REVOLUTION BIKE PARK…
Revolution wouldn’t be what it is without the tireless work of James, Tim and Susha Revolution Bike Park. The very woods where the Athertons have prepared for World Cup action, correct?The woods have been used in the past by the Athertons, but there are very few hillsides in the area which don’t bear their tyre marks. A small section of one of our tracks follows the same line as a track they built a long time ago, but we’ve added to it and completely rebuilt most of it before we could open it up to the public. We’re lucky to have the Athertons nearby and we’ve got a couple of projects in the pipeline that we’ll be working together on.
You’ve bought the woodland and opened it up to the public, at the moment it’s still a medium–to–hard location, isn’t it? Not for beginners?Owning the woods rather than renting etc. gave us the freedom to build what we wanted rather than what a landowner would allow. Initially we wanted to provide tracks for more experienced riders as there are lots of places out there for beginners. We are working on a Red graded freeride track which will be surfaced and more rollable for the less experienced rider whilst still providing features to challenge the more extreme. We’ve also finished linking the Far Side track to the start area, which is ready for this coming season.
What makes Revolution a ‘bike park’?For us a bike park should have a number of tracks, be open every week and be constantly evolving, and that’s what we provide at Revolution. We have a lot of ideas for the future and plan to build, build, build and eventually have trails for all abilities to open the park up to more riders.
Has the ‘bike park’ got a big future in UK?Uplift assisted biking, particularly DH, is growing every year in the UK with more and more quality sites opening up. Wales is fast becoming the place to be for biking and we’d like to think that we will become a big part of that.
‘The quarry” is part of Revolution. It’s pretty big…well not really…it’s MASSIVE! Is this open to anyone? Surely it’s only for looking, there can’t be many riders in the world able to hit that line?The quarry was an exciting joint project we undertook with Atherton Racing and what came out of it is pretty insane. The video really doesn’t do it justice; the jumps are huge with very little margin for error. A puff of wind and you could be off the edge of the 100 foot cliff that lines most of the course, so it’s not open to the public. Whilst some riders may be able to do certain parts of the line, it takes someone of professional level to ride that whole line and anyone who looks at it realises that pretty quickly. We hope to use the line for events in the future though, maybe Wales’ version of the Red Bull Rampage!
I guess riders have mellower options here?We do have something a bit less extreme underway in the quarry which will open to the public later in the year, keep an eye out on our Facebook page for updates on that.
And back in the woods, mud and roots is what riding’s all about, surely?The tracks have matured a lot over the last year and now run pretty fast in most conditions. It does rain a lot in North Wales though so don’t expect dusty trails! Ultimately the current tracks are black downhill tracks, and roots, mud and slate are a big part of DH in North Wales. As we say round here, sometimes the wetter the better.
What about Llangynog? Could you be accused of re-awakening a sleepy village?The village has welcomed us and our riders with open arms. Llangynog has a lot going on and a real community spirit so didn’t really need waking up. As with any rural location anything that brings in more visitors is always going to be a boost. The bike park provides a steady stream of punters for the local B&Bs, campsites, pubs, etc., so everyone is a winner.
Antur Stiniog and the about to be built Merthyr offer something a bit ‘different’ in terms of night life, do many people camp over in Llangynog?Nightlife in the countryside is generally what you make of it. Llangynog though has everything you could want; whether it’s a great meal and a good night’s sleep after a tough day on the hill or drinking into the night and ending up naked in the pub at 3am (to protect the guilty we will say no more!). If you want to make a weekend of it there are loads of options in the area, from camping to B&Bs and a great bunkhouse for groups.>>
