If you follow us on Facebook you will be aware that here at trackandtrail.ie towers it has been all go go go with lots of exciting things happening. As you might have noticed we’re currently re branding the company and have gotten some great help form the folks at Slick Fish Design in Bray, you might have seen our new van on the road with it’s new livery. Below you can see it set up for a corporate Team Challenge day just before the off, if you pass us on the road or at the trails be sure to say hi.
As part of our re branding we decided to run a quick competition on out Facebook page to celebrate and to say thank you to all those that have followed us so far.It was super simple and all people had to do was to enter their name and contact details to be in with a chance to win a free half days bike hire for two with bikes and all necessary equipment.
We announced the winner on Saturday morning and Sarah Moore was the lucky winner, it turns out Sarah does some road cycling and is really looking forward to trying out Mountain Biking with Track and Trail. We are can’t wait to see how she gets on and if we have converted her to the Mountians rather than the road.
As if all that wasn’t excitement enough for a Monday we are delighted to announce that we have just launched our new mobile optimized website that will allow you to keep update with all things trackandtrail.ie related with your smart phone while on the go.
Our new tracandtrail.ie mobile website has lots of new features that are unique to it and not on the main website including GPS integration and the ability to call us directly from the mobile site. We have lots of other things planned that will be added to the site over the coming weeks.
That’s all our news for now but be sure to keep an eye our blog and Facebook page for details of our new courses and products for 2012 as well as for details of or next give away competition.
To celebrate spring and to help those that are still on a new year get fit buzz we are offering free bike hire for you and a friend. To enter all you have to do it make your way to our facebook page and click on the competition tab to fill in your name and contact details
It couldn’t be any easier than that. Of course Track and Trail will provide you with all the extras you might need such as helmet, gloves, pads to make your time on the bike super safe and enjoyable.
Feel free to share the competition details with all of your friends so if they win there is every chance that they’ll share the prize with you.
The competition ends on the 10th of Feb 2012 so get your entry in now.
The wicklow mountains is the largest mountain range in the country which offers the outdoor enthuasiast lots of adventure activities such as, mountain biking, hillwalking, kayaking, rockclimbing and much more. Due to its unique landscapes and stunning scenery, wicklow is known as the “garden of ireland” and is only a 50 minute commute from dublin city centre to the heart of the wicklow mountains. As a daytripper or weekend break to get away from it all, wicklow has many varieties of accommodation such as hostels, b&bs and hotels that overlook many of the famous attractions such as glendalough, powerscourt waterfall, roundwood village, and lough tay to name a few. There are regular day trip tours from dublin city centre that stop along the way of some of the most famous sights that county wicklow is known for, glendalough, lough tay, braveheart drive, and michael collins drive. The st. kevin bus company offers a great service from dublin city centre to glendalough as a daily service.
We at TrackandTrail.ie offer the daytripper, backpacker or holiday maker a wide option of adventure activities in the wicklow mountains such as, mountain biking, bike hire, guided bike tours, rockclimbing, hillwalking and much more at great prices for 2012. We are a mobile adventure activities company based in roundwood, co. wicklow that is very unique in what we provide for the customer, and offer a great day out with an experience you will take home with you.
Contact us now for more information on our activities!
Have you ever wanted to try mountain biking in co. wicklow but dont know where to go?
As a beginner to the sport it can be confusing of where you can actually ride your bike in the wicklow mountains area. There are many coillte forrests that are out of bounds to mountain bikers and can only be used if a permit is required for various races and events. There is only one permitted public mountain bike trail in co. wicklow which is the very popular, ballinastoe mtb trails, located outside the village of roundwood and covers over 14kms of offroad singletrack for everyone to enjoy for free.
If you like funky fun singletrack trails, then ballinastoe trails is the best place. Forest road climbs lead you into tight twisty singletrack with loads of ups and downs, tight turns and technical rocky bits. The waymarked loop includes long climbs and descents over a wide variety of sometimes difficult terrain on trails that are only suitable for mountain bikes i.e. bikes with 26inch wheels, knobbly tyres and flat handlebars.
Roughly 9km of the waymarked loop is singletrack and these sections are narrow, sometimes steep trails of not more than 1m in width. On these sections, you will also experience variable surfaces including rocks, mud, roots, loose stones and gravel and they may become slippery in wet weather.
