A good mountain bike trail is a combination of the scenery, the geography, typography and the history of the location. And Coed y Brenin is classed as one of the premier locations in the UK.
Building a mountain bike trail is a bit more complex than just putting a line on the ground. It's important to be in keeping with the typography of the land. Coed y Brenin forest itself lies on a series of three glacial river valleys and they left rocks - lots and lots of rocks! Once you start getting through the organic material beneath the trees, rocks appear everywhere, so we utilise them in the design of the trails.
The technical, single track rides are quite difficult and challenging from a physical and psychological perspective. It's one thing being fit enough to take on a difficult trail physically, but you've got to be psychologically prepared. Sitting at the top of a steep hill can be daunting, so you need the confidence to be able to tackle it. But you can always take any trail at your own pace.
The most difficult trail goes up about 300 metres which is hard work, but the real fun is in coming down!
Everyone can ride a bike, but mountain biking is different to normal riding. I would recommend a tuition course if you're interested in tackling the most difficult trails but it's very progressive. Trails are graded from green (very easy), to double black, (very tough). The latter are the ones
which attract some championships to Coed y Brenin.
The forest itself is still a working forest; the woodland is managed by the Forestry Commission and harvesting takes place alongside the recreational facilities, which aren't confined to mountain biking. There are footpaths, orienteering trails and running paths - something for everyone. We've put in a family cycle trail along the side of the Mawddach river too, which will be a lot easier to ride, ensuring we have something for everybody.
Since Coed y Brenin took off as a centre for mountain biking, local businesses have embraced it and locals are also taking more of an interest. Before biking came here, about 14,000 people visited the area each year, in 2007 it was around 145,000. Every day when I'm out, I recognise locals out using the cycle paths too - it isn't just popular with tourists.
