Doing Bike Park Wales for the first time.

Doing Bike Park Wales for the first time.

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DanielSan

Original Poster:

18,747 posts

166 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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I've finally got round to booking an uplift day at BPW for myself and the girlfriend next Monday. I think she'll mainly do blues and the odd red, she's a better rider than she thinks she is just needs a bit more confidence to get her speed up. I'm not too bad as whole not mega fast but not pedestrian either. She's arguably the smarter one of us as she's on a full sus Calibre Bossnut, I'm the idiot doing it on an Orange Crush...

Main question though, any recommendations regarding what trails to do first/what are best? I figure asking now saves wasting some time when we're there.

Gary29

4,131 posts

98 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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I'd stick with the blues with your missus, plenty of variation to have fun riding blues all day, maybe treat yourself to a run on A470 (Red) if you feel like she is holding you back too much.


DanielSan

Original Poster:

18,747 posts

166 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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She'll happily go and do her own thing anyway if I go down something she doesn't fancy. Just meet her back at the uplift when we're back at the bottom hehe

stuarthat

1,047 posts

217 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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Full face helmet and body armour and legs for sure, blues are good but you really can pick your speed up ,there is red and red plus be careful one of our guys knocked out on ‘what’s occurring ‘it is really good but respect the runs ,some you have to drop in if you have to think about dropping in don’t carry on it is a sample of what is to come .

The_Jackal

4,854 posts

196 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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Trying to "get her speed up", is a sure way to end up in a welsh hospital at Bike Park wales. Sounds like she has more sense anyway lol

DanielSan

Original Poster:

18,747 posts

166 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
quotequote all
The_Jackal said:
Trying to "get her speed up", is a sure way to end up in a welsh hospital at Bike Park wales. Sounds like she has more sense anyway lol
At no point have I said I'm 'trying to get her up to speed' she's big enough to make her own decisions about what to try and what not to try. Only thing I've done is make sure she's padded up and has a decent lid on.

So does anyone have any suggestions for any specific runs to do first?

Rob.Ba

1,029 posts

187 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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Blues will be fine for her on her first day out, there's plenty of runs on a first day there. The trails all offer something different: Tech, flow or jump - depending what you prefer or want to try use the gradient indicator on the map boards there. They all build up so people can progress at their own pace.

Rob.Ba

1,029 posts

187 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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DanielSan said:
So does anyone have any suggestions for any specific runs to do first?
Start at Norkle?



https://youtu.be/y_p6X2vIfc0

TT1138

738 posts

133 months

Tuesday 6th August 2019
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Just go and have fun. Start off on the blues and see how you go, all of the trails are pretty good and the board gives you a rating on a sliding scale of difficulty.

Only thing worth noting is that the trails are bike park graded, so generally a bike park Wales blue would be equivalent to your average trail centre red.

It’s not cheap, but it is a great day of cycling.

Edited to add that gloves and pads are pretty much essential, and ideally a full face helmet (goggles too if it’s very wet).

Edited by TT1138 on Tuesday 6th August 22:34

aka_kerrly

12,416 posts

209 months

Wednesday 7th August 2019
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TT1138 said:
Just go and have fun. Start off on the blues and see how you go.

Edited to add that gloves and pads are pretty much essential, and ideally a full face helmet (goggles too if it’s very wet).

Edited by TT1138 on Tuesday 6th August 22:34
Agree, although I'd suggest clear glasses even in the dry as there are a lot of flies around at the moment

Sa Calobra

37,010 posts

210 months

Wednesday 7th August 2019
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I love bpw. Start on the blues first. You've got plenty of time there.

I started on the red's and right at the end of my first day there did a blue as I was absolutely spanked and ....

Loved it. I was surprised I'd like an easy trail. You can carry so much speed that it made it fun.

Be wary of the black trails. They can catch you out i.e. I thought a couple were easy but then I almost came a cropper.

I hope the cafe has improved. Gawd it was awful.

Enjoy!

SwissJonese

1,393 posts

174 months

Wednesday 7th August 2019
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We are up there almost every weekend as the kids are having lessons. My wife has done the trails on her hard tail and my 7 year old kids have done all the blue runs so there is nothing really that complex. Just take it easy first time to understand the trails, some are very fast like Sixtapod.

I would normally say start with Sixtapod -> Willy Waver but Willy Waver is still closed - arggg (check if it is open when you get there)

So go for Melted Welly -> Roller Disco -> Blue Belle

Terry's Belly is also good fun but there is a bit of a climb back to uplift.

Uplift starts at 10am so I normally do Beast of Burden (trail climb to the top and really nice) at 9am and manage a trail down with no one around, plus it is a nice warm-up.

As some one says glasses/goggles are a must, if hot it is very dusty, if raining it is very muddy. Enjoy, everyone is super friendly and never had any issues with other riders, if someone is faster than you, just pull in and let them pass.

nickfrog

20,872 posts

216 months

Wednesday 7th August 2019
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Sixtapod is closed atm and probably won't reopen until the ground is soft enough for them to do the maintenance they need.
I would start with Terry's Belly.
I have never used a full face nor body armour as they both spoli my enjoyment of the place, I just use elbow/knee pads and a robust enduro style open face with added coverage. I know I am probably an exception but the level of risk doesnt seem different to my normal riding, I don't do blacks though apart from Deep Navigation.

Court_S

12,764 posts

176 months

Wednesday 7th August 2019
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The blues are all a good place to start and can get pretty quick should you so desire.

