Category: Rides

I think when you imagine going on a riding trip in Wales you think of beautiful valleys, sheep and the occasional country estate. The route to the Glyncorrwg mountain bike centre (the start of the Whyte’s Level trail) was not like this. It included busy roads, boarded up council houses and modified Novas.

It wasn’t all bad however, after exiting the town we were quickly in a wide, steep valley, and soon after that were sampling the facilities of the visitor centre, in my case two slabs of toast with baked beans that were finished by Simon – who had already eaten a fair sized packed lunch.

After everyone was fed we returned to the vehicles to sort out our bikes and dress accordingly for the gloomy day and light drizzle, with Fin generously lending three of us Marin bikes (which were superb in my formerly anti-Marin opinion).

We then set off along the river to the first climb, which was 45 minutes on rooty, rocky singletrack, broken by short sections of sweeping descent. We stopped frequently which gave everyone an opportunity to recover and an opportunity to be demoralised by Chris still smiling after every climb – he seemed to be unaffected by the effort it took us.

Despite the climbing being as fun as is possible I think we (maybe not Chris!) were more excited to reach the top and to know that we would mainly be descending from then onwards, the most memorable descent being the black route which took you over boardwalk and jumps before some steep rock chutes, where Mark became entangled in his bike after crashing on a steep 180 degree corner.

From this point we were descending most of the way to the end, with Bob always easily pulling away from me despite her claims that I would be faster. Rob was also happier on the descents – his skate shoes and baggy clothing more suitable for a long downhill that featured berms and tabletops, than the climbs he had earlier mashed up.

Finally – after Fin had jet washed the bikes clean and Andrew and I had braved the ice cold showers – we were back eating again in the visitor centre. All that remained was the drive home: Mark carrying all the bikes in his van, Fin with his new flashing light on his bonnet and Andrew trying every radio station in South Wales in our quest to sing along to Take That.

15 turned out for the first BCC XC ride, 11 men and 4 women. 10 of us are BCC members and 5 who are prospective members.

The day started with a quick walk around the allotment before we all headed off around Longleat.

With a broad spread of fitness and ability we could have split up into two groups, instead we decided to keep the social element and simply stop a little more frequently to allow us all to regroup. I set the pace at the front while Ian rode at the back of the pack ensuring that nobody got lost.

Other than a puncture and some shifter confusion the day was incident free with even the weather on our side!

We stopped for lunch at the Horse and Groom where the food was hot and beer was cold; so we were all happy.

After a few (chips and beers) we meandered back to the allotment via a river crossing and one or two horse poo covered climbs.

Some pushed the last climb whilst others mashed up but everyone made it back in one piece.

The day was a great success with everyone loving the ride and enjoying the company.

Special thanks to Ian who organised and ran the day, he rode the whole route (at first light) to ensure it was all ride able given the recent bad weather. That’s dedication.

look out for more BCC rides in the not so distant future…we’ve even negotiated a deal with the Horse and Groom so that we can pre order food; we will arrange for it to be ready upon our arrival and will get 1 out of every 10 meals for free (oh and they do fish finger sandwiches)!

As versatile mountain bikers you will be aware of the fun that can be had riding Cross Country.

As such on Saturday the 25th of October, the BCC will be hosting a XC ride.

The ride will be an opportunity to ride with members of the club you haven’t met yet.

The event is open to non-members too, so please invite friends and family or if a non member yourself – just come along.

Ian will be leading the ride and will plan a route that has options for all, on the trails and paths surrounding Longleat, and he assures me the pace will not be too fast.

The Ride will start at the allotment, meeting at 10:00 and will finish around 15:00. This will include a pub stop at the Horse and Groom, West Woodlands at around midday. For those of you that don’t know the the pub, it has a beer garden, welcomes families, does a range of good food and also (more importantly) good beer.

So who is interested?

E-mail ian.crook@blackcanoncollective.co.uk for more details.