Trip to Llandegla 18/7

deadliest

Went to Llandegal yesterday and rode the Red/Black route twice, Lovely riding and the weather was good but the Black seemed very tame I find it quite hard to judge a trail prior to riding it based on the grading system.

Did nearly eat dirt on the first Tabletop at JJ's though flew down the roll in after the bridge hit the jump with speed and gusto cleared the lot and then landed front wheel first on the downslope and did a very scary endo to the bottom, Nearly a brown trouser moment.

Also saw Mr and Mrs Toast as I was leaving the carpark to go home around 4.30 . . . You were sat outside the cafe on one of the benches and Mr Toast was just hopping onto a Cannondale Prophet ?? Would have pooped over and said Hi otherwise.

But all in all great day out.

Mrs Toast

deadliest wrote:

Also saw Mr and Mrs Toast as I was leaving the carpark to go home around 4.30 . . . You were sat outside the cafe on one of the benches and Mr Toast was just hopping onto a Cannondale Prophet ?? Would have pooped over and said Hi otherwise.

Agh, a stalker! A pooping stalker, no less! The Prophet belonged to Mr Toast's best mate, we've managed to get him into mountain biking.

We were a bit disappointed in Llandegla this time around, it seemed to be a bit more disjointed than last time we were there, and bits that I remembered as being really flowing and fast were utterly battered from deforestation and huge rivers of water!

It also seemed a lot shorter than last time I was there, but maybe that's because I was stopping less! :P Alas, also didn't spot Mr Moore's missing stuff.

deadliest

Mrs Toast wrote:

deadliest wrote:

Also saw Mr and Mrs Toast as I was leaving the carpark to go home around 4.30 . . . You were sat outside the cafe on one of the benches and Mr Toast was just hopping onto a Cannondale Prophet ?? Would have pooped over and said Hi otherwise.

Agh, a stalker! A pooping stalker, no less! The Prophet belonged to Mr Toast's best mate, we've managed to get him into mountain biking.

It also seemed a lot shorter than last time I was there, but maybe that's because I was stopping less! :P

Good choice of bike but I am biased towards Cannondale's

It is quite hard to miss Mr Toast in all honesty though he is pretty darn tall.

Riche1

Well i've just got back from Llandegla and to be honest all it's left me with is a bad mood. The worst move ever made was extending the car park. It just encouraged more people to go there! I hear the cries of yeah but it's good for the sport blah blah. When in actual fact it ruins the experience. There is nothing enjoyable about joining a 13 mile queue.

dsmiff

We always head off quite early; only live 15 mins away and never really had a major problem with people. It nice that they seem to be investing the money they make on building new tracks (pump track and skills track). I also enjoyed the new "water features" they’ve installed today!!!

I go 2-3 times a week and still enjoy the place (only been riding for the last 3 years). Done Penmachno (that was great but no cafe and a bit isolated) and some rides in the lakes, but can't really be bothered driving for an hour to ride a bike every weekend so will stick with Llandegla for now (and occasional trips to the local woods).

Trouble is I ride with my son who is quite a bit faster, at Llandegla he can go off on his own, with me safe in the knowledge that if he has a mishap he is not going to be stuck on his own before I eventually come along! When we ride somewhere new I can't really do that.

scottkw2003

just watched your video and bloody hell like you say your boy is quick
but a really good video

Mrs Toast

Riche1 wrote:

Well i've just got back from Llandegla and to be honest all it's left me with is a bad mood. The worst move ever made was extending the car park. It just encouraged more people to go there! I hear the cries of yeah but it's good for the sport blah blah. When in actual fact it ruins the experience. There is nothing enjoyable about joining a 13 mile queue.

