Welsh Tour 4 days - Lôn Las Cymru

Bit of history. In the summer of 2010 I did a 13day lejog, really enjoyed the scenery/countryside, particularly Northern Scotland. That said it is a little far to go for a short trip!. My route also took in Chepstow/Monmouthshire which was also nice (just not on the same scale/isolation).

Last September I had a mountain biking accident and ended up fracturing my L2 vertebrae. The fracture also included a compression, the consultant referred to it as "doing a proper job". I managed a 2 month heal time after leaving the hospital the next day (I was so adamant that I was going home that I had spoke to the dr whilst standing up at rounds the next morning albeit in alot of pain).

I am certainly not out of love with cycling (I have sold my mtb to appease loved ones) but want to do a mini tour to physically push myself/enjoy seeing parts of Britain, which is what was so special about the lejog. I feel it would also provide some motivation, not something I lack, but will help with all aspects of my recovery.

A little bit of digging has turned up....

"Lôn Las Cymru" from Holyhead to Chepstow

It uses mostly sustrans routes, not huge distances, but the gradient should provide the challenge over 4 days.

Has anyone any experience of riding welsh sustrans routes and or touring within wales? Particularily those mentioned.

Hello, glad to hear your on the mend following your MTB spill, shame you've sold the MTB as you'll be cycling through mountain bike nirvana on this ride but its still an amazing view from a road/touring bike. I rode from Liverpool back to London via Wales on my road bike last summer in a ad hoc holiday. I did 3 days with my landlord and his missus and then winged the rest on my own.

I'm from Mid Wales so am always harping on about how great it is cycling round there so this gives me an excuse to get all misty eyed and nostalgic. I don't know how much you want to squeeze into your 4 days but here's some of what I know about the area. An amazing part of the world to cycle but it can rain at any second so always have a jacket with you. But in the sunshine you will be dazzled by its beauty and you can make it as challenging as you like.

I did'nt get onto Anglesey as I cycled from Liverpool to stay in Llandudno on the first day, was a good ride and mostly cycle route away from traffic

Stage 2 on the sustrans site is making you miss all the good bits, and that bit of road can be quite busy with fast traffic. I was there on August Bank Holiday, like a fool, so was it was probably as bad as it gets. If you like a challenge and amazing Mordor type views you simply must turn off that road and cycle up round Snowden and down the Llanberis Pass. It was the first proper mountain I'd been up and it is like an Alpine Pass, not steep but steady and the views are truly amazing (even in the pissing down rain I did it in). Anyway if you turn off just before Llanllyffni, about 35 miles on the following route, you'll be rewarded with 2 great climbs and descents that bring you back out in Caernarfon.

[ame]http://ridewithgps.com/routes/710125[/ame
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Stage 3 is really pretty. Harlech is nice and maybe worth a detour and has a stomach churning 40% road if you fancy a real climbing challenge (I did'nt). If you are camping Shell Island just outside Harlech is simply a must, but beware it is cut off by the tides so you need to get your timings right. Rather than go to Dolgellau from Barmouth there is a toll bridge (super cheap, £1 or something) that you can walk across with bikes and then carry on down through Towyn, A-road but quiet. (If you like beach lounging head for Aberdovey, some of Wales' best beaches, golden sands and lots of lumpy dunes to hide away and have a bit all to yourself). About a mile south of Towyn turn left off the A493 and go through the wonderfully named Happy Valley. I saw a man, alone in a field playing rock tunes on a full drum kit when I cycled through here, very surreal. The road rejoins the A493 at Cwrt, just before Pennal outside Machynlleth but that section is definately worth it. Look out for Red Kites round this part of the world.

I've not ridden 3A, 4 or 4A so can't comment on those. Stage 5 is a nice ride round Llyn Clywedog and a fast ride into Llanidloes. I don't know which route Stage 6 goes, if you can avoid the A470, its the Mid Wales superhighway, born again motor bikers come to donate their organs and spotty Herberts thrash their mums cars. So make sure you take the B4518 from Llanidloes, its hilly to start with but evens off and again there is a nice fast descent into Rhayader. Now you are in this part of the world I would definately recommend cycling from Rhayader through the Elan Valley, round the reservoirs and up to Devils Bridge, amazingly beautiful round here, and train links in Aberystwyth if needed.

