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Doesn't sound like the end of it, seems like there is more to the story.
Noooo!! I've spent so many hours chilling out there eating lovely cake and looking at bike bling. Even the hour I spent there after snapping my steerer and waiting for my mates to finish was enjoyable!
Anyone know why? Article doesn't say why...
Remember the uplift starts next year from Glencorrwg. Reckon the corporation are squeezing them out by inflating the rent and then going to run their own cafe. I feel sorry for the dropoff people.
The corporation needs to sort out the bl00dy crime wave too!
Subway franchise?
starbucks?
Mcdonalds?
That is real bad news as that is the best trail centre cafe I've ever been too, closely followed by the food stop during coed at the couple house where they serve from the window, can't recall the name but that too is excellent.
Sad day
I too wonder re: the uplift. The Drop Off Cafe is amazing though and I really do believe that 'if it ain't broke- don't fix it'. Drop Off certainly 'ain't broke', it's the best cafe in miles and miles and miles....
and then there is the awfulness served down at Afan Argoed.
I don't think what it's replaced with will be any better.
SA Gold, proper doorstep bread. I'll miss that place.
Don't know if it's connected but the bunkhouse set up on the wall trail is signposted as having a cafe opening soon.
Sad news! I love the Drop Off - great food, great atmosphere, friendly staff and stunning views. A trip to Afan won't be the same without it!
Bad times. Where will we be getting our generous helpings of home-made quality post trail grub from now? The Drop-off is one of those truly excellent places that has got the right formula for the many bikers they've fed and watered over the years.
Doesn't make sense, yet.
Well, if you don't eat cheese and don't fancy soup, it's been new potatoes and chilli for the last few years, so I'm looking forward to another meal option. They could have at least offered rice.
Stop crying into your lattes girls, it wasn't that good and I for one would welcome a more professionally run cafe, one where you dont have to wait 30 minutes for a slice of something overcooked that you can see on the counter but will not be served to you until they deem fit.
And quite frankly, if sitting around in a cafe is the only reason you go to these places then maybe you should take up knitting instead and stop clogging up the trails!
Faux has a good point - it was quite a nice place to chill out but it wasnt all that you know? I sometimes got a bit of attitude from the staff and TBH they could have mixed up the menu a little it more.
Still it is a shame its going as it did have a nice bikey feel. I hope that whatever replaces it will be just as popular.
They will still have the problem with all the bike theft to deal with though!
I always enjoyed it but keeping things in proportion, it's not the end of the world and I doubt that there will be no cafe/restaurant there since it's clearly profitable.
Also, it definitely sounds like they're going to open up somewhere else which in turn will be good since it's more competition.
I thought the food was good, and it was a nice place to hang out. Agree about the service being less than efficient. I'm sure that something else will pop up in its place, it doesn't take too much of an entrepreneur to realise the money making opportunities from hungry mountain bikers.
The food wasn't particularly good, just came in large quantities, which is what one always fancied after a ride. The staff were often pretty rude, and there were a number of stories of people being given the 'wrong' change a bit too often.
It was a nice place to chew the fat though, I'm sure something will open, they're not about the demolish the centre, and the facilities are all there after all.
Although the Drop off might not have been to everyones taste it's a far better option than what you get down at Afan as the food there is substandard and the staff couldn't run an orgy in a brothel.
I've only been to the area a couple of times and stayed on a self catering basis so to have the option of chilling out and not having to worry about cooking etc after a full days riding on the Saturday was always a bonus.
I for one will be sad to see it go and hope that what ever replaces it is not run by the same people/company that run the cafe at Afan.
I guess it was only me that liked it because it has a booze licence then? 🙂
Now I think of it, the menu was heavily biased towards cheese dishes, large portions, served with indifference
I have heard of a few people that have been short changed too
All in all, it won't cause me any sleepless nights if it was replaced
What is wrong with the cafe at Afan? I was there with a buddy a few weeks ago and a cheery lady doled out a huge plate of chips and curry chicken for us for a measly £4 a pop. OK so it took a while to arrive but she was working solo and I can wait 5mins. for food I do not have to cook or wash up myself.
Actually, the food at the original Afan centre had definitely improved when I went a few weeks back - still not as good as the dropoff but not as bad as it used to be.
If taken over then I would be surprised if the new business can do a better job
What happened - did they put the rent up?
Its simple economics chaps. If someone is paying more for the rent then either the prices are going up or the quality is going down.
I've only ever eaten there once a few weeks back, it was nice, but I've been going to Afan for years without stopping at the Cafe so personally it's not the end of the world.
I happen to know Luffy (the owner)a little and there is definitly more to this than appears at first. He's abit of an entreprenur......
One of his oldest mates is my LBS owner too so i will get the lowdown ASAP.
I personally have been getting a little bored of the trails there, always really busy and have just ridden them alot in recent years it seems. Time to discover what else Wales has to offer 🙂
Oh good. Remember the old cafe at CyB run by Sian. Now, think about the utter shite they serve at the new CyB visitors centre. Compare and contrast.
Drop Off might not be the best cafe in the world, but, imo, it's better than most.
Whats more popular? the trails or the bloody cafe!
