Dunkery Dash and weekend plans

Off to Llandegla and Penmachno. Just finished packing and looking forward to it after a long, tiring week at work.

Looks like I'll be unlikely to get a decent ride in this weekend, my mate has hoodwinked me into a ride in Afan forest on a mountain bike.

I used to be a mad keen MTBer, but for the last few years I have not touched one, and solely ride road, so as he runs a bike shop he is bringing down a Commencal Meta 6.2 for me to ride - he wouldn't let me bring my faithful Cove Stiffee, as he wants me to be slowed down on the climbs! The group I'm going with are a great laugh, two of them are the shops mechanics, both good downhillers and BMXers, but have an allergy to fitness training. My mate, the owner of the shop rode and completed last years Cape Epic, so a very strong rider, but I love hill climbing and am built for it, he is big and powerful and hates that I leave him on climbs, so this is his way of evening up the score.

They are all going to be out to show me how much better they are on the rough stuff, but I aim to be so far ahead on the climbs that they'll never see if I can still ride downhill well or not!

I think we have about a 40 mile loop planned - Whites Level and The Wall, linked by Parson Folly etc, so no MC for me, but enough to stuff it into the un-prepared MTBers assuming I don't end up being Medivac'd out of there!

Im picking up a felt z80 on saturday morning so I should be out and about doing a long ride on sunday if all goes to plan. Im a fan of the BMC machines, take that one!