Video: 50 Hits at the Athertons’ DyFi Bike Park

Jul 12, 2019
by James Smurthwaite  

The Athertons have finally announced their DyFi Bike Park is open with uplift slots available as soon as tomorrow. It looks like it will be weekends only for now with a day pass costing £36.

The park will open with four black graded trails and plans already seem to be in place for some easier red graded trails to come soon for less experienced riders. Uplifts will be provided by a fleet of Land Rovers with a claimed 11-minute ride from bottom to top and runs lasting 5 minutes at Atherton race pace.

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bigquotesMy whole life I’ve been searching for that perfect mix of maximum elevation with long descents and really varied terrain; the land here falls from a 666m peak at Tarren y Gesail almost to sea level, on the South side of the mountain we have mellow gradients and amazing dirt, perfect for our jumpline “50 Hits” and on the North, slabs of bedrock, roots and rocks create the perfect natural terrain for the downhill tracks.

People have been talking about this place for years, it’s amazing how much appetite there has been to come and ride but the truth is the tracks weren’t ready. When you do come and ride here you can see why, it's like nothing else, 50 Hits is machine built top to bottom, that’s a slow process when you don’t have a big budget, in other places, getting down to the bedrock meant digging through a metre of clay. We’ve only scratched the surface, the start ramps are only two-thirds of the way up the hill right now so there’s plenty of room for more.

We’ve tackled a lot of major projects over the years but this one has taken things to the next level, we’ve never worked so hard! The physical building task has been matched by a similar load of admin, The transactional issues around the purchase of a 650 acre forest and the drive to secure funding have taken almost as much time and effort as the track build itself. The project has been funded out of our own pockets, no government grants, no investors; there’s absolutely no way we’d have got this done without the guts, determination and perseverance of a passionate crew who have given this project everything.
Dan Atherton

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For more info, head to the website here.

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Photos: Moonhead Media

Author Info:
jamessmurthwaite avatar

Member since Nov 14, 2018
1,770 articles

35 Comments
  • 40 0
 Booked for 28th, this weekends slots evaporated real quick!! I'm probably gonna die, can't wait!!
  • 2 0
 I'm going there tomorrow. its so good
  • 12 0
 Lucky peeps across the pond.

Did Dan build this place? If so mortals will die.
  • 13 0
 going out on limb here - does Dyfi mean "dude you're f*cking insane" ?
  • 11 7
 40€/day. Is that including personal bike mechanic, physio, lunch cooked by Gordon Ramsay and life insurance?

Jokes. I'd definitely ride there if I got the chance. Trails look mint.
  • 8 2
 2.50 a lift. Not bad really. Someone needs to put a bike park in the lakes ASAP it’s not fair Wales gets all the best bike parks. Wink
  • 11 1
 Pricing is in line with other euro bike parks for an uplift. Congrats Dan and the crew- huge project you pulled off there, and it looks like amazing riding.
  • 3 1
 @thenotoriousmic: ....agree there mate ,,a BP in the lakes , with uplift awesome ????
  • 3 3
 you can pay the same in Leogang..and I mean its freaking Leogang haha
  • 1 0
 @unconvinced: PDS is €27 per day...
  • 2 0
 Man that looks totally fantastic, huge boosters and I have to imagine the natural rock and root stuff must be incredible. I wish them the best. I will have to save up and try to plan a few years out to get there and meet up with some mates.
  • 4 0
 FairPlay to the Atherton’s. Love em or hate em, they sure know how to ride bikes, and the bike park looks f*cking awesome
  • 4 0
 Where mortals can ride and imagine that they are competing at Hardline.
  • 4 0
 Hmmm, I only counted 28...
  • 3 0
 They made a deal with the devil to build this park! Am I the only one that noticed that the peak was 666 meters?!
  • 3 0
 Those manuals look super smooth, elegant riding
  • 2 0
 I wonder how much money they put into this? Pretty ballsy to buy 650 acres and turn it into a bike park.
  • 1 0
 Went there at the weekend. Trails are unreal. I think I cleared about 5 or 6 of those 50 hits. Just couldn't carry enough speed on my DH bike.
  • 3 2
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=enq90HwRURQ&t=153s

Thats a full video of the jumpline!
  • 5 3
 So many cases, even a lawyer couldn't keep up. But seriously, I'd be checking for cracks on a regular basis, and watch that fork too.
  • 1 0
 @ssteve: joys of warranty hahah
  • 2 0
 Looks rad, Dan. Good work.
  • 1 0
 Just curious is gravel added to the dirt in places or is that the natural geology of this part of the UK?
  • 1 0
 maybe for drainage?
  • 1 0
 It’s fairly common in some areas of the U.K., large shale deposits that get broken up really quickly turn into that fine gravely stuff. There is a lot around Wales, some bike parks do lay it on trails as it drains well and helps keep bike parks open all year in the crap British weather!
  • 2 0
 Jumps with steep landings \m/ @whistlerbikepark
  • 2 0
 Yeah boi tup
  • 1 0
 Looks a bit too advanced for me .....looks good though
  • 1 0
 Yes way to advanced for me to ( xc, trail )but would visit for the reds when done , will they have an up trail i wonder.
Love that they don't have any blood sucking share holders.
Wow they don't stand still these Athertons,
Best of luck with everything
  • 1 0
 Looks amazing......congrats to the Athertons on getting this thing rolling
  • 1 1
 The video is unavailable?
  • 1 1
 And it's gone...
  • 1 1
 Ace! May well take advantage of this.
  • 4 3
 The Whistler of Wales..
  • 1 1
 The website is great!







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