On Sunday we headed to Machynlleth to tackle to Cli-Machx harder route from http://www.flattyresmtbroutes.com/ClimachxHarder.html. The Cli-Machx man-made route is good fun, particularly the final descent, but the addition of some natural stuff makes it a classic.
Since most of us indulged at the Zetland Arms in Warwick the previous evening, it was a rather slugglish start, particularly for Ed, Stu and Ad. Hedd was on reasonable form thanks to a taxi at a reasonable hour (thank you Haynesy!) and both Ash and debutant Spud were the picture of health and wellbeing!
We eventually got underway, and following a breakfast stop of Cafe Carys in Mallwyd (B'lliant), and a trip to a closed bike shop to cure Colgie's non-brake non-problem, we arrived at the trailhead, faffed for England/Wales and eventually got underway.
The first fireroad climb was as tough as ever, but after a pitstop at the trail junction we eventually arrived at the top of the first natural downhill section. Disaster stuck immediatly for Ed who found he had an incurable front fork problem which would see him limping around for the rest of the day - not good. For the rest of us, this first section was a bit of an eye-opener to what natural riding is all about (after a recent trail centre only diet!) and there were a few tumbles!
The first fireroad climb was as tough as ever, but after a pitstop at the trail junction we eventually arrived at the top of the first natural downhill section. Disaster stuck immediatly for Ed who found he had an incurable front fork problem which would see him limping around for the rest of the day - not good. For the rest of us, this first section was a bit of an eye-opener to what natural riding is all about (after a recent trail centre only diet!) and there were a few tumbles!
Ad takes a tumble on the first natural descent
After a brief bit of fireroad, and a singletrack section that countoured across a recently deforested hillside, we found the top of the second natural downhill section. This was an absolute blast, and Ash flew down - nearly making it all the way to the bottom!
Ash on the second natural downhill section
From here we headed to the Va-va-voom! section of the Cli-machx man-made trail before heading off to find a natural, slatey, bike wrecking section which was particularly inappropriate for a man with 1 inch of travel available on his front fork!
After that it was a fairly big climb back out again which, thanks to some forestry work, was a bit of a trudge through deep mud. We eventually found a singletrack linking section which took us to a reasonably long fireroad climb to the excellent (and appropriately named) "Better late than never" section.
Ash rides "Better late than never" on the Cli-machx trail
From here, we had more natural section to tackle. Discretion was the better part of valour for Ed so he headed for the top of the last man-made downhill for a long wait and a bit of a snooze. Everyone else headed up the hill in search of the trail.
The downhill starts seriously steep, and eveyone needed a few dabs to get down, but after that and a few muddy sections, the trail turns into a real rocky blast. This steepens at the end, and it was all too much for Spud, who managed a slow motion crash that seemed to last forever!
From here it was a big climb to the top of the last man-made downhill section to find a snoozing Ed. After a bit of a rest we were underway. The first section starts well but levels off and turns into a bit of an XC blast for a while. After a (very) short and technical climb, and a stop to take in the view over the small town of Corris, we hit the last downhill proper. This was a blast as always, with jumps and berms galore!
Ad on the final part of the final Cli-Machx downhill (with apologies for the lack of sound!)
All in all it had been another great day out on the bike. Ed managed to keep his chin up despite his bad luck, and we all promised to get another ride in soon - it's nearly night riding season again! Here's a summary of the day in musical montage form....
Cli-Machx Harder; October 2009 from Hedd Roberts on Vimeo.
