Castell Coch night riding

apple eater

I've been just a couple of times in the day and now that darkness has befallen i will be trying night rides. I was hoping to go last week but couldn't make it.

So any tips for night riding and riding at the castle espescially?

The Northern Monkey

Just make sure someone knows where you're going... as the trails up there aren't waymarked, if you did come a cropper you wouldn't be found till the morning.

Other than that, just stick to the routes you know, Coch is great for a night ride!

We'll probably end up there some time during the week for a casual ride, but check out South Wales MTB on facebook as Castle Coch group night rides are arranged almost every week!

welshkev

Yep, we'll be up there soon for sure.

it does get quite boggy and slippery in the wet though.

and watch out for the doggers in forest fawr car park at night

jimothy78

My top tip for night riding is to stick to trails you know from riding in the daylight or follow someone who knows where they're going (and that you know you can keep pace with). Especially important in areas like Castell Coch where there's a dense network of inter-crossing rider-built trails, as ending up on the wrong one could lead you into a feature you can't cope with.

Like Kev says, it gets slippery after rain - the soil round here is clay, and the top layer gets slippy very easily. Full-on mud tyres aren't always particularly helpful, as apart from places where water actually collects, the underlying mud can still be too firm for them to dig in properly - it's just slippy on top. A super-tacky compound, fast-clearing all-rounder is probably the best choice.

apple eater

now i'm better and fixed i am plannng on going this week. so although it is going to be wet it shouldn't be too bad asit's stayed dry for a few days and the rest of the week looks dry.

Something I thought of tonight is the mist. I walkd the dogs across the fields tonight and i could only see about 4 feet in front of me at times. Does this kind of early autum mist affect the woods or is it mainly open areas like fileds?

The Northern Monkey

It does get misty up there, had to cut a ride short as I literally couldnt see anythink lol. The lights reflected back at me and I could see bugger all!

jimothy78

Was out tonight - rode up the Garth, then back through Taff's Well into the Castell Coch woods. Misty as hell up the Garth, could barely see 5 yards, but much better lower down.

If you do find yourself in thick mist/fog then it's worth turning off any helmet mounted lights and relying on your bar-mounted lights alone - the helmet light just illuminates the droplets in front of your eyes, which throw the light back at you like a solid wall, so it becomes a case of "less is more".