Anyone know what conditions are like at the moment, there have been a couple of good days but a fair bit of rain recently.

Being as sunday is looking good and i have some time i thought i might go for a ride. Not the Gap as i did that a couple of weeks ago and to be honest wasn’t massively impressed. It was nice but…

Anyone offer a good route, prefer climbing to decending and dislike mud!

How can you not be impressed by the “gap” ride? It’s a classic? Or was it the lack of perfectly groomed singletrack that put you off?

The Beacons are looking good from where I am sitting.

Nice but…What?

i found alot of the gap ride to be made of less than exciting roads and there was lots of people, i can be a sociopath, and do sometimes want to get away from it all.

not sure what i expected to be honest. As i said i like climbs and they just weren’t very interesting to me. no switchbacks, no reasonably technical sections. Just seemed something wasn’t there. Although i think my idea of a climb has been skewed by riding in the Alps.

For the bits i liked there just seemed a lot of boring bits, for want of a better term.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice ride, and a nice day out, i just felt something was missing.

Pesky boring natural countryside…..

Thinking, i think the problem was people. Lots of cars being driven by ****, lots of walkers, cyclists etc. It was one of those days when i wanted to get away from it all.

A few years back i rode the Sarn Helen upto Brecon and rode back along lanes, not sure of the route. I started from south of the ford by some of the neath valley caves. It was a similar ride but less people and i just seem to have enjoyed it more.

It was quite dry on Monday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stu-b/sets/72157618786816556/show/

Where were these cars? If I ride out from my house, through Brynmawr, Trefil, over the Gap and back in a big loop stopping for a pint at Talybont, Gilwern, or Gofilon I touch a total of about three miles of highway in 30 miles of riding?

You’ll want to avoid Llangynidr and Talybont on Saturday then. There’s a Questars adventure race with the race HQ in Llangynidr, so the bike routes will probably go over to and around Talybont.

As i seem to remember, there were two carparks, one was signed Neddfechan? I did take a wrong turning at one point, near to a reservoir, and a stretch of tarmac, slight climb and a lot of cars, It was a nice day which may be the problem. Plus right at the end as i was going through the lanes a few driving far to quickly near misses etc.

stu, we got rained on all day there on monday! ) but the trails were generally dry with run-off on rocky sections and the usual boggy bits being the only wet areas. sat/sun was glorious, perfect weather and perfect trails, one of my fave places to ride anywhere.

the Gap run is a good ride but there are better loops there.

smiffy – Member
Where were these cars? If I ride out from my house, through Brynmawr, Trefil, over the Gap and back in a big loop stopping for a pint at Talybont, Gilwern, or Gofilon I touch a total of about three miles of highway in 30 miles of riding?

The ‘classic’ Gap ride that appears in trail guides and mags etc mostly has a lot of road in and goes past some very touristy areas, and I’d agree with the OP it’s rather boring. Nice views, but a lot of lanes and crappy daytrippers in sandals wandering down the mountain. The actual off road bits aren’t much to write home about either.

Smiffy you are coming at it from the opposite direction from the way most of the guides describe it, if you follow me. Most of the route guides seem to start over in the Storey Arms area.

Plenty of better rides within 20 miles of the Gap.

We’ll often park in the layby on the A4067 just south of Crai rervoir. There’s an old railway track that follows the valley south and then hauls straight up the mountain through the forestry. When there are two track choices, keep heading up. That’s a hard climb with a fast wide descent around Fan Gyhirych back to the road a couple of km from the car. Follow the road through Heol Senni, it becomes the A4215, until you get to the second turn right (south). This is probably not signed on the road. The road peters out, climbs onto the side of Fan Frynych and heads south following the Sarn Helen roman road. Hit the road alongside the Afon Llia for a couple of quick kms, then turn up into the forestry on the west side, pass the Maen Madoc standing stone drop down the rocky track to the stream. Turn north folowing the track across the moor, into the forestry, heading for the original climb up from the old railway track, which is now a very steep DH.

A surprisingly hard ride with plenty of climbing and mainly off road, but the road bits are very quiet. Makes more sense if you try and follow it on a map. (It’s all to the east and south east of Crai rervoir.)

Smiffy you are coming at it from the opposite direction from the way most of the guides describe it, if you follow me. Most of the route guides seem to start over in the Storey Arms area.

Down to where I live, really.