I am going to ride The Gap this week and have found this route:

http://www.mtb-wales.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Subjects&file=index&req=viewpage&pageid=31

Is this one ok or are there any better versions? Also, what else do i need to know?

Thanks,
Neil

Personally, I’d start from Brecon, get out to Talybont via the canal path and finish on that insane bit of BW that drops you back down into Brecon.

Don’t do it in bad weather. Don’t do it if you’re expecting a day of world class trails. The views are incredible, it’s an epic ride, but the trails are, for the most part, uninspiring.

take a coat, and a OS map other than that its not a difficult ride and the ground should be pretty dry as 90% of the tracks are armoured and drain well.

Only tricky point is at this bit, as I have ridden it a few times and still miss this once in a while

Follow this is the general direction of the disused Trefil Quarry that should be on the skyline in front of you. When you reach a hard track turn right and follow it around and up the hill. Continue along it until you see a faint grassy track veering off to the right hand side.

The trails are very faint and very very easy to miss, and if you over shoot them too much and try and cut across to them using your OS map you will come across some very deep gulleys with streams in them (not rideable).

So if the weather is shit, or its a bit foggy where you get to the 4×4 ruts, you can follow them across the moors to the edge of a forest, go through the gate and descend down to the outdoor pursuits center (nice rocky very fast descent here) then before you go under the old railway bridge take a right up a steep grassy path to a fireroad turn right follow this to the end (its a couple of miles) and you will hit a road go left then right take the next bridleway and this drops you straight onto the gap climb.

If you look on a map its all pretty obvious.

edit: also for some strange reason, this ride seems to cause the most mechanicals in the group/groups I have ridden in, so take some bits to do trailside bodges as its a fair walk out.

Don’t do it in bad weather. Don’t do it if you’re expecting a day of world class trails. The views are incredible, it’s an epic ride, but the trails are, for the most part, uninspiring.

Yup.

Also take some biggish tyres and FR or DH inner tubes. The Gap descent is pretty rocky and very VERY fast (it kind of lures you in – first it gets fast, then it gets rocky). I put several dinks into both my rims. God alone knows how I didn’t pinch flat – some of the impacts were really hard – but if I had there would probably have been another Russ Pinder effort.

Definately take some spare tubes and ideally a full susser. The descent towards Brecon is very rocky and you will almost inevitably pinch flat if you are on a hard tail. There is quite a lot of scope for a big off if you get carried away with the potential for speed.

Aside for that have a great day.

We start at talybont and don’t bother with boring canal/road bit to/from brecon. Also from the bottom of the gap road proper, where the tarmac starts again, there it a bridleway off to the right which is good fun, then some lanes and more scenic bridleway get you back to talybont. Have a squint at an OS, its pretty obvious.

adh, that lane is normally a nightmare for brambles and everytime I’ve ridden it I’ve ended up cut to shreds

adh, that lane is normally a nightmare for brambles and everytime I’ve ridden it I’ve ended up cut to shreds

We did it just after it had been cleared. hard work, but fun. The most technical bit of the ride.

really? the 1st 50M or so from the top of the gap was quite technical last time I did it, mind you erosion does mean it changes a lot each time I ride it.

I’ve ridden it twice, first time in summer there was just enough room to ride down the centre – the hedges basically formed an arch over you most of the way down. A few brambles, but nothing I’d term a nightmare. Ace fun, lots of rocks, like trying to ride over oversized marbles.

Last time was back end of last year. With all the rain sluicing down it it had got really eroded, huge rocks pulled out, lots of wheel traps, very difficult but still ace fun. No problems with brambles until I went OTB into the hedge 🙂

Probably one of my fave bits of trail.

Also take some biggish tyres and FR or DH inner tubes. The Gap descent is pretty rocky and very VERY fast (it kind of lures you in – first it gets fast, then it gets rocky).

I rode that descent with anotherdeadhero, I was running Maxxis featherlite tubes (98g) and Larsen TTs 2.0 and I’m 14st, out of the two of us guess who had a puncture.

(ok he was going faster than me)

That’s on the gap descent proper – I didn’t puncture second time round – and I was shifting a bit more too 8)

DO UP YOUR QRs!

I raced the the Gap in the Brecon Beast last year. Not a very inspiring ride to be honest. I think there are much better trails around Abergavenny, although thats where I live, so I would say that. Because it has this cult following it is worth a ride but don’t expect some kind of amazing ride.

Second Moylo… besides that rocky descent its a bit dull.

Mind the Gap…