e ’ re a lucky bunch these days . Back in the old days , the rule ‘ no dig , no ride ’ was absolute . There were no man-made and way-marked loops . We had no trail centres and certainly no bike parks . If you wanted to ride , you started with a shovel and you ended with a bad back .
These days though , it ’ s a different game altogether . You can ride a different trail every weekend without a single trip to B & Q or the chiropractor . There are trails up and down the UK that are open all year and in all weather and that offer trails to firsttime newbies and wizened old dogs alike .
At the very top of the tree , the very best-of-the-best , the absolute finest example of what new-school mountain biking can offer in a ready-to-ride package is , of course , Bike Park Wales .
There ’ s over 35 trails , an uplift service to whip you up the hill , a bike shop , a cafe and it ’ s all tucked away in the Welsh Valleys just a couple of hours ’ drive from London or Birmingham . As it goes , we ’ re pretty lucky these days .
Built for the future
If you think of top mountain bike destinations , the once-strong mining community of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales might not be your first brain wave . It makes sense though . Bike Park Wales was built on the site of the old Gethin Dragon Downhill track , steeped in downhill heritage . The hill is big enough for a tonne of long , fast trails but not so much you can ’ t pedal back to the top .
It ’ s also no coincidence that Wales has been blessed with plenty of funding from Europe , which helped to pay for the whole thing . South Wales was once a powerhouse for mining and industry . When that ground to a halt , so did work for the local community and cash for the local economy . Bike Park Wales was built as part of an effort to fire life back into the area and bring people and their money back into the valleys . With 75,000 riders shredding Bike Park Wales every year it ’ s clearly doing a good job .
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BIKE PARK
Bike Parks don ’ t just sprout out of the ground though . The Park was dreamt up by riders Martin Astley and Rowan Sorrell and their partners Anna and Liz . They saw an opportunity and worked flat out to make it happen .
All held down day jobs and put in the hours through evenings , lunch breaks and weekends to turn their dream into a real-life bike park . It took them five years from their first conversation to their first trail build and was , in Rowan ’ s words , “ really , really tough ”.
The work paid-off though and after five years of paperwork , planning applications and funding bids they made it happen . Work started . A cafe , bike shop and workshop was built . Trails were crafted from Welsh dirt . The doors opened , uplifts started rolling and riders starting sending runs .
THE GOOD STUFF
What do you need to know ? If you like riding bikes , you ’ ll like Bike Park Wales . It ’ s that simple . u
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