the transition. The time for the bike ride was 1hr 11m – again, much faster than I'd normally do. T2 itself was a bit slow, due to the need to lace up my running shoes, but I soon got underway. This was the bit that worried me most, and sure enough we set off straight into a climb. I ended up walking for a bit and then foolishly started running just as we hit the final big climb off-road through the trees. While it felt vertical, it was probably actually only "very steep". This was by far the low point for me, especially since we then did a lap of the reservoir to pick up the first run route. Although the threat of stopping to walk was pretty great, I managed to keep up a slow jog. The field was pretty spread out by now, and I was on my own for the repeat of the rest of the first route. Down through the trees and out onto the fire road; I thought about trying to catch the two people in front of me in a desperate last-minute bid for glory, but decided that finishing in one piece would suffice. The entry paperwork said I'd "cross the line, arms aloft in muddy glory" or something similar, but I think my actual finish was a bit more low-key.

Crossing the finish line. Image Copyright Frogfish Photography.

Crossing the finish line. Image copyright Frogfish Photography.

Provisional results pegged me at 50th out of 100, which later dropped to 52nd after final confirmation. So, I made my target of 53rd or above by the skin of my teeth. Five minutes quicker would have seen my placed 35th, so there's some potential for a much better result with more training. Obviously that suggests I'll be doing another one! Despite the pain at the time I really enjoyed it. Indeed, recovering in the transition area immediately after finishing I was considering what other options there were (thanks to the bloke who pointed out several, including the Evil Sheriff at Sherwood Pines later in the year).

Photos by Frogfish Photography, available on their Flickr site.

For those who have spotted the watermark and would hoist me by my own petard, yes I have contacted them about buying them, and yes I have notified them that they're on the blog. See, I'm not a complete monster!  :)

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Oops, I did it again

Jan 4

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 2 Comments

My advice to you is not to start a PhD – you just end up looking for projects to distract you from your thesis, and before you know it you've bought another complete shed of a bike with the intention of restoring it to it's former glory.

This one's another GT LTS, but the downhill version (the imaginatively-titled LTS DH). This is the bike I remember seeing Steve Peat riding "back in the day", and which I'd always fancied owning. The LTS 2000 project was a step closer, but the more I rode that, the more it became apparent that I'd compromised on what I wanted to do with it. So, I sneakily grabbed an LTS DH frame off eBay and hid it in the shed from Becs. Unfortunately that meant selling the LTS 2000 to fund the DH project; I was rumbled when she logged into my eBay account to look at something and spotted the LTS 2000 sale, complete with the line "selling because I have two".

Nevertheless, I carried on regardless. The build technically started many months ago, when I acquired some Shimano DX SPDs for a bargain price. I stripped them and replaced the seals, spraying them while I was at it.

Shimano DX pedal overhaul. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Shimano DX pedal overhaul. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Although the frame itself was fundamentally sound on arrival, the decals were custom ones that bore no relevance to anything in my life, and the paint was looking a bit tired.

A 'good' bit of the frame prior to powder coating. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

A 'good' bit of the frame prior to powder coating. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

I took the frame in it's component pieces to John Whiteman Engineering in Long Eaton, who blasted and powder coated the lot for £20, and did a decent job too. So, the frame returned all powder coated and shiny, and shortly after I had new bearings installed and the headset fitted. All that remained was to put everything back together…

Anatomy of an LTS DH. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Anatomy of an LTS DH. Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

