Builth Wells MTB Marathon 13.04.14
Apr 13, 2014 19:37:26 GMT
summittoppler, Rupert, and 3 more like this
Post by motoxman on Apr 13, 2014 19:37:26 GMT
Having never ridden around Builth Wells before I decided to enter the MTB Marathon to see what the area was like and did the 50k distance.
Travelled down Saturday evening and met up with Chris P on the campsite (National Showground) which in itself was impressive. Had a few beers and went to the cowshed where the three B's were (bar, burgers and band) where we bumped into Mark P and his clan and had a few more beers.
Woke up this morning with the sun shining but with a chill in the air and after getting ready headed to the start where we met up with a couple of Chris P's mates and decided to stick together for the day (a lot more social).
The ride started off the usual way with a couple of miles of road work and then turned off road where there was a bitch of a double track climb where there was a bit of a bottle neck not helped by people walking on the main riding lines. This then took you up on to the tops with spectacular views and then a cracking descent. After that it was a bit of a blur with lots of climbing, some descents (not enough) and a lot of XC riding on the tops.
Had a bit of an upset stomach for the first few hours and was riding feeling I was only ever a fart away from messing my shorts but it subsided after half way thankfully as there wasn't much cover about for toilet emergencies
In summary classic XC riding similar to Clwyds but bigger, lots of climbing, not enough descents, great views, well organised, plenty of food stops (every 10 miles) and a long day.
Travelled down Saturday evening and met up with Chris P on the campsite (National Showground) which in itself was impressive. Had a few beers and went to the cowshed where the three B's were (bar, burgers and band) where we bumped into Mark P and his clan and had a few more beers.
Woke up this morning with the sun shining but with a chill in the air and after getting ready headed to the start where we met up with a couple of Chris P's mates and decided to stick together for the day (a lot more social).
The ride started off the usual way with a couple of miles of road work and then turned off road where there was a bitch of a double track climb where there was a bit of a bottle neck not helped by people walking on the main riding lines. This then took you up on to the tops with spectacular views and then a cracking descent. After that it was a bit of a blur with lots of climbing, some descents (not enough) and a lot of XC riding on the tops.
Had a bit of an upset stomach for the first few hours and was riding feeling I was only ever a fart away from messing my shorts but it subsided after half way thankfully as there wasn't much cover about for toilet emergencies
In summary classic XC riding similar to Clwyds but bigger, lots of climbing, not enough descents, great views, well organised, plenty of food stops (every 10 miles) and a long day.
