Post by andybz on Jul 19, 2014 17:08:59 GMT
Myself and two friends cycled to Cardiff this week. When we talked about this originally we thought doing it in three days would be enough of a challenge. But after a couple of months of training on our road bikes the idea of doing it in one day became the aim, making is a 'proper' challenge.
We did look around for suggested routes and other information from those who had done it before, but found very little. I hope that by posting a few hints and tips here on the forum that a few other people will have a go.
After looking at various options we decided that following the A470 was likely to be the best. We were concerned about the amount of climbing involved, but it is essentially the shortest in miles. Also, we realised that A roads generally have a smoother surface than many small roads, and sticking with one major route would reduce the likelihood of us getting lost and mean we would not be spending time (and mental effort) on navigation. Having done it I feel that we were right to follow the A470, apart from around Merthyr Tydfil (more of that later).
We set off at 4am. We chose this time to give us a good chance of doing most of the route in the light and it gave us several hours of quiet traffic on the first part of the A470, which can be very busy from about 6am. I would say that this start time worked really well. If you think you will complete the route in significantly less time than us, you may be able to delay the start by an hour. The only thing you have to remember is that shops on the route will not be open, so make sure you have enough food and drink to last you at least 4 hours.
Our plan was to stop fairly often, and to take a couple of longer breaks to make sure we ate some 'proper' meals. I have to say I felt much better on this ride than on some previous ones I had completed, even though they were all shorter. I think it was what we ate during the day that made the most difference. We didn't use any gels, although we did drink water with electrolyte tabs most of the day (along with coffee, tea and coke at the various stops).
Our first short stop was at Dolwyddelan where we sat outside the Spar (which was not opening for another 2.5 hours) and mentally prepared ourselves for the Crimea Pass. Our next stop was in a layby near Trawsfynydd where we were a bit surprised to see a load of traffic, which turned out to be workers going to the power station for a 7am start.
We had breakfast at the Little Chef just outside Dolgellau. Something to watch is making sure you take on enough carbohydrate. A full English breakfast is fine, but is a bit lacking in carb. I opted for two breakfast butties (i.e. plenty of bread). The staff topped our water bottles up and we stocked up with flapjack at the next door petrol station.
I had been dreading the climb out of Dolgellau, but it was actually OK (easier that Crimea). There is a bit of a steep section at the end, but it does not last long. There is the option to go via Machynlleth, but I think that involves more climbing so sticking to the A470 seems to be the best option.
There was not much to report for a while after Dolgellau. You pass through a very quiet part of Wales - so make sure you have plenty of food and drink. We had a couple of short stops in laybys along this part of the route.
The A470 bypasses Llanidloes, but we went through the town and stopped at the Spar to buy drinks and food. This was about the half-way mark, and would be an option for lunch but we decided to wait until Rhayader, about an hour further down the road.
Rhayader was our second longer stop, where we had a decent lunch at Ty Morgan cafe (burgers, chips etc.) Again, the staff filled our water bottles.
From here our focus was on getting over the Brecon Beacons. A couple of short stops in laybys again. Here we made a mistake and bypassed the town of Brecon. It turned out that this was our last chance to top up with food and drink before the climb over the beacons, as there were no other shops on the road. It would definitely have been a good idea to have gone through the town.
The climb over the Brecon Beacons was a drag, but again not as bad as expected. The good news at this point was that there was relatively little climbing left to do, even though it was still nearly 40 miles to go.
Arguably our biggest mistake was at Merthyr Tydfil. We had identified that the A4054 would give us a way of avoiding the dual carriageway section of the A470. However, we missed the junction (in fact we think it is not sign posted) and ended up staying on the A470. At this point it was like riding on a motorway. There was a hard shoulder, but it was not ideal. I have to say it did not bother me too much but my mates hated it. I can't say for sure that the A4054 is a better option, but it is certainly worth looking into it.
Another problem with the A470 past Merthyr is that there are no shops or petrol stations. This would not have been a problem if we had stocked up in Brecon. In the end we had to come off the main road somewhere (I think it was Pontypridd) where we found a Sainsburys.
