Discussion
I'm off there tomorrow for the first time in many years. Does the B Line turn off the red route, or is it part of the black route? I'd imagine it's all very obvious when you're there but I'd rather know in advance so we don't have to mess about.
Will two laps be doable in three hours without any cafe time?
Will two laps be doable in three hours without any cafe time?
I was up there at the weekend with my Son so didn't set any lap records, but a rather more athletic friend of mine has been around the black route in 1hr 23min according to Endomondo. So maybe 2 laps in 3 hours if you are really keen!
Maps here:
http://www.coedllandegla.com/download.php?id=2
Not sure about the 'B line' I was too busy trying not to die on the red, let alone the black!
Maps here:
http://www.coedllandegla.com/download.php?id=2
Not sure about the 'B line' I was too busy trying not to die on the red, let alone the black!
B line does turn off the red route
after the long slog up the fire road , about half way through the route propper you come to a "T" junction on a fire road
the red route turns left down the hill , then "R" off the fire road
it's all well signposted
it's up near the high point that you can turn off for "B Line"
you can usualy spot it even without the sign posts , as a few people stop and contemplate if the drop onto the boardwalk is rollable (it is)
they have done a great job with this
Just take care as I keep seeing people having fairly big tumbles off B line
if you have the time , it is still worth doing a loop of the Blue run
it has some of the best flow this side of Glentress , and gets better & better the faster & faster you go
Toasted Tea Cakes from the cafe are great , just don't make the same mistake that I did first time & ask for two , they are a little large !
after the long slog up the fire road , about half way through the route propper you come to a "T" junction on a fire road
the red route turns left down the hill , then "R" off the fire road
it's all well signposted
it's up near the high point that you can turn off for "B Line"
you can usualy spot it even without the sign posts , as a few people stop and contemplate if the drop onto the boardwalk is rollable (it is)
they have done a great job with this
Just take care as I keep seeing people having fairly big tumbles off B line
if you have the time , it is still worth doing a loop of the Blue run
it has some of the best flow this side of Glentress , and gets better & better the faster & faster you go
Toasted Tea Cakes from the cafe are great , just don't make the same mistake that I did first time & ask for two , they are a little large !
B line does turn off the red route
after the long slog up the fire road , about half way through the route propper you come to a "T" junction on a fire road
the red route turns left down the hill , then "R" off the fire road
it's all well signposted
it's up near the high point that you can turn off for "B Line"
you can usualy spot it even without the sign posts , as a few people stop and contemplate if the drop onto the boardwalk is rollable (it is)
they have done a great job with this
Just take care as I keep seeing people having fairly big tumbles off B line
if you have the time , it is still worth doing a loop of the Blue run
it has some of the best flow this side of Glentress , and gets better & better the faster & faster you go
Toasted Tea Cakes from the cafe are great , just don't make the same mistake that I did first time & ask for two , they are a little large !
after the long slog up the fire road , about half way through the route propper you come to a "T" junction on a fire road
the red route turns left down the hill , then "R" off the fire road
it's all well signposted
it's up near the high point that you can turn off for "B Line"
you can usualy spot it even without the sign posts , as a few people stop and contemplate if the drop onto the boardwalk is rollable (it is)
they have done a great job with this
Just take care as I keep seeing people having fairly big tumbles off B line
if you have the time , it is still worth doing a loop of the Blue run
it has some of the best flow this side of Glentress , and gets better & better the faster & faster you go
Toasted Tea Cakes from the cafe are great , just don't make the same mistake that I did first time & ask for two , they are a little large !
phil-sti said:
The way I do it is 1 lap of red/black, cafe stop and then a blast around the blue.
I did the blue/lunch/red with my son (who is ten) and it's fair to say that the final climbs within the red run are a killer after that many hours in the saddle.Red first, blue second is the right way!
(I was the only person there on a rigid bike, so very old school!)
gary71 said:
I was the only person there on a rigid bike, so very old school!
Last time we were tere, my crazy French mate did the whole black/B-line route on a fully rigid singlespeed. Really, really demoralised everyone he overtook.Two laps is eminently do-able. The B-line is excellent fun.
For less able/intrepid/energetic souls, I can also vouch for the fact that the blue route is pretty good fun too. Mrs Digga followed my nephew and a friend's son round that whilst the rest of us piled around the other stuff and she said it was pretty easy apart from the (common to all routes, fire road) climb up of course.
Rouleur said:
Thanks for the tips, red then blue it is
BTW B-line is classed 'black & orange' and, in parts, is fairly comitted.Red is pretty good and you can decide on how energetic you are (how well re-fuelled you are after the excellent lunches - superb chips - they do) as to whether another lap or the (shorter) blue.
Some of the red is pretty narrow, but generally you can always pull over to let faster riders come past. Everyone (bar one!) was polite if we unavoidably held them up. Most were positive about a kid out giving it a shot, even if we did walk down two rocky slopes as they were a bit much for a first timer.
There's plenty of spots to pull over on the singletrack at Llandegla to let riders past, plenty of stretches of the trails up there are wide enough to overtake (especially on the initial slog uphill).
As Engineer pointed out it's the responsibility for the quicker rider to get past. They should let you know they're coming up and they want to overtake. When I overtake I generally call out that I'm coming up and what side I'd like to overtake, and then a quick thanks as I go by.
Most riders are considerate, there's the occasional arse out there, but isn't there always.
As Engineer pointed out it's the responsibility for the quicker rider to get past. They should let you know they're coming up and they want to overtake. When I overtake I generally call out that I'm coming up and what side I'd like to overtake, and then a quick thanks as I go by.
Most riders are considerate, there's the occasional arse out there, but isn't there always.
gary71 said:
I did the blue/lunch/red with my son (who is ten) and it's fair to say that the final climbs within the red run are a killer after that many hours in the saddle.
Red first, blue second is the right way!
(I was the only person there on a rigid bike, so very old school!)
The first time I did the red/black there I thought I was going to die so I doth my cap to your son for doing the red at 10 Red first, blue second is the right way!
(I was the only person there on a rigid bike, so very old school!)
. Some of the climbs are pretty intense and if you have not been riding long and are not pretty fit (which I was 4 years ago when I first went) then you better get ready for the pain.P
Dift said:
Do they still do the minted lamb burgers? Eating a few of them after a hard ride is bliss!
Oh yes, when you've done the full red/black loop it's the one thing to look forward too!Now parallel universe and the new section are awesome.
Note to everyone I think it's closed this weekend for a race saw something online but you might want to check if I've lost my marbles or something.
Freakuk said:
Note to everyone I think it's closed this weekend for a race saw something online but you might want to check if I've lost my marbles or something.
It's only going to be closed up there on Sunday Morning until 1.30pm. Most of the roads round there are being closed that morning for the Etape Cymru. I'll be heading up Sat morning for a spin round.
Edited by oj113 on Thursday 6th September 07:23
Freakuk said:
Now parallel universe and the new section are awesome.
Note to anyone interested in this excellent black section, IMHO it's easily missed - just a branch off a berm, over some roack, between two standing stones. If you don;t know it's there, you could ride past.This video shows start for recognition and is also good because whoever filmed it rides the trail pretty well too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw5Vr357omY
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