Notes from a third tour (Wales)

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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22camels
Posts: 302
Joined: 21 Sep 2013, 8:15pm

Notes from a third tour (Wales)

Post by 22camels »

Did (mostly) the Lon Las Cymru / NCN8 last week. Some reflections. It was my third tour, if you can call it that, since I got into multi-day rides a year ago - first was Portugal, second northern Italy. About a week's cycling each time, with rest day(s) in the middle. Thought I'd try going closer to home this time and it was one of those things that had to be done whilst I'm living in Wales (*).

Route North to South, Holyhead to Abergavenny, 527km, with a loop around Snowdon and a detour around the Llyn peninsula, then mostly following NCN8 around Criccieth, Porthmadog, the diversion avoiding the still broken bridge near Harlech, the hill route above Harlech, then down the coast to Barmouth, staying on the coast till Tywyn, inland to Machynlleth, Llanidloes, Llangurig, Rhayader, Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells, Glasbury, then NCN42 to Hay-on-Wye, Llanthony, Abergavenny, planned to get to Chepstow but got lazy and got the train home.

What worked:

- the weather, sunshine and showers but got lucky and it stayed mostly dry, except half a day of downpour but that was OK as waterproofs sufficed. Still it was far wetter and cooler than Portugal and Italy.
- the traffic: away from the A roads which I either had to or chose to go on a few times, there was hardly any - 95% of the route is on roads, just quiet roads - not many people in Wales!
- the views: some stunning ones. Gospel pass between Hay and Llanthony, the 500m or so high point on the road from Machynlleth to Llanidloes, the hills above Harlech, Mynydd Mawr the 200m high headland at the extreme west of the Llyn peninsula, around Pen-y-Pass in Snowdonia.. Not quite on the same scale as the 2100m Passo Falzarego in northern Italy but still nice.
- the Llyn Peninsula, IMO should be an obligatory extension to NCN8, probably one of the most remote parts of England and Wales, at least its the northern side, really beautiful, very nice quiet roads, everyone speaks Welsh.. Remarkably hilly!
- the narrow gauge steam trains in north Wales - felt like a trip back in time
- the direction: despite the headwinds it felt like the ascents were steeper and shorter, and the descents shallower and much longer, going north to south.
- orientation: despite the sign makers' best efforts to lead me astray (route signs really are minimalist in this country), with the help of a GPS app with a cycle route layer (pocket earth) I only went the wrong way 5 times.
- the language: good to be in a country where they speak your language (though I should really learn some Welsh).
- Tubus rack (Cargo): huge difference compared to the cheap alu rack I relied on last time.
- Brooks saddle: pretty uncomfortable at one point but now I think I've finally dialled in the right tilt..
- Shimano sandals: my favourite piece of kit owing to their versatility and hassle-free nature, plus no clipless falls this time..
- the beer: discovered ales from the Purple Moose Brewery, really good.

What didn't:

- the helmet mirror: my handlebar mirror works pretty well but I was going to test out a Cycle Aware reflex helmet-mounted mirror, unfortunately it got unstuck on the train on the way up and I lost it..
- the wild camp in the pine wood above Nefyn on the Llyn.. everything was farmland and this looked like the only option - it said no trespassing and live shooting so I stuck to the edge the wood, on a pronounced slope I tried to find a flat bit till I realised it was under a tree which was half bent so I had to move to the side onto the slope, it was very windy and I was worried my tent would get blown away or a tree would fall.. but it was alright in the morning..
- sticking to the route: got a little tiresome in the end, kept wanting to take me on the scenic route.. now I don't like cars either but when you see there is a good road from A to B following a straight line along the valley floor with a good surface and probably a pavement for some of it, and you, looking forward to breakfast in the next town, are taking the alternative route around the side of the valley, up and down, left and right, on a pretty rough track with gates you have to open and close every mile, sheep in the way, somehow the scenic aspects of it start to feel like a bit of a sacrifice. The good thing about cycle routes is that you don't have to think too much but I'm not sure I'm sold..
- the extra unexpected 5 miles just before Llangurig.. after mentally having already reached the target of that long stretch, the last thing I needed was more pointless hills.. I like honest ascents but this was probably my lowest moment.
- cooking kit: took along my DIY beer can stove as not yet sure what I want in a camping stove that a free one doesn't do.. but I still don't have a suitable lid for it to put out the fire, probably an empty tin will do, but been using large yoghurt pots which it melts through.. also not yet confident enough about safety to be sure that I won't set something on fire..
- the gears: definitely need lower than my 25 gear inches to get up some of those ascents! Currently max can do is 10% (steady) and 15% (for a short time) depending on the quality of road but anything above that (altimeter measured up to 23%) is impossible as well as feeling dangerous as the bike is rear heavy.. need to try adding front panniers.

