BIG BEAR ROUTE

[gazaddy]

Wow....well done fella..

[middleagedmadness]

After doing the bit I done Steve I really don't know how you and Mike got round so quickly , very well done buddy

[Bearbonesnorm]

Thank f*ck for that

Well done Steve.

[redefined_cycles]

What they all above said. EPIC... Steve

[sean_iow]

Chapeau Steve you were my first thought when Mike started the thread as you mentioned you were thinking of riding it at Easter? That's a cracking time and will take some beating!

[Mike]

Well done mate big respect uve definitely set the bar high, lets see now if anyone else takes on the route

[In Reverse]

Your Strava's showing a total of 14,985m of climbing

Well done Steve.

[whitestone]

We'll done Steve

Given you've tried it before, yours was the first name that came to mind one other was in the frame BTW and not mentioned by anyone else so far.

[Mart]

Amazing stuff Steve - Chapeau

[Dave Barter]

Well done Steve for largeing it again ;-)

[slarge]

Thanks all. Feeling a bit dazed at the moment......

This was meant to be a tester for the HT550 at the end of May, a test to see if I was ready. It turned out to be a lot more. 2 years ago I did the Knighton to Trawsfynnyd section, and the weather was kind and it was amazing (I was the test pilot for Stu's new route). I asked for a couple of changes to remove some bogtrotting, and Stu updated the route (it's now much much easier ). Those 2 days were enough of a gear test to allow me to finish the HT in 4 days and 38 mins.

Roll forward 2 years and the memories faded, and the unfinished business needing a final polish, so a slightly different start and finish strategy with overnights planned and food stops imagined.....thinking that 2 weeks before the HT is ample recovery time (ever the optimist).

Tuesday at 5.30am I rolled out of the car park at Caersws, thinking that breakfast (the 2nd) at Knighton is a good strategy. 50km and about 5 hours later I turned up in Knighton for a disappointing breakfast (the old cafe has gone) but a resupply and off again. Lots of miles - Llanbedr Hill is a favourite, with a plan to have tea in Llandovery. Tea turned out to be supper and I left there with an aim to get to Claerddu bothy........ Left the West End cafe in Llandovery at 8.30ish, but didn't stock up too much (everywhere was closed) and thought that Claerddu and then breakfast in Nant yr Arian cafe was possible (blimey, I said I was optimistic). The traverse of the big hill after Llandovery was difficult at night. The track I remembered from 2 years ago was 10 metres to the left, or was it the right? So I zigzagged looking for it, only to end up tussock trotting for a couple of hours...... Got off the hill and thought "that's it, Strata Florida is soon, just a small climb and Claerddu beckons . I completely forgot about that massive climb after Bird Rock. Knackered, with not much food or water, I inched up that alpine climb, with the occasional push to rest tired muscles, then it started to get damp (the light drizzle that isn't worth putting a waterproof on for, but gets everything damper and damper). Eventually got to Llyne Brianne, where I was thinking that a night undercover was essential. Bird hides appeared on the map, but they weren't, they were not visible (in the dark) or a house. A chapel appeared on the screen, then I did get hopeful - and reaching it I found a barn (clean and tidy but a stone floor), then tried the door on the chapel and it opened - so a warm and comfy night in front of the lecturn with all my gear laid out drying...... 211km, 5500m climbing, about 18 hours total.

Day 2 - up at 5 and packed to go at 5.45am. Out into the rain, belly empty thinking that breakfast was only a couple of hours away, so was saving my food for later (big mistake!!). The track to Ty y Cornel is now repaired (the 4 feet deep channels are filled in and it's all rideable again), and stopped for a brew in the little shelter at the Youth Hostel - only 6.15am so no one around, but filled up water bottles and a hot drink was more than welcome. This was all part of the re-route I had suggested, so much of this was new, but I kept thinking that the "new bit" didn't go on this long..... turns out it does, and after about 2-3 hours I got to Strata Florida, then a long push up past the Teifi Pools. Turns out some event needs ticker tape and spray painted directions on every post and rock (hope they come back to clear up!). On the descent from Claerwen I passed another rider on a fully spammed Jones - his bars were so high with aero bars and GPS's and lights I was surprised he could see over them. He had overnighted in Claerddu, but said it rattled a lot in the wind, made me realise my choice was a good one. He had ridden from Pembrokeshire and was heading to north Wales somewhere, but I think mostly road. I cracked on and kept pedalling, thinking that breakfast was around the next corner (I said up there that the memories had faded!!). Low on food, and starving hungry, and out of water I rolled into Nant yr Arian for breaky at 2pm. Full fry up, 2 coffees, lots of cake and tuna sandwiches to go stocked me back up and I headed back out into the rain (it was breezy as well, but only enough to make you cold if you stopped, so I didn't...). Mach came and went (the Chute into Mach is a brilliant descent in the dry, but in the wet is lethal, so it's the only descent I pushed the worst bits of). The Spar came to the rescue and I headed of towards Dolgellau. I remembered the mountain road after Cwrt, which is a great ride in any weather. 2 years ago I remember this as being the 5.30pm moment (it was teatime!). Today it was 7.30pm, but that is still faster than before as I started 50km earlier.... I thought Dol came straight after this road, but no - that's after the next big mountain road........ (On the long road section in Dol I almost ran over a mink - in my lights I thought it was a cat, then realised it was a mink as I went past it. I should have run it over if I had my ethical head on, but to be honest I think it would have beaten me in a fist fight - vicious little bustards they are). 11'ish I pulled into Dolgellau, hoping but not expecting for the Spar, chippy, and Swedish netball team to be waiting for me. I think they had all got tired of waiting and had gone to bed, so I had a flapjack instead of a memorable experience and pushed on to either Coed y Brenin visitor centre (the toilets are warm and dry, or there are plenty of sheltered bits if they're locked). Or Penros Isaf bothy. I headed to Penros Isaf - expecting it to be busy, but there was only a couple with their dog. I had a room to myself so got fed, watered and warmed up and slept like a baby until another rude awakening at 5am. Today was hard - fatigue from yesterday and mentally tough as I really thought everything was nearer than it was. Lack of food was a problem both physically and mentally - it's amazing how much you think of food when you're belly is empty. 170ish km and 4700m climbing. About 19 hours total time.

