The Gap (extended)

Yesterday Uphilla, DDave and I made good use of the excellent weather cranking ourselves silly riding The Gap in s.Wales (nr Brecon). The day started early for DDave and I who drove there/back in the same day, meaning a 4.45am start for yours truly :o but behind the curtains lay clear blue sunny skies which soon cleared my groggy bonce. Prop's to DDave who was 100% keen with a fettled rig and at 6am was keeping an eye out for his "taxi". Several doses of strong black coffee later we found ourselves parking in Talybont-on-Usk when Uphilla rpuled up (he's camping nearby at Hay-on-Wye for the week). Under a mild sunny sky it didn't take us long to jump aboard our steeds and head off into the wilderness...

Along a tree lined track, with gradually improving views of the Talybond Reservoir the Taff-Trail provides a steady gradient for around the first hour albeit riddled with small rocks to focus your attention. Admittedly they weren't too much hassle for Uphilla and I on our plush rigs but poor DDave was getting a right batterin' on his h/tail.

Anyhoo, the trail then soon changed from the wooded climb into open moorland ranging from often steep rocky double track to boggy bits as we continued the grind upward. You're then confronted with what initially appears to be an increasingly steep, old road but it transforms into a rocky step fest that requires a level of riding prowess (and fitness) that none of us posses. After a short hike-a-bike the trail levelled before gently descending into a hard worn 4x4 tracks that provided numerous line choices complete with the odd puddle and rocky section to plant smiles on our chops.

Ducking down into the woods the trail became very rocky with plenty of loose rocks that could be heard pinging from our down tubes, rims, spokes, shoes, etc, etc. The mossy wood lined track continued downward eventually turning to asphalt where we cranked our way around to the picturesque Pentwyn Reservoir. A short section of asphalt then brings you to the Taf Fechan river crossing which marks the start of the climb up to The Gap.

A steady road climb leads into a steady off road slog around those ever present rocks as you winch your way skyward alongside Tor Glas. Should you look up there are lovely views of the Neudadd Resv's not to mention the Graig's. Not long after leaving the road you get a sneak peak at the The Gap that gradually gets closer and closer the more feet you crank yourself ever upwards.

Whilst I sun'd myself in the lea of The Gap I saw that the peaks were mobbed with folk and as we hadn't seen many walkers coming up our side of the trail I feared our descent on the Brecon side would be full of walkers. Considering it's a Bank Holiday weekend I was very pleasantly surprised to find our descent was only dotted with the odd grumpy. I wonder if we'd missed the morning rush up and our lunchtime descent meant clear trails - a point to consider for next time.

After a rest (and moan from DDave) we saddle up and cranked into The Gap...

Having tried and failed last time this section previously I was 1k% focused on clearing the next few feet of trail that gently dips between rocky outcrops cut into the hillside. I'd forgotten about the nasty steps that keep appearing yet with loose boulders flying and my suspension working overtime I dived in. Whoomp, slip, drop, twang, eek, drop, phew, twang, eek, drop and plenty of pullin' and a pushin' on the tiller had me spring back into daylight and the awesome view to Brecon. My companions were a little more cautious (perhaps I yelped too loudly!) and after a sneaky peek they both slithered and slipped their way through.

The next 6 miles are ever downward, first on the rocky boulder strewn summit before hitting a twisty asphalt lane all the way down to the pub at Groesffordd for a well earned brew. After braking hard into the many asphalt turns I was just thinking how lucky we'd been not to meet an oncoming car when a jeep roar nto view. Thankfully our anchors slowed us enough to slither safely past although I think we each flat spotted a knobbly ;-)

Re-fueled after a long cold beer and a bowl of tasty soup we headed off into the unknown (non of us had done this northern loop) and these 3 off roaders weren't prepared for what lay ahead. Mile after mile of asphalt :-( We initially thought we'd be ridding off road atop an nearby ridge but the route had us push well beyond that and into a sweaty panting distance past Llangors. With ever steepening roads we gratefully hit dirt again at Cockit Hill, unfortunately the trail was so steep that it we knew it meant another hike-a-bike. Oh how this short steep climb teased us into at least 3 false summits before we all collapsed near the top in the sunshine. The views were worth the effort though, as the valley beneath us was awesome complete with Llangorse Lake and The Gap in the distance.

With just one more climb to go (grrr) we cranked our way along grassy moorland trying to match up the trails with our GPS. It meandered gently down with the odd fast section but the grass meant cranking was mandatory for our tired pins. Uphilla even got carried away and dived off down the wrong way but soon came back after realizing, by which time a whacked DDave had caught up.

