Good road routes in Brecons/edge of Brecons/Hereford Border
Discussion
Hi
In December a few of us have a cottage booked here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ty'r+Olchon+ho...
A few of us are bringing our (road) bikes and fancy a few riders about, anyone offer any pointer?
A couple local to that area would be great
We have some time to kill and will be driving up from Bristol, so if anyone knows any good routes/hills/pointers that are further a field in the Brecons that would be helpful
Ideally if they are easy to follow and have some big hills/proper steep stuff
Cheers in advance, I know the M4 corridor really well...Wales not at all!
In December a few of us have a cottage booked here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ty'r+Olchon+ho...
A few of us are bringing our (road) bikes and fancy a few riders about, anyone offer any pointer?
A couple local to that area would be great
We have some time to kill and will be driving up from Bristol, so if anyone knows any good routes/hills/pointers that are further a field in the Brecons that would be helpful
Ideally if they are easy to follow and have some big hills/proper steep stuff
Cheers in advance, I know the M4 corridor really well...Wales not at all!
Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 9th November 10:00
I'm no expert on the area and haven't been there for a while but if you're after decent climbs then you're in luck. Not far from where you're staying is Gospel pass which looking at the map I think you need to go south towards Abergavenney and it's a right turn before you get to the town. Also just the other side Of Abergavenny is 'the Tumble' which is a tough climb that's been used in the tour of Britain. Any route with either of those climbs in would be a good ride
I cycled in Wales for the first time in September - this is the route I used:
https://www.strava.com/routes/6366038
The road by Talybont reservoir is fantastic and includes this fantastically hard segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/9938385?filter=ove...
https://www.strava.com/routes/6366038
The road by Talybont reservoir is fantastic and includes this fantastically hard segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/9938385?filter=ove...
Not sure if it's close enough, but I was going to give this route a go:
http://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/804/wye-valley-b...
http://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/804/wye-valley-b...
You'll only be 50-odd miles away from that bend on the A4069... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.8578016,-3.85...
...some photos of you, in PH shirts with bikes might be a plan?
...some photos of you, in PH shirts with bikes might be a plan?
yellowjack said:
You'll only be 50-odd miles away from that bend on the A4069... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.8578016,-3.85...
...some photos of you, in PH shirts with bikes might be a plan?
haha is that the tumble?...some photos of you, in PH shirts with bikes might be a plan?
TwistingMyMelon said:
yellowjack said:
You'll only be 50-odd miles away from that bend on the A4069... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.8578016,-3.85...
...some photos of you, in PH shirts with bikes might be a plan?
haha is that the tumble?...some photos of you, in PH shirts with bikes might be a plan?
The one I've linked to is the 'star' of this thread right here on PH!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=745...
TwistingMyMelon said:
Hi
Next weekend a few of us have a cottage booked here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ty'r+Olchon+ho...
A few of us are bringing our (road) bikes and fancy a few riders about, anyone offer any pointer?
A couple local to that area would be great
On the Friday we have some time to kill and will be driving up from Bristol, so if anyone knows any good routes/hills/pointers that are further a field in the Brecons that would be helpful
Ideally if they are easy to follow and have some big hills/proper steep stuff
Cheers in advance, I know the M4 corridor really well...Wales not at all!
You're on my doorstep, and I cycled near the house you're staying in yesterday...! Some great local climbs are Tumble mountain, Llangynidr mountain, Gospel Pass, and Devils Elbow. I'll DM you some suggested routes.Next weekend a few of us have a cottage booked here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ty'r+Olchon+ho...
A few of us are bringing our (road) bikes and fancy a few riders about, anyone offer any pointer?
A couple local to that area would be great
On the Friday we have some time to kill and will be driving up from Bristol, so if anyone knows any good routes/hills/pointers that are further a field in the Brecons that would be helpful
Ideally if they are easy to follow and have some big hills/proper steep stuff
Cheers in advance, I know the M4 corridor really well...Wales not at all!