Day 3 - up and out for 5.30, with a slog along the forest roads to CyB visitor centre to refill with water and use the facilites (the toilets really are warm and dry, but the light comes on with any movement, so maybe not a good overnight plan). Trawsfynnyd was getting up when I got there at 7.35 - the first shop opens at 8am, so I wandered around the village to see if there was anything else open. A little newsagent further up the road had a light on, and the little old lady in there heated up a pasty for me (she was an angel, as it was another wet day, and I needed something warm). A couple of bits of food and I sat in the bus shelter eating my pasty whilst it got wetter and wetter "outside". Down the road to the other shop and filled up with water and coffee. Then over the hills past the slate machinery and onwards to Llan Ffestiniog - this was a brilliant climb up to the slate quarry. I didn't recognise it, but I had done it the other way on a coast to coast years ago. Up to the old quarries above Penmachno, and these really are worth a poke around - lots of history and to think that 100 years ago there would have been 100's of people working up there. Miles later it was still wet, but I was warm, and if I continued with hood up, hood down, hood up, hood down I could regulate body temperature quite well. I had another ethical choice. At the side of the road there was a cage with a live crow in it, surrounded by bread as bait. I thought "I am not having that - I will let it go!", then reading the notice on the cage it was an RSPB "research" project to try to increase the falling curlew population (crows eat the eggs and young of ground nesting birds). What would you have done? (I rode on, hoping to see more curlews on my next trip through).

Lunch happened somewhere (sandwiches from the Trawsf. newsagent) and then a 2nd lunch in a cafe in Ceredigiun - well worth it (and I hoped about 70km from the finish. Mike said it was all flat from here. What he meant was flatter, not flat!). I said I was optimistic. Pushing up a long track I met a farmer with a shotgun - nice old chap whose single barrel must have been older than him - woodworm in the stock and clearly well used gun. He was out looking for crows (they aren't popular round here!!) as they raid the nests of Peewits (he's the first person I have ever heard call a Plover / Lapwing a Peewit - there can't be many birds with 3 "correct" names!). I guess the crows were lucky today as he was going home alone.
Lots more miles. and I reached a town with pubs at about 6ish - (Mochnant??) . The locals pointed me at the Wynnstay Arms for food, but they weren't serving (remember your quivering lip Mike - it didn't work for me this time! ). Guinness to numb the hunger pangs and 2 bags of crisps, I cracked on - straight past a Spar (they really are the saviour of the hungry bikepacker). A restock later and onwards and upwards... 70km to go, then 60, 50......). Counting the km in 10's - next milestone 100km done, 60 to go etc etc proved a real goal setter. A change of brakepads in the rain somewhere on a track of a thousand puddles (the front brake didn't work very well after this....), then on, and on, and on. Lots of calculating remaining mileage and recalculating to keep my head busy, thinking I had 30km to go for about 30km, then realising at 140km I really did have 30km to go.... A long slog up to the windfarm (I was convinced that (at 1am) there was someone following me - there was a light coming up the track about 300-400m behind me - steady and not wavering like a quadbike or something. After 150km and 3 days it is amazing how fast you can go uphill when spooked - 6th fastest or something on Strava for one section!! They didn't catch me, so maybe they only got 7th!! (loser!). Then all downhill to Caersws - and a 1.20am finish, with a warm and dry van to get changed in...... 178km, 4700m climbing and about a 20 hour day.

Overall - this is a brilliant route, but definitely one for daylight with better planned food and water stops. Overnight stops are plentiful, either bivvy, bothy, chapel or B&B. There's some testing sections, but these make it memorable (and the pain fades over the centuries). The scenery is fantastic, and you do realise how few people are out in the hills in the middle of Wales (midweek especially). If you want peace and quiet - this route is where you'll find it. The riding is hard (no, it's more than that - it's very very hard), but there are some easy bits (no, I can't remember them either). If I were to offer advice to anyone thinking of it - take your time (4-5 days would be perfect). Break it into sections and use the trains to do a section at a time....

