NWAlps Welsh road trip: Coed Y Brenin

NWAlps Welsh road trip: Coed Y Brenin, a photo by rOcKeTdOgUk on Flickr.

todays ride was on the day that "stormageddon" was due to hit the UK, but i think it arrived early in Wales. I lay in bed in a caravan listening to the rain batter down on the roof and watching and feeling the walls move as high winds buffeted it, it felt like being on board ship, I was convinced I'd be suffering sea legs when i went out side. At that moment if anyone had suggested packing up and going home I'd have been first in the car.
We had arranged to meet 3 other guys at the trail centre cafe so bailing wasn't an option but still very tempting as, as we were waiting for Paul to swap a rear mech the heavens opening again and the rain bucketed down, luckily we found shelter and as soon as it eased off we hit the start of the MBR trail.
The MBR is graded black and right from the 1st metre it's a rocky, technical challenge, not helped by the rain which made smooth rocks even more slippery. You may remember a visit here last year where i stated i was really out of my comfort zone riding on these rocks and It felt good to be able to climb and descend the first section (I'd fallen off within 1/2 a mile last time), Thankfully the trees kept the wind at bay, we did get caught in a few heavy showers but it was warm and the trails were really good, I did walk one section (used taking photos as an excuse!) but attempted and cleared everything else, with names like "uncle Fester, False teeth and Pink Heffer" the trails came thick and fast but we were quite slow, numerous flat tyres and a broken chain didn't help and a large group (7) always moves slower so we started to run out of time and daylight so had to short cut back to the cars and excellent food in the cafe.
I'm glad i didn't have the opportunity to get in the car and go home that morning as i rode better than i expected to, it was challenging, still not comfortable but nevertheless very enjoyable, made even better by riding with some great guys too
ride 132
11 miles
total 2752
commute 1200