I think sometimes some people are more keen to pose with their bikes on the balcony than actually ride there IMO 😯
my first drop-off cafe experience involved purchasing a tuna sandwich to go. Stopped on the trail to eat said sarnie, opened the bag to find a whole can of tuna (inc brine) dumped between to bits of bread. They didnt even spread the tuna out - it was still a cylindrial shape - the bread was sopping wet with brine - wtf! they can all burn in hell for that.
Some people call the cafe closing a shame, I call it karma.
Nice cafe, good food, and they made an effort to cater to mountain bikers. Shame about the problems with bike theft and flakey staff that people were reporting, but that can happen anywhere. I hope it's expanding rather than closing. The bike shop under it is great too.
I seem to recall that Afan's trail network is expanding and a proper DH course is being put in, together with an uplift, so I would imagine that this is somehow related.
They didnt even spread the tuna out - it was still a cylindrial shape - the bread was sopping wet with brine - wtf! they can all burn in hell for that.
AdeC, you appear to have some anger management issues. But keep going, it's funny. 🙂
It's 2:20 drive for me to get to Afan, so I always stopped for a meal before setting off for home. Never had bad service, always had (lots of) acceptable food. I hope Luffy and the bike shop people gets a chance to resurrect the businesses somewhere nearby where the trails and new uplift are accessible.
I suspect that the ponds corporation have wanted to get rid of bikers and get their hands on that building all along and contrived this situation to get it cheap.
I think Ian's supposed to be talking to the press this morning so we should get some more information soon.....
Whats more popular? the trails or the bloody cafe!I think sometimes some people are more keen to pose with their bikes on the balcony than actually ride there IMO
😆 Yeah MTFU!
Seriously, people want to sit down and have a bit of lunch and a cuppa between trails or some dinner before a long drive home and chat with other bikers and the Drop Off is a great place to do that. That doesn't make anybody who enjoys that part of their trip to Afan some kind of all the gear no idea poser.
Mr Agreeable - Member
Nice cafe, good food, and they made an effort to cater to mountain bikers
I should hope so too, what business model would exclude this demographic given it's location. However as as 'mountain biker' i still expect a certain level of qaulity and service that i'm afraid was rather lacking on my last visit to the Drop Off.
I found the staff inattentive, verging on the inept and the food mediocre to say the least. I liked the layout and the concept but it could have been done hell of a lot better. Oh, they also 'lost' my order then over charged me.
Let's hope the new version is an improvement.
>I suspect that the ponds corporation have wanted to get rid of bikers and get their hands on that building all along and contrived this situation to get it cheap.
Glass half full (and half full of p*ss) kinda guy then! 😆
Mr Agreeable, ok ok I may have over-reacted with the 'burn in hell' comment. I would be content with 50 lashes for the tuna debacle
>I suspect that the ponds corporation have wanted to get rid of bikers and get their hands on that building all along and contrived this situation to get it cheap.
There may be some truth to that. You'll have to talk to some-one who knows more than me, but I do vaguely remember that the Ponds Co-op originally wanted the building as a community centre, but because the FC had stumped up a load of cash to help build it it had to have an emphasis on biking. I know people have complained that none of the revenue the Ponds Co-op get from biking, including the car park fee, goes back into the trails, but I don't know how true that is......
Strange that some people on here obviously NEVER eat or stop riding FASTER than anyone else AND no doubt BETTER than anyone else !
The rest of us HAVE to eat sometimes and don't really like the suggestion we are 'posing' or only go to Afan for 'Drop Off' and not for the trails - like I would travel 4 1/2 hours for a sandwich !
I've only used it a few times but I've been more than pleased with the food, I guess, if you live on the doorstep the menu would seem limited but that could be aimed at ANY of the fast food options "do you want fries with that ?" And most other alternatives when you think about it.
My mates and I will miss it - where the hell are we going to 'pose' now ??
The point i was trying to make (badly) was that the cafe isn't everything. It's the trails that attracted us first right?
I too like the cafe and the lasagne is superb! Decent food and a drink are great before a long drive home, i'm certain something bigger and better will be along soon....in Dirt's Entroducing article Luffy did say something was being planned and i would guess that this is what he was referring too!
'I know people have complained that none of the revenue the Ponds Co-op get from biking, including the car park fee, goes back into the trails, but I don't know how true that is...... '
That is 100% true. I have had it confirmed by the local FC office.
If the revenue's currently being used to maintain the trails by the FC, and the revenue will now go to the ponds, how are the trails going to reveive the funding for maintenance?
The new cafe should surely be aimed at the fishermen and we should find somewhere else?
If the revenue's currently being used to maintain the trails by the FC
Huh? It says there the revenue's [b]not [/b]being used to maintain the trails.
Njee, should have put it better.
As I understand it, the ponds do not currently receive the revenue from the building and that may be about to change.
From what I understand Luffy pays the Fishing Co-operative a fair bit in rent for the cafe, and as part of his lease he's also responsible for the up-keep of the building.
I think when the building was first built it stood empty for a while as no-one was prepared to take on the tender for the cafe because they didn't think it would be profitable. To be fair, Ian's done a lot hard graft to make it work.