Following on from this thread ,this weekend I was the first ( untill proved otherwise 
) UK Muni rider to experience the new tracks built in Coed Llandegla Forest.
Only about 1 - 1/2 hours drive from the northwest this was an ideal location just waiting to tried. Website states that the centre there opens at 10.00 but when I arrived just before 10.00 the carpark was getting full. £1.50 covers carparking you for 3 hours and £2.50 for a day pass.
I opted for the red route which was 18 km/11 miles and the longest ride there. There is a black route but this is basically an addon to the red route of an additional 1 km/0.5 miles and features a ton of large jumps and tabletops.
A 24 was my choice of Uni (being that the other choice was a 20!).
The route starts and continues with a climb for 3 miles of about 550ft. Both the green and red routes follow the same wide path for the climb. This wasn’t too bad on the Uni with some switchbacks proving difficult to keep your momentium going. Here I got my first comment of the day from two walkers, one who asked if I was training for the circus 
After the climb it’s pretty much downhill all the way back with a couple of climbs dotted throughout. The singletrack sections though the forest were nice and varied with small / medium jumps, switchbacks, berms (some over 6ft high!) and a small northshore section. The first raised wooden section was easy enough with flat planks of wood, the second section was made from rough logs which proved to difficult (not Uni friendly!).
What also proved to be taxing was the amount of mud (with the color and texture of curry) in places. On the fast swooping downhill corners controlling a skidding Uni was fun , trying to ride up a hill flowing with mud was not. At one particular mud covered section of track i decided to plow right through the middle (infact there was no way round) upon which I discovered that the mud was about 1ft deep and a did a superman impression landing lying face down in a mud bath.
The ride took 4 hours but I stopped quite a lot to talk to other bike riders there. All had positive comments and questions. One rider asked me if my KH was a parsley! (he had a 20" 10 few years ago). Other riders were just interested on why I did it, was the Uni custom made etc. A few even had a go when I got back to the cafe at the end of the ride.
Note to anyone thinking of coming here, try the carrot cake - a slice of heavon on a plate.
