Sorry for the gap in the blog for a bit folk. Last week I was busy touring northern bike and bits factories Orange and Hope (who are doing great, despite economy doomsday reports) and riding the first proper production Pace 6 incher. This week it's been a new Lappiere on test and a top fun afternoon trying to follow Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Nick Craig (Scott UK) down snaking trails for a feature on flow in MBUK.
Oh and I nearly broke my neck on Wednesday night. To be fair it wasn't actually the crash that got me, it was the 6 foot drop that my tuck and roll get out dropped me off that whiplashed me. Still nothing broken (it was a long wait for X rays let me tell you) and as long as I don't have to look over my shoulder in under five minutes for a while it's all good.
Anyway where were we? That's right one day into our two daft day adventure and not halfway yet. Ulp!
On a bright note Neil from Hope, Leigh and myself are feeling pretty good considering we've only had a few hours sleep. Admittedly Leighs got some lovely blisters hidden in his gloves, Neil's back is knackered and Alex is still feeling guttered after our past midnight
Machynlleth finish. Leaving him at the van though we take the toughest possible and head out onto the Beast, determined to push our mileage totaly for the whole trip as close to 200km as possible.
Neil's off like a rocket through the big suspension fork gateway and over the take no prisoners boulder heaps of the first section and even the first fireroad climb doesn't seem too bad. We peel off onto an awesome descent with tight cornered tops giving way to deep rock built water splashes that look a lot like the ones on the final descent back to the visitor centre. In fact I sudenly realise they look way too much like the ones from the final descent as we cross the road we just drove in on. Still maybe the trail splits right at the bottom to head off on the Beast. Ah, no it doesn't. We're not even back at the start. We're a couple of hundred metres climb below the visitor centre and we've wasted 20 minutes and precious energy. Let's just say my launguage isn't family friendly for a while, but while I'm ready to chuck it all in and wait for the cafe to open, Neil and Leigh are remarkably chipper. Soon we're back up at the now blinding obvious choice of Beast signs at the top. This time though we take the one labeled 'Outward' and hoik up over the ridgeline on rough rock singletrack.
The sun is rising over the trees into a totally cloudless sky now though amd the physio effect of those warm rays on shattered shoulders is amazing. We thunder up and down the rocky trails for Russ's photo call and then drop into a stack of exhilirating, adrenaline pumping switchback sections down to the river. a bit more breakfast on the go and tehn up the long drag climb to the next wooded singletrack. A few more runs for the camera and then we're off the leash and it feels fantastic.
Coed y Brenin is a lot more raw and rocky than the other more groomed trails and our skills and suspension are getting a proper workout as the three of us chase and race down each descent. Pink Heifer swoops, swings and contours into Big Doug and we're in the big ring ourselves, charging every short upslope, creating berms out of every bank and slithering round outside edges laughing our heads off.
100km of riding yesterday has totally dialled in our reactions and we're absolutely nailing it. You'd think we'd be knackered but somehow we're caught in a haze of infectious adrenaline and we're riding way better than we probably would have done if we started fresh.We spill out onto the short road climb at the ned of Big Doug spent, but absolutely buzzing. We're still in good spirits as we wind up the long curving singletrack, back across the road and then dive into a short section of trail I can remember from my first visit to
Coed y Brenin. The old natural trail on the upside has now been replaced with a tougher, rock armoured ribbon, but I can still remember Dafydd Davis telling us his plans for the area and thinking how incredible they sounded. Back then in 1997 it didn't really seem believable but now just over ten years on not only have CyB and other Welsh sites been transformed but Dafydd's vision has been transferred and translated all over the world.
Unfortunately it's still too early to drink a tea and toast salute to Mr Davis at the halfway cottage tea stop, but we grind on out to the furthest point of the trail on malt loaf and Go bars. Soon as we hit the singeltrack descent back in, though Jelly Babies become the weapon of choice, their instant chewy sweetness seemingly firing up skill sensors better than anything else we've got. More pumped, manualled, slid and launched natural singletrack mayhem follows and we're still riding way beyond normal limits as we hone our Coed Y Brenin reflexes to the ragged limit. In fact we're almost dissapointed as we spit out of the bottom, along the riverside and then back over the bridge for the part. As we drag up the final long climb though it's pretty obvious nearly 40km of riding already this morning, plus around 90km the previous day is taking it's toll. We each sit in our own little bubble of concentration, spinning the pedals round as best we can, gazing over to Snowdonia with sweat stung eyes for inspiration through the perspiration. Then we're there, back at the inward/outward signs we cocked up first time round, but with no doubt where to go now. We've broken the Beast, and we've broken the back of our epic too - and it feels good!
Tune in shortly (honest) for our next installment or get yourself a copy of the new What Mountain Bike magazine for a snack size version of the story, but proper nice pictures. Don't go reading the end and spoiling the blog though ;-)
Have a good weekend between the stormy bits!
Guy