Had a week-end in Wales - quick blast around Cwmcarn on friday evening, Black Mountains Grywnne Fawr / Y Das Killer Loop on Sat, W2 Afan on Sunday
Wow - that Black mountains ride is a biggie. Tough up and down, a good old fashioned workout (especially with an inadvertent up hill diversion)
Which way did you go then? The best descent IIRC is one of the ones off the top of the Hermitage climb aka Tal y Maes aka Grwynne Fach.
The big "killer loop" around the Black Mountains was the ride that made me get a full suspension bike - by the time I finished I was too tired to stand up, and sitting down on a fast, lumpy track is amazingly uncomfortable...
prefer the other way as you can pickup an extra Descent past Fordlas Fawr
My insides hurt after that one on a hardtail.
The route takes you out of Talgarth straight up to the top of Y Dâs, a climb of about 550m, of which about 250m is a push and carry. Once at the top you have a great descent all the way past Grwyne Fawr Reservoir and down to Mynydd Du Forest.
Gah! WRONG WRONG WRONG!
Definitely the wrong way round!
well the way we did it - big carry / push / swear up Y Das, 5 or 6 miles gradual rocky down past reservoir, fire road up through Myndd Forest, mega steep singletrack descent, long flog up bridleway, mega tech descent down
other way round it would be push / swear carry up, long bridleway down (fun but not technical), push carry swear up, fire-road down through Myndd Forest (think there is a b/way option also tho'), long grind rocky up past the reservoir, then down the last bit off Y Das, a lot of which I reckon is pretty much unrideable unless you are Danny McGaskill. Did it on a motorbike once and that was pretty challenging - but its always hard to tell until you are actually on it
it was good though - as hard as anything I can remember in UK, for a reasonably fit group. Andy on his cantilever braked 1993 Raleigh found it tough! He ran a lot (up and down. Enjoyed our beers and kip in the highly recommeded Castle Inn in Pengenforrd afterwards
will check T1000's Fordlass Fawr bit tho
We're planning this for Sat. Not ridden that route gor a few years so looking forward to it.
Y Das is rideable - it's an ace challenge. The reservoir is a great long steady effort into which to get stuck - as is Tal y Maes/hermitage. Top stuff.
However it's hard to get both those into one ride done well...
Yup Y Das is rideable and if memory serves all but one section (towards the top) is rollable. Def back and as low as you can get though. Great fun however the loop is done.
I did this solo yesterday and loved it. The awesome weather helped too. I parked in Myndd Du (the upper car park) and then rode back down the road to the fire road opposite the lower car park (Pont Cadwgan) You can ride up the fireroad and then follow the bridleway round to Fford-las-fawr and then push up the bridleway until you get to the second fireroad crossing. From there you can ride up to the fenceline and out onto the ridegetop path towards Crug Mawr. You then get the great descent down into the valley and then it's country lanes past the Hermitage and up to Pen Trumau.
The push up to Y-Das is a bugger, for sure but it's certainly all rideable (as a descent) but thats dependant on skill level!
The Grywnne Fawr descent is okay but isn't very technical but that's no bad thing if you're tired!!!
In years gone by I have [i]driven[/i] both up and down Rhiw Constable (Y-Das) and have seen a Land Rover go over the edge driving down around the lower hairpin bend (as the driver bailed out just before the vehicle went over the edge). Despite the remote location, the Land Rover was stripped of any decent bits before the owner could arrange for it to be recovered by the farmer!!
The ride is worth doing clockwise just for the decent from the top of Mynydd Du forest (I also supplied the gate at the top of the forest where you go out onto the moorland!).
both directions have merit.
my fave is start in valley below Fordlas Fawr (on gryne fawr road)
climb up valley on bridle way on rightside of road tack allong valley side staying up above Tyhir
pickup Resi bridle way do rest of loop and head back to Draen then do the climb and descent via Fordlas.. (pick up a cheaky bit of foot path to the road).....
One of the classics. I am lucky enough to look onto the Balck Mountains through my kitchen window.