Next time:

- go back and do the section of NCN8 through Coed y Brenin forest "unsuitable for loaded touring bikes / road bikes" to see how bad it can get.
- do it again in winter to see how bad it can get.
- will probably do another trip in the UK, but somehow abroad just seems much more interesting.. thoughts of Corsica, southern Spain, France, the Balkans..
- longer trip.. 2 weeks or even just 7 consecutive days.. at the moment I'm finding the first couple of days feels a bit weird, like what am I doing here, and hills are a pain, but from day 3 onwards I really start to get into it.. not sure if further down it will start to feel repetitive.. with a short schedule I'm finding I need quite fixed plans, more time would allow something more freeform, just a general direction being enough..
- this is all kind of preparation for the "really big one" which I've not yet set a date for, but will happen..

view north-east from the hills above Harlech
view north-east from the hills above Harlech
the bike (not really a touring bike but works ok)
the bike (not really a touring bike but works ok)


(*) Wales was the goal of one of my first ever forays into long distance cycling, when as a 15yr old I set off from east Cheshire at 6am on a Sunday morning with five pounds pocket money and no spares or maps, and got to somewhere near Mold, accidentally ending up on a dual carriageway before turning round. I got a puncture about 20 or 30 miles from home and had to walk, at least the uphills, the rest of the way..
Last edited by 22camels on 28 Aug 2014, 9:09pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jamesgilbert
Posts: 316
Joined: 5 Feb 2013, 4:25pm
Location: Lyon

Re: Notes from a third tour (Wales)

Post by jamesgilbert »

Thanks for the info, this is a route I'm interested in doing at some point.
james01
Posts: 2116
Joined: 6 Aug 2007, 4:48am

Re: Notes from a third tour (Wales)

Post by james01 »

Thanks for this write-up. We could do with more of this type of personal feedback on the forum, it's full of useful information and can encourage others to take the plunge and go touring. (BTW, you really do need lower gears for that terrain, I use 22 to 34 = 17.5inches and I'm not ashamed of it :) )
Richard Fairhurst
Posts: 2030
Joined: 2 Mar 2008, 4:57pm
Location: Charlbury, Oxfordshire

Re: Notes from a third tour (Wales)

Post by Richard Fairhurst »

Great write-up!

The Coed-y-Brenin route is doable on a loaded hybrid (I did it on my Ridgeback Velocity) as long as you're not scared of gravel and a bit of mud. If possible, take a GPS loaded with the route as currently marked on Sustrans/OSM-based maps. There was an earlier version of the route that followed Sarn Helen which was seriously uncyclable in parts - very scenic, true, but full of rocks! Hopefully the signage has been fixed to point along the proper route, but when I did it a few years back, it was frequently ambiguous/wrong - I actually ended up modifying one sign which was too confusing.

Agreed that the Llyn is worth it. If I were to do the route again I'd probably start from Abersoch rather than Holyhead, though public transport isn't great on the Llyn.

Oh, and if you like Lon Las Cymru, you'll love the Pennine Cycleway. ;)
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22camels
Posts: 302
Joined: 21 Sep 2013, 8:15pm

Re: Notes from a third tour (Wales)

Post by 22camels »

Thanks, yeah I would have done the Coed-y-Brenin route just I had some friends to meet that day and left myself too little time.

Thanks for the tip about the Pennine Cycleway.. I might actually do some of that in December as I'll be up that end of the country anyway.
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