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We’ve ridden in Les Gets (and loved it), our older done and I doing greens, blues and reds and my wife and younger son sticking to green and blue.
Glentress is also fun, Dalby is local and the red and blue normally get mixed to do the good bits with less riding in 11 year old legs.
Older son is happy jumping, I’m ok on little hops, but my wife and younger son tend to be wheels on the ground type riders.
Is BPW going to be all about jumps and drops, meaning the 15 year old loves it, I can just about get by, but my wife and 11 year old just feel phased out by it?
Anyone got any help for me?
Nope.
They'll love it.
Wheels can be on ground or off.
There's really something for everyone.
They’ll be fine, the green and blues can all be done wheels on the ground just fine. If they’re up for slightly more tech then some reds might also be ok. Maybe avoid the likes of rim dinger / hot stepper / locomotion / roots manoeuvres. Vicious Valley might be a goer though potentially.
Loads of stuff to keep them busy for a day overall.
Is there a long weekend there, or more a day at a time?
Is there a long weekend there
If you can afford it 😳
Indeed. Particularly for 4
But travelling down from Yorkshire it’s a balance of travel costs versus riding costs.
I echo everyone's comments; plenty of little rippers there this weekend having a ball.
Thank you all.
We’ll book.
Is full face mandatory there, even if pootling down a green ?
Would highly recommend going midweek - pricing is less awful and you won't have joeys trying to overtake you on a blue trail with their 180 mm gnar rig all day.
each to their own, but if Dalby is your local there is no way on earth id make a 10hr round trip to ride BPW. Then again, if its uplift you're after - there's not a lot of other options, esp for the 11yr old.
Is full face mandatory there, even if pootling down a green ?
nope.
Last time I went there was a group of maybe six or so 4-5 year olds being taken down the green by a staff member. They all seemed to be having a blast
We’re at Dalby most weekends.
Dalby is my local, but I’ve been riding it 20 years give or take and I like riding different places.
Uplift is good for younger riders because it means they’re less tired on the descents which just makes everything better (for the parents at least)
I was concerned about taking 13yo jnr on a 100mm hardtail to Afan. I'm sure he'll be OK, although I may rent him a FS to add to his weekend experience.
you won’t have joeys trying to overtake you on a blue trail with their 180 mm gnar rig all day.
this hasnt ever happened to my wife/kids on our 3 visits BTW. 8 and 9 at the time of teh visits and they think its the best place ever - LOVED it.
We were at BPW last week with two 11 year olds. One is fine and the other is not into it but they both loved the Blue's. Expensive yes, worth it, Hell Yes!
PS we went to Afan pre-lockdown #1 when they were 8/9 during Oct half-term and rode four days solid. On White's Level they were the only people under 40 not on e-bikes 🙂
Just out of interest, what is the green trail like?
I am taking the wife and 11 year old there in August, they are both capable of the blues but I don't want to make the mistake of missing out on the green if its really fun.
The boy isn't really into bikes but really enjoyed Glentress's blues the other week (like most 11 yr olds he is lazy when it comes to climbing..)
the green is great for the kids and a decent 1st run warmup for them. i enjoy it when i ride it with teh kids. its easy but what would you expect
Is full face mandatory there, even if pootling down a green ?
nope.
I guess I should have worded it, at what point is a Full Face mandatory? Or is it rider discretion?
I wish these places had interesting up hills built in to them. I quite actually like riding up hill !
Tell you what about BPW tho - it's shockingly expensive now for a full day.
I guess I should have worded it, at what point is a Full Face mandatory? Or is it rider discretion?
I wish these places had interesting up hills built in to them. I quite actually like riding up hill !
Completely up to the rider. First time we went there a bunch of 4, then 5 then 3... all went past the cafe with full faces... then a few more... So me and my mate went in and bought one each.
When guiding the youngsters i was happy in a standard XC helmet. But anything more, i'm in a FF.
The Beast of Burden climb isn't just fire road. It has a bit of trail too.
Did it a few times in just a normal lid inc all the blacks, back in the day
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Broken jaw on singletrack in my local stomping ground pushed me towards FF - wouldn't ride much of BPW without one now
Can’t book.
Can’t make the website register me.
Can’t get the phones to pick up (closed apparently)
at what point is a Full Face mandatory?
This reminds me of the first time we went to Ffestiniog.
Went to sign on and got asked if we'd been before.
After answering no the guy went through the rules.
"Reds are OK with an open face lid"
"Blacks it's mandatory to wear a full face but there's no one at the top to stop you so do what you want"
Kind of set the tone for the day.😀
Personally I always wear a full face helmet anytime I’m on an uplift day. I’m attacking the trails without the fatigue from climbing to get to the top so I’m almost always going faster than normal. I like my teeth.
I was thinking from the OP's perspective, its a long way to go and expense to then be told you cant ride. (not that I know if they have full face or not)
Do I need body armour and a full face helmet?
We strongly recommend the use of body armour, goggles and full face helmet
So not mandatory
The 15 year old does (edit - a full face that is). He’s never actually worn it in anger.
We’ve been riding Les Gets for 10 years open face (I started with the now 15 one on a LOCT), he jumps and gets enduro coaching open face.
The younger one has broken a tooth crashing a bike, but that was a road bike, in fact they’ve both had worse crashes on their road bikes than on their MTBs.
