Marin MTB Trail, North Wales
No one managed to make the Ystwyth-MTB end of month last weekend so John and I rescheduled and headed off to North Wales this weekend. The original plan was to make the most of the better weather and go on Saturday, but John had to re-arrange so we headed off on Sunday in the pouring rain instead.
The rain was terrible so instead of heading to Penmachno as planned we decided that the Marin Trail would be a better option as it is more rocky and armoured so wouldn’t be quite so muddy and boggy. It was a shame we couldn’t do Penmachno as that is one of my favourite trails in Wales but I hadn’t been to the Marin Trail for a while so it was good to do that as well.
It was still raining quite a bit when we got there but by the time we had set off it had eased off to a drizzle and to be honest once we were off and riding we barely noticed it. The ground was pretty wet of course, but we would have got wet anyway so a little bit of rain was no problem. In fact it was probably better to ride in the rain on Sunday as it meant I’d got some gardening done the day before. I’d rather mountain-bike in the rain than garden!
The trail was good, John was a little tired so was struggling come the end, but we both had a good ride. There were quite a few other people out on the trail too that we passed as we went around. My bike was going well, the new cable routing seemed to work a treat and gear changes were smoother and slicker than thy’d ever been. I’d also put a new chain and saddle on it and everything felt fine. I think I’m getting used to the revised geometry of the new frame as well. Although my lack of time on the bike shows in my confidence (or lack of it) over the rough stuff.
All in all a good day out in the hills of North Wales. Unfortunately I accidentally stopped my GPS at one point on the ride and didn’t notice for a few miles so the GPS track below has some bits missing. I didn’t really move in a dead straight line through the hills and forests of Wales!