I think Sundays are busier than Saturdays - when we went earlier this year we had to park in the overflow carpark, and the trail was a bit busier, but when we went yesterday it really was pretty quiet - maybe the iffy weather turned people off. Although that said, my regular trail is normally rammed at weekends, so my definition of 'pretty quiet' might be different from other people's!

deadliest

Riche1 wrote:

Well i've just got back from Llandegla and to be honest all it's left me with is a bad mood. The worst move ever made was extending the car park. It just encouraged more people to go there! I hear the cries of yeah but it's good for the sport blah blah. When in actual fact it ruins the experience. There is nothing enjoyable about joining a 13 mile queue.

Hardly saw a soul on saturday ? Had to let three guys get a bit of a lead halfway down the first black as they were a fair bit slower than our group and I think its plain rude to huff and puff behind people so where was the 13 mile queue ? The busiest place seampt to be the cafe . . . But that was probably just the alluring smell of burgers.

Riche1

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent. Let's be honest it's a theme park, the only difference is you bring your own ride.

Anonymous

Riche1 wrote:

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent. Let's be honest it's a theme park, the only difference is you bring your own ride.

I've never seen kids on push-along bikes, but you do realise that there is a family route so that people who aren't mountain bikers can have a bit of fresh air, and a nice ride outdoors, right?

And although it can get very busy there, I've never seen it anywhere near as bad as you describe it, even when they had a rather large enduro event going on there.

you have to bear in mind it's a pretty small forest. What exactly do you propose they do?

Mrs Toast

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Riche1 wrote:

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent. Let's be honest it's a theme park, the only difference is you bring your own ride.

I've never seen kids on push-along bikes, but you do realise that there is a family route so that people who aren't mountain bikers can have a bit of fresh air, and a nice ride outdoors, right?

And although it can get very busy there, I've never seen it anywhere near as bad as you describe it, even when they had a rather large enduro event going on there.

you have to bear in mind it's a pretty small forest. What exactly do you propose they do?

Yar, the green, blue and red routes share the same start, and a bit of the end. Never really found it a problem given those bits of trail are a good 6ft wide minimum. But yeah, never seen the red trail itself being so busy as to be intolerable, and I've only ever been there at weekends.

deadliest

Riche1 wrote:

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent. Let's be honest it's a theme park, the only difference is you bring your own ride.

Are you Victor Meldrew in disguise ?

Riche1

deadliest wrote:

Riche1 wrote:

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent. Let's be honest it's a theme park, the only difference is you bring your own ride.

Are you Victor Meldrew in disguise ?

Answer is no.

lesz42

Riche1 wrote:

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent. Let's be honest it's a theme park, the only difference is you bring your own ride.

they paid as much as you to be there, unless we have to close the place for you? would that help?

SDK2007

I was there yesterday between 10am-5pm and it was very wet but manageable; no queues of any description either
It's interesting that more and more people feel the need to wear full face helmets but ride like they still should be on stabilisers

Riche1 wrote:

The 13 mile queue ran from the first ascent, where you can sometimes find parents pushing thier kids up the hill on wooden push along bikes (didn't even have pedals and had wooden wheels for f@#ks sake), right to the final descent..

Dude - check the trail map; the start and end sections are blue rated trails i.e. Beginner Routes
.. and they are plenty wide enough to overtake

deadliest

Mrs Toast wrote:

Agh, a stalker!

FTAO Mr + Mrs Toast is there any chance of letting me know where you will be this weekend I am finding it extremely difficult to manage a full time job and my new found hobby of stalking.

If you could let me know a couple of days in advance that would be great as it will give me enough time to shuffle my plans to suit you.

Yours sincerely

Deadliest ( The worlds worst stalker )

Riche1

Dont make me the bad guy here, just voicing an opinion. Been riding there for a couple of enjoyable years but lately i feel it's over crowded and over maintained.

deadliest

Riche1 wrote:

Dont make me the bad guy here, just voicing an opinion. Been riding there for a couple of enjoyable years but lately i feel it's over crowded and over maintained.

Over maintained ? :roll:

dsmiff

Riche1 wrote:

Dont make me the bad guy here, just voicing an opinion. Been riding there for a couple of enjoyable years but lately i feel it's over crowded and over maintained.

