THERE’S A LOT OF SCOPE FOR THE ELAN VALLEY... KEY TO THIS ARE TWO NEW TRAILS
main visitor attractions, there’s a lot of scope for the Elan Valley to lead the Mid Wales mountain biking renaissance.
Key to this are two new trails. Thanks to a cash injection aimed at improving the valley’s visitor experience, funding was secured to build the area’s first mountain bike-specific trails.
The decision was made to use the money to build two short but sweet trails that could be enjoyed by riders with a wide range of abilities, and could either form their own miniature loop, or be part of a longer ride that also incorporates the existing byways and bridleways. Construction of the trails finished in 2019, but they weren’t officially opened until spring 2021 due to Covid.
Adam describes the trails, a red and a blue, as extended skills loops, and what they might lack in length, they make up for with laughs.
The fire-road climb to the trailhead isn’t too taxing and is worth the effort just for the view. Looking down on Garreg Ddu reservoir, the two trails twist amongst the new growth that is starting to come through. The blue trail – the longer of the two – is a bit more of a roller coaster, traversing its way across the hillside, whereas the red pitches itself in a more direct line down the hill and includes a few more technical challenges.
NEW TRAILS
Blue trails are underrated. They might lack the technical challenges of a black or red trail, but they usually have the best flow. A trail designed to instill confidence in beginners often makes for a trail that offers up a lot of speed for the more experienced rider. This blue is properly fast. Small rollers leading into larger crests give you something to pump, and speed is generated from every trail feature. While some blue trails are built with small, friendly looking berms – reasoning that riders on an easy trail will be going slower – here trailbuilders Trailcraft have gone the other way, building huge wall-ofdeath sized constructions, and it makes total sense. Making the berms bigger gives riders of all abilities more confidence to keep off the brakes and let the trail do the work for them. It also reduces braking bumps, the bane of any trailbuilders life, meaning less maintenance work. Building big is building safe and sustainable. After two laps I’m convinced this is the best blue trail I’ve ever ridden.
The red is definitely a step up in terms of technical challenge, with steep, loose rocky sections, kickers and more opportunity to get airborne. It compliments the blue perfectly but, being steeper, it’s over quicker. We pedal up for a few more goes, just because.
The team at Welsh Water is keen that this marks the start of investment in mountain biking and these two trails form the foundation for whatever will come next. The hope is that these trails will attract more mountain bikers to the area, which will strengthen the case for more money being put into dedicated trails. As Welsh Water is a notfor-profit organisation, Adam and the team don’t need to show that the trails will make money, but they do need to show that there’s a demand for these kinds of facilities and that they are being used.
A lot of the infrastructure needed for what could effectively become a trail centre is already in place, and down at the visitors’ centre, building is about to start on a dedicated cycle hub. This will act as a touch point for cyclists as well as housing the hire-bike fleet and workshop. Whether you’re after the
kind of hardy, wild riding the Elan Valley has always offered, or a potter round the reservoirs, having somewhere to start and finish a ride, with a cafe, workshop and bike wash, makes going for a ride just that little bit easier and more enjoyable – important factors in attracting more riders to the area.
It’s not all sensible practical solutions though. Adam is keen to host an enduro race on the estate. Not only will this help introduce a potentially new group of riders to the area, it could also help create the framework for new trails – stick up some race tape, clear the brash and let 100 or so riders put a line through the woods. Trailbuilding doesn’t come quicker, cheaper or easier than that. Where some races feel like they take place entirely under tree cover, Adam’s vision is for a race in the Elan Valley to include liaison stages that loop out on the established bridleways and offer the big views that have become the valley’s trademark. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.
As we’ve reported previously, over lockdown, many areas in the UK have seen an increase in the number of wild trails appearing, often where they shouldn’t. Not so in the Elan Valley. Partly because the estate is privately owned, and local riders know that if they do start digging it’s quite likely that a ranger will soon discover the trail, but also because of the valley’s remote location. Trail networks often grow organically, with wild trails over time becoming officially adopted, but here a little bit of intervention and nurturing is required to get things going. One idea that has been mooted is having community dig days, helping to expand and enhance the area’s riding, engage with riders and make sure that any trails that are built are done to the right standard.
Augmenting the existing rights of way with the new mountain bike-specific trails and more natural wild trails should mean that, not only will Mid Wales, and the Elan Valley in particular, start to become attractive to more riders, it does so without losing what makes it special. That established big-ride vibe will still be there, just with a new style twist, should you want it.
PUMP TRACK WALES
It’s not just within the Elan Valley estate that things are looking up for riders in Mid Wales. The nearby town of Rhayader is home to Pump Track Wales. Tucked down a side street and backing onto a rugby pitch, this free-to-access track is an impressive facility. It’s also huge. Essentially it’s two pump tracks, mirrored and joined together. This split design means that it’s possible to have pump track races, but it also means there’s plenty of space for multiple riders, with less chance of collisions. We meet up with a local who’s come down with his jump bike and a BMX, probably the best tools for the job here, but as Adam demonstrates, there’s plenty of potential for popping and pumping on a mountain bike, too. The waves of tarmac have been expertly sculpted, and whether you’re a pump track pro or total novice, you’re going to have fun – perfectly complimenting the blue trail we rode earlier.
What with the old and new trails in the valley, the pump track and facilities in town, and a desire locally to raise the area’s profile, the makings of an easily packaged mountain bike weekend away are all in place. Despite the rough and ready image mountain bikers like to portray, recent times have proved that it’s making going for a ride fun and straightforward that brings in the crowds. And in the Elan Valley, bringing in more riders means potentially more trails being built – a virtuous circle.
As mountain bikers, we’re often told where we can’t ride and expect to be asked to get off land, so it makes a nice change being positively encouraged to come to an area.
This isn’t a carte blanche to ride where we like, but it’s certainly an open invitation to come, explore and make the most of what’s on offer, and in so doing, help create the case for even more trails and facilities. What better reason is there to go for a ride?