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Girl's Taking Over Moelfre
Having recently taken part in the Red Bull Fox Hunt, I realised how much fun it was to ride with lots of female riders. Chilled out but still encouraging each other to try new features. So after getting given the go ahead by my sponsors MTBuplifts.co.uk who organise uplifts at Moelfre, I’d like to look into organising a few girls uplifts and a big weekend at Moelfre in 2015. The idea at the moment is to have 2 uplifts, one in Spring and another in Autumn. Then the big weekend being in Spring or Summer. If you’re new to Downhill but want to try it then this would be a perfect starting point. There will be riders on hand to take you down the tracks so you're not riding blind and possibly give you a few pointers.
Questions?
• Your interest
• Preferable times of year for the big weekend and the uplifts
• Ideas you might have so we can make the weekend amazing for everyone
• Ideally it would be great for it to be female only, but would you like partners to tag along too?
About Moelfre
For those who haven’t been to Moelfre, it is suitable for trail bikes to full downhill rigs. Its also been ridden on hardtails, just not very much! There’s currently two tracks, an old track that’s been around for a few years now and the new track called the Macmillan Dream Line.
• Old Track
This may be the old track, but so much fun! A great track for those of you who want a taste of what Downhill is like if you’ve never tried it. Personally I think its amazing, a lift to the top so you can put all your energy into the descent! It also means you can actually work on your skills going downhill because you have the energy too! Since I caught the Downhill bug, I’ve never looked back. Anyway, back to the track…
You get a lift on the tractor and you’re on the top of the rolling Welsh hills not far from Oswestry. The track starts on a field with a few berms and an avoidable drop if you’re not too confident. But hopefully we’ll be able to build up your confidence! After the berms there’s a few jumps (again avoidable) and then you reach a point where the track splits. You can either ride the steep corners or some that are less extreme. The tracks meet again and you’re on the side of a hill riding across rocky terrain to a steep (but not to difficult) straight shoot across a stream, fireroad, and then you’re onto the hill on the other side. Again, a few corners, small drops that are all rollable and then you’ll find yourself at the fun bit. The 4X jumps! Ok, so it may be a bit daunting for some of you, but don’t worry they’re all tables pretty much so if you fancy trying jumps these are perfect! I can’t clear them yet but still love doing them. After that there is a jump to flat, berm, rollable drop and into the finish berm. Check out my GoPro run for a better look!
• Macmillan Dream Line
Built to be more difficult than the old track, at first this can be a bit more daunting. Big berms and jumps, at first glance you may avoid it if you’re new to Downhill. All the big features are avoidable so you could build your confidence up gradually. After the top section, similarly to the old track, you need to go down a straight shoot to get you onto the other hill. The track goes right to the top of the other hill and you get to a more technical section which involves some tight corners on possibly steeper terrain than you’re use to if you only ride XC. Saying that, what better place could there be to boost your confidence on steeper terrain than an all girls weekend? I’m hoping for a great mix of female riders to come to the event, from those that race the BDS to those who just want to try downhill. Either way there will be riders around (including me) who can ride down with you who know what’s coming! A track walk is also possible if you want to look at the track before you hop onto your bike. The first run is always a slow one so the sheep can get out of the way!
For both tracks there is an alternative end section to get you to the finishing berms. You can do a drop or roll down ‘The Slab’ which is basically a slab of rock.
So there’s definitely lots to choose from when you ride at Moelfre and something for everyone, Downhill racer or beginner. Anymore questions about the track feel free to message me or comment through Pinkbike or Facebook.
Uplifts
If you can’t make the big weekend, I’m also thinking of running at the moment two uplifts which will just be one day of riding. I thought about one in Spring and another in Autumn. That way if any of you are luckily enough to be jetting off abroad next Summer there’s still chance for you to come to Moelfre to a girls only event.