I'm not against full face, I’ve just never found one that fits my odd shaped head.
the scariest crash I had @ BPW was when sessioning one of the blues, trying to push it faster & faster each time... pushed it a little too far, did a proper Superman, landed on my face at warp speed & skidded along the ground. Was absolutely fine fortunately but shudder imagining the trip to the dentist had I not been wearing a FF! 😃Broken jaw on singletrack in my local stomping ground pushed me towards FF – wouldn’t ride much of BPW without one now
Taken a few tumbles on reds/blacks but I never ride those fast enough to find them scary really!
FF not mandatory on any runs @ BPW but IME the vast majority of people do wear them there.
My last trip to BPW a couple of years ago - was wearing a Bell Super 3R at the time, which saved my face, as my head smacked the ground pretty hard. This was on Norkle!!!
And yes, I was a tubs 2 years ago
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Ok then.
Supplementary question - who does helmets that fit large but narrow heads?
Whenever I try a full face on, it’s too small over my forehead / front to back, but there’s loads of free space either side.
It's impossible to say fella, helmets are subjective.
Buy 5-6 from wiggle/CRC and hopefully keep 1.
Bluegrass for me
IGM.
I had that problem when trying to book a month ago. Gave up and tried a day later and it worked.
I ride the blues and some reds in lycra and normal helmet. Also love climbing and aim to get around 2000m in. Found a couple of different ways up by following tyre tracks into the forest about halfway up the fire road climb.
ill be getting a fullface for the youngest for the next visit. she`ll be doing reds with me. otherwise the wife and eldest will be in half faces.
if i go with the lads its a full face job but i ride alot faster! if you are uplifting its a no brainer! if you are pushing it I'd recommend elbow pads that fit and dont move also. i've had some right nasty gravel rash crashing at BPW! (avoiding a mate who crashed infront!)
just for the opposing viewpoint: I don't wear a FF at BPW to make me just reign it in a bit. It's easy to get carried away and think that a FF is going to mean you can go that little bit faster, or take other "small risks" I've found the a FF can really insulates you from your surroundings, so it's easier to misjudge how fast you're going.
An open face constantly reminds you that you're exposed and you need to ride in your limits.
It's personal choice though, and I think everyone needs to make that assessment
just for the opposing viewpoint: I don’t wear a FF at BPW to make me just reign it in a bit. It’s easy to get carried away and think that a FF is going to mean you can go that little bit faster, or take other “small risks” I’ve found the a FF can really insulates you from your surroundings, so it’s easier to misjudge how fast you’re going.
An open face constantly reminds you that you’re exposed and you need to ride in your limits.
I don't get that at all. in the same way i don't ride slower without armour... i hit things at BPW the same either way... as hard as i can.
i hit things at BPW the same either way… as hard as i can.
Cool, other people have different skills that they want to improve on or develop other than just speed or aggressiveness
"Dalby is local and the red and blue normally get mixed"
I'd love it if you could share the best mix of the two. Ours are bored of the blue, not yet skilled enough for much of the red but whenever i ride the red i think there's bits they could do. Somehow, I seem unable to put together a decent mix of the easier red sections, linked together by the blue trail.
Is it?
I see this a lot and it's a bit of a fallacy.
Prices are (weekday / weekend day / whole weekend)
Revs - 1000 to 1600 (6hrs) uplift = £43 / £45 / £90
Dyfi - 1000 to 1600 (6hrs) uplift = N/A / £43 / £86
BPW - 1000 to 1600 (6hrs) Uplift = £45 / £48 / £90 - Sept 5th to April 15th.
BPW - 0900 to 1330 (4.5hrs) Uplift = £37 - April 16th - Sept 4th
BPW - 1430 to 1900 (4.5hrs) Uplift = £37 - April 16th - Sept 4th
If you booked both the AM & PM pass in the Apr - Sept months you'd get 9 hours of uplift for £74 on a weekend. With a fixed one hour break.
With the Sept to Apr months & weekdays they run continuously and you potentially lose money if you stop for lunch over that 6 hour uplift window.
So by the hour compared to it's £8 per hour for 6, or £8.22 per hour for 9. (not sure where else in the UK you can uplift for 9 hours?)
Not really 'shockingly expensive' now is it?
Edit: no I don't work or have any loyalty to BPW, but this trope is pretty boring now and is incredibly lazy.
Tell you what about BPW tho – it’s shockingly expensive now for a full day.
for the kids/wife the half day session on a weekend is more than enough.
last time we went i did a couple of laps on teh EEB myself before their uplift session started.
oh and the sunday afternoon session is better for the kids as the park is (or at least seems) half empty by half the way through the session.
BPW – 0900 to 1330 (4.5hrs) Uplift = £37 – April 16th – Sept 4th
BPW – 1430 to 1900 (4.5hrs) Uplift = £37 – April 16th – Sept 4th
I'm different to many in the context that 4.5 hours is nice for me... it's about right and i've had plenty of fun and enough playing to keep me more than happy.
I know some people say "oh i need 12 uplifts a day"... me, meh... i'm OK with 5-6.
So the £37 for BPW on a split day is actually about what i'm after.
@gingerflash I prefer the southwestern end - between the visitor centre and Dixon’s Hollow - but varying it works best for me.
Up the blue then cut across on fire road to where the red comes out of Bomb Hole Alley then red back in, drooping onto the tail of the blue if the younger one’s tired.
Up the red to Dixon’s, the cut across to Bomb Hole Alley, the cut across to the blue and back down the blue, extending onto the tail end of the red if legs allow.
Start at the lake, up the red climb, mix in green and red bits to Dixon’s then flow down off piste - to be fair we do this on gravel bikes.
The main thing is not to tire the 11 year old and to vary the routes so all the features get picked up once in a while.