Knee pads and a good lid should be fine - but that's all I ever wear. Too much armour may actually be off-putting.

olliethehut

135 posts

172 months

Thursday 8th August 2019
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Bloody love BPW. There really are trails for everyone, and you can go as big as you want. The blues are great, and you can ride willy waver / norkle / bushwacker / terrys belly all day without going scary fast or leaving the ground. Like some have said, a full face and body armour can almost be a counter productive - you want to push yourself if you're riding well, not push yourself because you've got protection if it goes wrong. I think there's been an ambulance trundling up the hill every time I've been there, so don't be afraid to take breaks and chill if necessary.
It'll be a long day, there will be faster riders, there will be slower riders, pyjama clad downhillers and lycra rigid riders.
There will also be a guaranteed queue at the cafe at lunch time.
Enjoy, I'm back there for a weekend in October and already excited.

sjg

7,444 posts

264 months

Thursday 8th August 2019
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TT1138 said:
Just go and have fun. Start off on the blues and see how you go, all of the trails are pretty good and the board gives you a rating on a sliding scale of difficulty.

Only thing worth noting is that the trails are bike park graded, so generally a bike park Wales blue would be equivalent to your average trail centre red.
This. BPW reds have "commitment" features like drops that you can't just roll over slowly. Trails like Hot Stepper can start off with drops that you can get away with rolling then you pick up some speed and they suddenly aren't rollable any more.

You can have a brilliant day just on the blues (they're fast and you can get airbourne with a bit of speed if you want), then have a look at a red later with some caution.

I'm convinced most crashes are down to overconfidence ("I've ridden blacks, I don't want to do the beginner trails"), less confident riders following their mates, and tiredness / just-one-more-run syndrome. Wear whatever protection you're comfortable with.

DanielSan

Original Poster:

18,747 posts

166 months

Tuesday 13th August 2019
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Bit of a late report but I was knackered when I got back yesterday. Both of us had a really good day, GF really enjoyed it, she certainly wasn't far behind me down the blues and I made sure I didn't hang back on them. It's like she saw me as a target not to lose hehe

We only ended up managing 4 runs, did 3 in the morning with some exploring, had a break for dinner, then I did Vicious Valley while she did Terry's Belly again, couldn't believe how much slower VV was than any on the blues, some good tech stuff though really enjoyed it.

Then things went a bit downhill, planned to meet her back at the uplift, I got there and did a quick phone check to see a 2 missed calls from her.... she'd done Terry's Belly in one hit as quick as she could which was impressive, only to try and pedal back to the uplift and snap her chain, unfortunately by the time I got back to her it was getting on for 3 o'clock and with the last uplift at 4:30 we decided to call it a day and gesd goke before the traffic got too silly. The joy of a 3 hour drive each way....

We're going to book again soon but sort out staying over for a night to give us some more time. I've got a couple of runs I really want to do now. It's damn hard work on a hard tail though but bloody good fun, but that may well be the hard tails last time out with me riding it, I somehow ended up walking into of the shop today intending to get a chain for her bike and walking out with an Orbea Occam. Same colouring as the pic but with the Fox 34 fork rather than the RockShox. Spent this afternoon swapping a couple of bits over the the Orange to the new bike (780mm Renthal Fat Bar, Ergon Grips) and tweaking positions for the controls.


molineux1980

1,197 posts

218 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
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How do you manage to get away with walking out with a full suss!?

Fair play to you, keep the hardtail too, you will regret selling it - I had a Crush and sold it to pay for carpet in my new house. Id rather walk around on concrete on reflection.

Glad you enjoyed it, I've done BPW 4 times, and looking forward to heading back. It can get expensive (As you know), I've broken my bike twice in the 4 times i've been......

DanielSan

Original Poster:

18,747 posts

166 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
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She encouraged me to buy the new bike believe it or not, I've been looking at full sussers for a while, mostly the Nukeproof Mega 275, but I just happened to ask if they have anything interesting in or any alternative ideas, and they'd knocked 400 quid off the Orbea over the weekend with the new models coming in next month. A mate has just bought the same model bike in blue with the gold kashima coated forks, after one quick go on it I was very tempted.... I've sized down to a medium rather than large i usually prefer, but with bikes getting bigger a medium has suddenly become the right size now. Feels so playful, and for the tiny distance I can currently do them, way easier to manual.

I am finding the idea of selling the Orange hard to come to a conclusion about, it's such a huge amount of fun to ride. Might give it a while and see if I still want to use it with having the new bike as well. I've got a feeling that I will do...

Edited by DanielSan on Wednesday 14th August 17:39

dhutch

14,198 posts

196 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
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DanielSan said:
Both of us had a really good day...

....shop today intending to get a chain for her bike and walking out with an Orbea Occam
Well that sounds like a bloody good weekend to me! Congrats on the bike.

BPW in certainly a lot of fun, the fast flowing blues, through to the blacks and the more technical stuff.

Never been a fan of A470, just cant seem to get the speed/throw to clear the tables, which means it then doesnt flow. More speed needed!

I like the short blacks, dia hard, coal not dole, pork belly etc. 50 shades is good, but a reasonable drag back up to the bus.

Certainly a full face place to be, its seems to get some people carried away and a into Merthyr A&E (mrs family are all medics from that way, so see the other side) but then Ive not had any bad off's there and wouldnt do any uplift location without a full face and good gloves.

But yeah, sounds cracking.



Daniel