Lounge around looking stylish in some new cycle cafes and fixie shops, or leave rampant cycle commercialism behind with a biking and bushcraft course One of the best things about being a cyclist is the amount of food you can consume without exploding. So finding a good excuse to ride the trails at Glyncorrwg MTB centre – other than glorious scenery and nice, flowing singletrack – has just become much harder. The Drop Off cafe , which has fed and watered exhausted riders for the past five years, is set to close on 30 December. Skyline Cycles , which runs the bike shops at both Glyncorrwg and Afan, will take over in January 2010. The cafe will host its closing party on 5 December to coincide with the Kona Mash-Up MTB event . Pitting cross-country whippets against downhill racers, it’s a chance to try your hand at two different types of MTBing and prove exactly where your skills lie. If you need somewhere to stay, check out Afan Lodge , which has really spacious rooms, bike lock-up, hose wash and mud boxes for kit. Meanwhile, in the big smoke of London town, a cycle cafe has recently opened on 74 Leather Lane. As yet, it is unnamed, but the coffee is great and Lawrence knows more than a thing or two about bicycles. Plus there’s a track pump. What more do you need? If, in fact, you do need more, then Bike the Mendips has a new trip that may be just your thing. Their Biking and Bushcraft course will, as well as taking you on some of the area’s famed MTB trails, teach you how to create survival shelters using your bike, start a campfire and forage for lunch. Adrian Boots from BTM says the emphasis is on fun, not formal training, but either way you’ll get better equipped for your next bike tour. A day’s course costs £50 per person.

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