Mountain bikers get dirty down in the bog

Jul 5 2008 WalesOnline BIKING through a muddy bog wearing lead weights may seem like a punishment designed by a sadist – in fact its a growing international sport. The tiny Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells is playing host to the World Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling Championships at the start of a weekend of events. The mad-cap “sport” is just the latest in a growing series of bog-related events based on the outskirts of the picturesque mid Wales town. Llanwrtyd Wells is already well known for attracting an international line-up every August for its World Bog Snorkelling Championship. Today’s event is a popular spin-off first launched in 2005 and combines the weird and whacky of the August event with a gruelling physical challenge. Competitors have to cycle along the bottom of a 6ft deep peat bog wearing a mask and snorkel and get... [read full story]