That proved not to be too much of an issue, but there were hundreds of minor niggles throughout the build, such as insufficient tyre clearance around the seatstays despite the ludicrous amount of room designed into the chainstays. I always knew this was going to be a DH build, and therefore my first proper DH bike, so I wanted some triple-clamp forks. The LTS was originally specced with Rockshox Boxxers, which seem to be relatively rare and always expensive. Instead I focussed on Marzocchi Junior Ts, initially getting hold of a set of fairly old school 130mm travel ones. However, I then spotted a lovely pair with black stanchions and red decals (and 170mm travel), which I instantly knew would really suit the frame. Once I got hold of them, it turned out the steerer tube was actually a little short. Gareth saved the day by suggesting I use an integrated stem, which solved the problem beautifully (but not before my headset spacers turned out to have too large an external diameter – no, seriously!). The final piece to fall into place was the decals. I stripped the random ones off almost immediately when the frame was delivered, and needed to get some copies of the originals. The generally acknowledged expert on these things, Gil at the Cycle Shed, didn't have the ones I wanted, so I made up some myself. This entailed using a scan from a friendly STS owner and photos of my LTS 2000, many many many hours in Photoshop, and many hours in Illustrator. At the end of it, I had the decals I wanted, in the colours I wanted, and a much better understanding of Photoshop paths and vector graphics. Gil was able to get them made up, and I was ready.

Custom GT LTS DH decals.

Custom GT LTS DH decals.

Anyway, I finished the build with the rest of the parts I'd lovingly sourced over the previous few months, including an AC chain guide, Hope M4 twin-pot discs and the D521s off the LTS 2000. Here she is…

GT LTS DH (Year 2000). Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

GT LTS DH (Year 2000). Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Junior T's looking sexy at the front. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Junior T's looking sexy at the front. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Perfect. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Perfect. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Custom decals, looking better than I ever dared hope they would! Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

Custom decals, looking better than I ever dared hope they would! Copyright Haydn Williams 2010

So there we go, and long and arduous journey, but worth it in the end  I think. I've proved to myself that I can do a reasonable job at this, but if I'm honest I don't think I'll be doing another one any time soon – I miss actually just going out and riding the damn thing!  :)

Full spec:
(format shamelessly stolen from Retrobike)

Frame: GT LTS-DH (2000)
Rear shock: Rockshox Super Deluxe

Fork: Marzocchi Junior T 170mm (2003?)

Headset: FSA Orbit
Stem: Marzocchi integrated
Handlebar: Azonic
Grips: GT
Barends: Hope bar plugs

Brakes: Hope M4
Brake Levers: Hope

Shifters: Deore 9sp
Rear Derailleur: XTR
Derailleur Cables: Gore Ride-on sealed
Cassette: SRAM 9sp
Chain: SRAM 9sp
Cranks: Race Face DH forged
Chainrings: FSA
Chainring bolts: Race Face
Chain guide: AC
Pedals: Shimano DX SPDs (since swapped for DMR V8s!)

Hub Skewers: Hope
Rims: D521
Hubs: XT front / FUNN rear
Tyres: Tioga Factory DH 2.1 F&R

Saddle: Titec Berserkr DH
Seatpost: System-ex
Seatpost Binder: Hope

Weight: Beastly

Last but not least, thanks go out to:

  • G, for help and advice
  • Dean, for the STS scans
  • Retrobikers in general, including but not limited to Gadro for the chain guide and Sithlord for a jockey wheel (small but vitally important)

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Black Runs and Pirates

Oct 17

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | No Comments

I've done the red loop at Llandegla a couple of times. The black run can't be that much better, right? Wrong! It's incredible. I was out on the LTS again a couple of weeks ago, and despite some mechanical issues (chain constantly falling off) it was clear that on a dry day with a functioning bike, the black bit of Llandegla must be an incredible run. It's only about 3km longer than the red run, but that 3km is made up of proper DH sections and evil climbs. If I'm honest, I didn't take any photos because I was too busy grinning and trying not to fall off. The video below is from the Coed Llandegla website, and if it looks like fun on the video, it's even more in real life.

It was pretty busy at the visitor centre at 10:00, but as usual it soon got quiet once I was out on the trails. The new skills area looks pretty good, but I will definitely be heading back with a properly working bike at some point.