A short while later the trail dived down over blind crests which'd be fun to ride again now we know there's nothing too sinister on the other side. A few 2ft drops would also be fun to loft next time :B The trail steepens into tight switchbacks down into Bwlch before hitting a monster long asphalt descent to Llansantffraed which had me cranking and the guys slip streaming - come on lads, there's no "i" in team :x

Back at Talybont-on-Usk DDave whimpered that he never been so glad to see a VW Golf (his ride home) :lol The village had picked up a few visitors since we left and after securing our rigs we nipped into the local for another well earned brewski.

With plenty of techie climbs and descents The Gap loop is challenging and satisfying but throw in the northern slog and you've bagged yourself an Epic Ride. The northern leg adds extra miles, lots of ascending but IMO not the smiles you'd hope for. However this monster loop did help justify the long journey there/back.

Thanks to Uphilla for arranging the ride and DDave for keeping me company for the 6hr journey. Oh and prop's to Volkswagen for 50mpg+ with the bikes on the back :p

Pic's

Tracklog

Posse: Farqui (5Spot), DDave (Solid h/tail), Uphilla (Ventana)
Mechanicals: None (amazing considering the abuse)
Weather: Absolutely fabulous darlings, barely a breath of wind and sunnier than I can remember in a long time

Black Mountain 'Killer'

This was supposed to be the antidote to the lack of riding in the wet summer, a date had to be picked out and I was being optimistic and hoping for a drier autumn. It did not happen, for once the forecast was spot-on – Periods of heavy rain, wind and low cloud.

Full marks to our small posse who turned up and did the ride regardless without complaint.

The advice is to allow 6 hours for the ride, which seems a lot for 23 miles, but when you see the terrain it starts to make sense.

We set off from the Castle Inn at Pengenfford and soon met our first tough climb and were off pushing up lose rocks. After skirting the base of the hills now towering above us we made a choice to push up y Grib rather than the steep rocky climb a little further round at y Das, thinking it might be easier in the wet. It was still a tough walk with the wind and rain cutting hard by the time we reached the top. Promised views were only briefly glimpsed through the wind blown cloud – we had already climbed 1000ft.
We were grateful to be cranking again across a moorland track and soon picked up the ‘proper’ route again and the long steady descent to Grwyne Fawr reservoir – this was welcome, but not easy in places with much lose rock and slippy ruts – it tested us all, but was great fun. This eventually brought us out in valley bottom with another ‘big hill’ looming over us – I think hearts may have been sinking a bit at this point, but up we went on forest fire roads thankfully zigzagging. The GPS then pointed us up a track to the right and once again we were off and pushing until we reached a remote and narrow hillside singetrack. Another short push brought to the top of Crug Mawr and the start of a brilliant downhill, well it would have been if it had not been for the conditions and all took it very easy this time :-(

The optional lunch stop at Llanbedr was not taken, the preference was to keep going this time. It was quite relief to be back on predictable tarmac for a while as we started the gradual ascent – the tracklog show this to last for 6½ miles in all. On a clear day it would have been a bearable with some great scenery, on this day it was a real slog at times. We passed a group carrying an injured dog back to civilization who wished us the best of luck as we headed ever upwards.
The wet and grime had taken its toll on Dozers chain by this point and all the lube had gone, luckily Farqui had packed some Purple Extreme and a quick squirt restored the gears sufficiently to get to the top.

Needless to say we were all weary by the time we got to the top and the prospect of a fast downhill blast was not that appealing, so we picked our way carefully down what would be challenging on a dry day and sensibly chose to dismount in places not wanting any last minute injuries. As the descent levelled out it did not get any easier with unrelenting lose rock to negotiate rattling our teeth all the way to the bottom!

What a relief to get back to the Castle Inn change into dry clothes and get into the warm bar for a much needed pint. Sadly the hot food we had also hoped for was not available.

What can I say? Well I am not sure about the others, but I am glad I did the ride and had a real sense of achievement getting round unscathed. It is a real ‘Killer’ loop as had been promised through some stunning, wild countryside. Sadly we did not get the views promised. On balance, one to do in better weather, but picking the right time would be more luck than judgement this year.

Posse: Dozer- Canyon; Farqui – 5-Spot; Pete – Cannondale Scalpel; Uphilla – 5-Spot
Mechanicals Dozer, chain suck?
Weather: Almost as bad as it gets.

MORE PICTURES

Black Mountains Killer Loop - 4th October 2008

"This is proper wilderness mountain biking with some ace high-level, ridgeline singletrack thrown in"

Anyone interested in riding this 'Classic' route? It is one I have wanted to attempt for some time, so I have finally booked a date - Saturday 4th October. One or two other folk have said they will come along, so I hope that we get a late summer as this is not one to do in poor conditions.

