Heartbreak Hill, Pontfadog. Warning!

[earthmover]

Andy (Grimmy) and I went out for a bimble yesterday, doing a reverse of the usual loops, and went up Heartbreak Hill. The bottom has been very recently dug away by someone, leaving an undercut step nearly 4 ft high! There is still a safe route down on the left as you come down, but take care as you approach in case whoever did this is treating it as a work in progress and does some more digging between now and your next run!
Spoke to Timpo about it last night and he suspects it may be to stop 4x4's using the route.
Mark

 

[Timolgra]

I love a challenge
Glad you had a good one yesterday, I need to get the 'Berg fettled before tackling that, I think it's too much for me on the 640 going up

 

[earthmover]

I had to have a lie down halfway up.
Oh, and Hafod Dafydd? What a sh*t hole of a lane that is!
Mark

 

[Timpo]

OK, I went to survey the damage today.
The step is as described by Earthmover, and it is conciderably bigger than when I went over it last, 2 weeks ago.
After parking my 1200 on sum mud (wtf!), I walked up to the farm opposite the end of the lane.
The farmer was really pleasant with me, and I seem to remember talking to him about 18 years ago, he was riding a trials bike on the lane. Anyway, he said there had been 4x4s on two occassions trying to get up the old (smaller) step. One group was of twelve vehicles, and they tried to get the group up the route during a seven hour assault, 1000hrs to 1700hrs on a Sunday. The next day, the farmer came to leave his yard and his road was blocked, by a Post Office van that had gone over the spoil heap left by the 4x4, puncturing it's fuel tank.
So, the larger step has happened when he has tidied the spoil away.
The second group of 4x4s had built a ramp upon one side to enable them to get up the route. The lifted stones from the stream near by and buggered off when up laving the ramp blocking the other UCR.
Dickheads again are going to close this trail too.......
On a plus side, the farmer was pro-bike, and he has the Lomax trial running through his farm on Easter Monday. Now there is a great day out on your trail bike, get out there and watch it. The standard of riding is fecking amasing!

Timpo.