Saturday night was spent dressed as a pirate ship, and also involved having unrestricted access to a ball pool for the first time in about fifteen years. To anyone thinking of installing one in your front room, my only words of advice are <em>do it!</em> Obviously it's better if it's someone else's front room though. The general frolics and ball pool fun continued into the early hours, so I wasn't really capable of doing anything on Sunday. Delamere Forest trails will have to wait for another day.

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Dream bike

Aug 9

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 2 Comments

I've done two versions of this post:

1) If you're NOT a bike geek:
I've just managed to get hold of my dream bike very cheaply, and having spent about nine weeks lovingly stripping and rebuilding it, it's now finished. And it's lovely.

You can stop reading now.

2) If you ARE a bike geek:
I've only managed to get hold of a bloody LTS! I saw a 1998 LTS-2000 advertised for £130 recently, and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. I've always liked the look of them, ever since I started riding years ago, and when Steve Peat was riding GT. I made the leap and paid the money; it looked like this when I got it:

<strong>The original, knackered DH configuration.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

The original, knackered DH configuration.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

It was obviously DH-oriented with the triple-clamp forks, chain device hiding a single big ring, and crazy-wide 2.4" tyres. The spec at that point was:

  • Frame: GT LTS-2000 (1998 model year)
  • Forks: White Brothers DC118 triple-clamps
  • Brakes: Magura HS33
  • Wheels: Mavic D321s on XT / Funn hubs

There were, however, reasons it was so cheap: no movement at all in the back end, only about 3 or 4mm of travel in the forks. Both wheels buckled. Frame very tired (cosmetically). I promptly sold the brakes on eBay and managed to make back over half the cost of the bike! I stripped the forks down, but corrosion on the stanchions meant they were useless. After re-building I got about half an inch of seemingly uncontrolled travel out of them, but they soon went on eBay too.

<strong>And I was wondering why the forks didn't work! Dodgy DC118 DH stanchion.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

And I was wondering why the forks didn't work! Dodgy DC118 DH stanchion.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

I then proceeded to strip the frame down, which turned out to cause much more heartache than anticipated. The first stumbling block was the general dilapidated state of the various bushings, trunnion travel chips etc. Secondly, I couldn't get the bolt out of the lower shock mount – the problem turned out to be that the previous owner had obviously bottomed-out the travel very hard at some point. The bolt was banana-shaped as a result, along with the sleeve that goes over it, so they took about three hours of frantic pulling and prizing apart. The rest of the dismantling process was generally OK, although the bottom-bracket pivot is a bit cryptic. With the frame entirely stripped, I was able to give it a good clean down. The rear end took an awful lot of polishing to get back to a reasonable state! The bushings actually came up alright after all the crud was taken off them. Dad provided some magic wonder-polish from the garage, which brought the front of the frame up a treat; I toyed with the idea of getting it powder-coated but the budget dictates that a polish is all that will be happening in the near future.

<strong>Farécla polish - great at getting crud like this off your frame.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Farécla polish - great at getting crud like this off your frame.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

With everything clean and tidy, it was time to re-assemble. I swapped the 750lb shock spring out for a 500lb version, because I'm not the heaviest bloke in the world, and Chris managed to sort out a replacement sleeve for the bottom shock mount. The fork I chose was a Rock Shox Psylo XC with 125mm of travel, primarily because I found someone selling it for £35. I fancied some Z1s but this was a budget build and even old pairs still seem to fetch around the £60 mark. I had planned to use the wheels off the jump bike, but vanity got the better of me and I shelled out for an all-black set of Bontrager rims. Now I'm getting old I don't think they'll get as much of a beating as my old D321s had to put up with back in the day, so hopefully they'll be robust enough. Here's how she looks now…

<strong>Revamped LTS-2000.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Revamped LTS-2000.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

The general spec is:

