Modern society has seemingly decided that barefoot runners, including runners that don the weird/gross looking Vibram FiveFingers shoes, may know the secret to injury-free running, but nobody will listen to them because they're such extremists. But the injury statistics show that out of all current runners, 79% of them are injured every year. That's insane. We're obviously doing something wrong. More »
The first two loops of the new MinorTaur blue trail at Coed y Brenin have recently been completed. The trail complements the established red and black rides but it also has a number of unique and specially adapted features which makes Coed-y-Brenin Forest Park the first truly inclusive mountain bike destination in the United Kingdom. The blue trail has been built with aMTB or adaptive mountain biking features. Put in its simplest terms, aMTB is about any adaptation or modification to equipment or provision of facilities that results in a wider range of disabled riders getting onto the trails and into the mountain environment. In short, it is about helping more riders get an authentic mountain biking experience.
Given the unique features of the trail it was the perfect place to launch the ‘Challenge your Boundaries’ Adaptive MTB project which took place on the 22nd October 2011. I got in touch with Graham O’Hanlon the Project Leader and he's written up a great account of exactly how the day went down.
"After a couple of years in active preparation, the Discover Dolgellau ‘Challenge your Boundaries’ project saw its official birth last Saturday, at a surprisingly sun-drenched Coed y Brenin trail centre.
In partnership with the Snowdonia National Park, Sport Wales, and Forestry Commission Wales, the aim of the project is to develop and promote adaptive mountain biking (aMTB) as a means by which active people with disabilities can regain access to the mountain wilderness, or experience it for the first time. That’s the official party-line, but unofficially we like to think of it as giving a wider range of people the same chance to crash as we have. Our aim is to encourage risk-management and judgement in those competent to do so, and to create a suitable support structure for those who can’t. We are not going to be wrapping anyone up in cotton wool (though body armour is available!)
The launch party started with a series of short talks about aMTB from different perspectives; an experienced adaptive rider talked about mountain biking from a user’s viewpoint, whilst an army medical officer talked about the value of adventure activity from a rehab stand-point. After some quick thank-yous from me there was the formal handover of two aMTBs from the Snowdonia National Park Authority to the project.
From there it was out into the sunshine for a bike try-out session on a skills circuit set up next to the visitors centre. This open session gave the opportunity to try out a number of different adaptive bikes, but the balmy weather also encouraged a bit of an aMTB social, with groups of riders sunning themselves and swapping equipment tips and tales of aMTB adventure.
After a buffet lunch, a group of us, including 4 hand cyclists, set out for a ride into the park. The hand cycles were a variety of designs, some of which performed well on technical terrain, but were less good on fat trail, and vice versa. We made a warm-up loop of the MinorTaur trail to shake down lunch, and this was not without its moments. Steve (now to be known as ‘Swiss’ for the number of rolls he performed) had his own mini adaptive adventure off the side of those spectacular switchbacks on ‘The Slipway’, but managed to stay on the track (if not altogether upright) on a second attempt.
A long climb then took us to our first bit of technical trail, a rock-strewn and slippery climb up the remains of an old Roman road. The two ‘One-Off’ hand-cycles, sluggish on the flat, came into their own on this kind of terrain, and Adrian (a veteran of several Black Runs at Coed y Brenin) made light work of the tricky stone step mid-way up the trail. He was shortly followed by relative newcomer Martin who, on only his second go on the bike, perhaps lacked some of the technical finesse, but made up for it with sheer stubbornness and a blank refusal to be beaten.
More climbing took us up to ‘Adam & Eve’ and riders went a-whoopin’ and a-hollerin’ down the roller-coaster descent. Despite having ‘A&E’ for a name, the feature filled trail took no casualties, though Andrew did have a brief crisis when he thought there might be a big hole on the other side of a blind summit.
All too soon it was time to turn for home, but fortunately there was a long and fast free-wheel to keep the smiles going. I clocked myself at 40 kph as we headed back to the centre, and looked round to see Martin on the One-Off closing in fast. Great stuff.
For us, the launch was a great chance to put faces to names, and to try out new bits of kit. The ride-out in particular sticks in my mind as a highlight of the day, and thanks are due to all who helped us make it happen. Such was the buzz that we are keen to make a get-together of adaptive riders an annual event."
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