Cycling over the Brecon Beacons is impressive but is busy on the main road, I did'nt go on the Taff trail but assume thats better. There is an amazing section you can cycle over the Beacons, when I went through the Army were training so I cycled through gunshots and the sound of mortar shells going off which was exciting and made me feel like a moving target. Anyway it is a great bit of road to cycle with no traffic but is prone to flocks of sheep being driven along it so be careful. From Newbridge-on-wye take the B4358 west, you are then looking for signs for Garth and the B4519, there's a lung busting climb of about 1000 feet of altitude gain in about a mile and half, but amazing views and more red kites (honestly I'm no Bill Oddie but am beginning to sound like one). It then joins to B4520 and ends in Brecon. I got horribly lost on the descent through the south Wales valleys to Cardiff and ended up on some scary roads so I'm not much help on that bit. I've not ridden the Gospal Pass but heard its good.

I'm 85kg without the ruksak and am a beer drinking non athlete so am no mountain goat, but I do enjoy the satisfaction of getting to the top of a big hill and love riding back down. I've only been road biking for a few years now so am no expert but if you like going up and down hills here's another ride in that area I'd highly recommend.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/436736

The 3 big lumps in order are Bwylch-y-groes (very steep) and down to Bala, so far my favourite road in the whole world, the Horseshoe Pass (nice steady climb but shit quality road the other side, if doing again I'd ride to the top and ride back the same way) and finally a long climb and awesome descent of the Berwyns, the climb seems to go on forever but luckily so does the descent and on a lovely smooth road.

So there you have my quick summary, haha, sorry, very tl:dr. Anyway its a great place to venture out on a bike, whichever routes you choose you're sure to have a great time.

Cheers for the comprehensive contribution! Those climbs that you mention sound particularily appealing, I will defiantely plan the route in greater detail to take those sights into account. I forgot to mention that I will be camping on the light side (and may consider wild camping for 1 or 2 nights.

Also I have a soft spot for red kites, although being from the chilterns there seem to be more of them than pigeons now (but that doesn't make them any less special!)

Skelator - have you embarked on your Lon Las Cymru yet? A friend of mine sent me the link to this forum and I thought I'd poke my head in. I'm doing a tour of the UK and Ireland and will be doing the Lon Las Cymru sometime in September. I will probably be doing it in reverse - Cardiff to Holyhead (to then hop a ferry over to Dublin for the Irish leg of my tour) - but haven't found anyone who has done it themselves. I'll be camping (the Wales/Irish parts at least) for the most part and will probably try my hand at Wild Camping if I can't find a campsite (or for a few other reasons) along the way.

I have not had the chance yet. Change of jobs means it has been shelved till next spring as the earliest, that said my intention was to wild camp like you. I will definately be giving the route a go though at the earliest opportunity! Let me know how it goes!

I'll certainly be doing it this September. Going to keep a blog going on the trip, though unsure how frequently it will be updated (especially while going solo). All I can find on the trip is either the Sustrans package (which isn't that helpful) or threads etc on it from a few years ago - nothing current.

I got as far as looking through the sustrans info, which is poor. That said I have used ridewith gps online or similar mapping software to plan a specific route around the basic information. This thread was intended to ilicit as much information about the routes as possible.

I would recomend using twitter linked to a smart phone for the blog. The ability to upload photos, gps locations and brief updates means that you are more likely to do it! It also leaves you with a really good diary/timeline. I did this during my lejog.

Just a completed a leisurely version of this - starting in Abergavveny and finishing in Bangor. I kept the daily distances pretty modest and my lack of fitness, the gradient and what Sustrans think passes for a touring-suitable bike path meant I wouldn't have wanted to do much more. Also managed to miss out the steepest bit coming out of Corris, which, for the reasons above, I was not sorry about and lapped up the short sojourn into smooth tarmac instead.

Some really beautiful bits - which my photos don't do justice. And this being July in the U.K., quite a lot of rain and headwinds. Was not sorry not to be camping.