Fear not, there are plenty of proper steep hills around here..! You'll be fine on a 34/28
IREvans said:
TwistingMyMelon said:
Hi
Next weekend a few of us have a cottage booked here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ty'r+Olchon+ho...
A few of us are bringing our (road) bikes and fancy a few riders about, anyone offer any pointer?
A couple local to that area would be great
On the Friday we have some time to kill and will be driving up from Bristol, so if anyone knows any good routes/hills/pointers that are further a field in the Brecons that would be helpful
Ideally if they are easy to follow and have some big hills/proper steep stuff
Cheers in advance, I know the M4 corridor really well...Wales not at all!
You're on my doorstep, and I cycled near the house you're staying in yesterday...! Some great local climbs are Tumble mountain, Llangynidr mountain, Gospel Pass, and Devils Elbow. I'll DM you some suggested routes.Next weekend a few of us have a cottage booked here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Ty'r+Olchon+ho...
A few of us are bringing our (road) bikes and fancy a few riders about, anyone offer any pointer?
A couple local to that area would be great
On the Friday we have some time to kill and will be driving up from Bristol, so if anyone knows any good routes/hills/pointers that are further a field in the Brecons that would be helpful
Ideally if they are easy to follow and have some big hills/proper steep stuff
Cheers in advance, I know the M4 corridor really well...Wales not at all!
Fear not, there are plenty of proper steep hills around here..! You'll be fine on a 34/28
Thanks all for the replies, pistonheads to the rescue as wouldn't know where to start, turns out we are too spoilt for choice
Should be ok gear wise as taking a 36/30 and I tend to push a bigger gear anyway up hills
Will report back when done, alas no pistonheads jersey shots im afraid though!
TwistingMyMelon said:
Cheers just replied!
Thanks all for the replies, pistonheads to the rescue as wouldn't know where to start, turns out we are too spoilt for choice
Should be ok gear wise as taking a 36/30 and I tend to push a bigger gear anyway up hills
Will report back when done, alas no pistonheads jersey shots im afraid though!
My in-laws used to own a second home down the road in Clodock, you will be staying in the shadow of Offas Dyke and there are plenty of hills around to whet your appetite. Thanks all for the replies, pistonheads to the rescue as wouldn't know where to start, turns out we are too spoilt for choice
Should be ok gear wise as taking a 36/30 and I tend to push a bigger gear anyway up hills
Will report back when done, alas no pistonheads jersey shots im afraid though!
I'd take a ride up to Hay-on-Wye and then come back via Capel-y-Ffin and Llanthony. Although I won't matter which direction you go in there, there's hills everywhere!!
On another note, if you plan on eating out the Crown Inn at Longtown was always good for a bit of food. If you're feeling very brave, try the Cornewall Arms down the road in Clodock, it's no bigger than your front room and it certainly atttracts a particular kind of person!! Don't say you haven't been warned!!
If you fancy the steepest climb I am aware of in South Wales, then this peaks at 32%. Suffice to say, it is rather steep in places. Check out this segment on Strava: https://www.strava.com/segments/938827 — Llanguicke Rd Climb
Cheers all for all the great Route suggestions, especially Iwan who PM'd me with some great suggestions
What an amazing place in the world, we rented an amazing cottage that slept 8 in a village called longtown near Hay on Wye, in the proper middle of nowhere. I'm from Wiltshire and spend a lot of time in Cornwall but this area on the Hereford/Welsh borders was rural in another league, amazingly beautiful and so so quiet with breathtaking views and only an hour from Bristol, two hours from Swindon.
The cottage was £100 a night between 8 and was like something off grand designs, huge open plan areas/glass stair case etc
The roads were really good condition compared to the cotswolds, smooth and so quiet. Car drivers were really courteous and even pedestrians were cheering us on up the hills!
