On the way I had to stop for petrol which turned out to be quite an eventful stop. Firstly, the guy at the pump next to mine asked me "what's the lowest gear on that?". Of course I didn't know what he meant (maybe my car?) then I realised he was talking about the bike on my roof. I wasn't quite sure how to reply but in the end just told him it has 24 gears. Then from behind me another man had a question! I couldn't quite understand was he was saying (his English wasn't brilliant) but it turned out he was having trouble using his satnav so I spent 5 minutes programming his destination in for him! (luckily he had a postcode)
When I got to the trail centre, I started with a warm-up by doing a lap of the blue route (Yes, I somehow managed to go the wrong way on a way-marked route) which unsurprisingly wasn't the most interesting route! It was lucky I had only done the blue route though as when I got back to the car park I realised it was a "Pay and Display" car park and I hadn't bought a ticket!
I then went around again but went the right way this time (following the red/black routes). The route started with quite a long fire road climb but this was worth the effort for the trail ahead. One thing I noticed was how the grading system varied from that at Cannock (where I normally cycle). The red wasn't very challenging and the black was more like the red at Cannock but still very enjoyable!
After the fireroad, the trail goes on a slight downhill with a long windy path and then you can join the black route. This is a very fast section with lots of berms and jumps. I took it a bit cautiously as I hadn't done the trail before but I'd image you could get quite some speed up on it.
The trail continued until I came to a bridge. This was a wooden construction whereby you cycle up about 8 foot and then descended on quite a steep drop. There were two people ahead of me so I stopped and watched them attempt the obstacle. It was also their first time to Llandegla and they were also a bit apprehensive of going over it. The first person walked over, the second rode up it and then walked down it. Then after a short delay I followed. I was also wondering whether I should walk or ride it but as there was now an audience so I had to ride it! There was a cheer as I got over it in one go and it definitely was a highlight of the trip! I am used to steep drops but I am not a big fan of heights!
(Source)
The trail then continued over some more very fast single track followed by a fire-road climb. There was another very steep, rocky drop graded as black on the way but I bravely decided against doing this as it looked quite slippery!
The track then came to an end. I had a go on the pump track near the end (I had never been on one before) and then finished the route with the largest berm I'd ever ridden!
Overall I was very pleased with the route and enjoyed myself. I'm not sure it is as technical as Cannock but I think you have the capability of getting up more speed which is definitely a big plus for me (but then it does have the altitude advantages that Cannock doesn't).
Cannock
+ Rocky Descents / Switchbacks / Slippery Roots / Berms
+ Fast SingleTrack
+ Werewolf Drop
- Less Altitude
- More braking ruts (track not as smooth)
Llandegla
+ Very Fast Singletrack
+ Large Berms
+ NorthShore Bridge
- Longer Fireroad Climb
- The more challenging sections of the trail didn't feel as long
- Red sections weren't that challenging
No comments:
Post a Comment