Mountain Biking, Liverpool, and the 90's

Sorry that it's always like a week between posts... I told you I wasn't so good at keeping up journals. But anyways...

The group (minus 2): Team Thursday!

The poisonous lake we stopped by for lunch- it's filled with lead

Pictures does not even remotely do the place justice... 

Last Thursday (Feb. 10th) my outdoor pursuits class went mountain biking and let me just say... holy crap that was fun. I mean I could deal without the steep uphill parts... (my bike seat was bent back and making things a bit more difficult than usual).. but going down the biking trails was awesome. We went down a lot of really narrow, windy, steep paths over rocks and logs and mud... it was a blast! We were in Gwydr Forest (gwydr= glass in Welsh) in Snowdonia national park. The day started off pretty easy. Our instructor, Sally, taught us some necessary stances on the bikes for going down steep hills so that we would not fly over our handle bars... always a good thing. We practiced on some wider, less rocky, track. Then we really got started. It was 4 and half hours of mountain biking and I highly advise seat cushions for future reference... ow. And of course there were a lot of falls with the speeds we were going and the terrain. One girl fell off a 20 ft. cliff, leaving her bike at the top, and landed on her feet! It was pretty epic. The rest of the falls were not so graceful... On one of the last trails there were some bumps that our director said we could try and get some air if we wanted to and five of us tried. Three of us, myself included, fell and I think it's safe to say that I won for best battle wound. I fell on some rocks coming off my jump and it left a good bump and some cuts on my leg. Another fall was actually an almost fall and it was pretty awesome. One girl was coming down the hill on the single track, lost control of the bike and almost went over another cliff but the instructor was standing there and grabbed her back wheel as her bike was doing an almost hand stand. It was pretty epic. But the best thing about the experience, I have to say, was just being there in the park. It just smelled of life and the air was so clean. There was moss on the trees and the ground was spongy and soft. There were little bubbling streams and waterfalls everywhere, you could always hear water. And everything is so green here! I cannot wait to see this place in spring! It was an amazing day.

battle wound

Then Saturday was a trip to Liverpool to visit the largest Anglican cathedral in Britain, a funky Roman Catholic cathedral, the docks, and the Beatles Experience. It was an hour and a half bus ride from Bangor... and I fell asleep. While I was asleep we drove through tunnel that went under a river... kind of wish I had been awake for that. Anyways, so our first stop is the Anglican Cathedral and the thing was huge. Definitely the biggest church I've ever seen. This building was designed by Sir. Gilbert Scott in 1901, building started in 1904, took 75 years to build, and stands 500 feet tall, towering over the buildings of Liverpool. The architect had said "Don't look at my arches... look at my spaces" and they are indeed impressive. The central area of the cathedral can hold a few thousand people. It was really a beautiful building. I know that Sir Gilbert Scott said to look at his spaces, but I thought the arches were beautiful too. It really was just a gorgeous building. 

After the Anglican Cathedral we stopped for a peak at the entrance to Liverpool's Chinatown and then it was off to the Catholic cathedral. It was extremely modern, built sometime in the 1980's, and sort of resembled something out of a sci-fi movie. The inside showed some beautiful stained glass, though, and I really loved that the building was a circle. Also, from the top of the stairs to the cathedral you could see a good chunk of Liverpool and tower of the Anglican Cathedral. It was a really cool sight. Then we rushed off to the dock to the Beatles Experience. It was an audio tour about their history. It honestly was not as good as I was expecting but it was still interesting. After that we had some free time and a couple of other girls and myself decided to go on the ferris wheel by the river. The Anglican Cathedral was taller than Liverpool's "sky scrapers".. the thing is huge! We also saw some kids in plastic bubbles on the water and it was hysterical. Then after the ride it was dinner and the bus ride back home.

That night I went with some friends down to the Menai bar for karaoke and we did some Britney and Gaga. It was a lot of fun. When we did Britney some guys came up to the front and started doing the dance to 'Oops I Did it Again' and it pretty much made my night... until I went to my friend's flat. There we just hung out and listened to music and it turned into a nostalgic Backstreet Boys dance party and, I have to say, it was pretty amazing and quite hysterical. Good friends, beautiful place, goofy music, all make a great week!

* amendment*
Oh! I forgot to mention that last Wednesday for my brain and mind class I got to hold a real human brain! (gloves on, of course...). It was gross.. but fascinating at the same time. Apparently we are the only undergraduate students that get to do this. What an experience!

Until next time!
<3 Melissa