Am y clwb

Sarah lives deep in the woods of Coed y Brenin with her family (she has 3 sons and a daughter who all ride with the club) and only emerges from the trees on Saturdays in order to share the joys of the woodland trails with other families. Without Sarah’s hard work the club wouldn’t be the success it is.

Debbie deals with all of the club’s admin – membership, club meeting and events arrangements. She’s probably the hardest working member of the team and can often be seen trying to catch up on her sleep in between sessions on the bikes with the kids.

Paul is our financial wizard, dabbling in international money markets and trading globally in order to maximise the assets of the club. Formerly CFO of the Bank of Switzerland, advisor to Jeff Bezos, and friend to the Queen, we’re lucky to have Paul’s expertise to hand. Paul flies in to sessions at Coed y Brenin using the club’s Lear jet, though he’ll be buying a Boom Sonic as soon as they’re available in order to minimise the club’s carbon footprint.

*only Paul’s name is correct in the above paragraph. I think.

Clara is the person you need to talk to if you have concerns about anything to do with welfare of club members. She’s the most normal human in the club and helps the club to maintain a sense of reality. Mostly she’s very successful at this, but she hasn’t seen the website yet.

Steve has been mountain biking for too long, coaching for Welsh Cycling clubs for the last 20 years, and has been working with the Dreigiau riders since the club was formed back in 2011. He runs a mountain bike company called Wheelism, offering coaching, guiding, servicing and bike hire across Snowdonia. He has a long history with Coed y Brenin, having previously managed the bike shop at the Visitor Centre. Steve can often be found lurking in the woods, moaning at the guys digging secret trails that they should be going uphill instead of down. Gravity is his worst (and only) enemy.

Keith Morey is a bike fanatic with a shed full of bikes that Steve wants. As well as mountain biking he also runs, though he’s not entirely sure why. Keith lives in the middle of the woods too, and hosts a lovely bed and breakfast (Mostyn Cottage) with his long suffering wife Glenda, who, aside from making sure Keith is out on his bike as much as possible, makes the best cakes on the planet.

Tom Mayo is the handyman of the team. Handy in that he lives just down the road. He’s brilliant with electrics, but only mains voltage and so you’ll recognise him by the extension lead connected to his e-bike. I’m just kidding – there’s no way Tom would be seen dead on an e-bike. Except in the case of a short circuit directly from the mains outlet.

Rob Hulme is a BC qualified MTB Level 2 Leader and MTB Night Leader and leads lots of the club rides, often accompanied by his two boys Ethan and Matthew. His love of mountain biking started in the early 90s with his first GT, as well as digging and riding trails in Delamere Forest in Cheshire. Rob is never happier than when he’s hitting the trails in the beautiful Coed y Brenin Forest. He tries not to use his face.

Ashley Hills (Murv) spends most of his time on the bike trying to keep up with his son, Lew. One day he’ll definitely catch him. Unfortunately, that’ll be the day that Lew has had an off, and will have fully recovered by the time Murv gets there. One of the loveliest men you’ll ever meet on a bike, if you’re prepared to slow down.
Murv has insisted that I say that Lew is actually very fast. I mean, he is, but that’s no excuse.

Derv Cord is a demon on a bike. Several of the club members swear they’ve seen her horns. Derv makes people ride up hills much faster than they ever thought possible. It’s amazing what fear can do. Seriously though, Derv does make people ride up hills faster than they ever thought possible and for that Steve loves her.

Ifan Dunn rides and cooks the most delicious pizzas at the local Bwyty Mawddach Restaurant which he runs with his brother, and which hosts some of the club meets. There are lots of other reasons he’s a great asset to the club but that’s by far the most important.

Tim Bailey owns the Bike Ranch up the hill and has his own pump track in the back yard. A man with a plan. And too many children to be able to fully enact it. As soon as they’re old enough to dig then the world will be his downhill track.

Tim Croucher should be pleased that Steve doesn’t know him very well. He’s a fabulous ride leader and lovely company to boot!

Mali and Ethan are the clubs Young Leaders – they bring a fresh attitude to the club (compared to the rest of us old crones) and run sessions for the younger riders. They represent the youth on the club committee too!