The ACTiV mtb crew travelled to Afan over the May Day bank holiday weekend...the weather forecast - RAIN....

Around a couple of dozen keen ACTiV trippers set off for Wales accompanied by a decidedly iffy weather forecast. The wet weather gear was certainly packed to deal with the predicted wet.

And sure enough, on arrival at Cwm Carn, dark clouds threatened rain for the first ride. The terrain had that recently rained greasiness about it, but other than a few spots near the top, the rain held off, allowing riders to whoop their way round the trail without a soaking.

Moving on to Afan for the second Saturday ride on The Wall, again the rain held off. After a satisfying first day's riding everyone was installed in the Afan Lodge and enjoying supper with surprise birthday cake and fireworks for Lush.

Sunday dawned after rain in the night and though there was a chilly breeze, the sun showed up at times. First ride of the day was Skyline. We opted for the shortened version. (from past experience, the longer loops don't offer the expected reward - apart from the brief thrill of 'Short 'n Sweet', the rest is largely long and grim :-/ )

Back to the trailhead Drop Off cafe for lunch, where whatever was ordered, it was a HUGE eat. Many chose to eat al fresco, where the in-and-out sun was as tantalisingly tempting as the homemade cakes.... yet that nippy wind still infiltrated its way to the nether regions via the slits in the deck, so no one tarried too long. The next ride up was Whites Level. Riders on the deja-vous climb fought to keep that overly large lunch down. Not to mention all the way round as the happy crew clattered their way round the well worn, slabby, bouldery, bike-and-boneshaking trail.

Another dry day under our belt, we returned again to our sanctuary at the Lodge for beer and dinner. The last of the sticky toffee pudding guzzled and some fun and stretching games resulted in pulled...errr... bottom muscles....

After a hard fought battle, finally Mr Ashford had to concede defeat to the ultra bendy birthday girl.

May Day Bank holiday Monday: more sunshine, but a very fresh wind meant another layer of clothing. The group split with some already gone and others re-riding the Wall, Whites Level or Cwm Carn, before setting off for home in the DRY!

How lucky were we to have a dry weekend's riding in Wales, against the odds, whilst Kent suffered torrential rain and hail?