  • Frame: GT LTS-2000 (1998 model year) w/ RS Super Deluxe shock
  • Forks: Rock Shox Psylo XC U-turn (85 – 125mm)
  • Wheels: Bontrager disc-specific rims & hubs
  • Drivetrain: Race Face / Shimano Deore / XT< / DMR V8s/li>
  • Brakes: Shimano DX levers / Hayes cable discs

I'm very happy with it. I seem to be getting the full travel out of the rear end, which is suprisingly plush now I've got the proper weight spring on there. It's weird to finally own a full-susser! It's performed very well at Sherwood on it's maiden outing this morning, but the suspension still needs setting up properly. It was quite a relief to get out on it, as I'd worried since buying it that it might be a bit too big, or that I just wouldn't like it. But she's brilliant. I'm itching to ride somewhere a bit rougher now, like Llandegla, where I think the benefit of the full bounce will be more noticeable.

Finally, major kudos goes out the following people:

  • Gareth M: For lending me all manner of parts and tools, repeatedly, and without question.
  • Chris H: For doing a custom job on the creation of the sleeve for the bottom shock mount.
  • A number of people from the Retrobike forums(particularly Gary for help with the rear shock).
  • My bro: For getting me some kickass pedals for my birthday. :)

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Tired legs

Jun 14

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

Well readers, I promised the next blog entry would be exciting. I therefore spent this weekend being chewed up and spat out by the best North Wales has to offer in terms of scrambling and mountain biking, all just to keep you guys happy.

We had a leisurely start from Chester yesterday, arriving at the foot of Tryfan at 09:00. Our chosen routes for the day were Milestone Buttress Approach (3, ***) and Milestone Continuation (3, **). The day started well, as we geared up under the wrong route (only a Diff, it's not like we were about to head up an E5 or anything). With some advice from friendly passers-by, we soon found the right bit of rock.

<strong>Unknown climber on Milestone Buttress.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Unknown climber on Milestone Buttress.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

I led the first pitch to the Pulpit, and we alternated leads so James got the pitch which included a large flake. He practically ran across it in a rather exposed position, but I didn't follow suit and ended up firmly stuck atop it, one leg either side. Unable to go forwards or backwards, and acutely aware that I was being watched by a party at the bottom of the crag, I opted for the ever-dignified flop off the side. I'd like to think I redeemed myself by leading the next pitch, which included an evil-looking crack that I managed to get up with swearing or getting scared.

<strong>James about to waltz over the stupid flake.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

James about to waltz over the stupid flake.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Thus, Milestone Buttress Approach was ticked off the list. A nice route, but pretty short. We then trudged on up a load of heather to the start of Milestone Continuation. A group were being instructed on the first pitch (during a conversation with the guide, he called the Ashton book "The Steve Ashton Suicide Guide", which is a new one on me!), so we picked a way up the side. The guidebook seems to indicate that the route then continues up to the North Ridge, but it actually just consists of heather plodding. If you really wanted to, you could pick a contrived and convoluted route up the rocky bits, and maybe pick out some Grade 1 steps, but they all consist of pretty much a single move and then more heather. My advice is to do the dog-leg crack section and then turn around and go home! Definitely not a ** route, I don't think. We carried on up to just below the summit (crawling with people, unlike last time) and then dropped off the west face path. We then proceeded to lie on the grass next to the car in the sun; James fell asleep while I ate Jaffa Cakes. Job done.

Today involved more leg-powered work, this time riding the Marin Trail in the Gwydyr Forest between Betws y Coed and Llanrwst. It's a 25km route involving 450m of climbing, and it turned out to be really good fun. There's lots of sections which are reminiscent of the old national downhill course in Beddgelert – fast, rocky, and loose. I liked it.

I was using my new bike, which you'll remember has no front brake, a jump frame, and only has a big chain ring on the front. Consequently, it wasn't the easiest day I've ever had. The puncture at the absolute far-point of the ride didn't help, but was quickly dealt with and certainly didn't spoil a very enjoyable ride. The route definitely deserves it's reputation, and I was happy with a time of 2h 45m, especially given the ridiculous (foolhardy?) bike setup I had. My athletes diet of half a ham sandwich and a packet of wine gums probably helped.

