[Closed] Trans-Cambrian. Lots of pics and a bit of write up

I have a sudden urge to reach for a towel. Great pics as ever Al.

A towel would have been lovely. Or possibly a full on launderette and a full bike service at the end of ever day. It was brutally epic. And we ride a lot. For the guys who didn't it must have been really bloody tough. Still they did have front mechs.....

did this september 2015. red hot all week. never got a waterproof out of my bag.

looks awesome tho

We did it in June this year is okish weather, those pictures brought back some great memories. We did it on our cross bikes, the only section I wish I had my mountain bike was on the slate descent (moel glas?).

did this september 2015. red hot all week. never got a waterproof out of my bag.

It's easy to go off people

Slate descent was a bit chewy. As were a couple on the final day. Phill reckons a HT is best but I was happy with the Mojo. It's light. And it floated well

we did it in 3 days, the spent 3 more days riding north from Mach offroad via dolgellau, cyb, and penmachno and marin trails.

was probably one of the best weeks riding i have done.
good fun with good mates and good beer.

Is properly good fun. Did it with shindiggy. A couple of equipment failures added a bit of an additional challenge. A split sidewall in Elan Valley led to many many pinch flats from the tyre boot and lost my rear brake just after Elan. The final day and a half with only a front brake was really mentally tough. Trying to keep it from catching fire while at the same time limiting the speed I was going... Good times! Can't wait to do another one.

I'm pitching it to my riding mates for May next year... I kind of feel I need to go back and do it in the dry. Unfinished business...

Great pics. We did trans-Cambrian a few years ago. One of those rides that I would be happy to repeat.

Not sure it ever gets dry. The rivers instead of paths before the dam were there in June.

I don't mind a bit of splash-y though the puddles riding at all. I could happily have lived without the damp grass and deep mud everywhere tho. The 2nd day would be amazing on a warm, windless day. Not that you get that many of those in Wales!

recognise all of the elan bits and a couple of other sections, wouldn't fancy that slatey downhill next to the lake above dylife much in the wet!

I remember the grass descent after the slate being even faster, the brakes on my anthem were smoking by the bottom!

christ I remember Stoner and I tamping over a soggy Monk's Trod ages ago. It was rainy then as well...

looks "epic"

One of my first MTB visits to Wales was 'putting tread into the Trod'. Damp it was, although I've re-calibrated my view of what 'wet' is after the TC! Think you might have been on that trip Nick?

The slate was actually grippy. The bit after where Phill the guide said 'do not ride on that rock, stay on the grass' was like glass. Ask me how I know Purple hip for a week or so!

The last descent was just funny, couldn't slow down and it gets quite steep at the bottom. A great way to finish.

I just need a long term forecast now for - say - May 2018!

Did you ride straight to Mach then or down to Dovey Junction? The longest, steepest descent I remember is the one off Foel Fadian which is a few hills short of the end.

the left descent of foel fadian down the slate is a bit dodgy. I went that way.
the right hand on from the monument is supposed to be a lot nicer,

Foel fadian was interesting on a cross bike with 160/140 rotors fully laden with bike packing gear.

Alex, next year you need to do it the real way, self supported and wild camping.

Ton, From shots I've seen I think there used to be a short set of rock slabs that you needed to traverse but in March it was just a track of slate waste all the way down to just above the gate and grass from then on.

I did this in early June with phill and Polly at mtb.wales too. Excellent 3 days with some great tough biking. We had a mix of sunshine and downpours to keep us on our toes!

Would def do it again!

sounds like and looks like from the pics that the descent off foel fadian has been surfaced

Last time I road it was on a wet winters day about 4 years ago and it was just slick steep rock all the way down to the grass, didn't dare use the brakes until the sanctuary of the grass, which was even faster and just as slippy!

The bloke in the red jacket looks like Cav. And is smiling waay too much for the conditions.

Fancy doing this at some point. Thanks for the swear-up.

I'll tell Adam he looks like Cav. More off-season Cav

That descent was definitely recently resurfaced. Dropped into a river bed and the other side was un-climbable. We didn't go to Dovey junction - Phill has changed the end so you get that descent into Mach. It may not be for the purist but I really enjoyed that last descent.

No way I'd do it unsupported. We passed three girls that were using B&Bs but carrying all their own kit. They got in two hours after us. Too hardcore for me

That's the descent before the lake where you have to push up the other side, my memory is a bit hazy but I remember some kind of horse bridge before the vertical climb on the rock.

I think most people are on about the descent from the top of the lake into the valley below which used to be shear sharp jagged slippy rock that eventually turns into grass, but looking at your photos appears to be slated now.

It's wetting my appetite (and feet!) the thought of finally linking the whole lot up.

Cambrian mountains is one of my favourite areas to ride, with the twyi track and forest and the hills back into elan valley, so bleak and desolate, no wonder it's called the Welsh desert!

If you are being guided then you'll go where the guide goes. Dovey Junction is a bit of a weird end point TBH, I think it's just to make it go from border to coast.

Unsupported is fine, I did it in 25hrs end to end with one bivy. The Trans Cambrian is probably the second easiest ITT after the YD200.

