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Hi,me and the Mrs are having a week in North Wales next week, first 4 nights we are stopping at Betws-y-coed,where are the best places for a nancyboy to pootle around without falling off? (recent injury means falling off is out of the question) Are there blue routes at the trail centres or are the reds manageble with the odd prudent dismount?
Tell me to MTFU if you wish, but I'll ignore you 😀
Marin is fairly tame
do the marin trail Steve, just take it steady on the descents.
it is a proper old school route, no nasty suprises waiting to get you.
+1 Marin just mince the bits that scare you 😀
Hillclimber, You beat me to it.
There's the minortaur route at CyB as well. It so easy I did it without falling 😕
Is the Marin at Coed-y-brenin ?
The Marin is about 4 or 5 mile out of Betws-y-coed, well worth doing, even if you walk the odd section
no, it is north of betws-y-coed.
Cheers, I've just googled it and located it on me map, nice and handy for the campsite too. A good one for starters.
Anything not too hairy at Coed-y-brenin?
There's the minortaur route at CyB
The berms on that route are a LOT of fun!
Steve, i'd be happy to join you for a trip around Marin. I live quite near and always looking for an excuse to get out riding!
the dragons back is a nice medium length trail.
got some ace flowy downhills on it. i did it on the tandem with the daughter a few years ago. struggled round some corners........ 😉
the dragons back is a nice medium length trail.
since when is 30km a nice medium length? Even if you cut out that pointless fireroad ascent/decent after the cafe you're still talking 24k!
since when has 20 mile been a long ride?
I'm proper unfit at the moment but I'm sure I can manage 30km at a nice social pace with the odd comfort stop 😉 I'll be on holiday so plenty of time to get round. Cheers Tony, will try that one.
Highclimber, when are you gonna be around for a ride?
Highclimber, when are you gonna be around for a ride?
any day really just not this weekend. email in profile
Excellent, will look you up for a ride maybe Mon or Tues.
sounds good. lemme know as soon as you can so I can arrange a dog sitter!
Penmachno anyone?
I second Penmachno, great trail! Also think the Marian is worth a look.
The Marin trail is quite tame really and it definitely flatters the rider. That's not a bad thing at all, in fact I've ridden it on three different bikes ranging from a 100mm forked Rockhopper all the way up to a Marin Quad 140 and it's definitely the most fun on a hardtail. If you go with too much bike the climbs are a swine and the techy descents are over far too quickly - indeed on the Marin it felt like I was playing an arcade game.
The views are amazing though, enjoy!
Penmachno anyone?
Yeah did that the other day, loved it though I was blighted with punctures.
Quite tame suits me just fine at the moment 😳
What a brilliant time to come, it's red hot here. Went for first ride before breakfast this morning. Rode from riverside caravan park Betws-y-coed and up the forest road to where the marin trail crosses it, then followed trail as far as car park and returned via forest road and a cheeky bit. Quite hilly! Just 13 miles today. May try and do complete trail tomorrow. It's a lot easier being able to ride from site which means the mrs can chill out - and have me brekky ready 😀
She spoils you, Steve. 😉
She does indeed Chip. God I'm unfit only did 13 (hilly) miles again today and it nearly wiped me out! Enjoying it though and I suppose it must be doing me good.....
Gits.
Not been over for a few weeks as in the middle of house floggage.
Follow the locals advice, basically.
Loads of lovely, safe, but fun stuff right on your doorstep.
The Bikefax Snowdonia Guidebook is invaluble if you have a day on your own - lots of pleasant routes from Betwys - Elin's Fancy if you're feeling a bit delicate, Elin's Revenge for a cracking afternoon out.
Marin is lovely, proper oldschool and you can pick up the trail about a mile and a half from Betwys (4-5 miles? you're going the wrong way 🙂 )
You're only about half an hour from Llanberis slate quarry or Conwy mountain if you fancy something a bit different.
Again, locals or the Bikefax book (written by locals) will help you out no end.
Not had a ride today walking and golf day. Tomorrow we are having a walk up Snowdon (I may do Crib goch as well to get my adrenaline fix) Will try and have a crack at full Marin on Thursday....
I stayed there at the weekend. My first trip to Wales mountain biking, excellent. Had a great time climbing Snowdon and the slate mines. Check out my video here-:
Wow.
I've never seen anyone ride down the inclines in the quarry before 😯
Yep, nice vid. Out of my range at mo (well any time really) but enjoyed walk up Snowdon yesterday, though I did nearly poo my pants on Crib Goch! My that was scary... Nearly bottled it at one point but manned up, fantastic views, took my camera but forgot to charge it up 😳
Did last bit of Marin this morn, done it all now (in 3 rides) will do the whole shebang in the mornin. Got to say it is quite a physical challenge, some loooong climbs. Good fun though.
Hey, just jumped onto this post as i'm planning on coming down that neck of the woods over easter for a couple of days with my gf, and she's fairly new to riding so the tamer red runs would be perfect 🙂 Ideally i'd like to do the Marin, Penmachno and one of the similar runs at CyB
Has anyone any recommendations as to campsites? and would i be better off booking or can i turn up on the day as it will be a bit of a last minute decision on when to go.
Cheers/Diolch 😉
We stayed at the riverside caravan park in Betws-y-coed. We were in our motorhome, excellent site with great facilities - bit pricey though.
There is a small area for tents, not sure how much the charge is for them though. I enjoyed riding form the site and doing various bits of Marin with other bits mixed in. Will have to come back another time to do Penmachno and Coed-y-brenin.