The story so far..........

Cloud9Trails is now in its sixth year of operation. Since the maiden run in cold and drizzly conditions at Coed-y-Brenin, I've have run weekends all over the UK from North Wales to the North Downs. I've run a mixture of guided group rides, both on 'man made' trails and public rights of way, and skills based tuition, both to group and individuals.

Coed-y-Brenin, Snowdonia

Guided rides
Intermediate/Expert
26 and 27 January 2002

19 Goretex clad hardy bikers met in a carpark, in a forest, in deepest North Wales. The bad weather fairies were annoyed at being woken so early on a Saturday morning and so it rained. A lot. Then a bit more. So we went for a ride anyway. Rocks. Roots. Drop offs. Steps. Gravel. Mud. Water. We rode all morning, then stopped at the excellent on site cafe, and ate our own body weight in Bwns en Dost (Beans on Toast Welsh style) and flapjack. With the bonk narrowly overted and new tracks to ride, we hit the trail again. Newly constructed sections of rock strewn singletrack wove a sinuous path across the mountainside. Steep climbs and muddy slogs paid homage to the weather gods, who duly smiled and obliged with an afternoon of early spring sunshine, and yet more sections of floaty, rollercoaster like singletrack. An evening spent in a local hostelry discussing the days events, filling our faces with great food and drinking sherbets was the perfect end to a good day.

Day 2 dawned grey, but dry. A lap of the epic Karrimor circuit was planned. However the bad luck fairy and his friends mechanical gremlin and roger raincloud came out to play. So we did half a lap of the epic Karrimor circuit, and then turned tail and limped back to base. A wet, tired group sat in the cafe drinking tea and decided to call it quits for the day.

 

Peak District, Derbyshire

Guided rides
Intermediate/Expert
2 and 3 February 2002

With doom-laden weather forecasts of 70mph winds and driving rain, we nearly decided to stay in bed. However, the weather improved and a cheerful group of 13 bikers set out on a loop of some of the Peak Districts finest trails. A healthy dose of skill tuition covered the art of riding steep, loose climbs, mud, stepped rocky descents, drop offs and lake-like puddles. After a welcome energy boost at Hope's finest purveyor of bacon rolls and apple pie, a climb of Mam Tor's broken road loomed. The deteriorating weather didn't prove too much of a problem and the incessant drizzle lubricated the mud nicely, upping the fun quotient on the singletrack climb passed Mam Tor and down to Hollins Cross. A choice of fantastic descents plummeted us back down to Edale. The sun came out as were packing the cars and aided the bike fettling and recuperation process. An evening spent in Hopes finest eating and drinking establishment, complete with a fine range of sherbets and top food to boot, topped off an excellent day. The general feeling was that everyone had learned a lot, and the skill level had noticeably improved from the previous outing.

Day 2 saw the group rendezvous at a sunny but chilly Ladybower Reservoir. The obligatory killer first climb led up through the forest and out onto a lush green moor. A lesson on riding ruts and how to avoid the dreaded gully-suck, was followed by steep rocky descents, technical climbing, a fast blast along an ancient drove road, an introduction to riding boulder strewn trails, a short tarmac climb and was topped off by arguably the best winter downhill in the Peak District. A handily positioned cafe stop attempted to replace the carbohydrates burned off that morning, but also signaled the end for some people who had pressing matters such as football matches or 300 mile drives home to contend with.
A compact and bijout group struggled to overcome post lunch apathy, and rode back out into the sunshine, but also into a headwind. The final grassy climb proved to be an energy sapping killer, but groveling our way to the top was rewarded by a screamer of a descent back down to the carpark and a well deserved cup of tea and a wodge of cake.

 

Peak District, Derbyshire

Guided rides
Intermediate/Expert
16 and 17 November 2002

We rode in the undisputed mecca of mountain biking in the UK and hope to have shown all those that attended some of the hidden treats and old favourites that make this the best place to ride for the weekend.

 

Robin Hood's Forest

Tuition based
Beginner
23 and 24 November 2002

Clipstone Forest is a perfect area for novice or beginner mountain bikers to learn the basic skills which help to get the most out of mountain biking. We progressed from basic skills to riding twisty singletrack (including the infamous bombhole section) by the end of the weekend.

 

Snowdonia Singletrack

Day 1 Main Guided ride / Day 2 Tuition based on request
Intermediate/Expert
14 and 15 December 2002

The plan was to do a 'proper' ride on Saturday (using the fantastic network of local bridleways, RUPPs, disused quarry tracks and some Forestry Commission trails - quite hardcore) , which we stuck to despite the weather. Well done Duncan! Sunday was based around the newly created Marin trail to the north-east of ByC. The trail builders really have done there stuff as the wet conditions hardly effected the trails. A real joy to ride, and one of the reasons IMBA awarded Wales an A- for the quality of it's trails.

 

Welsh Marches

Guided rides
Intermediate/Expert
4 and 5 January 2003

The Welsh borders around Radnor include some fantastic undiscovered mountain biking. We rode wooded singletrack, moorland landrover tracks, steep gravelled descents and smooth grass uplands. This part of the country has an undeveloped rural feel to it, and the clear days gave us views from the hill tops of 6 counties. An abundance of post-ride pubs, with roaring fires helped the weekend to flow better.

 

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