Just got home from an incredible experience. first event i've done in possibly twenty years.
I didn't finish but I got much further than possibly i should have. I met incredible people, Rod and Louise, I saw superbly friendly marshals and amazing welsh scenery.
There was an incredible array of bikes there, every niche covered I think even chips on a new bigger cannondale broom.
I will be back next year, I will be fitter, I will be better prepared, regardless I will enjoy just as much the experience. A massive thank you to the organisers and marshals.
I achieved many more goals than I thought possible and new when I saw the feed station that it was sensible to say enough.
I appreciate I'm rambling a little but hey, i don't care. I'm lucky to be alive and to meet friends and ride bikes is icing on an incredible cake.
Well done!
It was the 10th time I've done it. Every year its a little different, but its is ALWAYS brilliant. By far and away the best UK mtb event, others could learn a lot from what Joe and the team achieve.
Bring on next year!
Well done to all the people involved in making it a success yet again.
I agree was a great day out really enjoyed it and despite breaking my saddle managed to finish even thou I was hurting a bit towards the end.
Nice one Nick. Take it you got a helmet sorted out?
thanks nick we have such a great team behind the event.it was our best ever in my view.
cheers matt yep a bright snot green spesh one from evans. only one that fitted! mind it was really comfy and fits so well i didn't notice it!
Excellent
Yup, great event and quality umpalumpas
this was the first dyfi i did since the very first two, so obviously it has come on in leaps and bounds - good banter and one or two weird and welcome sites on the way around which were appreciated.
well organised, and enjoyed the ride apart from stopping halfway down the first descent to let some air out my front tire only for the core to come out and for the tyre to deflate, then it happened again so not best pleased, after a nice start.
a side note,...i was quite near the rear at the start and i'm pretty fit so up the fire road climb at the start i started passing a few people...
one guy deemed fit to tell me what was the rush there will be a log jam at the top.... i retorted i'm not rushing, which shut him up. why is it that some people feel it is there right to tell you how you should ride?
big up to the marshal who made sure i was okay after my high speed off too.
one down point, i camped on the Saturday night and the music went on till about 2 am, then some bunch of idiots somewhere, quite some way from me i hasten to add, decided to start hollering, singing, shrieking and shouting for about half an hour, not really ideal when people are trying to rest up and have a big ride next day...
i decided to come home rather than have to put up with another sleepless night.
also the catering was a little ramshackle and the whole thing had a bit of a hippy vibe to it, which i can just about live with.
So improvements can be made.
Same reason I came home, dam hippies 😯
Maybe the hippies are right chill out ffs 🙄
I like a good nights kip like anyone but the dyfi is what it is and it's just fine thanks.
whathavisaidnow -I think I passed you on the first descent as your tyre seemed to be exploding. I did ask if you were ok, but you looked (understandably) pretty pissed off.
You probably passed me later as I was mending one of my many punctures. Going tubeless next year.
Camping was great. Didn't notice the noise (until I realised it had stopped at some point) - 5 years of little sleep due to kids, and a bit of beer anastheasia and I was away :-).
And yes the catering had a hippy vibe. It always has done and its part of the Mach appeal.
Incidentally, I did the first 2, missed 2 and have done it ever since. I'll never, ever, forget the feeling after completing the first one. 😀
An awesome day once again. A big thanks to Fraz and the rest of the team 😉
Yes there seemed to be more up than down!! And the downs were over very quickly, but this is one event that has to be done. Every year i do it i just get more and more gutted for not doing the first 6 of them.
Long live the Dyfi 😉
I had a mare this year! Didn't even make it off the road at the start, somehow a chainring bolt managed to drop out and caused my chain ring to bend pretty badly so that the chain wouldn't stay on!
On the plus side the weekend was brilliant regardless - I love the setup there.
As with everything the first time is always special but this year's event was the best yet. Thanks to all the organisers again.
i have a disdain of anyone who is inconsiderate, drunk/high whatever,
it is no excuse... i suppose if i got in my car and started tooting the horn all night that would have been acceptable to?
basically my lesson has been learnt, saturday night don't camp, sunday night camp and piss people off to my hearts content.
I had a great day. No problems, some awesome trails and I came 79th. I'm happy with that.
My first one too and thoroughly enjoyed it (well apart from my tent being partially destroyed by the friday night wind and the loud partying into the early hours saturday night )
The riding was superb and had some brilliant descents,fantastic views! Great banter too . I can't wait for next year 😀
I had a great weekend with the family and friends and in between two of us nipped out and rode the Dyfi. It was very friendly and I have nothing but praise for the event, well except for the 3km and 2km signs that my legs didn't agree with. The trails were great on the downhills and I suffered on the non-technical fireroad climbs of eternity.
