Once more to Afan, South Wales.

A couple of weeks ago Webtogs took us mountain biking to Afan in South Wales and sure enough those of us who had never been before caught the bug. We'd been planning our return since arriving back in Dorset and decided to go last weekend. Lucy, Jig, Lee and myself met at lunch time last Saturday to clamber on board Ernie the T25 Hightop VW Camper and put-put our way up the M4 to a new camp site called Bryn Bettws Lodge, about 7 miles from Afan.

We arrived at 4pm and to our surprise the sun was shining. We were overjoyed because the time before it never stopped raining, not for one minute, until we arrived back in England (see previous post). There was one downer from the sun shining and that was the attack of the midges. These miniature replicas of kamikaze mosquito's were everywhere, I definitely inhaled about 500 making for a light, unexpected evening snack, tasty....

Finding Bryn Bettws Lodge wasn't a challenge as Tom Tom knew where he was going, however we arrived at what looked like a small drive which we thought might be the way to the camp site. As it happens it was the way, but this drive turned into a 2 mile long track and we would have turned around half way had we not been feeling adventurous. Note to others who are going for their first time; if you arrive at what seems like a forest track then carry on because what awaits you is quite astonishing.

We wound our way up the stony track and then rolled around the final corner which opened up into a car park with what looked like a 10th century run down church in the corner and then on a lower tear stands the lodge. It's a fairly impressive building seeing as it's half way up a mountain, looking up the valley towards Afan. To the right they've made a down hill section which looked like great fun but I think we were all put off somewhat when the owner said we had to sign a waiver to go on. It still was only my second time mountain biking after all and Whites Level trail would be hard core enough.

We set up camp and then fired up the BBQ whilst sinking a few cold beers which slipped down mighty fine. The beers went down a little too quickly and so we had to wait until the lodge bar opened at 7 to quench our thirst some more. Luckily Lucy met a nice chap who was off to Tesco to buy some beer so we chucked him some dollar and off he went to Tesco while we went off to the bar. After a couple more beers and lots of laughs later we retired only to be attacked again by the midges which were very unwelcome I have to say.

Morning arrived and a few sore heads, mainly Jig, rolled out and into the lodge for a lovely breakfast. Egg, bacon, sausage, hash browns and beans for £3.50, great value I'd say. Poor Jig who isn't very good on a hangover hardly ate a thing, great for me so I had his hash brown, and some more beans. Then before we knew it we were at Skyline Hire Centre just down from Afan borrowing some Kona full suspension bikes. £40 and a £200 quid deposit later and we were off hammering our way up Whites Level trail.

This time there were only four of us and we flew up the mountain. The weather had cleared up the day before and the track was still wet in places but we had more grip than last time. Another reason for our speedy ascent was the darned midges. If you stopped for more than 2 minutes you'd be attacked by a million blood suckers so we tried to keep the stops little and often. Apparently that's the way to loose weight, eat little but often, not sure where I heard that though.

Last time we cycled Afan the weather was so terrible that we couldn't see any of the scenery, low lying cloud and fog filled the valley. This time, however, the weather was fine and wow what a place. Each time you emerged from the forest there was a view which beat the one before. We also came across several giant wind turbines on one of the descents which we were a little stunned about because they were hidden from view last time.

The hills of the valleys are densely populated with fir trees which are planted for the forestry commission and then felled in stages so some of the hillsides look like patch work but with trees obviously. This adds to the feel of the trails because you enter and leave different forests and barren parts of the mountain. At first it's a little strange but you get used to it fairly quickly and where the trees have been felled it means that you stand less chance of crashing into one.

Again we arrived at the foot of the mountain all with massive smiles on our faces and wandered into the cafe to have a good feed before showering and then delivering the bikes back. There was one mishap and it was Lee who decided to fall off rather spectacularly. One part of the trail is raised off the floor which means that if you lose a wheel over the edge you're going to fall off. Lee's Facebook status after read "If you're not crashing you're not pushing". Nice one Lee, I'd say if you're crashing you're hurting and judging by the size of your elbow I'd say that you hurt!

