Wales Tour: Great Orme to Worm's Head

[Ian]

Day 1 :: 28 September 2011 :: Great Orme to Coed-y-Brenin
85km, 2200m ascent

First leg of the trip was to get up to North Wales in the train. It was late, predictably.


Waiting by ianbarrington, on Flickr

I met up with Jack and Mark at the station and we ride out to the Great Orme to meet Kevin.


Great Orme Marine Drive by ianbarrington, on Flickr

With second/ third breakfast done with at the halfway cafe, we posed for photos at the tip of the Great Orme in very typically Welsh weather for the time of year. We're about 265 miles from Worm's Head at this point.


Fantastic Four by ianbarrington, on Flickr

We made good pace through Gwydyr Forest and on over the top to Dolwyddelan. After drinking the Spar dry of chocolate milk we tackled the long off road climb over to Blannau Ffestiniog, with wonderful views of Snowdonia around us.


Moel Siabod by ianbarrington, on Flickr

After a length of road, we descended off road to Trawsfynydd only to find the pub wasn't serving food. All was not lost, a further 3 miles up the road, another pub was doing buy on get one free of meals. Sorted.


Jack descending to Trawsfynydd by ianbarrington, on Flickr

The sun set before we reached the pub, but aided by lights, hunger and a sense of smell, we got there.


Trawsfynydd sunset by ianbarrington, on Flickr

So ended Day 1. We'd made good progress and got to the point I'd hoped to get to, which was Coed-y-Brenin. We unrolled our sleeping mats and bivvy bags in the large expanse of grass outside the pub and slept soundly. Kevin got attacked by some slugs, but it was an otherwise uneventful night.

Day 2 to follow tomorrow, which took us through Coed-y-brenin and all the way to Nant-yr-Arian, via Tywyn.

[Ian]

Day 2 :: 29 September 2011 :: Coed-y-Brenin to Nant-yr-Arian
110km, 3085m ascent

Day 2 dawned a little bit cloudy but warm. I was certainly warm overnight, marginally too hot if anything, in my PHD Minim bag. We had a short road climb back up from the pub to gain a good double track through grazing land to reach the northern edge of Coed-y-brenin.


Kevin on first climb of day two by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Once into the forest, our route joined some of the MBR trail, which we followed for a bit.


Jack riding Cain at Coed-y-Brenin by ianbarrington, on Flickr

A long time since I'd ridden there, they'd changed the Adam and Eve section, which was a real hoot.


Swoopy by ianbarrington, on Flickr

It wasn't long before we were in Dolgellau in need of food. Found a nice cafe just off the square which offered a good range of food.


Second Breakfast by ianbarrington, on Flickr

After breakfast it was a big climb over the shoulder of Cader Idris and towards Tywyn. It would have been more direct to go through Corris toward Machynlleth, but I wanted to ride along the beach for a bit of variety, so we headed to the coast. The trails were pretty good, though steep at times forcing me to push here and there. Kevin rode all the climbs, including one hideously steep bit of grass seen here.


Climb out of Dolgellau by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Eventually, we could see the sea and embarked on a long descent to the coast.


Descending to Tywyn by ianbarrington, on Flickr

After an ice cream we dropped down onto the beach. This was the point at which mark decided to leave us. He'd said from the start he just wanted to see how far he could get, and had rode well at the top end of his comfort zone up to this point.


More beach by ianbarrington, on Flickr

The climb back into the hills was brutal. Steep and hot. It lead through some nice terrain though, with views of Cader from the other side and looking down into Happy Valley. Eventually though the gradient turned in our favour and we descended to the road west of Machynlleth.


Towards Machynlleth by ianbarrington, on Flickr

In Mach, I raided the bike shop for some new gloves to replace the ones I dropped on the beach, and we stocked upon food before heading out to the overnight stop. I have to admit, the day had been hard up to this point and on leaving Mach at about 5pm, the prospect of another 3 hours riding was bothering me a bit. We had several overnight camp options around Nant-y-Moch, but we considered the possibility of aiming for Nant Syddion bothy. Angler's Retreat was nice around sunset time though. Then it got dark and out came the lights.