Ive cycled lots round the UK and I think this is probably the best place i've ridden if I fancied a weekend away
On Friday we met at Drover cycles in Hay, great little shop with a gem of a cafe outside, they let us park there for the afternoon, we could also get changed there and my mates stocked up on cycling clothes they needed and had some sausage sandwiches
We then hit our first hurdle , one of my mates had an issue with his road bike so brought along his hybrid, with suspension, child seat fittings, pannier rack and the skewer missing for the front wheel!! Where as the other two of us had nice light road bikes , once we fixed his wheel we headed up Gospel Pass.......
Reading up on it Gospel Pass is the highest paved road in Wales , its odd as the climb goes, up, down, flat, twists about and then ramps up in small but brutal amounts. Being good at hills and having fresh legs, it was a good challenge but not too bad, the view from the top is amazing, it opens up and looks amazing:
Was a great climb and we really enjoyed it, my mate rich on his Hyrbrid making use of his 30/32 gear all the way up!!!
We then were in two minds about double backing and descending back down Gospel towards Hye, or carrying on to Crickhowell. Irwan (PH member) advised me carrying on the route got quite muddy, but we didnt want to go back the way we came so we knuckled down for a long descent down Gospel. The descent was ace but I was so distracted by the amazing views of the valley I was struggling to stay focused, we then hit the start of the mud, for the first time ever I wish I had discs!
We then got stuck behind this for 3 miles on the narrowest lane ive ever seen a lorry pass through!:
The driver was struggling through which meant we were stuck behind him at walking pace for a good few miles ..It wasnt too bad as the mud on the road was really thick, but spoilt flow somewhat..after a bit he pulled over and he let us past
We then hit the Grwyne Fawr valley (is it called that?) , which looked amazing, just rolling countryside, a few short sharp hills, mad collies (ran after us) and then a huge descent into Crickhowell
By now my mate Rich on the Hybrid was no where to be seen, we were coasting along and still pulling away from him, to make matters worse my other mate had no lights and we had an hour of daylight left max and 20 miles of rural roads left that we had never ridden
We decided to crack on and let Rich make his own way back to Hay...He was happy with that ...so we cracked on, except we had been waiting around so much all the sweat from gospel had gone cold and I was freezing! We hit a lovely little climb out of Llangynidr that warmed me up and we cracked on along some lovely flowing B roads back to Hay on Wye, where we got more coffee at Drover Cycles
Rich on the hybrid only ended up being 10/15 minutes behind us, he said he had a chocolate brownie and got in a decent rhythm and made good time back
On the saturday we sampled the local pubs and walked up Offas Dyke which was superb:
On the Sunday we headed out again and sampled more of the local roads, but after 10 pints of larger the day before I cant say I felt too chirpy up the climbs, but still in enjoyed it in the end!
Once again, a great place to ride, heres our Strava route (includeing getting lost and lots of waiting!) from our Friday ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/772365208
What an amazing place in the world, we rented an amazing cottage that slept 8 in a village called longtown near Hay on Wye, in the proper middle of nowhere. I'm from Wiltshire and spend a lot of time in Cornwall but this area on the Hereford/Welsh borders was rural in another league, amazingly beautiful and so so quiet with breathtaking views and only an hour from Bristol, two hours from Swindon.
The cottage was £100 a night between 8 and was like something off grand designs, huge open plan areas/glass stair case etc
The roads were really good condition compared to the cotswolds, smooth and so quiet. Car drivers were really courteous and even pedestrians were cheering us on up the hills!
Ive cycled lots round the UK and I think this is probably the best place i've ridden if I fancied a weekend away
On Friday we met at Drover cycles in Hay, great little shop with a gem of a cafe outside, they let us park there for the afternoon, we could also get changed there and my mates stocked up on cycling clothes they needed and had some sausage sandwiches
We then hit our first hurdle , one of my mates had an issue with his road bike so brought along his hybrid, with suspension, child seat fittings, pannier rack and the skewer missing for the front wheel!! Where as the other two of us had nice light road bikes , once we fixed his wheel we headed up Gospel Pass.......