I think I added it up to 560km or so (maybe a bit less with detours etc), and over 14,000m of climbing. I think it is as hard as the HT550, but less "severe"..... but the weather definitely makes it or breaks it.
(Just worked out my total time - 2 days 19 hours and 50 minutes. But it's not a race.)

[middleagedmadness]

Nice write up Steve , brought back bits I'd forgotten ( or tried to forget) well done again mate

[sean_iow]

Great write up how do you remember all the details, I have to look on strava to get the names of the major towns I've been through

It's on my 'to do' list but maybe not in the next couple of weeks Incredible effort especially given the weather.

[HUX]

Fab write up, a big well done from me

[slarge]

Thanks for the comments....

Sean, I write it up when it's fresh, or I get it all confused. Place names - I remember the obvious ones, but there are dozens I have forgotten. I do forget to look up the birds and trees that I didn't recognise (I saw a small falcon like bird of prey, brown, same size as a mistle thrush, but much finer. Not a kestrel or sparowhawk - which are the 2 I see regularly, hoping it was a hobby or merlin),

I also take paper maps so I can mark them up when I get back for future reference, also in case the GPS fails, but it would finish my ride if I had to rely on paper maps in the rain.....

[whitestone]

My dad would call Lapwings "Peewits", I still occasionally do, I think it's more of a rural name for them. They used to be really common but I don't see many these days.

Curlews are a bit of an oddity - on the family farm in the Lakes there was one pair. Where we live now, near Skipton, there's loads - I've seen flocks of thirty or so fly past the house. Similar altitude and mixture of land usage. Don't know what the national picture is like.

Both Lapwings and Curlews are land nesting so it's possible that a change in farming practices have also had an impact.

[Jurassic pusher]

A great achievement and great write up, not sure if it's inspired me or deterred me!
Known as Peewits in Dorset.

[redefined_cycles]

Thanks very much for the writeup Slarge. Amazing...

On a side note, I think maybe this little article bout athletic endurance performance should maybe live here... in the intro it mentions

"It should also be cautioned that complex motivational and sociological factors also play important roles in who does or does not become a champion and these factors go far beyond simple physiological explanations"

(Whats yours )

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2375555/

[slarge]

Blimey, there's some reading in there!!!

I understand the need to understand the inner workings of the body and mind, but the motivations to do big rides, runs or anything is different for different people. My reasons are simple and complex depending on how I think at the time, but I do know that much of the ability to perform is in the head, with the body (fitness, feeding strategy etc) just making it easier.....

I'll have a better read of it later.

Interestingly my Garmin gives me a summary of the ride, and for each day it said my aerobic "score" was 4.8 on a scale of 0-5 (greatly overreaching) and the anaerobic score was 0.1 (no benefit!!). FFS, I spent 18 hours in the saddle for no benefit

[Mike]

Nice one mate i enjoyed that write up and trying to guess where u were on ever part of the ride sat in my nice warm dry house last week

And id also say i reckon it was a female merlin you saw :)

[psling]

Great effort that

Good write up too.

A chapel appeared on the screen, then I did get hopeful - and reaching it I found a barn (clean and tidy but a stone floor), then tried the door on the chapel and it opened - so a warm and comfy night in front of the lecturn with all my gear laid out drying

I think that small barn might be where RichardG overnighted once. The chapel has been unlocked the last couple of times I''ve been past and... there's a toilet in the small outuilding above the chapel.

I've always called Lapwings Peewits too... it's the sound they make (I can't spell onomatopoeiac!)

[redefined_cycles]

Blimey, there's some reading in there!!!

I understand the need to understand the inner workings of the body and mind, but the motivations to do big rides, runs or anything is different for different people. My reasons are simple and complex depending on how I think at the time, but I do know that much of the ability to perform is in the head, with the body (fitness, feeding strategy etc) just making it easier.....

I'll have a better read of it later.

Interestingly my Garmin gives me a summary of the ride, and for each day it said my aerobic "score" was 4.8 on a scale of 0-5 (greatly overreaching) and the anaerobic score was 0.1 (no benefit!!). FFS, I spent 18 hours in the saddle for no benefit

Thats a good thing I believe Steve... Anaerobic is what the sprinters would use for a 100m... Endurance activities are predominantly aerobic (using oxygen and body fat to create the energy which can be sustained over a long period)...

I'm sure someone else will chime in to explain it a bit better in a second or 2...

NB. If it was me I'd be trying to put some cold water in them there knees regularly to decrease any inflammation in prep for HT550... (hope it goes equally as well )

[paramart]

great read and outstanding effort steve well done

[Richard G]

I think that small barn might be where RichardG overnighted once. The chapel has been unlocked the last couple of times I''ve been past and... there's a toilet in the small outuilding above the chapel.

What a horrible night that was. I wish I'd tried the chapel!

Unrelated, great ride Steve. I was going to go for it myself but I think I'll need a bit more training to be able to take on that time.