bikes and things

Graham kindly organised a weekend in Wales which has been in the diary for ages now due to needing to get a booking at the hugely popular Old Skool Mountainbiking lodge.

We left on the Friday morning which was great to avoid the after work dash. We met Graham at the services on the M1 and headed up to Cannock to get a loop in there.

Arriving at Cannock we met Graham’s mates Matt and Mark and did the usual faff in the car park and got on it. Within five minutes I was completely soaked in sweat. It was so warm in the forest and a merino t-shirt was clearly the wrong idea. As is usual with Cannock it takes a while to get used to the terrain, which in some ways is similar to Swinley. Those rounded polished pebbles always seem to worry me but after a while we got used to it. We stopped regularly and at one point chatted to a guy who had fallen off the little north shore section into some stinky mud. It’s hard not to smile but he had seen the funny side fortunately which was good as most of the left hand side of his body was covered in mud.

At one point you have to make a choice between a longer and shorter trail. I looked at it with Matt T and we agreed on the longer one but somehow took the shorter turn. We were back at the car park pretty quickly and soon realised the mistake. This then begged the question of what to do next as a 10k loop round Cannock wasn’t really enough to satisfy. Graham and his mate Mark did the 10k again and Matt, Matt T and myself went out to do the full 25k loop which involved more sweat and airless riding in the forest. Although entirely worth it for some of the descents even though the braking bumps had become steps. At what point do braking bumps become drop offs?

After some food we headed off to the lodge via the most beautiful road I have ever been on. Matt spent most of it hanging out of the window taking pictures. Whilst the drive was enjoyable it was pretty hard to not look at the view so we pulled in and had a good look at the glory of the landscape beneath us.

After that it wasn’t long to get to Sian and Daffyd’s place (The Old School House). As usual we were greeted to a very friendly arrival and tea/coffee/beer etc. We had planned to have a bit of a ride that evening on the road bikes but instead settled down to relax for a bit and then headed to the pub for dinner. Our extra 25k loop at Cannock had put the schedule back a bit. We didn’t manage more than three pints before heading back to get an early night.

I got up at 7.30 with Matt who wanted to go running up to a little wild swimming area further up the mountain. I rode up there with Mark but by the time we’d pumped our tyres up and got out we’d missed the two Matts and completely cocked up the directions. As it was raining we came back and got on with breakfast. Reviewing the GPS log when we got in we realised we had been within a few hundred metres of them which was a real shame. However it was a bit damp and it was good to get back and get warm and drink coffee whilst waiting for breakfast.

Breakfast was superb as usual and reluctantly we headed out to Coed-Y in the rain expecting the usual damp ride. I bought a cheap jacket in the shop and Matt T grabbed some overshoes. They had apparently been having a good day selling wet weather gear! Matt went for a 13 mile run instead of riding but we headed out on The Beast. The rain soon subsided and jackets were too warm as it was still hot and muggy. The damp formed up this incredible mist over the valleys we were riding around.

The trails were riding really well and The Beast has now become one of my favourite trails overall. The rocky drops and technical sections really great as was Fester and the Adams Family. It was great to fly down them and we hardly saw a soul round the trail. I even cleared the rooty technical uphill section that had become my nemesis on recent trips. We stopped at the little cottage for a bite to eat but bizarrely were one of only two groups there, the other being a couple. Normally it’s rammed so maybe the wet weather had scared everyone off.

One highlight was seeing an Owl fly a few feet in front of us and then sit in a tree and watch us. Amazing to see one during the day and also that close.

We skipped the final climb as the Beginning of the End was shut and it just meant a boring climb on fire road for nothing. We got back to the school house and had a shower and got changed before heading out on a route I’d previously prepared for the road bikes. I’d run it past Sian and Dafyyd first to check it wasn’t terrible and that I hadn’t made some obvious mistakes. I managed to convince both Matt’s to join me.

For the first part it mainly consisted on non-stop climbing on a single track road. I soon got to that point of no more gears. That dreaded place where you know you can’t just click through to one more like you usually can on a mountainbike. So nothing for it but to get out of the saddle and get grinding away at it. Matt didn’t seem overly convinced as per below.

Soon enough though we crested the top of the hill (mountain?) and were treated to some incredible scenery as we freewheeled down. We had also seen a few massive birds of prey as well as the usual many sheep. Having done lots of pretty technical riding at Coed-Y this seemed far more scary riding down a tiny little road with a gravel bit in the middle and stones and sheep shit all over it. Gently did it.

This continued for a while longer and involved opening and closing lots of gates as well as being barked at by a dog at each and every farm we passed. It really was the most incredible scenery and it felt like hardly anyone ever came up here. It felt like what you imagine road riding should actually be about, not a loop out to Kent or a few laps or Regents or Richmond park. It felt properly isolated and a proper challenge.

After a while we ended up on the main road briefly before turning off to do more climbing. This just seemed even more painful and the descents that followed were even scarier due to green slime on the road in places. We ended up in a bit of a chain gang to get past the next main road section and then back off through a few picturesque little villages and into the back of Coed-Y-Brenin. We ended up on the same gravel fire roads we’d ridden earlier and then up and over slightly to get back to the School House. Whilst it was ‘only 50k‘ it felt fairly epic due to the amount of climbing – 1100m or so. I’d imagine you’d get so fit living round there and riding that sort of terrain all the time on or off road.

Anyway, back for another shower and then off for more beer and as much food as possible before bed.

Next morning I had wanted to get that wild swim in. Having got up 30mins too late I ended up driving the van up there with Matt (and his mug of coffee) instead of cycling. It really is a beautiful location and Matt T was already in doing a few lengths. The water was brown and peaty but still clear. As I put my toes in I could see little fish around the bottom in the rocks.

It was painfully cold at first and I was gasping for air but once I’d got through the initial pain and shock it felt incredible.

After a few lengths I got out to head back for breakfast. The feeling you get on your skin after a swim in that water is amazing. It’s so refreshing and I was fully awake by that point. Both Matt’s ran back whilst I drove.

After that it was packing up and off to Llandegla which didn’t disappoint as usual. The first climb was fairly arduous following the mega cycling day before and it was still hot and clammy. The trails were in superb condition and riding really nice and fast. After that we tucked into the BBQ at the cafe, oogled the bikes in the shop and headed back to London.

You always forget what a hell of a long way it is back. It’s generally a 550 mile round trip which is a hell of a lot of driving even split over a weekend. One of the nicest things about the weekend though was the mixture of activities rather than just a few hours at a trail centre and then beers. Taking the road bikes and having a swim all seemed like a good idea and will definitely be happening again. I’ve already started looking out for more wild swimming opportunities and hope to have a dip in a spot I’ve found in Hay on Wye in a few weekends with Emma. I wonder if she’ll let me take the road bike?