[Closed] Todays Merida @ Llanwrtyd Wells

Agree...was excellent today....sportive was good on Saturday too 🙂

I've done about a dozen of these over the years(kona's/merida's)but none for about 2.I am now confused as to why i stopped doing them.Good stuff today including an epic singletrack section down through the ferns that seemed to go on forever.Those of us who have done the Real ale wobble will have recognised some of the trails.I was a little concerned with all the rain in the night that it was going to be a slog in the mud,but turned out fine.
I'm doing the transwales,so glad to get a distance/climbing day in the legs that's close to what alot of the stages are made up of.

My first Merida! (I did an Iron Lemming many moons ago)Roll on the Ruthin
The Singletrack up the valley was superb it did indeed seem to go on forever.
Did the 76km route but the legs could have done more, glad I put a front mud tyre on @ the last minute.

Hope the Selkirk one is a good as yours! Going to be my first time.

Postie,

Now thats a little harsh with regards to Mayhem and SITS I feel. Pat and the team put on some great events. So we wont be seeing you at SITS this year then, unless you get another free ride of course 😀

Will have to join you at the next event to see for myself, but that wont stop me doing SITS..

Ned (Jules)

dead chuff you enjoyed it , it was also good to meet up with you .the others came back later due to punctures, is the camera ok ? and when do we get to see the pictures

Awsome event! That single track down the vally was rather annoying any other ride I would have loved it, but half way through a marathon I was hating it, and was hating the fact I was hating it because in any other circumstances I could see it would have been amazing!

Not too sure about some of the random boggy sections mind, and felt very bad for the people coming in at 6-8 hours behind the masses of riders churning up and creating gullys!

Random lucky dip! Boo missed out on that one! What about the very last bend coming into the arena who went straight on and/or pulled a skid?!

Any one got links to times and pics?!

Didn't enjoy the course myself, there were some nice bits for sure but far too many crappy sections (oh and I want to RIDE my bike not push it :p ). Fair enough they can't plan on the weather which certainly made some sections much less fun but parts would have been crap rain or shine.
The start wasn't great either - usual road section to spread people out (good idea) but straight into a farm gate with only the pedestrian bit unlocked so you had like 500 riders bunched up again. Followed by a climb which nicely spread people out again followed by a singletrack bit that people seemed to be mincing on causing another big hold up :p
The mud was evil to - like the worlds claggiest densest mud, much preferred the Crickhowell mud which didn't really stick (I think my bike weighed over 40lbs at some stages of the Llanwyrtd Wells course). At least there were plenty of deep pools you couldn't avoid to clean you off a bit :p
Still it was well organised and the feed stations were good (I like the lube station idea to 🙂 ) and certainly better than sitting in the house all day watching two grown men swat a ball around.

I did wonder how fast the course would have been if it was last weekend!

I really enjoyed it, good technical riding in the woods and some really nice open singletrack as well. Awesome countryside too.

A couple of my club mates did their first ever 50km marathon as well and had a brilliant time too.

However, as much as i do relish a bit of mud riding some of those bogs were a bit excessive! Took me back to my youth, knee deep in gloop, bike on the shoulder.

Cool. I'll be at Ruthin, see you there postie 🙂

I had a great time except I didn't get to do the full course, just because it was so slow going due to it being so boggy.
Some great technical riding though and very well organised as usual.

Roddersrambler..from memory that was the last day of trans wales last year but in a different order! 🙂

they still haven't got the times up! boo! Don't they know the times and photos should be on-line before the event even starts?!

Uploading pics now - but even with 2 broadband connections it takes a while. Should have them numbered, to make it easy for you to find them, by late tomorrow at:

[url= http://www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk/ ]www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk[/url]

Ned twas not slagging off Pat and the team for staging SITS/MAYHEM as those type of events serve a purpose for people that are unable to ride more than 8 miles before consuming twice their body weight in gels/energy bars.
What does annoy me are fellow team members whose main concern is to get as much sleep as possible in 24 hrs! you should not be sleeping ffs you should be encouraging the rest of your team in the early morning hours.

Anyone needs a team manager for SITS get in touch 🙂

Another great Merida event. Did the sportive on the Sat on my mtb and had great time, and then Mrs Duke and I did the 50k on the Sunday. Agree about the first bottle neck though, Shame they couldn't have opened the gate. Someone said the 50k was short this year, can anyone confirm? Heard comments that it was only 40k. Don't know how true that is.
Lastly the two guys in the blue 08 Modeo Estate. You left all your rubbish in a big pile on the field as you packed away on Sunday eve. It was left for someone with more common sense and courtesy to clear up after you. Shame on you.

where did they put the camping then ?

[i]where did they put the camping then ? [/i]
Second right turn past the spar going up the hill,down the road for about 450 metresturn left nice field as fields go :D, shame they do not use it for the Real Ale Wobble.

Rich

[i]

Someone said the 50k was short this year, can anyone confirm? Heard comments that it was only 40k. Don't know how true that is.[/i]

I clocked it at 40km as well, pity the organisers didn't explain why! I know the ride was only approx 50km but 10km short is a bit much

Pics online now.