Angler's Retreat by ianbarrington, on Flickr

The fireroad seemed to go on and on for me, and each climb became progressively harder to conquer. When we eventually arrived at Nant-yr-Arian, we calculated that it was another 6-7 miles to the bothy. I'd had enough at this point and was concerned about the main road leg down to Ponterwyd with us only have one rear light, so we decided to find some water and made use of one of the huts on the walking route. It made a great spot with seating and floorspace aplenty.


Nant-yr-Arian by ianbarrington, on Flickr

So ended Day 2. A hard day, and looking at the map we hadn't made quite half way after two days completed. I lacked appetite in the evening, but with a little and often approach seemed to get a reasonable amount of food down. I was going to need it as day 3 was set to be a hard one too, with a high proportion of off road and a lot of climbing to get us south towards the Brecon Beacons.

Next installment later this evening.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Very nice Ian, some superb riding and some very tough terrain in that lot ... but you already know that I've often thought how cosy the 'cabins' at NyA look.

[99percentchimp]

Cheers Ian. It's good to know how far you got on day two. I was into Mach at 1710 and really feeling the effects of the heat. I followed you up the last ridge from Tywyn past the Cemetry but that was the last I saw apart form some comforting tyre tracks (in places very reassuring!) for the next 2 and half days.
It was great to push that bit harder with you three guys and I really missed turning up up at most gates with them open but as you said I was in the red a bit too much and hadn't drunk enough liquid on day 1 to sustain that pace - but it's been a great benchmark for me to aim for.... thanks to you all for your patience and help (esp. with the speedy chain repair Ian!).
I stayed in Mach and after fish chips and double peas (with two more milk shakes) I tried to re-hydrate with a litre of cranberrry juice, another choccy shake and a litre of milk and some more water.
I thought about heading upto Anglers Rest but to be honset was a bit knackered still, so I found the bunkhouse and slept well and was up early and back on the trail to Nant Y Moch. In hindsight the climb up there would have been too much without a decent rest and I really enjoyed the spin up the hill in the cool of the moring. Went up to Claerdduu that evening and spent a couple of hours the following morning helping to dig a horse out of the bog that belonged to 4 women staying there. I had another great day on some really nice tracks - the solitude was almost tangible at times and I had two days of seeing no-one for 5 hours on both days. I wrapped it up at Llanwyrt Wells after a great 4 days riding - thanks Ian for your route planning and GPS files - I only had a couple of self induced navigational issues - usually related to hammmering downhill and missing vital turnoffs.
Next time I'll have a little bit more power and a bit less weight (me and kit :) )

[valleydaddy]

WOW look/sounds like an amazing trip one I would love to do at some point in the future, I look forward to the next instalment Ian :D

[Ian]

Mark, glad you had a good ride. I was convinced that when we left the beach that you'd be infront of us and I couldn't figure why we hadn't caught you. Never occurred to me that you might be behind us, and I never really looked back other than to glance at the general view. Pleasure to have ridden with you for the first two days. Glad the pace was still ok for you to have made in down to Llanwrtyd.

[Ian]

Day 3 :: 30 September 2011 :: Nant-yr-Arian to Glasfynydd Forest (Usk Reservoir)
120km, 3900m ascent

I woke early on Day 3. It was still dark outside, at least. We were moving by about 7.30am, and an easy road ride down Ponterwyd lead to a refuelling stop at the garage. A cup of tea, packet of crisps, banana, kit kat and couple of other things I can't recall just now went down a treat. We left, leaving the gents loo needing a good airing, and headed out into the hills and past Nant Syddion. Eventually we arrived at The Arch, where the sun shone. I balanced the camera on a fence for this one:


Y Bwa by ianbarrington, on Flickr

A short section of road lead us down to the western edge of Cwmystwyth before we climbed back up into the forest, heading ultimately for Strata Florida. Inbetween, there were some good remote tracks to be ridden.


