O.K. so mountain-bikers have been coming here for years, but a new breed has emerged. These little fellas have tougher machines (oi mate! Where's your engine gone?). They have strange clothing (hey Darth Vader! Where s your light-sabre?). Yeah, hill-walkers can be irritating! The endless stupid questions! Aaahhh!!!

Sorry, I m rambling on a bit! (Uh?).

I guess what I m trying to say, is that the Downhilly/Freeridey/Duelly/Jumpy mountain-bikers of today are realising, that, like the Ramblers (Tee-Hee!) and climbers that preceded them& Snowdonia is our Nirvana!

So, here I am, sitting at a desk in Llanberis, about to give you a few interesting, and FUN ideas about where to ride your bike in Snowdonia.

Thirsty Work! , I hear you cry! Well, yes, so I m off to Pete's Eats for a brew! Back in a bit… Right then. Before I point you at some descents, there are a few things I must tell you about Downhill Biking in the U.K.

DH mountain-biking is where the whole sport started. All those pioneers in California, belting down deserted fire-roads in Marin County on their clunkers.

Here in the U.K., things have come a long way from that scene! We've seen Downhill racing grow in popularity to the extent that equipment manufacturers have had to develop ranges of kit to cope with some very extreme terrain.

We have also seen a recreational sector open up, where riders want to ride the gnarly stuff, but have no interest in competition.

This inevitably means that people are riding bikes, at speed, where n these parts go mountain-biking