Why is it so wet at Penmachno?!

[thistle]

It's been glorious all week yet we were still riding in streams and through big puddles at Penmachno today! (Better than usual though).
It's no wonder it gets overgrown so quickly, all that water yet all that warmth and sunshine.

The trail is built to a decent standard with drainage so where's all that water coming from and not going to?

Conspiracy theories please ;D


Maybe a farmer has sold up but forgot to turn his hose off

[mtbman]

Who cares It still rocks ;D

I'm not sure I'll have the same opinion in the winter though when the puddles are full of freezing cold water

[Ken]

Puddles thats what you get when you're not riding smooth gravel pavements ( llandegla ) ;D It's just the mountain reminding you that if you build good demanding solid trails it will use them as drainage routes.

[rallybiker]

If you go up to the top of Penmachno South (loop 1) you'll find it's all bedrock, and very steep. I reckon because the water can't drain into the land, it just runs down the surface of the hillside in little streams until it gets to the soil pockets, which then form the bogs in the valleys, so it's always wet.

[gadgers]

mountains and clouds ! thats why when you turn the tap on it works ;D

[danevs]

I think a lot of it is due to the construction of the trails which are quite often cut out of the surrounding landscape at Penmachno instead of above/level with the landscape a la Marin.

They also use a fairly fine stone to surface the trails which seems to rut up and form puddles instead of draining.

Oggy the geologist will probably be able to tell you something interesting about the peaty composition of a lot of the soil up there as well, can't help can it?

It does make me think twice about riding there though as it can be uncomfortable when your eyes and shoes are jam packed with that lovely grit that's spraying about. ;D