You could never get bored!

It really is fair to say that no 2 days are ever the same. It would be easy to think that you're either instructing or you're guiding and to a degree that's true. However, the mix of people and their varied interests and requirements really does mean no 2 days are ever the same ... there's a little look at just a few of the things that have happening over the last couple of weeks.

You can't tell from the picture above but it was a day of high winds and heavy showers. Sally was here for a days guiding and this was our lunch stop ... not the most salubrious but it served a purpose. Next stop of the day was a close encounter with a wind farm.

This is Greg and Si. They'll be in Canada at the moment getting ready to depart on the 2750 mile Tour Divide race. We spent a weekend out in the hills putting in the miles and testing out their gear in anticipation. Although they're outside a bothy here, they still slept in their tents ... I on the other hand didn't!

Jack has a bit of a gift for riding. Along with his father, uncle and younger brother (who also has a gift) they spent a couple of days here on a 2 day skills course. Strangely, the hardest job for me was getting Jack to slow down ;o)

I hadn't ridden at Coed Y Brenin for quite a while so when I received a request for a skills course there I couldn't resist. The call came from Tom of the SHABi mountain bike club. We didn't have a tremendous amount of time available to us but the progress everyone made was quite remarkable.

My job was to take 6 lads in their late teens into the mountains for the day. This is our lunch stop, the BIG climb of the day was still to come as were the hottest temperatures! We covered around 30 miles and made it above 2000ft ... the first time any of them had mountain biked on a mountain!

Ruth and Jennie have both been here before. Last time, they did a 2 day skills course ... this time they wanted something a little different - a days guiding with some instruction on the side. This is Ruth getting to grips with a descent which is far steeper and much rougher than the picture portrays

What's in a name?

The term Freeride does tend to conjure up some rather extreme images in peoples minds. Mountain biking borrowed the term from other 'extreme' sports but over the years its meaning has altered and morphed into something quite different.

In its original context, Freeride has much more in common with 'natural' riding, mountains and unexplored trails. If you were 'freeriding' it implied that you would be riding whatever you came across ... it could almost have been called, lottery-riding. You dealt with whatever appeared in front of you or got off and walked! If you've ever ridden the Rangers path off the summit of Snowdon then you've been freeriding. It may not have felt like it, after all there were no wooden structures, 20 foot gap jumps or 15 foot drops to flat but if you look back through mountain biking's pretty short history you'll see that's what you were doing.

As for the Forest part ... anyone who's been here will understand but for those who haven't the picture above should help explain.

Don't like steps?

If you're worried about riding steps then you might want to look away now.

I found this section by accident while out the other day. The top picture shows the start and the bottom picture is towards the end of the trail. Inbetween there are 148 steps, most are around 8" - 10" high but there's a couple that are 18" ... still rollable but trickier. To make things even more interesting there's a few switchbacks in there too!

Much steeper than it looks

Dennis on the left 'eyeing' his line up

Wanna race girls?

Downhill racing is, in my opinion the ultimate test of technical riding ability. Since its very inception it's pretty much been a very male thing. Sure, there's always been female classes just as there's classes for juveniles, veterans and pretty much everything in between.

If you're female then the thought of entering such a testosterone rich environment can be pretty daunting ... it can be daunting enough if you're male! Over the years I've coached and ridden with some very fast women but only a tiny amount have ever raced downhill. Hopefully a new race may give more women the incentive they need to give it a go.

Diva Descent is a female only downhill race which takes place at the start of May and it could just be the opportunity some of you have been waiting for. Here's what the organisers have to say.

THE UK’S FIRST ALL-GIRLS

DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE

Diva Descent, the UK’s first all-girls downhill mountain bike race is to be held at Kinnoull Hill, Perth, Scotland on the 7th-8th May 2011.

The purpose of the event is to introduce more female riders into downhill racing and to provide them with the opportunity to compete, under authentic race conditions, in an all-girl environment. Diva Descent was inspired by the success of other all-girl events in the UK, such as ‘Air Maiden.’

The weekend consists of a day of coaching on the Saturday; from key women in the UK race scene, followed by a day of racing on the Sunday. Diva Descent is aimed at any women interested in giving downhill racing a go, either for the first time or those just wanting to hone in on their skills.

Diva Descent is proud to have the support of Loeka clothing, Perth City Cycles and the Forestry Commission. GirlMTNbiker has recently come on board as publicity manager for the event and further sponsorship is soon to be announced. The event is being organised by Sarah Muir, a keen Mountain Biker from Scotland. And when asked about why she decided to set up Diva Descent said, “I’m passionate about mountain biking and the industry and believe this is an excellent opportunity to introduce women to downhill racing. It also provides a place for girls to show off their talents, develop their skills and learn from other women in the race scene. The support I have received so far from the mountain bike community, not only in Scotland, but internationally has been incredible.”

One of the aims of Diva Descent is to encourage a greater number of girls to enter into mountain bike events and to see more women on the Scottish and the UK race circuit! The price of the weekend is £40, which includes coaching on the Saturday and entry to the race on the Sunday.

For more information about the event and to secure your place visit www.divadesscent.com with updates and race reports available also at girlmtnbiker.com

Attention Ladies!

Here's something just for the fairer sex. A new website called GirlMTNbiker, it's aimed directly at women who ride mountain bikes and very importantly, the people behind it are women who ride mountain bikes. The site's getting bigger every day. There's a calender listing women's events, reviews, a blog and something I really love are the photographs ... you might just be inspired.

So direct your mouse over to http://www.girlmtnbiker.com/ take a look and show some support. I may be cropping up there more than you'd imagine.

New year's here ... hoora!

Well even though the blogs been very quiet throughout January that doesn't mean nothing's been going on here. Firstly, in between the snow, rain, wind, freezing temperatures and more snow the bunkhouse managed to acquire its self a new roof ... no small feat given the conditions.

I've also been busy building some new skills sections and obstacles ... so if you come to see us this year, you'll get to play on them.

Something else that's also been taking up quite a lot of time is sorting out this years Welsh Ride Thing which takes place in May. If you like big days out in the hills and mountains on your bike then it might be right up your street ... have a look at the blog if you want to find out more about it.

http://welshridething.blogspot.com/

Now we're in to February bookings tend to hot up, with people looking to get themselves or their group sorted out and booked in. If you're planning on coming over to us this year then don't leave it too long, particularly if you need to come on a weekend.

The New Year

Well 2011 is pretty much here so happy New Year everyone. The Forest Freeride 2011 website is live and has full details of everything we've got going on throughout 2011. The usual suspects are still there, Girls Only weekends, 1 and 2 day skills courses, etc but there's a couple of new things too.

New this year are, 2 and 3 day bikepacking trips and 1 and 2 day beginners training courses ... so a pretty broard spectrum of mountain biking really. We'll also be running/hosting some guided ride days for our previous customers ... all free of charge. If you've visited us before and fancy the idea either keep an eye out here or on the website.

Over and out.