Doing Bike Park Wales for the first time.
Discussion
dhutch said:
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
50 Shades is brilliant but the slog back to the start of the uplift sucks especially on a big bike! Last time I went I was on my Demo and I reckon it cost me at least run slogging back. 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
Court_S said:
50 Shades is brilliant but the slog back to the start of the uplift sucks especially on a big bike! Last time I went I was on my Demo and I reckon it cost me at least run slogging back.
It feels a lot longer than it looks on the map! Only ever been on the Pitch, but I have a retro alps-spec 2004 BigHit, marzocchi shivers, 24" rear, full down hill tyres and tubes no pedal platform in the shock. That would certainly be a push job!dhutch said:
It feels a lot longer than it looks on the map! Only ever been on the Pitch, but I have a retro alps-spec 2004 BigHit, marzocchi shivers, 24" rear, full down hill tyres and tubes no pedal platform in the shock. That would certainly be a push job!
I used to have a Big Hit with Shivers too - I bloody loved that bike. I had the rear shock Push tuned and it was really very good; many happy hours spent in Greno Woods and Wharncliffe on that bike. I sold it for a Demo 9 and kind of wished that I hadn't.I pushed most of the way in my Demo - despite it not being that heavy (its Carbon), it pedals like a pig on tarmac and super tacky tyres make for a grim experience.
Sa Calobra said:
I love walking in to buy a chain and walking out with a bike!
Weirdly I'd recommend staying in Merthyr centre over night and going out for drinks there when you go back.
It's very raucous but there isn't a bad vibe and everyone in the pubs is having a great time.
Some good pubs too.
A stay over is definitely planned for the next visit, gf has done a couple of skills days at Cannock as it's the most local one, since we got back from BPW she's looking at doing a jump course there now so and I quote 'we could go there the day after and I can practice what I've learnt or we can go to Forest of Dean and I can do it there instead' Weirdly I'd recommend staying in Merthyr centre over night and going out for drinks there when you go back.
It's very raucous but there isn't a bad vibe and everyone in the pubs is having a great time.
Some good pubs too.
All this from a girl who until 2 years ago hadn't never even owned a bike of any sort since she was a kid, and now suddenly wants 'the same Jersey as Rachel Atherton'
there was a short explanation about the 2 ways you can get the stripe Jersey, but she doesn't want to buy one as that's cheating so is happy with her Fox tops instead.... I've created a monster. Sa Calobra said:
Weirdly I'd recommend staying in Merthyr centre over night and going out for drinks there when you go back.
It's very raucous but there isn't a bad vibe and everyone in the pubs is having a great time.
Some good pubs too.
Wow, you clearly had a very different experience to us. I've been there with the lads and thought the complete opposite. We regularly have weekends away biking, skiing, walking, etc and Merthyr is by far the roughest night out we've had. We've been back subsequently and have stayed in Pontypridd and Abergavenny - far nicer places to to have a night out than Merthyr and still convenient for BPW.It's very raucous but there isn't a bad vibe and everyone in the pubs is having a great time.
Some good pubs too.
I still stay in Merthyr when I take the kids - Stay at the Travellodge, meal at Nandos followed by a trip to the cinema and they love it. If going with the lads we'll now stay in Abergavenney as it's more convenient for us than Pontypridd and a far nicer town than Merthyr with decent restaurants and bars. I was in Merthyr last week with the kids and will be staying in Abergavenny next month - already looking forward to our curry at Cinnamon Tree.
Sa Calobra said:
How rough was it? I'd class it as raucous. I didn't feel threatened and I saw no arguments or violence.
Merthyr is definitely one of the tougher nights out, but if you can catch it on a quiet night there's some okay drinkers to find.But it'll also depend how South East England your accent is!
Sa Calobra said:
How rough was it? I'd class it as raucous. I didn't feel threatened and I saw no arguments or violence.
We love raucous, but it's possibly the only night out we've had over the last 10 years where we've not really wanted go back. Didn't see any massive fights, but got the feeling we weren't welcome in a number of the pubs - we're a loud bunch with strong English accents. Generally the town just felt really run down. It didn't help that we befriended some locals who then ended up giving us the rundown on all the pubs and our initial thoughts were confirmed that we really weren't welcome in some pubs. As above, on a quieter night it might be be fine, but on a Sat night in summer, I won't be rushing back. Especially when Abergavenny is just up the road and soooo much nicer.
Court_S said:
I used to have a Big Hit with Shivers too - I bloody loved that bike. I had the rear shock Push tuned and it was really very good; many happy hours spent in Greno Woods and Wharncliffe on that bike. I sold it for a Demo 9 and kind of wished that I hadn't.
Virtual high 5!I also had a bighit with shivers, and an excellent bike it was too
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