that first pic looks great. will try that!!!

just seen the pic. thats the one!! will try that next time as im sure we will start using the same route. that wooded section were the camera was on the ground, was great fun. we usually go further up the road and start from pentregeithon.

thats it. we went left through the gate, past the ruin and up the steep climb. the stream was coming down to our left. i could try and post the route on here not sure if the link works if your not a viewranger member. or i could put it on twitter i believe??!!
this computer lark isnt my strong point!!

its a track starting from Treheslog Farm.. you have to battle through the dogs on the yard then go to the left through the field. we were going to go right at the farm and then around the base of the hill but there were no markers and didnt want to annoy the owners by going the wrong way.

hahaha… no need for trail centres when you have all that to ride… or in our case carry your bike around haha.

do you use view ranger?? ive posted the route on there. if not there are many printed routes of that area. its a stunning area!!

im a hilti man through and through as they last forever, pretty much!! but i also have a mid range bosch multi drill that i use almost daily and its great. ive had it 5 years now and its fine. also a 5th the price of my hilti drills!!
so for a general do it all drill id say grab a bosch!

i must say, the new samsung cameras are very good and excellent value considering what you get for your money.

@rockhopper. trail wise, i only take him to cwm rhaeadr otherwise its just natural rides that he comes on. cwm rhaeadr is my local track so without sounding like im boasting not many catch up unless we stop to chat. (myself and friends, not me and the dog) ha.
he would get out of the way normally but id never take him to a busier track like brechfa etc. id feel terrible if he cut someone up or worse made them fall.
as for his tongue, its becoming a bit of a legend in its self hahaha. he will trip on it one day im sure.

nice vid stanfree

@jackal.. your little pup’ is gorgeous!!!! i want one 🙂

@steveBbrain.. people are funny. some say that dogs shouldnt run that fast, but you try telling franky that when he sees my walking down the stairs in my cycling jersey. he goes wild!!! apparently he has a right old sulk when i leave without him.

hes been brilliant from the word go. he was one and a half when we got him from a rescue house and seemed to have a basic understanding of commands. he does learn very quickly though especially when having his rear end rubbed by my front wheel 😆
even if he does go in front i can make him heel and he will return to my side of behind me. just takes a bit of time and helps to have an awsome dog!!

@stratobiker, ive taught him to stay behind me on the downs otherwise it can get a little sketchy!! ill be honest and say i have little control over him on the first climb of any ride tho 🙂

he will come on a 20k ride no worries. he is out with me most weekends either walking or cycling. im lucky in the fact he never has any problems with his pads. thats a 7k loop and he will do 2 laps at near that pace after that he stops more, but dont we all 😉 hes not 4 years old yet so has far too much energy!!

brilliant!! after a 12 hour day in work it was nice to come home and see everyone enjoyed. funny how a friday + simple video = happy people 🙂

weekend is here now and cant wait to have a day on the bike in the ellan valley tomorrow 🙂

we are too going out for the passport. there are trails all over the area, you dont need to have a lift pass but they do help you access the higher trails and passes a little easier and faster. you could always buy a lift pass for one or two days??!!

thats my first short clip of franky and his friend bernie 🙂 i will try and shoot a proper little mtb dog video this year.

@mtbmatt those guys were there same time as me on wed’ didnt realize they were filming too. how random is that.

thanks guys, im glad you liked it. i actually made a video for my girlfriend as she always wanted to know why he had a line of mud from his nose to his tail. it was ambrose that told me to post it up here..
as for franky, the first few times i took him out he tried overtaking me and then would stop infront of me. which isnt great i have to say. after a few rides and some gentle screaming he now run right by my back wheel on all decents. theres another small clip on my youtube channel of him and and another dog killing the trail.
for those that asked, it was cwm rhaeadr. im lucky to have it on my doorstep pretty much 🙂

ah i see. many thanks. i’ll try that next time. yeah hes pretty quick to be fair. hes all over me on the flat sections and yes he does have some sneaky lines 😉

im sorry, i cant seem to get this video to show on here 🙁 i hate computers lol.