Remote track by ianbarrington, on Flickr


Isolation by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Strata Florida doesn't have many amenities, but the the sign outside the Cadw hut said "Te a Choffi ar gael", and it was too much to resist.


Te? by ianbarrington, on Flickr

We ate our food while we contemplated the next climb - Tywi Forest. This was a big one: long, and as it turned out, hot. We split up on this route. Kevin took the lead, as he did for most of the climbs, and I followed grinding away at my 32:19 ratio. Jack was able to grind a slightly more suitable gear on his 1x9 set up. Jack is in the picture somewhere, but I can't honestly see where it is now.


Twyi Forest Climb by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Twyi Forest is big. The fireroads go on forever, but rather than an apparent scrolling scenery of trees there were some nice views to be had. I also saw a red squirrel, my first in Wales. Eventually we popped out at Soar-y-mynydd, the most isolated chapel in Wales and the start of a small detour along the excellent Doethie Valley. Here's Kevin dropping in to the valley:


Kevin descending into Doethie Valley by ianbarrington, on Flickr

There's a wicked/ evil climb out of the bottom of the valley that was too much for me, but Kevin and Jack rode it. It was also in the full sun in the middle of the day and felt like the height of summer. Llyn Brianne followed shortly after and then a long climb into Ystrad Ffin/ Cwm Henog to take us over to Llanwrtyd. There was a stream crossing near Dinas Mill on the way to Llanwrtyd that we stopped at to soak ourselves in the heat. Really refreshing. Jack has some pictures of that.

We stopped for food in the village before setting of again into Crychan Forest. A maze of forest roads lead eventually to Halfway Forest which we passed through until we reached the A40. Crossing straight over we took lanes that lead to a Roman Road and via some open moorland into Glasfynydd Forest. My riding form had improved since leaving Llanwrtyd and I felt as strong as I'd felt on day one, despite the amount we'd already ridden today. We rode with a sense of urgency as I wanted to get to Usk Reservoir for the bivvy and we wanted to post 300km total by the end of the day. The open moorland section was a bit much in the dark as there was some pushing. I was on familiar ground having ridden the same trail only weeks earlier, but the toll of the day was showing for Kevin and Jack (with good reason). The edge of Usk Reservoir eventually came and found a good spot right by the shore. I didn't take any pictures after Llanwrtyd, so here's preview for the start of Day 4, the rest of which I'll post tomorrow:


Usk Reservoir by ianbarrington, on Flickr

[valleydaddy]

again superb, you were so blessed with the weather, maybe too good by all accounts :D

[Ian]

As well as the sunny dry days, the nights were dew free. This meant we could just unroll our mats and sleep in our bags under the stars. Each morning I could pack me gear away feeling very dry.

The heat of the day was more difficult to manage. I deliberately didn't take a camelbak as I wanted to ride without anything on my back. Instead I relied on two bottles on the bike, totalling 1.25 litres. I filled and drank them dry so many times each day. Refilling was a problem on a few occasions, the worst of which was on Day 4. I used a full tube of Nuun 12 tablets over the four days, but had to ration myself a bit towards the end. Despite the heat, severity of climbing and choice of singlespeed, not once did I get cramp. This gave me confidence that a) I was drinking enough and b) Nuun tablets work well at replenishing salts easily lost on hot rides.

[Blackhound]

That looks a lovely trip Ian,nice pics to. I must do something similar next year. Hope I get the same weather!

[Ian]

Day 4 :: 01 October 2011 :: Glasfynydd Forest to Worm's Head
113km, 2083m ascent.