![The Charity Uplift at Moelfre 2014]()
To run these uplifts, a minimum of 18 riders per trailer. On the 5th October an uplift was ran with 3 trailers which meant quick uplifts and the potential for the uplifts alone to be big female only events on the Downhill calendar. We’ll also organise for tea, coffee and cakes to be there on the day to fuel your riding. Its £20 per rider to book on to an uplift, which is the cheapest uplift I know of!
Big Weekend
So I’ll just post a few ideas as bullet points for this 2 day event and get all your great ideas for this….
• Riding both days
• Stalls of female mountain bike brands
• Camping/Caravans/Vans in finish field
• Would a similar set-up to the Red Bull Fox Hunt with the tipi be of interest (will come down to cost unfortunately though)
• Other activities such as Yoga to help you get to know other female riders, and evening entertainment (more than likely acoustic)
• Raffles/Auctions for mountain biking kit to support Macmillan Cancer (if you can offer prizes for this let me know!)
• Dual Slalom competition. Though about mixing all of you lovely ladies up into teams giving you an extra chance to meet new riders.
• Food, would you rather organise your own food (BBQ’s etc) and get together for drinks after around a campfire. My idea was this way food allergies/dietry requiements will be accounted for. Or if food was provided, what would be best?
• Bikes to demo over the weekend
• Whilst I’ve been writing this blog the guys at Llangollen have said we could hold a girls uplift at their tracks. So my idea from this is uplift at Moelfre Spring 2015, big weekend in the Summer and then the final uplift at Llangollen when you’ve had the chance to try Downhill at Moelfre.
Obviously food, entertainment etc would come at a cost. But the more riders we get, the cost factor may decrease.
It may sound like I’m aiming this just at those of you new to downhill but it really is for everyone!
Where from here?
Please comment other ideas as I am just brainstorming at the moment! Once I set some ideas in place I can get an idea for the price of the weekend. I’ll do another blog once I’ve brought all of your ideas together with price and basic running of the weekend and get your feedback. I’m thinking of setting a date for the weekend and uplifts in the New Year so the dates don’t clash with races.
Any questions/ideas fire them at me by commenting or:
Twitter: lucybdh
Instagram: lucybdh
Or message me through Pinkbike or Facebook. I've also posted in the GirlMTNbiker group on Facebook.
Questions?
• Your interest
• Preferable times of year for the big weekend and the uplifts
• Ideas you might have so we can make the weekend amazing for everyone
• Ideally it would be great for it to be female only, but would you like partners to tag along too?
About Moelfre
For those who haven’t been to Moelfre, it is suitable for trail bikes to full downhill rigs. Its also been ridden on hardtails, just not very much! There’s currently two tracks, an old track that’s been around for a few years now and the new track called the Macmillan Dream Line.
• Old Track
This may be the old track, but so much fun! A great track for those of you who want a taste of what Downhill is like if you’ve never tried it. Personally I think its amazing, a lift to the top so you can put all your energy into the descent! It also means you can actually work on your skills going downhill because you have the energy too! Since I caught the Downhill bug, I’ve never looked back. Anyway, back to the track…
You get a lift on the tractor and you’re on the top of the rolling Welsh hills not far from Oswestry. The track starts on a field with a few berms and an avoidable drop if you’re not too confident. But hopefully we’ll be able to build up your confidence! After the berms there’s a few jumps (again avoidable) and then you reach a point where the track splits. You can either ride the steep corners or some that are less extreme. The tracks meet again and you’re on the side of a hill riding across rocky terrain to a steep (but not to difficult) straight shoot across a stream, fireroad, and then you’re onto the hill on the other side. Again, a few corners, small drops that are all rollable and then you’ll find yourself at the fun bit. The 4X jumps! Ok, so it may be a bit daunting for some of you, but don’t worry they’re all tables pretty much so if you fancy trying jumps these are perfect! I can’t clear them yet but still love doing them. After that there is a jump to flat, berm, rollable drop and into the finish berm. Check out my GoPro run for a better look!