Another very successful trip to Wales done and looking forward to the next one. A few of my other friends are now thinking that they like the look of it now so hopefully we'll get a regular trip going, who knows maybe we might hit the down hill course next time!

On a more serious note mountain biking in South Wales does a lot more than give you a huge adrenaline rush. It's helping bring back some of the life which has been lost in the mining villages due the the coal mine closures. Many of the villages seem deserted and run down but you can definitely see the impact from the introduction of mountain bike trails and hiking routes. They are helping bring back jobs and money to the area which in time will benefit everybody and hopefully open up a few more mountains to walk and cycle up.

First Wakeboarding Experience - Poole Harbour, Dorset.

Now, I know that water sports are not the best training for climbing mountains but I went wakeboarding last weekend. The weather was absolutely brilliant and thought it would be a new experience for a Sunday. Here follows the sequence of events that lead to me aching in places I never knew existed.

Lucy and her boyfriend Jig have a wicked little Fletcher speedboat called Burt, that in itself is amazing. Who owns a boat called Burt?! Anywho, Burt has an 85hp outboard engine and enough room for 4 people, we managed to squeeze 5 on as Lee and Max came along too.

So last week Lucy mentioned that she might be going wakeboarding on the weekend and I thought to myself "Hmmm can't be that hard". So I had a look on youtube for some videos on how to stand up, and lets be honest now, the guys on youtube make it look so easy just to lure you in so once you're in the water and strapped into the board there's no escaping.

News flash - it's not easy and my goodness it hurts. There is nothing to prepare you for the force which 85hp generates and it's all through your abs, lats and legs. I'm still aching now, although I have just played two back to back hockey matches on the following evenings, which haven't helped recovery.

Jig went into the water first and sure enough stood up straight away thus confirming my original thoughts on the ease of the sport. He looked like a pro and was cruising in and out of the wake, using one hand and generally looking pretty relaxed. Anybody who knows me will say that I'm pretty relaxed, my skiing style is pretty much horizontal and I like to be chilled in most things that I do so to see Jig looking so chilled being pulled along by Burt was like a dream come true. There was no way I was being defeated by inexperience and I wanted to stand up. (This is Jig below)

My first few attempts at standing up proved useless and I started to feel like I was holding everyone up. Each time I nose dived or face planted into the water the guys had to do a U turn and we had to set up again. After about my 6th attempt I started to get the hang of it and I managed to get my bum out of the water but then hastily bailed again. Things became a little easier and after countless times a miracle happened and Charlie rose from the water, like a phoenix out of the ashes, but not so elegant. If I could bottle that feeling up and sell it I'd be a millionaire. It was incredible, if only for a short while before accidentally 'edging' off course and stacking it again. After that I thought I'd save my energy for round two and to make way for the others to have a go. (This is me below).

We then had some lunch on the beach and headed back out on the water for round two. Round two was great and the more you fell over, the more you learned. I even tried to ride switch which ended, well, quickly much to the others enjoyment and laughter by the sound from the video footage.

We ended the day shooting off out of the harbour and into the sea so we could deploy the ringo's. These giant rubber rings spell unexpected colonic irrigation when being dragged round the sea at what seems like 70 miles an hour but it's a gamble which adds to the excitement. I don't think anyone suffered it thankfully. The doughnuts, once skidding round after a turn, seem to accelerate faster than the boat. This is when you don't want to be heading towards a set of small but menacing waves, and yes you've guessed it, you hit the first, lift off, hit the second mid-air and then the third catapults you off, up and over into the water all at speed. A huge mixture of fun, fright and adrenaline mixes together to plaster a smile on your face which is hard to get rid of.

One boat called Burt, two ringo's, two wakeboards, five passengers and 85 horse power, what could go wrong? The answer to that is nothing, gladly, but I know that my face hurt from smiling so much and that I swallowed enough water to make me want to go to the loo. Not funny. All in all a great experience and I can't wait to do it all again soon.