When we camped the previous night, it was dark and I said to Jack and Kevin you'll love the view in the morning. After a night of the gentle lapping of water and sound of fish popping to the surface, not to mention the first appearance all trip of the winged teeth, the morning dawned beautifully.


Sunrise by ianbarrington, on Flickr

The GPS read 301km ridden at the start of Day 4. I was a little hazy on how far the whole route was, but 400 was in my head which meant we still had a full days riding to the finish. Jack, who was very much on a holiday rather than a race against the clock said that he'd prefer to ride on his own for the last day, so Kevin and I departed at round sun-up and started southwards to the Brecon Beacons.


Fan Brycheiniog by ianbarrington, on Flickr


Sunrise over distant Beacons by ianbarrington, on Flickr

In my head all we had to do was to cross the Beacons and the rest is down hill. I'd also convinced myself, wrongly as it turned out, that the trails would be smoother than we'd encountered earlier on the trip. But first we needed to get over the Beacons, which we did via a track over an area called Fforest Fawr. Regulars of the Brecon Beast MTB event will be familiar with this area, which was also to be the highest point of the trip at 670m.


Fan Gihirych by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Our descent down the other side lead to Sarn Helen, the infamous Roman Road that tracks across a large section of South Wales (and makes a bit of an appearance in North Wales too). I'm sure that 2000 years ago, there was barely a cobble out of place, but the last 200 years of horse and cart and more latterly motorcross bike and 4x4 have not been kind. It was rough and punishing for tired bodies and riders of rigid forks even if I did have 29" wheels.


Sarn Helen by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Eventually, our pain was relieved by a short section of tarmac and a stop in the sun to eat some food before climbing again from Dyffryn Cellwen over a long ridge of more Sarn Helen to Neath. At this point Jack, who'd we'd left packing his stuff up in no particular rush, caught us up. I'll say that I was surprised, as I didn't think Kev and I were hanging about, but perhaps Jack riding his own pace for a while allowed for a better rhythm. This is where I got my water a bit wrong. We headed up onto the top of the ridge in the increasing heat and with me having less than 500ml of water. High ridges are not the best place to try and find water, though I drew the line at the numerous 4x4-induced muddy puddles that frequently forced us to make small detours off the track, or when I got fed up of doing this, gambling on the best line to avoid the deep parts. The surface continued to be one of large-ish rocks and any gradient up, down or flat was just punishing to ride while my thirst raged. Eventually, I found a clean-running drainage ditch that looked drinkable with a puritab and continued until we made our descent down to Neath. Cream teas and a top up of fluid at Aberdulais Falls were a welcome rest. We continued on cycle path along the Neath Canal and then less attractive cycleways to Swansea marina, where we dropped down onto the beach for our second bit of coastal riding.


Swansea beach by ianbarrington, on Flickr

A climb back up to gain the main ridge along the Gower gave stunning views of Oxwich Bay, and we could now see Rhosili Down, a large hill right by the coast, beyond which was Worm's Head. In this picture, we're about 10 miles from the finish.


Gower Ridge by ianbarrington, on Flickr

With a bit more bridleway and lane work, we found ourselves on the last bit of bridleway, a gently rising track between Rhosili Down and the beach, from which we could see ourselves getting ever closer to Worm's Head.


The end, nearly by ianbarrington, on Flickr


Jack topping out above Rhosili Bay by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Worm's Head was heaving with people, of course, it being the warmest October ever or something like that. We weaved in and out on a broad gravel track eventually arriving at a point where bike could go no further.


The Triumphant Trio by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Here's some stats, though the GPS distance is about 15km short as it failed to log distance if it couldn't get an accurate signal.


Stats by ianbarrington, on Flickr


Stats 2 by ianbarrington, on Flickr

So there you have it. Wales coast to coast, done properly in my opinion. Off road of uncompromising Welshness taking in all the best bits of this green and pleasant land.


The End by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Four days, 427 km and 11,300m climbing.

