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Moelfrie Uplift Trip, Oswestry
Tuesday, 09 December 2008
Whilst I was taking advantage of the awesome snow conditions in the Lake District over the weekend - a la snowboarding on Raise, near Helvellyn. A few of the FRJ crew headed off down to Oswestry for a bit of uplift action at Moelfre. Here's Corries's account and photos of the trip...
Last Sunday, Marcus and I (fellow 'Manchester Freerider') decided to check out the Moelfre downhill course near Shropshire.
The trip down was nice and easy from Manchester (apart from the 7.30am start) and only took an hour and a half to get to Moelfre (pronounced Moelvra by the locals).
The start point was easy to find as there is a BRITISH CYCLES sign the size of a Truck stuck to a barn so it's pretty hard to miss. We parked up at the side of a track in a very crisp and frosty field where we met Mike, the organizer, who explained the set up.
After much deliberating over shorts/trousers, jersey/jacket combos, Marcus went for the Jacket & Trousers option and I settled on the jersey & shorts plan, rationale being my seal like blubber would keep me warm whatever the temperature. We then pushed along to where the tractor and trailer was parked and loaded up and after a 20 minute shuttle we were at the top of Gyrn Moelfre (523 Meters) looking out over a spectacular view.
The first run was excellent if a little bit sketchy, the top section of the course branches off shortly after the start point into a left or a right fork. We both took the right which takes you down an exposed grassy and muddy single track from the crest of the hill down to the gorse level. Its pretty fast and a pretty tight rutted singletrack but is not too technical if you go round the drops (which I did). From here you flatten out again for another Left / Right choice. Left takes you over some small muddy drops, Right takes you over two wide and high jumps. All of which can be rolled if your not feelin' the vibe.
The two paths then reconecct to throw you into a number of rocky muddy switchbacks that cut sharply and steeply downwards through the bracken.
Another Left / Right choice. Left to some further steep and tight switchbacks. Right a few less switchbacks and a drop. Both re converge at the base of the valley and cross the road that we came up on the tractor. From here you work your way along the hill on a fast, rocky and muddy traverse.
There are a number of small drops and mini jumps along this section that certainly make for a lot of fun, nothing big enough to session or need a chicken run. There is then a twisting decent to a steep 45 degree slab with a nice jump to finish.
Wow! talk about adrenaline, if you dont ride downhill trails often you forget how intense they can be, this is no Fort Bill, or Innerleithen but it still has plenty of thrills and spills to please. Our second run took us on the Left hand trail from the top which is far less challenging from a descent perspective but has some impressive pre built jumps and drops on it. One of which is a gap jump over the track you come up on. Not for the faint hearted.
We had a number of great runs and had a lot of fun. I made the schollboy error of leaving my Maxis minnions on my bilke, which were not a good move. The course is very very muddy and you are prone to wash out on the upper and lower grassy sections. I would recommend a mud tyre such as Maxis Swamp Thing or even spiked tyres!
Overall Moefre is an excellent course, run by a bunch of friendly dudes and is highly recommended. Word of warning though - full armour and eye protection is essential! You may also want to put some protection on your forks and frame to reduce 'tractor rash' on the uplift. Oh, and bring a packed lunch as they don't have maccy dees round these parts!
The uplift at Moelfre is £20 and needs to be booked in advance. Contact Mike at Borderline Events on 01524 388 388. Or visit the website
Iain Corrigan (Manchester Freeriders)
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FRJ - This is were I was over the weekend...nearly 1000 metres above sea level up in the Lake District...the steep I'm about to board down is one I've actually ridden on my bike...on the bike there is a super steep high speed double track to tank down...but on a snowboard there's a 101 lines you could take with drops, launches and even a natural mini half pipe...Freeride paradise!
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