Let’s hear it for the young

Just spent an amazing weekend at Coed y Brenin guiding eight lads from St. Paul’s School, London.

The weather was kind to us – just a few hail showers on Saturday and a wonderful crispy autumn day on Sunday. And we managed to cram in a good few trails despite the fact that none had been to the forest before and most hadn’t even ridden singletrack.

We started by playing on the new skills area – just perfect for groups – and then ran the MinorTaur Blue and the Cyflym Goch (Red), mixing and matching various sections to complete both.

Then on Sunday we managed a truncated version of the quite tough Dragon’s Back.

But despite all the great riding, it was actually the company that really made the weekend. The boys were great fun to be with, and they were all pretty handy with a bike. Their attitude was tremendous so when the going got tough (and it did at times), they just dug deeper and carried on. Not once did I hear a moan.

If these chaps represent just a fraction of their generation then the future of our country (and my pension) is looking a whole lot brighter than I would have previously thought.