Free beer and flapjacks kept me happy and I ended up doing the long in 3hr 59min, which isn't bad for a tubby 40+ beer drinker.
Machnylleth has always had a hippy vibe in my eyes and I quite like the festival attitude of the event. The beer was good and so was the Luft Bus burgers. Would've liked to stay and enjoyed the post ride party vibe but went back to see wife and kids at cottage.
Long live the Dyfi!!! great weekend as always got kicked @ of the beer tent by the marshals at around 2am made no noise just kicked a few of my competitive mates in their tents 🙂
Chilled this year with a newbie to the Dyfi on the SS so started @ the back then kicked ass on the hills made sure he got to the bottam of the descents in on piece then attacked the hills again probably pissed a few riders off 😉
Sunday night was nice and chilled in Mach and @ Café Seren went to bed earlyish!
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7297/8716135526_db586ef17d.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/nzrich/8716135526/ ]DSCF3132[1][/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/nzrich/ ]Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr
Edit to my original post, not Laura not louise. Sorry Laura!
Whathaveisaidnow - the whole point of the Dyfi is the 'hippy' vibe. It's called having fun. If you want to get all serious about it, may I suggest the Enduro 6 which is held on the same date.
Fraz - please - never change 😆
Another great Dyfi,weather weren't bad either .....
Emac65- 29er Anthem with a squeaky front brake,sorry..... 😳
- the whole point of the Dyfi is the 'hippy' vibe. It's called having fun. If you want to get all serious about it, may I suggest the Enduro 6 which is held on the same date.
Im far from serious...maybe I just expect a little more consideration from people than most others do.
thanks for the heads up.
2nd Dyfi for me, enjoyed as much if not more so this time around.
Massive thanks to the organisers for what is a great weekend.
I like the hippy vibe and definitely enjoyed the food and a few chilled beers. We camped right at the back of the field so it was quiet, no bother at all. Had I been further in I think the noisy guys might have annoyed me but its kinda fair game for a weekend like this really.
It’s just the little things that make this good, both on and off course. The route signage is pretty good, I always like the random stuff on the way round (the guy in tweed riding up the first hill with a music box thing!), the bar near the end… the course itself is great with some nice descents and not too much fireroad climbing – but also stuff like the food, the tunes, the new loo roll in the loos on the Monday morning, the massive skips on the way out to ping all your rubbish in… it’s a great setup really. Good vibes and polite riding from other riders too.
Just dipped under 4 hours this year and made the longer route with 215th overall. Tyre choice of Aspen / crossmark was perfect for all but the last descent which was mud slippy death! I don't think the beer helped and got some pretty full on cramp for the last 200m!
Had a wee ride round Coed Y Brenin yesterday in the sunshine. All in all a top bank holiday weekend.
Right so… errr work. Ah.
Another great event from the Dyfi boys.
Thanks again lads and keep the same formula.
You only have to look how quickly it sells out to see they've got it right.
My solution to being kept up late is to join in with the fun.
If people want early nights and sterile sanitised events they should try the Schwalbe marathons. 😉
Thanks for another great event Fraz, first one in the diary every year!
The evenings are what make he Dyfi so good (along with the organisers, marshals course etc), and without it you would just have another boring marathon event with people all in bed supping energy drinks by 9pm.
For reference one of our lot managed to join us for cheese and port at 1.30am and still finish 9th 🙂
Great fun all round. Had a much better time on the course this year with a bit more fitness and a bouncy back end!
A special thanks to the slower folks on the descents that kindly let me pass, only for them to over take me again on the climbs!
3rd Dyfi for me. Absolutely loved it and was so lucky not to have a mechanical. Best time and position for me too. Best 'race' on the calendar.
I was a Dyfi virgin until the weekend. Had a great time and I will most certainly be putting my name down for next year. However I have learnt a few things.
[list]
[*]Hills in Norfolk are very different to the hills in Wales[/*]
[*]High pressure tyres are great on the fireroad climbs[/*]
[*]High pressure tyres are sucidial on the descents 8O[/*]
[/list]
Awesome w/e, absolutely brilliant!
So many things learnt though:
-Although my Soul begs to be ridden faster dh, bear in mind the rear wheel is going to take a bashing. Take fatter rear tyre
-Take less in my backpack. Back ache wasnt pleasant
-Cramp is even worse! I got lots and lots of cramp!
-Take long sleeve off before the start, you wont need it after the first climb!
-Climbs are 3-4x longer than down my way, try to get some practise!
-Check spare tube before attempting to use it. Someone had replaced my spare with a Schrader!
I used X-King tubeless 2.4/2.2 Brand new and ripped a little hole in rear. Sealant must have splurted out on descent whilst whacking rear wheel over rocks (new archex too!). Think I'll take the crossmark (2.35) lust next time.
