Well I'm back now. Nursing a fractured toe I received mountain biking in Snowdonia. I came off on an easy section of the Marin trail (section 50-51 specifically).
Anyway I can put it another way, there really isnt one I DONT recommend. There are 2 cycle hire places in Llanberis. Tan Y Draig was where I first hired a MTB. I got a bike with a noisy BB. Rode great tho, and had excellent brakes. The squeaky BB would have drove me nuts on my own bike, but this was a rented bike so I couldn't have cared less.
The next day I tried renting a bike from a shop a few doors down. Can't remember the name (something "frames) in Llanberis. Anyway judging by the state of the bikes they rent out, they dont get much use. Mine was absolutely immaculate. Cycled up and down the Llanberis Pass and not a single squeak or rub. I also did yesterdays ride through the Llanberis quarries in the reverse direction.
Beics Betws: First bike I tried was too small, was given another. Rides lovely. Mentioned a squeaking sound coming from drivetrain. Mechainic says "thats pedals, nothin I can do bout them". "No bother" I said "S'longs it's not safety critical or mechanical".
Truth be told that squeaky pedal really done my head in going up the long and boring climb to the start of my MTB route. The squaking did ease off after that tho.
The Marin trail? I'm not good at describing things. Suffice to say its RED difficaulty, and similar to the downhill stony stuff I'm used to back home. I was out about 2.5 to 3 hours. However I was literally on the last bit of the marin trail when I came a cropper. The bike just flipped while I was speeding down an easy section of the trail. Bike went flying. I hit the deck. Bit of blood, bit of bruising.
Thought F.A of it so got bike out of bushes and finished the rest of the trail. Upon getting back to bike shop my toe was starting to play up. Upon getting back to my hotel I found I could not even bend my big toe. "no problem" I thought. "will nip down the docs (there is one just a few doors down from my hotel) and then off to the pub". My pub plans were scuppered when doc said I should go to hospital for X-ray.
Bollocks! Turned out I had a fractured toe, wasn't even aware my foot was even injured when I picked myself up after accident. Just another reminder that symptoms don't fully manifest strait away after accidents.
Still have no idea what sent me flying, I came off on a relatively smooth bit. Put it down to running out of talent lol. I was slightly on the brakes, maybe the front one was enough to throw me off, felt very sudden tho. I have went over the handlebars before due to a car pulling out, and me slamming on. This felt different.
Will I go MTBing again? Hell yeah! My physical injuries are but a scratch compared to what would happen to my mental health if I were to not take any risks at all!