<strong>Approaching the far point of the Marin Trail. Moel Siabod in the background.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

Approaching the far point of the Marin Trail. Moel Siabod in the background.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

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Cheeky new purchase

May 31

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 1 Comment

Oops. It seems I've accidentally purchased the best bike on the face of the planet.

Having spent the past few weeks getting out on the road bike fairly frequently (even if not for very long each time), I've been enjoying my cycling. Combined with some more recent offroad forays, I've felt myself being drawn back towards mountain biking. To that end, I have watched eBay like a hawk for the past week, considering everything from £50 frames to a £500 Stinky (mmmmm….). I finally plumped for something that was actually within my budget, and she arrived last night…

<strong>The beast. She's yet to be named.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

The beast. She's yet to be named.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009

It's a bit old-school, but I think it looks great. That's not the most crucial thing though, so I took it down to Sherwood Pines today for a quick blast around – I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it is utterly awesome. It's a bit of a weird setup, having been delivered without a front brake, and running as a single speed on vertical dropouts. However, neither hindered me much, and I spent a very enjoyable morning razzing through the various downhill lines. Since my last trip, all the sign posts have been put in place, and there's a little bit of North Shore stuff in place now too. The trails were much drier than last time, and much quicker. The bike was the main event though, and proved better than I could ever have hoped -it's incredibly playful and just wants to be thrashed at every opportunity. I think the fat 2.3" front tyre helps, but the geometry of the random no-name frame (which had been a worry) seems perfect too. I took the last few sections of the Kitchener (Red) XC route back to the car park from the downhill area, and it was just as comfortable on that too. The single-speed setup will have to go though! Of course, this purchase means that the road bike will have to go, but it served its purpose very well. Roll on the rest of the dirt-based summer.

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Walking / Riding

Mar 19

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 6 Comments

I started my new job this week, meaning that Thursday and Friday last week were my final days of flexi-time freedom. Keen to make the most of it, I sacked work off and went walking and riding instead.

On Thursday I went snow-hunting, hoping to catch something easy in condition before everything disappeared. I was out of luck (below), so went up Senior's Ridge and down Y Gribin. A mini Glyderau loop which didn't hit any summits; how naughty. It did, however, add another route to the Scrambles in Snowdonia Challenge. Worryingly, the notoriety of the challenge seems to have spread outside the confines of this blog so it's all getting a bit serious.

<strong>'Easy Route' in Cwm Cneifion looking not very wintery.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

'Easy Route' in Cwm Cneifion looking not very wintery.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Senior's Ridge was dull. It got a bit exciting at one point over to the right, but I think that was more heading out above Idwal slabs than just sticking to the crest of the ridge. Either way, it looked like it required either a rope or a willingness to accept the possibility of falling all the way down the slabs. Anyway, I'll go back and try the fun way at some point, I'm sure.

<strong>The boredom-inducing summit plateau.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

The boredom-inducing summit plateau.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

The plateau was boring due to the lack of view, but I was pleased to find that I could navigate it without a map (it's not clever, kids). I zipped down Y Gribin and back to the car. Not the most exciting day, but it's the first time I've been out this winter and not got something snowy done, so I can't complain.

Friday dawned dull and drizzly, but I was excited because I was going riding again! I borrowed Gareth's bike once again – not only is he a total hero for letting me steal it once again, he's also a hero (along with Dave) for taking an old Volvo around Europe to raise money for good causes in Moldova. Check out the Snowdodgers Rally page for more details, and sponser them with whatever you can spare. They'll probably need it to bribe their way out of Russia or something.

