Muddymoles mountain biking in the Surrey Hills and Mole Valley

We’re off to Wales (Afan!)

Posted by Matt | April 21, 2008 | 3 comments so far

We’ve talked about it for ages. And ages. But improbably (thanks to Colin’s organisational efforts) we’ve co-ordinated ourselves sufficiently that we’re definitely off to Afan over the weekend of 16-18 May with as close to a blessing from our life partners as we’re ever likely to get.

Gulp. That’s only four weeks away and a good number of us have been struggling with fitness for most of this year. There’s:

  • Me, owner of a mono-lung that has only just allowed me to start riding again after only two rides throughout March;
  • Jem, who has been hamstrung by a repetitive knee injury since Christmas;
  • Mark who simply hasn’t had the chance to ride much;
  • Simon, our South Western correspondent who hasn’t really ridden much for a couple of years (but is a damn fine rider);
  • And then there’s Dave, missing a toenail and up to his ears in psychology, philosophical constructs and ladies bike geometry.

So it should be fun then, staying in a pine fetishist’s dream at Bryn Bettws Log Cabins at Gyfylchi Farm, just off the Wall Trail.

Rob just sent me the YouTube video I’ve embedded here to get us in the mood. It all looks very tasty and hopefully our madcap hilarity will be suitably recorded for a follow up posting in early June.

Anyone with any tips for Welsh virgins (haha!), please let us know in the comments.

Filed under Lifestyle, Mutterings in April 2008

Matt

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.

There are 3 comments on ‘We’re off to Wales (Afan!)’

We love to get comments from our readers - if you've spent a few moments to comment, thank-you.

  1. Colin says:

    Either that video was shot when Kajagoogoo last had a top ten hit or the rider is wearing some 80’s style mtb gear for a laugh.

    Better get some training in guys…

  2. Rob says:

    That’s not me before anyone asks, but I do remember Kajagoogoo!

    I found the video on YouTube a couple of years back and dubbed the music (one of my favorite tracks ever!) over the visuals and added the titles.

    You’ll have lots of this type of singletrack in store, but what it doesn’t show are the switchback and fireroad climbs which will certainly get those lung/s, hamstrings and …errr…toes, working hard!

    One word of advice – Port Talbot is known for its high crime rates so lock up those bikes at night and lean them up against your bed post!

  3. Matt says:

    Haha! I hadn’t actually looked too closely at what the guy is wearing, very lycra-tastic.

    Rob, perfect track given the 80’s era fashions. Except of course Afan wasn’t open then, so this guy must just be ‘making a statement’.

    Retro!

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