Reading up on it Gospel Pass is the highest paved road in Wales , its odd as the climb goes, up, down, flat, twists about and then ramps up in small but brutal amounts. Being good at hills and having fresh legs, it was a good challenge but not too bad, the view from the top is amazing, it opens up and looks amazing:
Was a great climb and we really enjoyed it, my mate rich on his Hyrbrid making use of his 30/32 gear all the way up!!!
We then were in two minds about double backing and descending back down Gospel towards Hye, or carrying on to Crickhowell. Irwan (PH member) advised me carrying on the route got quite muddy, but we didnt want to go back the way we came so we knuckled down for a long descent down Gospel. The descent was ace but I was so distracted by the amazing views of the valley I was struggling to stay focused, we then hit the start of the mud, for the first time ever I wish I had discs!
We then got stuck behind this for 3 miles on the narrowest lane ive ever seen a lorry pass through!:
The driver was struggling through which meant we were stuck behind him at walking pace for a good few miles ..It wasnt too bad as the mud on the road was really thick, but spoilt flow somewhat..after a bit he pulled over and he let us past
We then hit the Grwyne Fawr valley (is it called that?) , which looked amazing, just rolling countryside, a few short sharp hills, mad collies (ran after us) and then a huge descent into Crickhowell
By now my mate Rich on the Hybrid was no where to be seen, we were coasting along and still pulling away from him, to make matters worse my other mate had no lights and we had an hour of daylight left max and 20 miles of rural roads left that we had never ridden
We decided to crack on and let Rich make his own way back to Hay...He was happy with that ...so we cracked on, except we had been waiting around so much all the sweat from gospel had gone cold and I was freezing! We hit a lovely little climb out of Llangynidr that warmed me up and we cracked on along some lovely flowing B roads back to Hay on Wye, where we got more coffee at Drover Cycles
Rich on the hybrid only ended up being 10/15 minutes behind us, he said he had a chocolate brownie and got in a decent rhythm and made good time back
On the saturday we sampled the local pubs and walked up Offas Dyke which was superb:
On the Sunday we headed out again and sampled more of the local roads, but after 10 pints of larger the day before I cant say I felt too chirpy up the climbs, but still in enjoyed it in the end!
Once again, a great place to ride, heres our Strava route (includeing getting lost and lots of waiting!) from our Friday ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/772365208
37Flipper said:
TwistingMyMelon said:
Cheers just replied!
Thanks all for the replies, pistonheads to the rescue as wouldn't know where to start, turns out we are too spoilt for choice
Should be ok gear wise as taking a 36/30 and I tend to push a bigger gear anyway up hills
Will report back when done, alas no pistonheads jersey shots im afraid though!
My in-laws used to own a second home down the road in Clodock, you will be staying in the shadow of Offas Dyke and there are plenty of hills around to whet your appetite. Thanks all for the replies, pistonheads to the rescue as wouldn't know where to start, turns out we are too spoilt for choice
Should be ok gear wise as taking a 36/30 and I tend to push a bigger gear anyway up hills
Will report back when done, alas no pistonheads jersey shots im afraid though!
I'd take a ride up to Hay-on-Wye and then come back via Capel-y-Ffin and Llanthony. Although I won't matter which direction you go in there, there's hills everywhere!!
On another note, if you plan on eating out the Crown Inn at Longtown was always good for a bit of food. If you're feeling very brave, try the Cornewall Arms down the road in Clodock, it's no bigger than your front room and it certainly atttracts a particular kind of person!! Don't say you haven't been warned!!
We ate in the Crown on Saturday , great if much more modern pub that stayed open until 1am! I think the landlord got a bit twitchy when a group of blokes they had never seen before ran up a £300 tab...but I guess there is only one road in and out of the village so we couldn't have done a runner! Had a cracking evening in there the bar man did a grand job of keeping us happy
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