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Going to Afan on Sunday, I’ve not been for probably 8 years, what’s the trails to ride?
forecast is wet, so does that effect trail choice?
Fairly fit and after a full days riding.
May do Forest of Dean on Friday, never been before, how is it?I’ve been told it’s muddy even when dry,
I wouldn't stress the weather on either ... Lots of mix at Afan... something like graveyard is rocky anyway... FoD has a big mix and depends how wet... steeper DH ruins mostly drain well and the top can be a bit or lot sloshy... when its REALLY chucking it down then a lot gets washed away..
I'm not a fan of slop (once its doing the steering for me) so if its raining I'd stick to the steeper stuff and avoid the top of Sheepskull ... a lot of the Enduro runs also get a bit sloppy but you can have a blast on the lower parts. Watch out for roots in the wet but again, when its really wet they get washed and not too bad.
Pretty much all of Afan is armoured so fine. FoD can be boggy. Depending on where you're travelling from the Malverns (apart from a small number of areas) is a pretty good wet weather option.
What are you riding at the FoD? Off piste will be muddy. The official trails will be fine. The blue and red are mostly armoured (less so on the red), the downhill can get muddy but it drains OK.
Just back from the FoD. It’s muddy for sure. Enduro on Sunday has taken its toll as well. If you were thinking of riding ‘Dowies’ area, be aware it’s being felled. So you don’t want to be in there riding.
Mate was riding the Red and a few of the DH tracks on Monday and said they were drier.
Was still great fun tho sliding about. As it was warm mud!
as a visitor last sunday i can recommend staunton in FOD for wet trail gold. Apocolyptically wet n muddy is the closest description. steep tech mixed with mud slurry and water with added comedy clay. Easily the most fun I've has in years on a bike. my buddy said he'll never be able moan about wet local trails again!.
Cannop FOD was fine on teh DH runs and it had rained hard overnight.
Afan runs fine in teh wet. a few lakes and streams on trails if its actually raining but that just adds to teh fun.
Would cwmcarn be a better bet then Forest of Dean considering how wet it is?
Would never choose Cwmcarn over FoD, unless you have a real love for uphills, FoD has areas that hold up well to the weather, and it's meant to be dryish on Thursday/Friday/Saturday, so that will mean pretty much all the DH trails will be ok, bar the off piste stuff, but even that will still be rideable, and in all honesty, if it's your only ever visit, you'll never find it anyway, you'll be lucky to stumble across Y2K, let alone the boggy stuff across the road!
If you're in to bike park style downhill stuff, then FoD wins easily, several trails starting in the same place, easy push up path to get there, if you want miles, then the blue and red are good, red better on the uphill, blue for the down, it's all next to each other in many places so you can pick and choose as well.