wales is full of great rides… doethie valley.. ellan valley… north wales..

good to hear.. im off there in the am

i have to say i never really used bike shops until recently as ive been faced with a miserable sod behind a counter too many times.
Lodge cycles in Britton Ferry have been great though. i still buy things online if they are alot cheaper but i always check prices with them now first. often they can get very close. the one thing they have though is great service and a very good mechanic, which is handy when for the life of me i couldnt get the bearings out of my enduro frame!! they are always happy to talk me through products and offer advice.you dont get that online!!
recently they organized a new year ride through theyre facebook page which i went to. met lots of new people and had a blast!!
my faith in bike shops has been restored!!

I do lots of activities including 4×4 offroading, hiking, mountain biking etc. everything has its place if done resposibly.
It does annoy me when walkers/ramblers moan about everybody apart from themselves.
Have they been up any popular mountain lately?? They have to build man made paths now on our iconic mountains due to the errosion from feet. Even when there are paths most still walk down the side of them!!!

TUT TUT TUT… 😈

ill be there.. got brechfa next weekend first. soon going to be feeling the pain!!!

sounds good ambrose 8)

defo valleydaddy. cant wait 😀

thanks still s8tannorm. i only had my first wild camp this winter. camped by llyn cai on cadair idris. was amazing, spent most of the night wondering why i hadnt done it before..
this year i will be out as much as possible and will be bikepacking too. cant wait 🙂

well, ive spent all night looking through this link. cant wait to get out this year 🙂

i didnt want to get into this.. i know you dont have to go far to have fun and there are bigger jumps and cooler people than me in the uk 🙂
i just wanted to share my thoughts on something that lots ask. all i was saying is that it doesnt matter what you ride out there or anywhere, as long as you have fun. that pic is us having fun.. no more no less…

and i still cant upload pics hahaha

ahh thanks. how did you do that?? i must have been close??!!

i wanted to upload this pic as it shows us having a right old grin me on the enduro and my mate on his ellsworth. dont need for big DH bikes to have fun in the alps 🙂

sorry i was trying to upload a pic from morzine but it seems i cant do it because im a computer noob

I went last year and all of us rode 130 to 160 travel bikes. One actually had a hardtail. I don’t think it really matters what you ride as long as your happy with your bike.
I ride an enduro fsr with fox36s up front but I had bombers on for the alps and they worked brilliantly for the whole week. The one thing I did do for the trip was fit dual ply 2.35 tyres. I didn’t have one puncture all week and I rode downhill runs all day every day.
We had a blast and our bikes didnt stop us hitting the jumps, riding the north shore or blasting down any trail we could find!!
yes a DH rig will beat you up a little less and will be a little stronger but if you dont ride one at home i dont think you need to worry about it out there. Enjoy your trip this year and by the end of it you will know what you want to do for the next trip. 😀

the heights is amazing now… we went to play in the glyders for my birthday and stopped there for food. it used to be a bit drab but now its clean and very friendly. food and service was great. wouldnt hesitate in eating there again!!!
im also looking to do snowdon this year as i have missed previous trips!!

yes i have to agree!! i have xt shifters and am very happy with them. i just liked the look of a saint mech, short and as its the shadow it keeps it out of the way a little more. also i like the idea of stronger springs etc.. just the £40 difference is making me think twice

happy new year to you all…

i have to say im a vw fan but thats because i own old 1970’s bay window campers.. although my work van is a transit sport. as much as i love the vw’s i cant bring myself to pay the extra 10k for a new one!
my transit sport has more toys and gadgets than inspector gadget himself.i love driving it and its one of the few new vans that still feels like a van to me!
i must say though, a transit doesnt have the build quality of a vw or a merc.like most say here transits are alot cheaper and i think are great value!!!
i did drive my mates merc vito sport the other day and i must say it was very nice but i found the engine noise something else from it. when using the hands free people found it very hard to hear me!!
i think ive dribbled enough now but thats my views. haha…..