Afan Forest bike park is now open – check out our exclusive riding photos

We showed you the promo video for the new Afan Forest bike park earlier this week – now here are the first riding photos. Snapper Jon Ashelford met up with downhill ace Manon Carpenter, Mojo‘s Joel Moore and Ross Grimmet from Felt Bicycles distributors Saddleback to check out the new trails.

Here’s 2011 junior world champion Manon’s take on the Welsh bike park:

“The best way to describe the new trails at Afan is to say they’re like a really fun, effortless, downhill pumptrack. Once you’ve made the short pedal to the top there are literally berms, jumps and rollers as far as you can see and the hardest part is deciding which track to go down. There’s a trail for everyone, from beginner to expert, with gentle flowing berms on some lines and big doubles and tabletops on others, which almost feel like dirt jumps the way they send you up into the air and make you want to try out some shapes! All the tracks are armoured with stone and should run well throughout the winter and rain, so if you’re looking for a fun day out with minimum effort required, Afan is definitely the place to go, whatever the weather.”

All pictures by Jon Ashelford

This small area of woodland just off Afan's The Wall trail is now full of berms, rollers and doubles

Skinny log rides, rock spines, a line of small tables and larger doubles are all at the top of the hill, while a 'black' sized run ending in four big(ish) dipped tables runs to the access road

Manon swooping down the trail, with berms as far as the eye can see

Here comes the train! From beginner riders to experts, there's something for everyone's taste

The hardpacked surface encouraged us to push our tyres to the limit as we dived into G-out berms and transfers

The news skills area is a must-ride for anyone attempting The Wall

Joel Moore getting some sideways berm action

There are plenty of jumps to satisfy those who like airtime