chewed up and spat out by Twrch!.. Does that make me crap?

radiojaja

first ever ride at a trail centre this morning, and i loved it!

the climbs at the start were horrendous, but the way down, after getting to the top, WOW

most fun ever had with my clothes on!

best part? zooming down a hill, i took a little jump on, got huge air (for me) and smugly landed perfectly, big grin on my face

i then drifted round a hairpin bend, again feeling smug, only to plant my front wheel into a hole and up against a root

cue my first ever endo! it was quite spectacular... made worse by the guys coming past at a million miles an hour, as i sat there off to the side laughing to myself. cant imagine what they were thinking :oops:

the whole thing was really challenging, and there were plenty of people shooting past, on the ups anyway

the question is, should i look for something a bit easier next time? is Twrch particularly hard? or was it just me? everyone seemed to have a FS too, and for the first time i saw the difference v. my HT

anyhoo, what does everyone think? did i bite off a bit more than i can chew?

do i look for somewhere a bit more suitable for my level, or just take it on the chin and get fitter and better? :roll:

thanks

stanfree

Dont worry about anyone else mate as long as you enjoyed your blast is all that matters. I go to Glentress as it only around 30 miles away and see guys with great fitness ,abilities and bikes for that matter. But when I take off from the top of Spooky Wood it dosent matter what speed I go or bike I ride I just enjoy it. But when I take off from the top of Spooky Wood it dosent matter what speed I go or bike I ride I just enjoy it.
I wish Id taken up biking 20 years ago when I see dudes at the free ride jumping off 6 foot drops I wish I was them. As long as you have a blast is all that matters.

radiojaja

thanks Stanfree, great advice!

p.fitz

i had similair expirence but a got too much air was well chuffed (nerves) and thought i`d pull my brakes whilst airborne,,,,,,,,........mmmmmmmm.......dont work in the air only altering pitch etc...but when you land with them on on they work nuff said i think me laying on the floor counting fingers,arms ,legs, but its the crack thtat counts

radiojaja

cheers again, above all i did have a total blast, even if i felt like a halfwit!

stumpyjon

It's a good trail, if you got around and enjoyed it then it was fine. If you tackle a trail that's beyond you, you'll probably hate it, you'll be constantly stopping, walking falling off and general not having a good time.

El Capitano

If you enjoyed the Trwch trail at Cwm Carn, then you might want to consider travelling a little further west along the M4 to Afan Argoed and the trails there. Cwm Carn is the closest trail centre to my house, but I prefer the trails at Afan.

A full-sus bike will be easier on the downhill sections, but you'll be hauling the extra weight up the climbs. That said, I tend to use my Coiler for the trail centres in South Wales although I have used a hardtail XTC in the past - and still enjoyed the trails!

radiojaja

thanks guys, i never thought of it like that stumpyjon.. i certainly enjoyed it, although the downhill bits were by far the best bits (apart from the endo!)

i was amazed at how much difference better technique makes on the ups (that sounds obvious now i've written it down :oops: )

the first few climbs.. i went at them like a loon all puff and spit! but after a while i realised that slow and steady wins the day

i went from having to jump off and drag the bike up to the top of the rise, to grinding up and over and then i go down the 'other side' at a million miles an hour - or at least thats what it felt like!

as soon as i cracked that the rest of the ride was great, i was just really aware of how slow i was going up, people passing me and what have you

really impressed at how 'polite' everyone was to an obvious duffer like me too, and glad no one had to pass on the faster downhill parts

El Capitano.. Afan sounds great, thats port talbot isnt it? a good few miles on, but sounds like its worth it

is it a similar set up to cwmcarn?

saying that, it was my first time at cwmcarn, are there other trails there to do? not too fussed on the DH really, but are there shorter / longer, more severe / less severe trails at cwncarn to do too?

i saw a sign for the 'free ride' section.. is that do able at my standard? sounds like fun!

i pretty much rocked up, got on the twrch and fell into the car to drive back once i'd finished, no time to check it all out

thanks again