Mary Towneley vs Penmachno This Sat!

ClimbBoy

Hi there

I am hoping to venture out on the steed this Sat and was wondering which of the two routes would stand up best to the elements we have been exposed to recently.

- Mary Towneley/ PBW from Watergrove Reservoir to Bottomley to Hollingworth Lake

- Penmachno

Any local knowledge?

Am guessing that MT/ PBW will be a bit less treacherous and Pen will be soaked through.

Thanks

delcol

never ridden the townely but have been on the pennine bridalway, if it anything like that will be a mudbath..

i have been to penmac and rode it in the rain heavy rain,, it was rideable i would say penmachno but like i said i not been on the m/t loop.....

penmac is pretty good trail...

scottgeniusltd2005

mtl at my end is normally a mudbath fiasco these days but today it was firm and fast rolling due to the big freeze. probably be ok on saturday. the gorple road area and around hebden bridge is mostly hardpack or rocks so not muddy there at all

stubs

I have ridden both in deluges and I would say if its clear of ice yet Penmachno is the more weather resistant. MTL has stretches that resemble the Battle of the Somme. Penmac is mostly surfaced with crushed stone and so not particulary muddy but the vegetation can soak you.

Excitable1

ClimbBoy wrote:

Hi there

I am hoping to venture out on the steed this Sat and was wondering which of the two routes would stand up best to the elements we have been exposed to recently.

- Mary Towneley/ PBW from Watergrove Reservoir to Bottomley to Hollingworth Lake

- Penmachno

Any local knowledge?

Am guessing that MT/ PBW will be a bit less treacherous and Pen will be soaked through.

Thanks

Did you get up to Penmachno last weekend, if so what was it like at the top ?
I tried going up between Xmas & new year but ended up knee deep in snow... fun in parts but un rideable, didn't even get to the loop split !
I was going to get an early start this Saturday & do Penmachno & then go & do a short natural blast from Bikefax.
Let me know if you or anyone else went out there recently.

Thanx.

ClimbBoy

Excitable1 wrote:

ClimbBoy wrote:

Hi there

I am hoping to venture out on the steed this Sat and was wondering which of the two routes would stand up best to the elements we have been exposed to recently.

- Mary Towneley/ PBW from Watergrove Reservoir to Bottomley to Hollingworth Lake

- Penmachno

Any local knowledge?

Am guessing that MT/ PBW will be a bit less treacherous and Pen will be soaked through.

Thanks

Did you get up to Penmachno last weekend, if so what was it like at the top ?
I tried going up between Xmas & new year but ended up knee deep in snow... fun in parts but un rideable, didn't even get to the loop split !
I was going to get an early start this Saturday & do Penmachno & then go & do a short natural blast from Bikefax.
Let me know if you or anyone else went out there recently.

Thanx.

I didn't in the end - went to PBW - MT Loop and it was fine

Started at Watergrove Res in Wardle, to Summit, etc etc and whilst snowy in v small patches, it was all rideable

Looking to do Pen or CYB this w/e coming so has anyone done these recently???

Excitable1

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12677097

I went there the weekend after you bottled it !!!!!!

Follow the link I've pasted in, I wrote up the conditions there. Hairy but fun !

Excitable1

Joking apart, I can't confess to doing much around those parts of the world.

I've done a bit in the Peaks around Edale etc but I've not taken in the Pennines yet.

Did you do the whole 47 miles of the 'Mary' route or just part of it ? What's the route like for climbing, single track and climbs etc ?

I would'nt mind a few pointers towards some trails out that way as I'm looking for some new natural routes (although I'll always sneak back to Penmachno for the best man made trail in North Wales once every few months !)

ClimbBoy

Excitable1 wrote:

Joking apart, I can't confess to doing much around those parts of the world.

I've done a bit in the Peaks around Edale etc but I've not taken in the Pennines yet.

Did you do the whole 47 miles of the 'Mary' route or just part of it ? What's the route like for climbing, single track and climbs etc ?

I would'nt mind a few pointers towards some trails out that way as I'm looking for some new natural routes (although I'll always sneak back to Penmachno for the best man made trail in North Wales once every few months !)

The other weekend I only did about 25-30km of the MT Loop but I did do it all in the summer

7hrs including breaks and lunch - was quite pleased but aiming for 6hrs this summer

http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/PennineB ... 202009.pdf

My favourite bits are from Wardle to Lumbutts and also south on the main PBW from Summit downwards

Nothing very hardcore at all and easily hardtailable (apart from the dreaded Rooley Moor descent...)

Great natural riding

Going to Penmachno this Sat where I shall be christening my new Gore Cosmo jacket (probably end up ripping it on the overgrown shrubbery...)

Hope the sun has had a positive effect on the trail

Excitable1

Don't worry about the vegetation at Penmachno. They cut most of it back in the summer.

I'd worry more about the usual wet that Wetmachno has to offer, that shiny new jacket is going to come back completly sh**ed up !!!

