VALLEYS ON THE RISE

Inclusive, progressive and intent on building a community, we pay a visit to South Wales’s Mountain View Bike Park

- Jamie Darlow

There can’t be many bike park managers around whose goal is to furnish you with the skills to go off and ride elsewhere. Anthony O’Boyle from South Wales’s newest mtb facility doesn’t really want you to outgrow the trails he’s helped create and never come back, but he does have a belief in the broader picture – of helping riders of any age, ability and social background, discover bikes, build essential skills and go on to become an integrated part of the cycling community. Fundamentally, this is what Mountain View Bike Park is all about. Situated equidistantly between Cardiff and Caerphilly, Mountain View is right in the thick of it when it comes to trails. BikePark Wales is just up the road, Cwmcarn and Afan aren’t far away, and running down the steep flanks of nearly every valley around is a maze of unofficial hand-cut lines. But Mountain View isn’t trying to rival these – its array of jump lines, flow trails and pump tracks have been conceived to assist local folks discover a love for what’s on their doorstep. That, and making stuff that’s just mega-fun to ride for what it is.