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Red
Bull Weekday Closure From 17th November 2003
hi all,
breaking news hot off the forest floor, from Monday the 17th of
November, the red bull and sport routes are to be closed from Monday to
Friday while tree felling goes on around snap, crackle and pop and the singletrack section that follows. the contractors should be out of there within three weeks, and the trails should be ready for the
Christmas rush. there is also a closure on the red bull and sport, with a
diversion on the Karrimor in late January, the tree's will be thinned by heart of darkness, making this bit heart of less darkness than before!
anyway that's all the info. just please warn all riders that the work will be done quicker so long as they observe signs and stay out of working areas,
the last thing we want is any machine-biker accident, because its still a
working forest.
many thanks,
Mark Mortimer,
mtbranger@coedybrenin
Storm
Damage at Coed y Brenin blocks trails.
Severe storms
in North Wales wreaked havoc on many of the trails at CyB. Whole
swathes of trees were knocked flat and left blocking trails on the
Pink Heifer and elsewhere. The Ant Trail in particular was blocked as
was the entrance to the Plunge Pool descent. Exclusive pictures below.
Check out the full screen versions to see a 100 foot pine tree snapped
in half!
Yet
more Singletrack!
A superb new
singletrack section now links the Dragon's Tail (MBR/Pink Heifer) to
the next singletrack section, completely bypassing the riverside road!
This sweet rolling section is a climb in places, but try it in
reverse, then you'll know which way is a climb. To get on it simply
make the obvious left instead of right (MBR) or straight on (Pink
Heifer) when you reach the felled open hillside section. The trail
passes over a well made wooden bridge then rolls up and down along the
hillside in a way which feels great to ride. The trail must be a mile
long and well worth including in the Heifer or MBR.
New
singletrack sections open at CyB
Several new sections of
singletrack have been opened at Coed y Brenin. If you really want to
know what they're like see the videos here.
The new sections are on the MBR and Karrimor routes. The best, to be
known as 'Tomb Rider' (HaHa, Ed.) is on the same hillside as the
Flightpath. There is also the new continuation of the Flightpath
itself to be known as 'Flightpath Continuation'? (Not so snappy). We
have footage of this to be posted soon. We'll get video ot 'Tomb
Rider' on our next trip, rain stopped play on our last visit.
Pink
Heifer accurate route guide now online!
The
bridges have been down since July so we went looking for an
alternative route. Boy did we find one! Shorter than the original it
has even more downhill singletrack with over 3000 feet of the UK's
best descending. Print out the new ultra-precise and up to date route
guide from here: Pink Heifer
Route Description. Read the story at The New
Pink Heifer.
Stop
Press: Tree down blocking Pink Heifer
There is
(another) large tree down across the first section of the Plunge Pool
descent on the Pink Heifer. Those who know the route will just hop
over it. If you're riding the route for the first time you may think
you've gone the wrong way. We've added a note to the route description
so check it out. Daffyd and Co. will soon have it chopped up.
Bridges
wiped out on MBR and Pink Heifer trails: Latest from Dafydd Davies:
The
footbridge reconstruction is now completed, almost a shame, we quite
enjoyed it at 30 degrees...
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Pink
Heifer now re-routed and includes even more singletrack!
The Pink
Heifer is the best of the rides at CyB by a country mile. This is not
to say the other routes aren't good, they are. It's horses for courses
though and the Heifer strings together more top quality singletrack
descents than any of the others. It's fair to say there is no fire-road descending on the new MTBB version of the Heifer.
Almost every metre of over 3000 feet of descending is on perfect
singletrack. As if all this wasn't enough it's also the best 'wet
trail' ride we know of. There are a few muddy spots on the worst days,
but there is always high speed descending at CyB. The route has many 'natural' trails and passes waterfalls rarely seen by CyB
visitors. The 16 miles of the Heifer are un-marked, but can be followed
easily from the MTB Britain guide Here it is now! Pink Heifer
Route Description.
New Tea Garden opens
on Karrimor / Pink Heifer!
A new
tea garden has opened on one of the most distant (and thirsty) parts
of the Karrimor and Pink Heifer routes. Called Dolfrwynog it's on the
left of the road just before the infamous tarmac climb. Christine and
Graham serve drinks and snacks including top quality chocolate cake
and home made Barra Brith (a sort of ginger fruit cake).
You can also fill your Camelbaks and bottles with local mountain water
from an outside tap. If you don't stop here you're a prize mug and
they don't pay me to say so. Like all stops in the forest in Summer,
beware the midges! (Now subsided) effective repellant can be bought from the CyB shop
and it's worth every penny. Dolfrwynog Tea Garden is closed on
Wednesday and Thursday. All other days they are open 11-6.
Please
note: if you are organising a large group planning to stop at the
Dolfrwynog Tea Garden, give them a call on 01341 440 239 and let
them know. Stocking enough fresh cake can be difficult when large
groups turn up unannounced. Don't let your gang get caught in the
middle of nowhere during a local cake shortage! Website Dolfrwynog.com
Dolfrwynog
Tea Garden
for more details click here
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New section of
singletrack opens on Karrimor!
There
is a new section of trail open on the Karrimor, soon after Pop drops
you on the forest road. Turn left here as usual then follow the sign
to the right soon after for a new section of trail that runs down to
the tarmac (missing out the cattle gridded section) Fans of
'natural' trail will be pleased to hear that this is 'unimproved'.
We reckon it's a little gem.
Coed
y Brenin Visitor Centre
Tea and caramel cake all round please Sian!
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Improvements
to top sections of Hermon reduce difficulty
Trail surface repairs on the upper section of the infamous Hermon
descent (the big one on the Karrimor/Pink Heifer) have much reduced
the size of the drop offs. Those of us who have ridden this trail
through the Winter will remember the size of these! Big drop-off aficionados
wait for the winter rains to see them return...Contra-wise
at the moment the drop-off at the end of the third section is quite
a bit steeper. Brilliant. (Seen below in earlier, less vertical form).
A chicken run has now developed to the left of this drop, shame on you
guys! 
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