Not trying to fight the time difference too much we rose early and headed out to Afan Forest Park. Trails parks are becoming a popular tourist attraction in the UK. They are dedicate MTB trails with facilities at the trail head catering to the mountain biker and outdoor enthusiast. Afan Forest is located in an area of South Wales that was heavily mined in the industrial revolution and has seen a massive amount of unemployment and depressed communities in the past 30 years since a lot of the coal mines shut in the early 80’s. The park is designed to help revitalize the area and from the number of people we saw riding on a Thursday, it looks like the plan is working.
 After stopping in at the full service bike shop and buying some new pads (I have spent a fortune on brake pads this week) we saddled up and hit the trails. After a 6km ascent though ever green forest we topped out near a wind farm. The trails were all single track, well maintained and a blast to ride. Wales gets a huge amount of rain but the trails drain very well and are good to ride in any condition. The remained of the 14k of trails flowed very smoothly. There were some great TTF sections with raised boardwalks that has been constructed to flow very nicely. We finished the loop in just under 2 hours with lots of picture breaks and a few bike adjustments. We drove home via Greggs the bakers for sausage rolls (yum) and also Brecon to check out the mountain range we will be riding on Sunday.
  
Got home and cleaned up ready for a good pub dinner this evening. 

Categories: Family & Friends