Me and a mate are off to Coed-Y-Brenin this weekend for a 3 day trip.
My question is what are the best trails there and do they repeat themselves? we're undecided whether to do all 3 days at CYD or just do 2 there and 1 at Brechfa on the way home?
there is enough trails at CYB to do 2 red/black trails a day which sound great but reading some of the info on MB Wales website its seem like they could be quite similar?
any advice or opinions much appreciated!!!
MBR, Beast and Tarw(?) trails are all very good and I reckon Brechfa is well worth the visit as the Raven and Gorlech trails are very good and much more 'natural' in terms of the trail surface compared to CYB's armoured trails. Have a good time.
The Beast incorporates almost all of the Dragon and MBR trails, you miss one section and Pink Heifer is a bit different but you miss very little. Does make for a more challenging ride of course. (there's a fireroad section before Gomez on the Beast and Dragon's Back that can be shortcutted though, gives you a very short horrible tarmac climb but cuts a lot of distance out).
Tarw is well worth the ride too and if you find it short, you can do Temtiwr or Cyflym Coch as a short lap (we did a shortened Temtiwr after the Beast, without Dreamtime, and I reckon it stands as the best ride its length I've ever done- short but almost totally sweet.)
TBH it's an incredible cheek claiming they have 3 blacks and 3 reds but I'll forgive it as it's so damn good. Great riding but it's got its own character too, I'm itching to get back.
For day 3 I've no useful suggestions but I don't think I'd spend 3 days at CYB.
I would do a day at cyb, a day at marin trail, then a do the climax at macalineth(wrong spelling) then go back to cyb and do red bull,or whatever trail you want. I went to brechfa on saturday, and i think all the trails above are better, imo.
penmachno & nantyarian are worth a visit too. don't like the Tarw , some good sections but a bad trail.
Would definitely do Nant yr Arian
that plus Coed-Y-Brenin and Brechfa would make a great trip
Make the trip to Penmachno if you are that way - seriously well worth it!
Do the Beast at CyB and then Penmachno loops and also perhaps Marin trail at Gwyder Forest.
I did the Temiwr (the one with the purple apple signs) and Dragons back on Saturday and it was a great days riding.
The Beast includes an extra small 7km loop on the Dragons Back but primarily I believe its the same main trail.
If you are heading back towards the M6 or M54 and you havent had enough you could always do a couple of loops of Llandegla or perhaps even add on the masts loop onto one circuit at Degla.
my advice would be CYB the 1st day, doing both the Tarw (old red bull trail) followed by MBR trail back to back. Then head over to Penmachno the following day (do both loops 1 & 2) stay in Betws Y Coed the night, then head down the road to the Marin in Llanrwst (jusst the other side of Betws)
CYB is great, but cant see 3 days back to back riding there, all the trails (excluding Traw) share the same sections in places. MBR IMHO has all the best bits from the new side of the center, then traw over the other side of the valley so you dont end up doing the same sections twice. Traw followed by MBR is about 2.5-3hrs of riding.
Penmach and the Marin are well worth doing, i live in North Wales and i have just been to the Marin today, its great at the min. Trails are dry and the suns been out. But the forecast is set to change for the weekend.
Forgot to say if you do the Tarw trail, dont take the short cut towards the end or you will miss a real cracker of a last downhill section.
The Marin trail, seems to get slagged of at times due to it having a lot of climbs (most are on forest roads) but the roads and climbs are worth it as there is some great techy decents (albeit some short, some long) but the 2 decents at the end if ridden fast and hard enough are among the best out there.
Didnt like the Tarw trail when we did it last summer. To be fair, it was a scorching hot day, but it just seemed to be 75% climbing. We all felt a bit dissapointed to be honest. The final bit before crossing back under the road just seemed to be a pointless rock-fest. Great if you're descending but not if your just basically going alongside the main road.
The MBR was loads better. If your heading to CyB, then Llandegla & Nant-y-Arian dont really figure as they are at least an hours drive away. Possibly a detour on the journey though. Nant-y-Arian is our favourite. Brilliant trail, great location & top-notch cafe. CyB just seemed to be full of motorhomes when we were there. A far cry from the CyB of old.!!!
The Mach-X just north of Machynlleth is a cracking little trail. Probably no more than 90mins, at a very steady pace, but if your arriving in the area late in the day its spot on. If your heading across towards Dolgelleau its well worth stopping off. No facilities though, but the longest descent in Wales (I think).
We've been doing this as a club trip for a few years - usual pattern is a day at CyB doing the Beast, then two of CliMachX/Penmachno/Marin as a day's double-header and Llandegla as a quick blast on the way home. With 3 full days I'd be tempted to do Nant yr Arian or a longer natural ride, depends a bit on which direction you're travelling to/from.
its been a while since i went to coed y brenin and I wasnt overly impressed though Its worth a visit (I think it depends on how you like your trails!) Though the one thing most people I know can agree on is that if your in that neck of the woods Penmachno is well worth doing. It really is a fantastic trail, thats fast, long (for a trail!), feels 'out there' and has great views. I really would give that a shot! Plus do Brechfa on the way home, its well ace and that way your getting a good mix of all the different style of trails.
If you need somewhere to stay near brechfa I would reccommend the penybont inn
http://www.penybont-inn.co.uk/
masssssive dinners absolutely lovely people who run it and 'over the hill' from brechfa
Whereabouts do you live? At a guess if Brechfa is on the way home then you'll be passing by Nant-Yr-Arian.
If you like your XC riding I'd say you should definitely make a call in at NYA, its one of my favourite XC trail centres. If you prefer jumpy style trails then Chli-Macx and Brechfa are more up your street.
With regards to CYB, you will struggle to get 3 days of riding there. If you do the Beast it takes in all of the bits of the other trails apart from the stuff on the Tarw. IMO the Tarw is only worth doing if you've got the time and energy as it does have a few sections of (nearly?) 'original' CYB trails (notably Snap, Crackle & Pop), however it does have an awful lot of fireroad ascent and descent. The last 2 descents are worth a look but can easily be done without the whole route.
Penmachno has some really good riding, make the effort to do the extended XC loop.
If I were you I'd make it a day at CYB doing the Beast and a bit of Tarw if you can be bothered, then a day taking in Penmachno and Marin. On your 3rd day do the big xc loop at NYA - it has some classic XC trail centre trails but also takes you out into the wilderness on some land rover tracks. However if you like your jumps then call in at Chli-Macx or Brechfa. Brechfa is longer but you can do laps of Chli-Macx via the short-cuts.