• Macmillan Dream Line
Built to be more difficult than the old track, at first this can be a bit more daunting. Big berms and jumps, at first glance you may avoid it if you’re new to Downhill. All the big features are avoidable so you could build your confidence up gradually. After the top section, similarly to the old track, you need to go down a straight shoot to get you onto the other hill. The track goes right to the top of the other hill and you get to a more technical section which involves some tight corners on possibly steeper terrain than you’re use to if you only ride XC. Saying that, what better place could there be to boost your confidence on steeper terrain than an all girls weekend? I’m hoping for a great mix of female riders to come to the event, from those that race the BDS to those who just want to try downhill. Either way there will be riders around (including me) who can ride down with you who know what’s coming! A track walk is also possible if you want to look at the track before you hop onto your bike. The first run is always a slow one so the sheep can get out of the way!
For both tracks there is an alternative end section to get you to the finishing berms. You can do a drop or roll down ‘The Slab’ which is basically a slab of rock.
So there’s definitely lots to choose from when you ride at Moelfre and something for everyone, Downhill racer or beginner. Anymore questions about the track feel free to message me or comment through Pinkbike or Facebook.
Uplifts
If you can’t make the big weekend, I’m also thinking of running at the moment two uplifts which will just be one day of riding. I thought about one in Spring and another in Autumn. That way if any of you are luckily enough to be jetting off abroad next Summer there’s still chance for you to come to Moelfre to a girls only event.
To run these uplifts, a minimum of 18 riders per trailer. On the 5th October an uplift was ran with 3 trailers which meant quick uplifts and the potential for the uplifts alone to be big female only events on the Downhill calendar. We’ll also organise for tea, coffee and cakes to be there on the day to fuel your riding. Its £20 per rider to book on to an uplift, which is the cheapest uplift I know of!
Big Weekend
So I’ll just post a few ideas as bullet points for this 2 day event and get all your great ideas for this….
• Riding both days
• Stalls of female mountain bike brands
• Camping/Caravans/Vans in finish field
• Would a similar set-up to the Red Bull Fox Hunt with the tipi be of interest (will come down to cost unfortunately though)
• Other activities such as Yoga to help you get to know other female riders, and evening entertainment (more than likely acoustic)
• Raffles/Auctions for mountain biking kit to support Macmillan Cancer (if you can offer prizes for this let me know!)
• Dual Slalom competition. Though about mixing all of you lovely ladies up into teams giving you an extra chance to meet new riders.
• Food, would you rather organise your own food (BBQ’s etc) and get together for drinks after around a campfire. My idea was this way food allergies/dietry requiements will be accounted for. Or if food was provided, what would be best?
• Bikes to demo over the weekend
• Whilst I’ve been writing this blog the guys at Llangollen have said we could hold a girls uplift at their tracks. So my idea from this is uplift at Moelfre Spring 2015, big weekend in the Summer and then the final uplift at Llangollen when you’ve had the chance to try Downhill at Moelfre.
Obviously food, entertainment etc would come at a cost. But the more riders we get, the cost factor may decrease.
It may sound like I’m aiming this just at those of you new to downhill but it really is for everyone!
Where from here?
Please comment other ideas as I am just brainstorming at the moment! Once I set some ideas in place I can get an idea for the price of the weekend. I’ll do another blog once I’ve brought all of your ideas together with price and basic running of the weekend and get your feedback. I’m thinking of setting a date for the weekend and uplifts in the New Year so the dates don’t clash with races.
Any questions/ideas fire them at me by commenting or:
Twitter: lucybdh
Instagram: lucybdh
Or message me through Pinkbike or Facebook. I've also posted in the GirlMTNbiker group on Facebook.
Author Info:
Member since Jul 1, 2013
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Spring and Autumn work. I'd say Spring for a good training / techniques session, so that I could use the new skills throughout the summer, then a great session in the Autumn (maybe even a mini comp?). Well done!