Oh and I will definitely do it next year! This time taking the family if possible, loved the atmosphere and hippy vibe, missed my lad 🙂
Anyone got any photos to show yet? [url= http://www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk/events.html ]RightPlaceRightTime[/url]should go live later today it would seem.
Dave, bro in law fancies camping next year. Would be good with a crowd!
Yes, the more the merrier 🙂
Mind you, possibly better fun due to good weather. Think its the 1st time apart from one cold winter w/e that I've been to Wales and its not rained! Riding wouldnt be so much of a problem as the camping, especially with family.
I loved it too, again, the vibe is great, the people and course the best. I did have a small sense of humour failure re camping when at 3am v loud pi*sedness was about 6 feet from my head. Apart from that perfect. A family camp area would be a worthwhile improvement?
Great fun...
Looking forward to next years 😀
WhathaveIsaidnow earplugs and a caravan is where it is at for dudes like you.
Russell great pic cheers!
Stu hope Amanda is mended.
See you all next year 🙂
ir-bandito that was probably me on the first descent
i whizzed up the big climb and then lost all air in rear tyre repeatedly for the rest of the ride
thanks everyone for all help offered and given!
got home eventually in 433rd
great course
i'll be back
Rich.
Amanda's injury dissapeared after a few more drinks. 😆
me soaking up the hippy vibe... 😉
[img] 
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i carted around a hip flask of single malt and offered it out, but had no takers...sinners, . . .so i'm not all bad 🙂
Story up on the front page now [url= http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/howies-dyfi-enduro/ ]Howies Dyfi Enduro[/url]
Sorry I couldn't hang around and camp on the Sunday night too. I'd have loved to slip quietly into tired drunken ramblingness. 🙂
Great event as always and so good to see all the crowds out to cheer everyone on at the start. It was my first experience of starting anywhere but the back and anywhere but cripplingly hungover (it's usually me making noise at 2am, not this year, though I can't say I had trouble sleeping after a few beers.)
Great as always and I'm still amazed at how big that first hill is!
Thanks to Joe, Fraz and the rest of the team. I'll be back next year for my dozenth one.
hey chips, how was the bigger broom? it was also brilliant to see a purple pace fleece still in action...
Those Pace fleeces don't seem to die. And they're still pretty windproof, even after 20 years of use...
The big wheeler was great fun on the descents, fine on the flat and possibly a little lardy on the climbs. Or was that the rider? 😉 Good to chat to you, Nick.
Nice photos Chipps... Especially the one of me grabbing a beer! 🙂
top weekend! 2nd time of entering; managed to enjoy it this year, as opposed to dreading what was round the next corner...
was mildly pissed off with the screaming in the middle of the night, but will bring earplugs next year!
how did the couple of guys who rode the old school rigid clunkers for a bet get on?
PHOTOS FROM THE FEED STATION CLIMB
http://s10.photobucket.com/user/acejoy/library/Dyfi%202013%20Feed%20Station
I was out this year due to injury and ended up sitting at the feed station taking pics of you all struggling up the climb. I've stuck them all at the above link. SOme are s spot out of focus or have motion blur but most are ok and I thought I'd share the love. The file names are the rider numbers (e.g. 637.jpg), some pictures having multiple riders on (e.g. 353_636). If anyone want a hi res image drop me an email (in profile) and I'll send it on.
Feel free to spread the link around too as I'm only really active on this forum.
Here's my video from the day
Enjoy
Nice pics and nice vid.
It was a cracking day!
Nice pics acejoy
I put one in my [url= http://www.29gears.blogspot.co.uk ]blog[/url]
Another great video from my son's mate.
The Event distilled in 4 and a bit minutes
[url= http://t.co/r0nG7y9mSS ]will sanders dyfi enduro film[/url]
What a great video. Thanks for posting.
Sums up the event very well.
Yeah great vid - must do this sometime.
Great vid , happy to make a very brief appearance! 8)
Quality video!
Hi, sorry I'm afraid I've locked the feed station pics out of respect for the official photographer Jon.
Hi, sorry I'm afraid I've locked the feed station pics out of respect for the official photographer Jon.
i don't feel so bad about you missing me now 🙂
interesting development though....
Jons had arty bits of grass in the way!!!
Did he complain?
No not at all but he is the official guy for photos and helps to put on the awesome event that is the Dyfi. Therefore I don't want to detract from his hard work or his business.
I've done four previous Dyfis and this year I'd been training hard to aim for a top-10% finish place (I know, it's meant to be chilled out etc, but the route cries out to be ridden in anger). Two friends broke their collar bones this year and I was counting my blessings right up to four days before the event. Then, of course, it happened to me. Next year seems a long, long, long way away.