The advice to allow all day and to be well prepared as parts are very remote and mobile phone coverage is not good. There are also some very demanding climbs, in fact one involves around 30 minutes scrambling on foot. There are stunning views and brilliant descents to compensate.

I suggest a start time of around 10 am from the Castle Inn at Pengenfford. A similar route can be done from Crickhowell, but it does add some unnecessary miles - this route is about 23.3miles. with 4650ft climbing. I will be travelling down Friday evening and staying at a nearby YHA for simple B & B. Start location is probably just over 2.5 hours from Northampton if the roads are clear. I guess if the weather is too bad I might just head for Afan.

Tracklog

Hope you can come along!

CRUG MAWR video

RHIW TRAMAU video

The Gap

Since a Drude moved to Herefordshire my roadie pal and I have been gradually hatchin' a plan to go for a pukka MTB ride in this gorgeous part of the country. Taking a while to match up a suitable free weekend we finally turned our wheels over the Brecon Becons today. Even though we'd had plenty of prep time we hadn't really settled on a route until a few days before and the writeup suggested we'd get a good taste of the area without killin' us. ;-)

With snow forecast for Sunday and the air temp dropping we wrapped up and rolled out of Talybont-on-Usk onto a disused railway line. I thought this'd be a gentle, wide'n'smooth warm up to the open moorland ahead but we quickly found the trail was rocky (albeit with the rocks plugged into the earth) and as it narrowed so did our focus on the next few lumps ahead. The gradient wasn't anything to worry about and we were soon removing the layers in the dappled sunshine, especially as we were still shielded from the wind by the valley'n'trees.

As the tree line receded the views became more dramatic, the wind steadily increased and the rocky terrain continued to focus your ridin'. After a short rocky scrabble (both of us hiked) we rolled out onto a ridge and carefully navigated our way through "The Mother of All Bogs" - I kid you not. We found it was fairly dry but in winter I suspect this section would be a nightmare. After some rocky and boggy moments, Drude soon learned to latch on the line I'd be continually adjusting for the less hazardous option. At this point the wind wasn't too bad (it was still behind us) and the views were difficult to ignore until your front wheel got bounced/sucked off line ! A nice technical and twisting climb followed that got me (aka Mr Flatlands) back in the steep'n'techie groove.

After racing through and around long 4x4 scars we started to plunge down into the forest where the bridleway gradually became more rocky. Then rockier. Steeper and rockier. Until Drude hoped we were done with the rocks, then we rounded a corner for the mother of all loose, rocky drops. "Commitment" was all mumbled and I jostled my way down.

A comparatively gentle section followed before we popped out onto the road around Pentwyn reservoir. This is the lowest point before "The Gap" and it's gentle drag up, all the way, for mile after mile of road that then breaks to double track. We past a few walkers but they didn't hinder our jolly progress upwards. Thankfully the track wasn't too technical but the increasing headwind made some bits quite awkward.

After a catching our breath in the lee of the ridge (and gorgeous sunshine) we continued through "The Gap". OMG, the wind was tearing through and forced us both to dismount purely because we simply could not see - our eyes were watering soooo much, even behind sunnies. You're quickly plunged down and around the mtn that pleasingly reduced the headwind but now it became a gusty cross wind ! The descent isn't as deep in loose rocks as earlier but it just goes on and on and on with just a few short and sandy (packed) sections to give your limbs and eye's a rest. Proving that a full susser ain't such a bad thang I hammered down and at the gate I found my roadie chum was upping his game on the challenging terrain. At least I couldn't hear his singing as I crashed down the trail :)

Back in the warm sunshine of the valley we decided not to bother riding up to Brecon and zipped around the quiet country lanes. After slip streaming a 4x4 :p we were soon at signs for the Taff trail and a few corner later we opted for the even quieter canal tow path back Tally b.

This ride has plenty of climbing but it's relatively gentle and riding the route clockwise means you get rewarded with loads-a-fast and/or technical downhills to make the steady drag's well worthwhile. Although it's technical in places it's a got some great sections to hone your skills and even "scared y cats" can get around without too much walking.

After a well earned pint and a bite to eat we headed back to Drude's to clean up, pop open a cold one and soak the ol'bones in his hot tub. Tip top.

It's a route I'd definitely like to tackle again, who's interested ?

Tracklog, pic's and a partial writeup from WhatMTB here.

Posse: Drude (Giant XTC), Farqui (5Spot)
Weather: Dry, sunny spells, warm in the valleys but windy and cold up top
Mechanicals: none