MBR Mountain Bike Rider

MOUNTAIN BIKING HAS BECOME WALES’S SECOND SPORT

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more than just dedicated riders; from parents looking to create something their kids can enjoy, teenagers looking to get involved in the scene and second home owners – once Wales’s most despised group – wanting to put something back into the community. Putting his amateur anthropolo­gist’s hat on, Dave says that people want something they can do, be involved in and be proud of. This has always been the way, whether it’s the male voice choir or the rugby club. A sense of belonging and working together has always been a defining part of Welsh life.

Mountain biking has become Wales’s second sport, so it makes sense that, as well as having a rugby pitch, every town has its own trail network. Being a multi-generation­al sport, with riders of different ages building and riding together, means there is a great blend of skills. Youthful enthusiasm combined with sage wisdom make for a potent combinatio­n that gets things done.

This is perfectly demonstrat­ed by the Machynllet­h Tuesday night ride. Riders of all ages and abilities on everything from XC race bikes to enduro e-bikes mill around the car park chewing the fat before heading out of town en-masse.

DIY BIKE PARKS

Once into the trees, you don’t need to look too hard to find trails. Like the riders, some have been here for years, others have only appeared in the last few months. The enthusiasm for creating trails is sparking a resurgence of interest in the area. Key to this is Dyfi Bike

Park. Designed and built by Dan Atherton, the park – and its owner – have brought attention and riders back to the area, and along the way provided inspiratio­n and guidance to the locals, and its impact can be felt beyond the bike park’s boundaries. Wild trails built by the younger generation have a level of quality to them that might have once been lacking. Having seen how a proper trail is built in the bike park, they’ve taken that ethic and knowhow into the forest to build trails that they want to ride. The result are trails that deliver a contempora­ry vision of what riders are after, but are also sustainabl­e.

 ??  ?? Whether it’s red trails or red tape, Dave’s got the focus and drive to chart a steady course
Whether it’s red trails or red tape, Dave’s got the focus and drive to chart a steady course
 ??  ?? Dyfi Bike Park is a magnet for mountain bikers and a catalyst for trail building
Dyfi Bike Park is a magnet for mountain bikers and a catalyst for trail building

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