26/04/2016 - Tales From Wales and Upcoming Demos
Sam's just got back from a great weekend of demo days in Wales, the trails were dry and the bikes were flying, smiles all round. Here's what he got up to, and the details of where you can try out a bike over the coming weeks.
Penmachno off piste demo.
This weekend definitely felt like summer is on its way. I had three days of sunshine in Wales and some brilliant demo rides.
On Friday I headed to Penmachno and met up with Sam, Alex and a few other locals to give the Rockets a pasting on the rocky singletrack and steep, local built DH tracks. With hot sunshine and barely a breath of wind we rode all day, and the bikes took everything in their stride. The trails at Penmachno are maintained by volunteers, and are very well built with plenty of flow and features to keep you on your toes. It's well worth a visit if you're planning a Wales trip. I'll certainly be back there again with the demo bikes, so let me know if you'd like to ride a Rocket there. A Solaris would also be great on the singletrack there, the big wheels make short work of the rocky, technical sections.
The demo stand in a very sunny Nant Yr Arian car park. Three days of sunshine in Wales!
On Saturday I was further south at Nant Yr Arian for another private demo, in yet more sunshine. I was pleasantly surprised by the trails here, some of the flowiest singletrack I've ever ridden, with hundreds of Red Kites riding the thermals above us. The Soul was the most popular bike for the trails here, carrying speed like a dream and inducing big grins all round. The final descent, High as a Kite, can be lapped really easily from the car park, so is perfect for demo rides. I set up in the car park on Sunday for a busy public demo, and I'll certainly be back here again later in the year, so let me know if you'd like to try a bike, and when suits you.
Sounds like a good time was had by all! Next weekend is a big one, and Sam is trucking down to the South West over the Bank Holiday.
The plan is:
- Saturday 30th April - Leigh Woods, Bristol. Public demo day.
- Sunday 1st May- Quantocks, private demo day, but drop Sam an email if you'd like to tag along.
- Monday 2nd May - Haldon Forest Park, public demo day.
Hopefully you can join Sam to take a bike for spin. Call 07398189114 or email sam@cotic.co.uk to book on to the demos.
The following weekend he's back up North:
- Saturday 7th May - Grizedale Forest, public demo
- Sunday 8th May - Stainburn, Norwood Edge car park, public demo.
As we mentioned above, drop Sam an email on sam@cotic.co.uk or call him if you'd like to reserve a bike for any of the public demos.
Currently there are no plans for Friday 6th May, so if you're anywhere in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria or even North Wales and want to try a bike, give Sam a shout. He's pretty flexible and can join you for an afternoon or evening ride too if you fancy finishing work early to play bikes!