I spent the very wet morning riding around the red trail at Coed Llandegla. The centre is on privately-owned forestry land (i.e. a private forestry firm, not Forestry Commission) and seems to be run very well. There are numerous trails, with jumps and downhill sections graded right up to black. The trails are well signed and maintained, and there are loads of new sections bedding in to create even more fun! It's quite rocky so a full-susser would be noticeably more comfy than a hardtail by the end of the day I reckon. The visitor centre seems very well equipped, parking is a reasonable £2.50 for three hours or £4 all day. There's a functioning bike wash (Sherwood Pines take note), and allegedly the "Best Bacon Bap in Britain". Quite a serious claim, but one I didn't have time to investigate.

I was having too much fun to take any photos, sorry. You can check out the Coed Llandegla gallery here though. I'll try harder next time, I promise.

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Sherwood Pines

Mar 8

Posted by Haydn in Outdoors | 3 Comments

Berms. Drop-offs. Chain suck. Winding singletrack. Front wheel slides. Oh, how I've missed you.

08:00 on Wednesday found me in the car park of Sherwood Pines, mad keen to get out on G's bike. I hadn't stolen it, he'd very kindly lent it to me. The weather, despite portents of meteorological doom from Radio 1, was gorgeous but a bit chilly. I was looking gorgeous, but a bit chilly. I also had no idea where I was going. There's apparently a three-year plan to create new trails and develop existing ones, and as a result everything's pretty much in disarray. It seems that finding the trails, or indeed any information about them, is a bit of a black art.

<strong>Jumps, Sherwood Pines.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Jumps, Sherwood Pines.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

The Forestry Commission website is pretty sparse, and merely lists an 'Adventure Cycle Trail' and a 'Family Cycle Trail'. When you actually get to the forest, it seems these make up the only two waymarked trails, rated Green and Blue according to the Forestry Commission / CTC grades. Neither of those are particularly interesting, consisting of manicured tracks and fire road. The Forestry Commission website also mentions the aims and objectives of the three-year plan to "create a National Centre of Excellence", but there's no details of the current status. This project seems to be the cause of the disruption – the Sherwood Pines Cycles website has more detail.

The majority of the interesting stuff seems to involve the area marked on the map at the car park as "The Jungle Project", although it's not referred to by this name anywhere else, and there's no indication of what's actually there. When you find the place, there's a sign boasting of jumps, DH runs and a North Shore-style area ("Sherwood Shore"). Directions are given to the jumps, but nothing else. In a nutshell, the jump area seems to have been around for a while, and is well used. The downhill trails are almost there, but with some more work to do. There's a big start ramp at the top of the hill, with a few jumps on the way down but nothing too scary, technical or requiring a full-on DH rig with 9" of travel front and back. However, there's a few bits where lines need either clarifying, or adjusting to run a bit more smoothly. I couldn't see any sign of the North Shore style area.

In terms of XC trails, there's lots of singletrack throughout the forest, and it's lots of fun, but the lack of signage is disconcerting in an area of 3,300 acres! On the plus side, there are new wooden signposts all over the place – they just need signs attaching to them now! There's talk of a new 10km XC route being built, but I don't think it's finished yet; there's certainly no signage for it (spot the theme yet?!). A sign at the car park explicitly states that there are no trails graded Red at Sherwood Pines, but I passed at least one sign for the biking "red route", so go figure. There aren't any proper maps of all the trails anywhere, it seems.

<strong>Downhill start gate.</strong><br />Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

Downhill start gate.
Copyright Haydn Williams 2009.

In summary, if you can find your way around the singletrack it's ace, and when the rest of the trails / waymarkers are in place, it'll be even more ace and less worrying. I had a cracking time on G's bike (ta!), and will most definitely be heading back at some point. I'd love to claim that I'd found some kind of inspiration to turn myself into some kind of skinny XC whippet, but I'll be honest – I found the DH runs, abandoned all pretence at going XC, and spent the next hour playing around in a gravity-assisted fashion before heading home. No shame. Oh, and if anyone from the Forestry Commission happens to read this, then please could you fix the bike wash at the main car park? Thanks.

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