Newbie North Wales

[Jim77]

I am looking to get into MTBing. i live in north wales and i was wondering if anyone could recommend some good newbie routes. i am pretty unfit at present so i am looking for stuff with a minimum of climbs to begin with.

cheers.
jim

 

[john59]

I am looking to get into MTBing. i live in north wales and i was wondering if anyone could recommend some good newbie routes. i am pretty unfit at present so i am looking for stuff with a minimum of climbs to begin with.

cheers.
jim

http://ridetheclwyds.com/rideclwyds/the_routes.asp


John

 

[Jim77]

great thanks.

 

[bonj2]

coed y brenin (rules)
penmachno (never been there but apparently very good)

 

[bonj2]

edit: dunno what coed y brenin's like for beginners, you did say "newbie" routes. It has got blue and green routes though, which I'm sure are pretty good, also the 'tawr/temtiwr' trail isn't THAT hard. Also try llandegla which is near ruthin/

 

[Jim77]

Great thanks.

When it says 'technical' what does it mean exactly? I assume it means rocky bits does it?

I am more worried about hard climbs to be honest as i know my fitness isn't great. so any routes that are good for weaklings would be best! Would quite like something scenic too.

 

[bonj2]

Great thanks.

When it says 'technical' what does it mean exactly? I assume it means rocky bits does it?

basically yeah.

 

[Globalti]

My advice: go and buy one of these; the country is a maze of good rideable trails:

 

[ratty2k]

Llandegla is IMO an ideal place for starting out. You have a big choice in routes, the climbs are not too bad and you can go there for a while till you gewt used to the plcae and then go on the red routes for a while. Once fitness has improved go do the blacks-
Plus a decent cafe and bikeshop at the end.
Not been for a loooong time myself, but thats only because I've been riding natural tails, saving the trail centers for winter when it gets too boggy up in the Dark Peak.

 

[maurice]

'tawr/temtiwr' trail isn't THAT hard. Also try llandegla which is near ruthin/

Isn't the tawr the ex-red bull trail? That is so not a beginner trail.

Llandegla is a good tip though, ideal for a beginner. If you live the other end of North Wales the Marin trail (near Betws y Coed) isn't too bad for beginners and has some nice sections.

 

[Jim77]

Isn't the tawr the ex-red bull trail? That is so not a beginner trail.

Llandegla is a good tip though, ideal for a beginner. If you live the other end of North Wales the Marin trail (near Betws y Coed) isn't too bad for beginners and has some nice sections.

Thanks.
Which is the busier centre Marin or Llandegla? What are the easier routes like at the Marin trail?

 

[maurice]

The Marin trail is just that - one trail. It's a halfway house between Llandegla and Coed y Brenin in terms of difficulty. (If you forget the easy peasy green family trails)

Marin is usually a lot quieter as Llandegla gets a lot of riders from Midlands / North West.

It's good though, some nice sections. I prefer Penmachno, but that is a bit more intimidating for beginners due to some of the singletrack only having half the recommended number of sides.

 

[barq]

Isn't the tawr the ex-red bull trail? That is so not a beginner trail.

Yep, that's the one - it's been slightly re jigged. Generally CYB has become rockier than it used to be. That's good in the sense that there is less mud/erosion, but does tend to make it slightly more technical (by cross country standards).

Its also worth saying that many of the trails start with granny-stoppers. Much of the climbing on the Tawr is early on - it gets it out the way and ensures a certain base level of fitness.