Dreigiau Coed y Brenin Dragons is a Family Mountain Bike Club run entirely by volunteers and is based at Coed y Brenin Forest Park near Dolgellau.
The club is affiliated to Welsh Cycling and runs coaching sessions for youngsters and rides for all ages, and these are usually held at Coed y Brenin in North Wales. As a family club we encourage all family members to take part in club activities and many older family members also take part in club sessions and rides.
The club sessions run from the Club Hut which is located in the overflow car park at Coed y Brenin – turn left once you’ve gone past the entrance barriers and you’ll see the hut at the far end of the car park. Please drive carefully if you’re attending sessions as there will inevitably be lots of kids riding bikes around the area.
As well as this website, we have a Facebook page where discussions about our activities take place. If you need to ask a question then this is the best place to get an answer quickly. We also have a Facebook group for kit exchange and in Instagram feed for images!
Meet the team:
The club is staffed by British Cycling qualified volunteers and parents – all keen mountain bikers, DBS certified, and with training in Safeguarding. All our coaches and ride leaders hold REC Outdoor First Aid qualifications.
Club Chair (and coach) – Tom Mayo
chair@dreigiaucoedybrenindragons.co.uk
As well as being the newly appointed Chair of the club, 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. Yet.
Club Secretary – Debbie Kojs secretary@dreigiaucoedybrenindragons.co.uk
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.
Club Treasurer – Paul Drakeley (treasurer@dreigiaucoedybrenindragons.co.uk)
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.
Welfare Officer – Steph Pomerleau – welfare@dreigiacoedybrenindragons.co.uk
Steph is the newest member of the committee and the person you need to talk to if you have concerns about anything to do with welfare of club members. Having worked for NASA as a test-pilot, been the 13th woman in space and inventing the spoked wheel I imagine she’ll be busy refuting these accolades in her upcoming, probably more truthful, profile paragraph.
Head Coach – Steve Beech coaching@dreigiaucoedybrenindragons.co.uk
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.
Coaches and Leaders
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.
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!
Young Leaders
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!
The Parent Helpers
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the sessions wouldn’t run as smoothly as they do without the support of the parents who accompany us on the rides. You know who you are! Without you along to keep an eye on the stragglers, stand on the right corners, be ready with an extra snack or two, and generally make yourselves useful, then the coaches’ and leaders’ work would be much more difficult, and for that we’re all really grateful.
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