Impressed with the MT route, I'll give it a go.

Have you done any of the Clywdian range ? There's a 6 hour rote you can do from Ruthin. Try this http://www.ridetheclwyds.com/rideclwyds ... sp?l=reset

Myself, I'm off to Jacobs Ladder in the Peaks this weekend to take in some natural trails there.

ClimbBoy

Excitable1 wrote:

Don't worry about the vegetation at Penmachno. They cut most of it back in the summer.

I'd worry more about the usual wet that Wetmachno has to offer, that shiny new jacket is going to come back completly sh**ed up !!!

Impressed with the MT route, I'll give it a go.

Have you done any of the Clywdian range ? There's a 6 hour rote you can do from Ruthin. Try this http://www.ridetheclwyds.com/rideclwyds ... sp?l=reset

Myself, I'm off to Jacobs Ladder in the Peaks this weekend to take in some natural trails there.

Yep - done a few of the Clywdians - The Moel Arthur 2 Times is a nice one - if it's been dry for 2 months...

Me and the missus went to Mold/ Cilcain a few times in Autumn 08 and really enjoyed it

The hireathog site has some decent ones too

I am taking the Clwydian maps with me tomorrow, doing Pen then a bit of Marin on the way back, staying over in a mates and will have a short blast around Moel Famau on Sun

Should be a good w/e!

Demo day at llandegla Sat 20th

£2k bikes for free!

ClimbBoy

I went to Penmachno on Sat and did Loop 2 for the first time.

Have done Loop 1 twice but was always pushed for time before.

Thought it was great.

I love the fact that it feels like a hybrid of trail centre and natural

If anyone else is thinking about going there soon, the conditions were perfect - only the slightest hint of ice but didn't interfere at all with the ride

It also wasn't that wet either!

Anyone else done Loop 2 and loved/ hated it?

Excitable1

Now I'm really pissed off !

I went to Jacobs Ladder on Saturday & I did the Hayfield loop. The conditions were crap. The snow that's left over from January is all gathered on the bridleways. Where there isn't snow it's ankle deep in mud. After Hayfield the mud was that thick on the bike that the chain just constantly slipped so I ended up pushing the bike for almost the whole of the back end up to the main road. Where there was no snow and no mud the trails are just plain ruined.

I don't get it. You pay £5 to park (more than anywhere in Wales & Scotland), the car park at Edale is constantly full (as are the car parks at the resevoirs), there isn't that much trail and yet compare the maintenence on the Peaks to Wales & Scotland. It's non existant ! When you ride the Peaks you can understand why the country side preservation clan get pissed off with walkers and cyclists. In places the trails are 10m wide with several alternitive rutted tracks.

To top it all off Climboy, I wore my nice new Endura waterproof 3/4's which managed to some how tear on my saddle !!!! that after you being so worried about your jacket.

I'm glad you enjoyed the second loop. I don't think there is another trail that gets close to Penmachno now, and it has so much more pottential for future expansion. Guess where I'm going next (or when I at least get some new 3/4's and brake pads).

ClimbBoy

Excitable1 wrote:

Now I'm really pissed off !

I went to Jacobs Ladder on Saturday & I did the Hayfield loop. The conditions were crap. The snow that's left over from January is all gathered on the bridleways. Where there isn't snow it's ankle deep in mud. After Hayfield the mud was that thick on the bike that the chain just constantly slipped so I ended up pushing the bike for almost the whole of the back end up to the main road. Where there was no snow and no mud the trails are just plain ruined.

I don't get it. You pay £5 to park (more than anywhere in Wales & Scotland), the car park at Edale is constantly full (as are the car parks at the resevoirs), there isn't that much trail and yet compare the maintenence on the Peaks to Wales & Scotland. It's non existant ! When you ride the Peaks you can understand why the country side preservation clan get pissed off with walkers and cyclists. In places the trails are 10m wide with several alternitive rutted tracks.

To top it all off Climboy, I wore my nice new Endura waterproof 3/4's which managed to some how tear on my saddle !!!! that after you being so worried about your jacket.

I'm glad you enjoyed the second loop. I don't think there is another trail that gets close to Penmachno now, and it has so much more pottential for future expansion. Guess where I'm going next (or when I at least get some new 3/4's and brake pads).

Nightmare!

If it's any consolation, my new Gore jacket and Altura 3/4's passed the Pen test with flying colours...

Potentially heretical statement here but I reckon the Peaks (or at least what I've done around Macc Forest and Whiet Peak) are good but a tad overrated.

Give me the Lakes any day of the week

When I first went to Macc 2 years ago I saw a biker coming back to his car who told me the area was the "best in the world"...

Hmmmm

If I want trail centre type stuff, I'll go to Pen; if I want scenery and great natural riding, I'll head to Keswick, Ambleside, Coniston or Staveley.

If I can't be arsed with 2 hours in the car, then I'll go to Macc...

Better luck next time Decepticon!