True enough, we used to arrive just before 9am on a Sunday and could park by the café. Now it's fairly busy by then and there’s only a few places on the lower car park by 9:30.

However I guess it may depend on how fast you ride, I'm doing a fairly average 1hr 45min for the black so don't really catch too many people - only seem to pass riders who are stopped!

My son who rides quicker can have a few more issues and has been stuck behind some big groups before now (which can be a bit irritating, maybe there should be a rule restricting groups to x number of riders???)

I think the "over maintained" comment is the recent smothing of the main climb and other parts of the route, and bits like the drop off on the black being removed - not the recent "landscaping" and "water" features added at the top of the red!!

Hope you were just unlucky as part of appeal of the place is meeting other keen riders for a chat and if people such as yourself are put off that would be a great pity.

lesz42

i had 2 riders have a go at me, on the blue, before a "gate" just before the split, that goes onto the last red bit, or left for the blue/green


i was slowing for the gate ( not something i want to get wrong) they had a go at me, for getting in their way?



now if i heard them, i would of, but i must of been in my own little world, and did not, i said sorry, but i dont think that mattered


as for catching up slower riders, just get on with it, i would never dream of having a moan at someone.


main climb is a blue, so....................... before it was not that easy for someone new



as for the water and lack of trees, i worry more for the lack of trees! water, never been an issue?

Riche1

Nah, i'll be back. It al depends on the weather this weekend, if it's crap i'll be there otherwise might head down to Cilcain.

I'm glad I wasnt the only to notice the 'smoothening' (prob not even a word, but it should be!) of the section by the bird watch before the climb. . But I guess if it's classified blue it has to be able to crossed on a £99 apollo?

lesz42

seen a guy rag it around the black on a apollo, bike dont matter ( to a certain extent) reckon any of the athertons could do us over with an apollo! ( within reason)

lesz42

i did the marin ( more like it did me!) and that was much harder then the black at degla, its classed as a red


but degla black seemed as a rough, worn trail, where as marin seemed, hard in a different way? that make sense?

Riche1

that's weird, I saw a guy the other week pounding around the black on a catalogue bike at warp speed. He had calfs like my thighs and a tinge of green pigment in his complexion.

I do like where the trees have been cut down when you cut to the red though, almost felt like a different trail at first. And I know everyone loves that snakey climb on the black as well.

lesz42

snakey climb? i hate it! lol , but will love them once i do get fitter


i can only do the black on a week day, i am slow! :oops: very careful not to catch someone


would love if they made a skills bit, not very good on berms, and jumps..... but once you ride past them, thats it....

Riche1

But they have just built a skills bit, it just aint unveiled yet. Looks good though.

lesz42

that bit by the carpark? double loop, x4 track? or?

Riche1

Aint there something to the left of the first climb and something near the last section by the far end of the top car park?

lesz42

pump track from looking at it? very narrow in some places,

Dirtydog11

deadliest wrote:

Riche1 wrote:

Dont make me the bad guy here, just voicing an opinion. Been riding there for a couple of enjoyable years but lately i feel it's over crowded and over maintained.

Over maintained ? :roll:

I agree!

Maybe 'Over maintained' is the wrong description but I know where Riche1 is coming from.

The first climb has been sanitised with grit in order to provide a smooth now non cambered surface. Why? Its supposed to a mountain bike trail not a BMX track. I suspect this has someting to do with the Cyclo Cross and XC races that they hold there.

At the same time the owners encourage riders to tackle by far the most dangerous and technical part of the trail (the uncut northshore logs on the Red run) which going by Llandegla's standard should be reclassified Black by funneling riders in and not providing a chicken run. This section is lethal when wet. It doesn't make sense. There is a path to the left but your discouraged from using it.

Llandegla is trying to be all things to all men. Inevitably this means that as popular as it is, a lot of the more experienced riders are going to go away disapointed.

I much prefer the Marin, Penmachno and Coed y Brenin.

juankerr

Yeah, I don't get the "logs"... they're the nastiest thing there and they're rated red.