We’ve done some 35-40 crossings now, and until this year all finishing at the train platform at Dyfi Junction. But unless you’ve turned up in Knighton on an Arriva train, and going home the same way via Shrewsbury, there’s very little or no point going to the platform. We had quite a lot of feedback that the platform was a bit of an anti climax to the trip, hence the change this summer. Mach is still at the head of the Estuary, so close enough in my book this year! Phill (the guide!)

And it's a great way to finish. The last couple of descents really stayed in the memory. Even made that forest road climb between them seem quite short (it wasn't!)

Not just saying this just because Phill is on this thread, but the whole supported thing is the only way I'd want to do it. Totally get and respect those riding unsupported and/or going for it in a day, but I really enjoyed just riding my bike knowing everything else was being organised for me and I had LOADS of dry kit in my big bag.

I did a couple of self-supported in the Pyrenees a few years ago. Carrying everything in a massive rucksack. Wouldn't rush back to try it again.

Every time I open this thread I'm reminded I need to get a date for next year where around 6 of us who ride together could book in with Phill and Polly. I think Phill's promised me brilliant weather this time

I'm the guy in the red with the permanent smile fat cav lookalike

i totally agree with Al, i wouldn't fancy doing it unsupported either, i imagine it would take the fun out of it riding with all your kit in weather like we had.

If you're going to do it supported, i can't think of a better way than with Phil and Polly, they really have got everything planned perfectly.

I think we're going to do it again next year so if anyones thinking of doing it check dates with us first as we'll undoubtably get the worst weather

Phil, personally I think it would be better ending in Mach, waiting on the platform at Dyfi isn't exactly exciting (can't comment on Mach!). I'm assuming that this is your [url= http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=275166&Y=299552&A=Y&Z=120 ]final descent[/url].

Alex: Excluding food/water I probably carried less weight/volume on the bike for my ITT than most of you were in your rucksacks. It's surprising what you don't need when you put your mind to it Here's the bike at Knighton before I started:

[img] [/img]

Nice bike choice I'm still not convinced. But then I'm nesh and like a warm bed especially if it's above a warm bar!

Dyfi Junction is a complete anti-climax and became the finish mainly by default and time restraints. I'm putting together an additional section at the moment which means a proper paddle in the sea, chips and ice cream.

For anyone not too concerned about following the route to the letter, the descent from the monument is much better than Foel Fadian. Both terminate in much the same place.

Thanks Alex and Adam, myself and Polly are very pleased you enjoyed the weekend, despite weather, and will hopefully return in 2018. In honesty, we have a few things in our favour, born and bred in Radnorshire, and a bloody good network of hotels, friends, farmers, you name it, all help to make our trips what they are. Last weekends proved that with missing Ebike chargers etc. And riders dropping like flies with injury, all transported back to the pub in good time, swines!! I’m sure they faked it!!! Ladies only this weekend, here we go again! Love the Cotic too from @whitestone

We are doing it this May and I could do with some advise from those who know. Which bike to take ?? I would love to do it on my Surly Wednesday fatbike (it is such fun to ride). If I am being stupid will someone tell me. My other bike is a perfectly good titanium framed hardtail 29er (titus fireline) Thanks in advance.

The ti hardtail would get my vote. Would be perfect I would think. That said I have never ridden a fat bike

They are long days in the saddle. Depends which bike you’d rather ride all day. If it’s soggy tho, the first long climb up the grassy hill would be hard work on a fast bike I reckon.

I reckon my Solaris on Chubbies would be perfect. So er, yeah whichever one you like riding the most!

I thought this thread was going to be a repeat performance without all the floodiness. Unless those are actually normal conditions.

I reckon this weekend might be quite similar. It’s their first one of the year.

I've got a couple of friends who are currently riding it (incidentally friends I made riding it this same weekend last year). They decided to do it again, and I think the weather is treating them exactly the same as it treated us last year - badly.

@fatbikedog - the ti hardtail would be my weapon of choice as much fun as the Wednesday is.

I'm doing it next week, on a gravel bike. Semi-supported as I'm sharing a tent that will be magically arriving ahead of us at each campsite, but carrying pretty much everything else. I'm comforted to see the positive comments and the fact people have done it on cross bikes

I’m comforted to see the positive comments and the fact people have done it on cross bikes

I did it on a cross bike. Cut the tyre sidewall at Elan and spent the rest of the trip getting punch flats from the improvised boot. Think I got through 7 inner tubes. At a similar point I also invisibility kinked the rear disk brake cable rendering it useless and had to do the second half with only a front brake. That got mentally tough.

Sshhh! My only alternative is a SS hardtail, or service my Alfine 8 and transfer it, along with a new drivetrain (which I don't have) onto my singlespeed! I've already ordered the grease for the Alfine but I think a last minute rebuild and no time for more than a couple of miles to test it would be wise before a 3 day trip

Love the photos, brilliant at capturing the remoteness of the TC. We rode it in 2013 iirc (just 3-4 hrs of torrential rain for us) on a carbon HT.

I reckon your Ti HT would be perfect for it tbh @fatbikedog, the 12,500ft of climbing may turn the whole thing in to a different challenge on the fattie.