Coed Llandegla

Quick Report from Coed Llandegla

 

The run starts with a long climb (30Mins) over open land (cut woodland) to the far end of the forest. This was hard work given that it was exposed and was pushing thirty yesterday. Not too taxing just a steady climb.

 

Then the route runs along the hillside up and down some great sweeping sections before you get the option to go red or black. I went down the black and it is pretty easy (just read some trail reviews which bemoan that it should be red). Easy but also extremely fast and flowy with loads of rollers and jumps. Some of the best trail I have ridden so far, similar to Spooky Wood at Glentress which is good.  I might add you could have a big fast accident going down here. I nearly overcooked a couple of corners coming out of jumps!

 

There is then a nasty hill out of the black area to rejoin the red and this is where things started to get worse. Essentially there is a red loop with a couple of black/orange marked sections which looked good on youtube, especially b-line. However there seemed to be a route closure and the work around option was not clear. Someone told me to go the wrong way up a trail which I did for a while, then lost heart and got nervous I was going to meet someone coming the other way. So I turned round and went the way they were going. (I have since discovered I had nearly reached the start of the fabled North Shore/B-Line section, which apparently is the best in the park and will make sure I do it next time.)

 

Turning round meant losing a lot of altitude on a fire road which is always deeply depressing. I then picked up the red again (the black is finished by then) and rejoined a last half hour of very average single track to the finish. An occasionally spicy bit of downhill would get quashed by nasty uphill, and the heat was not making it any easier. I really need a dropper post too – I must have got off 15 times to adjust – it drove me nuts.

 

Just when I thought I was due some downhill I was back at the start and feeling short changed. The last half had just felt like steep tedious climbing So I went up to the freeride trail and pump track, both of which were deserted. The pump track was dull but the freeride downhill good even if I can’t do proper jumps yet. I did however make the mistake of running up onto one of those man made wooden elevated sections. It started quite wide but then narrowed and went up down, round and round for what felt like 200meters. At some points the track was head high off the ground. Falling off was not an option and I was shitting myself. My heart was really going when I exited – pure fear of spending the night up there with a broken leg kept me on it! After that there is two good drop-offs before you are back at the centre, the first which looked a bit high for me but I made it no probs and caused me to exit the trail feeling like Danny McAskill.

 

In summery the first half was excellent, you need to do the black, make sure you can find the b-line section (I didn’t have a map although I am not sure it would have helped) and the last section of red is quite tedious for climbing so I would cruise the last couple of miles back on the blue which takes you to the top of the freeside so you can finish on the fun drop offs. But go on the elevated section at your own risk!