How to get there

Take M4 into Wales (or M50 / A40 / A449 if you're coming from the north). Leave motorway at junction 28, heading north on A467 past Risca and Crosskeys towards Abercarn. Turn right at fifth roundabout, CwmCarn Forest centre is signposted from here.

What They say about it
 

A 1.9KM long extreme downhill mountain bike trail for experienced riders only  dropping 250m downhill the steep hillsides of Cwmcarn

Whats it like?
 

First off the Mojo as its known is probably the no.1 destination for any serious downhillers south of Birmingham. There are any number of youtube vids showing various sections, probably the best is Rowan Sorrells descent on the cwmdown site (here).

However don’t be fooled into thinking its easy, for those non-pro riders like us this course is mental.
Don ’t even think of riding up... its vile. Instead. Book the uplift and enjoy the scenery from the comfort of the transit, it's money well spent and will allow a good number of runs.

So the run itself first is split into 2, black and red which split and meet at various points. From the top the red takes you straight into a table top then through a series of stony corners gathering serious pace but it needs a bit of pedalling, whereas the black is through the woods and more flowy but is slippery when wet. The two then meet up as you traverse the valley overlooking the road, splitting again about 200yds further on, the black going over a seriously big rock slab, the red taking a detour and the better option if don ’t have 8 inches of travel and balls of steel.

   

The descent continues to road level and what looks like a concrete wall ahead , which is exactly how it sounds, a wall! It needs a 90 degree turn into the tunnel which then spits you out under the road and onto another steep and rocky section with plenty of turns, jumps and rock drops. If you have a look at the tunnel wall entry you can see the tyre marks where the fast boys use it as a vertical berm, nutters.

You then cross a path with 3 options. Stop and calm down, a steep gully to the right or a drop on the left onto an off camber wide section with lots of varying lines leading to another shorter underpass and a huge berm. This is great fun and I ’m told that on race day the pros hit the berm so hard the suspension bottoms out from the g forces!!! Then, arguably the best bit, a fast open flowy section over a bridge and into some jumps and doubles all either rollable or with chicken runs. You can’t fail to get airborne in this section just watch out for the infamous hip jump, this is where none other than Cedric Gracia went straight on and hit a stump demolishing his front wheel. You can see the car park now, one final table, under the finish line and that’s it.

Conclusion
 

Most of us don’t get many chances to ride a top class course, but this is one that can be really enjoyed. It should be noted it is very hard work for the not so experienced, we’ve had people take the XC descent halfway due to the sheer scale, severity and speed of this track. It is very hard work on both bike and rider so make sure you have tightened everything up before you hit it and take heavy duty tyres and tubes, it is very rocky in places. Needless to say if you attempt this run without at least a fullface lid and some padding you are either very very confident or have learning difficulties.

One final thing, have a timed run and see how you do, then compare that to Peaty who did it top to bottom in 3 minutes flat. In the wet.

Whats Around
 

The nearest big town is Newport, though there are chippys and bakers in nearby Cross Keys and Risca. Martin Ashfield in Risca is the nearest bike shop.

Worth a Trip?
 

Definitely,a top class venue with the added benefit of a regular uplift

Links

Cwmcarn Mojo