It was while at an MTB orienteering event organised by Trailbreak that I first took notice of their weekend breaks. Trailbreak hold a series of weekend bashes in MTB havens around the UK, from the Peak District to Dartmoor. They offer full board accomodation and guided trips along the best trails in the area.
Myself and Adam, a fellow mountain biker and Animal Inspector with an unusual fetish for farm animals decided to try the Black Mountains trip, due to it's relative proximity (2 ˝ hour drive, 3 ˝ in damn traffic) and the lure of the pamplet description - 'long steep climbs' and 'not for the faint hearted'.
We left on a Friday afternoon and by 7pm, we were only 3 miles away, but somehow got completely lost. Eventually we found Llanbedr, a small village outside Crickhowell, and then proceeded to our accomodation high up on a hillside. We then joined 25 other mountain bikers in the evening at the local pub (for local people), and enjoyed a good old favourite - the cheap and nasty garnished lasagne and chips along with a few beers. The rest of the night was spent at the bunkhouse drinking and exchanging stories with fellow bikers.
In our en-suite room, we were sharing with two men, from nearby Llanbedr (a mere 1 ˝ miles away!!!) They claimed they wanted breaks from their loved ones, but judging by their fascinating bowel problems, their other halfs probably threw them out. Without going into too much detail, they tended to fart a lot, making our room particulary toxic in the mornings.
Anyway, Saturday morning started with cereal and a cooked breakfast and by 10am everyone was ready to go. There were the lycra-clad superfit to the joggers/Millets anoraks to the Ron Hill Fan Club present. The weather was unusually good for Wales, with clear blue skies and almost a spring feel to the air. The warmup to the day, was a five mile road to our first piece of off-road - a 50 minute climb/slog to a snow capped mountain. It was one of those long climbs where you can see your final destination from miles off…..which was nice…. From the top though, the views were magnificant, to the north, the hills of mid-wales, to the west looking towards the Brecon Beacons. At the summit, a rambling couple were making their way up, probably expecting peace and quiet, only to find 25 screaming mountain bikers lounging about.
The descent was a beauty. Top speed for me was 32mph, the descent was a case of letting go of the brakes and holding on for dear life. At the bottom there was a convientely placed pub where we stopped for drinks and lunch.
The iterinary for the afternoon was simple. You could choose between 2 routes to get back. The first was a fairly easy route, which involved another up & down mountain job and the the hard route. I of course, foolishly went for the hard route. This entailed a 45 minute bike on shoulders scramble, stopping every 5 steps for a rest. As we reached the summit, it was soon clear that we were going to be riding on snow. Once at the top, nobody stopped for a rest as the the temperature had plummeted, due to a biting wind chill factor of minus 200 degrees C (slight over exageration). Everyone proceeded for what seemed like a 3 or 4 mile descent. It wasn't superb, very stony, and a gradual downhill, but at least it was a break from the previous ascent. By now the sunshine had disappeared making way for glorious hill mist and rain, making a final 8 mile road route quite misarable. Once at the foot of the hill of the bunkhouse, nobody could be arsed to ride up it, and so walked. Some people even waited at the bottom, so their friends could get up and bring their vehicles back down to pick them up!!!!
After an exhausting day in the saddle, in the evening we were treated to a delicious 3 course meal, complete with wine. At this point I would like to congralutate Phil Harrison and his team for the meal. They had guided the riders the entire day, and once back, whilst most of us had collapsed in our beds, they went straight to work to prepare the meals. We salute you.
The next morning we woke to hear pouring rain outside….D'OH After a good old fry-up we were soon ready to go. While everyone was complaining about their shoes being soaking wet, I was sat gloating as I had used overshoes on the previous day, ignoring comments being made, that I looked like a penguin in disguise. Still I got my own back.
Annoyingly, the warm-up was the road route I had taken to get back to base (a full 8 mile uphill) on the Saturday. To my amazement, I stayed near the front with the ultra fit riders, and for some reason this trend stayed with me the entire day. Anyway we entered Forestry Commission tracks and gradually went uphill. After 1 hour of climbing we were at the same level as the hill fog and low cloud, making everyone even more wet (apart from my feet). More climbing ensured and soon we were 'going over the top'. What none of us realised, was that there was a force 10 gale blowing over. Once on top, everyone was blown over. Young, fit and light riders (i.e me) were blown right over, and just riding the bike in a straight line was a challenge, while fat, over 30's carried on as if nothing was wrong. As we rode along the ridge, I experienced what would turn out to be my only mechanical problem of the entire weekend. I hit a rock, which dislodged the quick release on the back wheel, causing me to stop very quickly.
After a suicidal downhill through very rocky terrain and very, very steep gradients combined with a slipperery surface, the route led us straight back to the bunkhouse. Back at base, it was a case of having a quick shower, jet-washing the bike finito. Time to go home……sob…sob……
And to sum it all up - Top quality riding in a very friendly atmosphere and at a bargain basement price.
Trailbreak hold many breaks around the country including: Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons, Wye Valley, Dartmoor, Elan Valley and The Peak District
The company also offer Alpine holidays during the summer at affordable prices, which include full board accomodation and guided mountain biking (price does not include transport to get there or extra outdoor activities)
They also organise off-road orienteering events in the south of England called Fat Tyre Challenges. They are a good laugh and must be tried.
For more information visit www.Trailbreak.co.uk
Last Updated 05-09-2000
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