I would greatly appreciate advice and ideas…

This weekend me and a mate have a full pass (Fri evening to Monday afternoon) and we are off to Wales. Could you help fill some gaps?

Friday afternoon – Drive to Ruthin in prep for the Schwalbe MTB Marathon series, call in at Llandegla and do the red route on the way.

Saturday – Ride in the Marathon 55k or 70k, drink beer and camp.

Sunday – Set out for Mid Wales (Nant-yr-Arian) with the intent of doing the Syfydrin Trail, stay in a pub for the night?

Monday – Smaller ride within the area before setting off back to Leicestershire

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All open to suggestions of change if you think there is something better on offer in the area etc (like the idea of semi wild singletrack routes) Also accommodation ideas for the Sunday night would be welcome.

Cheers in advance people

Sounds like a cracking weekend. The climb at Nant yr Arian will be a tough one after the marathon but its worth it for the flowy stuff.

Enjoy

Sounds familiar… http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wales-weekend

How about a ride around Elan Valley / Rhayader for the Monday? http://www.justgoride.co.uk/Content/Routes/Viewer.aspx?id=1411 Stay locally on the Sun night near / in Rhayader. Accommodation: http://www.clivepowell-mtb.co.uk/accommodation.php

Totally forgot about that thread Simon, thanks for those links.

Would the Elan Valley be doable without a map or is it a necessity round those parts?

You’ll need a map unless you’re happy relying on GPS.

This is the daddy:
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/191491728/1931647

Should be superb at the moment!

That looks like a seriously impressive route, I think we will have to leave that area for next time and do a dedicated weekend there.

It’ll cut 6 or 8 miles off if you start from Rhayader centre but, yes, it’s worth a weekend on it’s own. There’s Llyn Brianne not far away too for one of MBR’s usual “Trail of the Year” contenders – supposedly the longest uninterrupted singletrack in the UK: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=276235&Y=252815&A=Y&Z=120

Food for thought for future trips there, thanks.

Thinking of trying to pull in the marathon, Syfydrin Trail and possibly spend Monday at Coed-y-Brenin when it should be quieter, it’s just the logistics of it (back tracking, accomodation)

Never actually been to Brenin.

If your thinking of heading to Nant-y-Arian you may also want to consider the ‘Climachx’ at Machynlleth. Final descent is over 6km. Fully do-able on any bike!!