The remaining 5km of the waymarked loop are forest roads, which are wide gravel roads and tracks with variable surfaces including loose gravel and pot holes. You should expect to encounter vehicles at any time on these parts of the loop. The waymarked loop accesses high and sometimes exposed ground in remote situations and both bike and rider should be prepared for any eventuality. If you dont have a mountain bike with front suspension and in good working order thats needed for the ballinastoe mtb trails there are local biking companies that offer bike hire and beginner coaching sessions to help you to the next level.
We at TrackandTrail.ie are mobile adventure sports company specialising in mountain bike lessons and bike hire in the wicklow area so we deliver bikes to you!
Track and Trail.ie have now launched their new 2012 all new cycling holiday packages around the amazing scenery of the wicklow mountains. We offer customers various packages to choose from, so whether your looking for a 1 day, or multi-day bike tours of the wicklow mountains we have the best cycling packages at great rates. All our guided bike tours take in some of the nicest scenery in the wicklow mountains, Powerscourt waterfall, Glendalough (monaistic site, round tower), Sally Gap (highest road in ireland), Roundwood village and much more. Each bike tour can vary on road and off road trails depending on each customers needs so we have all the appropiate bikes for your bike tour. We organise all accommodation, bikes and all other equipment so you can relax and get the most from your experience in the surrounding scenery of the wicklow mountains and national park.
So why not contact us know for more information on our guided bike tours of wicklow.
Track and Trail.ie have now launched their new 2012 Gaisce Hillwalking Award package for all schools and youth groups. We understand everyone has different goals and achievements for each one of the presidents awards so students can choose from either Bronze, Silver, or Gold gaisce packages which we design our new package around you. We run all our gaisce hillwalking award expeditions in the stunning scenery of the wicklow mountains, taking in many parts of the wicklow way, powerscourt waterfall, glendalough and much more. With over 10 yeras of experience in the outdoors, Track and Trail.ie only use qualified Mountain Leader Instructors and only the best international recognised self catering hostels for overnight stays. On each of our walks we encourage students to take part in map reading, basic navigation and the “leave no trace policy”.
Contact Track and Trail.ie now for our special prices on all gaisce awards!
Some transition year students on their recent bronze gaisce award which took place over the wicklow way from crone wood to glendalough covering a distance of 28kms. Well done!
As part of their outdoor adventure programme in transition year, students from colaiste cois life took part in rockclimbing and abseiling at dalkey quarry in south dublin. Students got to learn all the basic knots, belaying methods, and climbing techniques used in the sport of rockclimbing. This sport is a great way for students to work together, encourage each other while having a great day out.
Transition year students from Colaiste Cois Life secondary school got to try out some adventure activities, including Mountain Biking skills, Archery, Team Building/Games and more.
As part of our new adventure education programme for schools, students from Colaiste Cois Life will get to participate in a range of outdoor adventure activities like Rockclimbing, Hillwalking & Navigation, Offroad Mountain Biking, Orienteering, Gaisce hillwalking and much more!
This is a short film made by some young Mountain Bikers who are also doing a film course and decided to make a short documentary on Irish MTB and the growth of it.
Well worth a watch even for the non biker. I really think mountain biking could be Ireland’s next big tourist attraction if Scotland or Wales is anything to go by.
Anyway enjoy the show and if you like it drop them a positive comment on their Facebook page Here.
It’s very very early stages but we had to give you all a brief to something we have in the pipe line, in the very near future we will be launching the Track and Trail App which will work on pretty much all smart phones from iPhone , Android, Nokia Symbian and Windows Phone.
The application is tool to help those new to mountain biking or who might not be familiar with the official mountain bike trails or their surrounding areas.
The App uses the GPS in your phone to show you n the map where you are on the trail so you need never be lost or unsure where you are on the trails again. In addition to maps function the app also shows give you some background information on the trail before you arrive as well as so a directory of other useful things like places to grab a bit to eat or where you can find a bed for the night if you are planning on staying the weekend.
There are lots of other potential features we might add like the ability to ‘Check in’ to Facebook and Twitterwhen you’re taking five mid spin to make your friends sitting at home jealous.
We are really looking forward to letting you all try thins out for real and we would love to hear what kind of features and usability you guys would like to see added.
'Had a great time on the Ergo outing. Interesting challenges and great to do some orienteering once again. The bad weather might have dampened our gear but not our moods. It was a great day out!'
John Corkery
www.ergogroup.ie
