Thursday morning saw us hit the Cli-machx trail at Machnylleth. It was very wet, but the trail stood up fantastically and was great fun to ride. We particularly enjoyed the last descent, the best we’d ridden so far this trip!
After riding we called into The Holey Trail to thank them for suggesting we ride that. A very well stocked shop, with friendly staff we’d definitely recommend a visit to anyone riding in the area.
On our way down south we called into Summit Cycles in Aberystwyth. Another great shop, and a team who got us excited about all the great trails in the area. We were very tempted to try the Summit trail, a quick (but we were assured very fun blast) but thought it best not to turn up late to my Uncle and Aunt’s house! We’ll be back before too long i reckon.
And lots of thanks to Chris, Chris, Emma and Natasha for putting us up and feeding us exceedingly well!
After a couple of great days we woke up to grey skies and rain 
We’d checked the weather forecast so knew to get up early to make the most of the morning. Kitted out with a map we were off and out round the Dragon’s Back. Another very impressive trail, it stood up to the large quantities of rain amazingly well. There was no mud, just the odd puddle. The fun fast swoopy sections were mixed in with some fantastic technical pieces of trail.
Soup and Welsh Rarebit in the café warmed us up and we had a good chat down in the bike shop. We decided to cut the day short and head down to Macynlleth for the night and rest up for a big day of riding the next day.
After a bit of catch up in the local internet café we headed straight to llandegla. First stop was the café for coffee and an award winning bacon bap, plus a chat with Pete from 2Stage bikes. Our friend Ben from Torico stocks their bikes and introduced us at the Cycle Show, telling us we needed to have a go, and we didn’t need pushing!
He gave us a freeride model, the Zed 8 to try and we headed off. We took it round the red route, with the add-on black. It was pretty heavy work on the ups, but awesome on the downs. A perfect bike for lift assisted riding in Morzine.
We were also very impressed with the trails we rode. Obviously very well built, they stood up to the recent rains and were still in top condition. We can also highly recommend the bacon bap, cheese on toast, and best breakfast in wales (well there were three of us!)….oh and the cake’s good too.
Early the next morning we headed up to the Singletrack offices in Calderdale. We heard a rumour they served the best coffee of all bike mags, and can confirm that it is pretty great coffee – made even better by fresh éclairs and apple turnovers. They then sorted us out with a pretty fun route to fill the afternoon. A little bit muddy, but some great bits of trail, fantastic views and a great way to spend an afternoon.
The evening was spent in a great pub in Hoole Cheshire with some more friends Gemma and Andrew. And yet more great food.
We left London on Sunday and spent the night with my parents in Bury St Edmunds, then headed up to the Santa Cruz distributors, Jungle near Harrogate. They should us the new Nomad and Blur LT II. The new bikes look great and we can’t wait to hear them. We’ve pretty nearly firmed up details of next year’s hire and demo fleet and will get details up asap. We then headed up to Thirsk to see our friends Liz and John and their playful dog Joey!
We’ve got the dates sorted for the 2009 mountain bike trips to Morocco. The first will run on the 2-10th May and the second on the 24th October -1st November. 8 day holiday, 6 days riding awesome singletrack, an incredible experience.
Find out more here, watch the video, look at the photos and get on the phone!
We’ve stayed on in London following the Cycle Show and while it might be lacking in mountains we’ve still been getting lots of riding in! Sadly no mountain biking but I’d forgotten how great a way to get around a city, a bike is.
We’re rectifying the lack of Mountain biking next week when we head up to Lancashire, onto North Wales, looping down to get a quick ride in South Wales and onto the Blandford Forum Bike Park. Phew, and then it’s back to London before heading back to France!
Published by Guy on October 13, 2008
in Biking.
Just back from the bike show and we’ve got plenty to chew over. Met some great people there (hello if you were one of them!). Just a shame we had to be stuck inside over such a lovely weekend.
Oh well - we’ll be making up for it in the coming weeks - take a look at the map below to see where we’re planing on going! It’s gonna be a busy couple of weeks!
We’ve had a busy day setting up for the Cycle Show which begins tomorrow in Earls Court. After battling the London traffic today we’re looking forward to heading out on our bikes tomorrow morning!
If you’re at the show come by to our stand to say hello and find out about the new mountain bike holidays we have planned for next year, and our Cycle Show special offer…..
The 2009 Megavalanche in l’ Alpe d’ Huez will take place July 6-12, 2009. The organisers have just let us know that there will be a new format this year - more to be revealed over the winter!
Registrations will open on January 12, 2009 so get that date in the diary. We already have our chalets confirmed and are starting to take bookings so get in touch asap if you want a top notch place to stay.
Find out about our trips here.