Ian

[Anthony]

Some great pictures, looks like a great trip. Your luggage looks impressively minimal, did you carry much food?

[Ian]

Thanks for the compliments on the photos :)

I'll do a full gear list at some point, but in summary:

Seat pack: food, waterproof
Frame bag: bivvy bag, tarp, pole and pegs, sleeping mat, tools, first aid, loo roll.
Handlebars: 8 litre airlok xtra with sleeping bag, down vest, l/s merino top, arm warmers, leg warmers, spare socks, spare cycling top, spare vest base layer, hat, Alpkit padded #4 cell, GPS charger, personal hygiene stuff.
On bike: light, GPS, Spot tracker, camera, 500ml and 750ml bottles, spare tube, pump.
In jersey pockets: more food, phone/cash/card, A6 printed maps (double sided to save weight)

Didn't use: tarp, pole, pegs, leg warmers, waterproof.

I didn't weigh it, but it didn't seem heavy to ride particularly, though I did get fed up of lifting it over gates when the need arose. However, now I've taken all the gear off it to ride "bare", it feels light as a feather. I'd say it was lighter than at the WRT, which was 43lbs, iirc, so maybe 38-40 lbs depending on how much food I was carrying at the time.

[Ian]

Forgot to add link to full set of 72 pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15512491@N ... 810679518/

[valleydaddy]

I'll say it again truly amazing pics you definitely fell lucky with the weather, I can only imagine how different it would have been if the weather was like today for example.

[numplumz]

Trip of a lifetime, the third time I've done a welsh C2c and by far the best.
Cheers to the driving force Ian, and the great company from you, Kev and Mark.

After bivying down at the Orme I rode back over to the Afan Valley, then onto Cardiff for two more great days riding. Link to my photos are here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44171250@N ... 904910662/

Pretty similar to Ians except he's in them so guess only really of interest to the guys there.


Ian and Kev - Worms Head by numplumz, on Flickr

[plod]

Hiya, do you have any gpx's for the route?

[Ian]

I'll try and sort something out.

[99percentchimp]

http://vimeo.com/32539355

Kev, Jack and Ian on Tywyn beach in the October Sunshine

[Ian]

Mark, Did you get a video of me ripping through doing those berms at Coedy?

[slarge]

Hey all - Ian/Jack etc,
a couple of mates and I are doing a very similar route North to South at the end of April. The plan is 3 days! (I have been a bit economical with the amount of climbing involved when I described the route I have laid out). Stopping in B&B's in Dolgellau and Llantwryd Wells so we don't have to carry lots of gear. We're all reasonably fit......

Are we barking trying to do this in 3 days? Or is it achievable?

(Please confirm that it will be easy as I think one of my fellow riders has found this thread!!) :D

[Ian]

For someone as fit as you Steve, I'm sure 3 days is fine. If I was doing it again, being fitter than the above attempt, I'd look to do the same.

[slarge]

Thanks Ian!

Nick - if you read this - remember Ian said we'd be fine!

I am truly hoping the ground dries out and the sun comes out as it does look a stunning route!

[99percentchimp]

Ian wrote:

Mark, Did you get a video of me ripping through doing those berms at Coedy?

Sorry, Ian - I've just spotted this on a read through the thread. I will have a dig around but I recall it's a typical GoPro wide-angled shot so you'd look pretty distant until the last second. Most of the time we were travelling south and the GoPro didn't handle the midday sun on the lens too well so i think I scrapped most of the video rather than trying to bolt it together into something meaningful!
May explain why I never followed up and posted a vid to Vimeo.
Was blistering for 4 days though! Will be trying the first two days again soon I think down to Mach (or back from there) for one of my month challenges as it was such a good route.

[tea-face]

Hi Ian + others,
as other have said, looks vaguely exciting, and planning on something similar earlier June. But was wondering how much hike-a-bike you encountered? as i'm really indecisive regarding foot wear.
cheers dudes