From here it was all very straight forward. The road undulated a bit, but nothing we couldn't manage. We stayed at the Premier Inn Cardiff South. This would probably not have been our first choice, but it was graduation day at Cardiff University and everywhere was full. It was actually fine, only about a mile from the city centre. The staff let us put our bikes in the laundry room, which was locked. And there was a Brewers Fayre, where got a meal and a very welcome pint. Also, the hotel was happy to accept a package that we had couriered down containing clean clothes, tooth brushes etc, which meant we had not had to carry anything with us.
The route was about 187 miles and involved approximately 9,500 feet of climbing. It took us about 16.5 hours door-to-door, but nearly 4 hours of that was stopped. We had a fairly brisk headwind nearly all the way, which I would think added about 30 minutes to our time. We could have taken shorter breaks for breakfast and lunch if we wished and stopping at Brecon would have saved us time later.
We caught the train back the next day. Officially, only two bikes are allowed on a train at any time and it is not very easy to book them on. One of my friends knew someone at Arriva who allowed us to book three bikes on to the 09:21. In practice no one took a blind bit of notice, and for a while there were four bikes. If you are worried, and fancy a day in Cardiff, there is a train in the evening that has a lot more space (I think it is the 17:16. It is sponsored by the Welsh Government and does not go via Chester). It is worth booking the train in advance as you can save quite a lot of money, but try to make sure you choose a direct as changing trains with bikes would be a drag.
So if you fancy it, I say go for it. We are three 'normal' men in our mid-forties. Neither of us had done any proper cycling in the past. In fact, before December 2013 the furthest I had ridden had been about 40 miles. And, I had only done two 100 milers before this ride to Cardiff. Also, we only had basic bikes (one was a Carrera). It was tough, and you do want to make sure you are with like-minded and capable people who will work together and look after each other. One of my mates fainted at our last stop (about 15 miles from Cardiff), we think it was just because of the exertion. But he came round and finished. We all felt fine the next day.
I only took a few photos, but here they are:
Why didn't we put the bikes in the van and drive to Cardiff?
Dolweddelan Spar - wasn't opening for another 2.5 hours
Selfie at the top of the Crimea Pass. Lovely day in Llandudno apparently. Not so nice here. I would say the climb was more fun than the downhill - rain in the eyes felt like pin pricks
Very lucky to only have one puncture all day.
Selfie at the top of Brecon Beacons. Yes, it was raining there as well.
I have never been so pleased to see a Premier Inn
We made it. Very pleased to sit down on something that was not a bike saddle.
We did look around for suggested routes and other information from those who had done it before, but found very little. I hope that by posting a few hints and tips here on the forum that a few other people will have a go.
After looking at various options we decided that following the A470 was likely to be the best. We were concerned about the amount of climbing involved, but it is essentially the shortest in miles. Also, we realised that A roads generally have a smoother surface than many small roads, and sticking with one major route would reduce the likelihood of us getting lost and mean we would not be spending time (and mental effort) on navigation. Having done it I feel that we were right to follow the A470, apart from around Merthyr Tydfil (more of that later).
We set off at 4am. We chose this time to give us a good chance of doing most of the route in the light and it gave us several hours of quiet traffic on the first part of the A470, which can be very busy from about 6am. I would say that this start time worked really well. If you think you will complete the route in significantly less time than us, you may be able to delay the start by an hour. The only thing you have to remember is that shops on the route will not be open, so make sure you have enough food and drink to last you at least 4 hours.
Our plan was to stop fairly often, and to take a couple of longer breaks to make sure we ate some 'proper' meals. I have to say I felt much better on this ride than on some previous ones I had completed, even though they were all shorter. I think it was what we ate during the day that made the most difference. We didn't use any gels, although we did drink water with electrolyte tabs most of the day (along with coffee, tea and coke at the various stops).
Our first short stop was at Dolwyddelan where we sat outside the Spar (which was not opening for another 2.5 hours) and mentally prepared ourselves for the Crimea Pass. Our next stop was in a layby near Trawsfynydd where we were a bit surprised to see a load of traffic, which turned out to be workers going to the power station for a 7am start.
We had breakfast at the Little Chef just outside Dolgellau. Something to watch is making sure you take on enough carbohydrate. A full English breakfast is fine, but is a bit lacking in carb. I opted for two breakfast butties (i.e. plenty of bread). The staff topped our water bottles up and we stocked up with flapjack at the next door petrol station.
I had been dreading the climb out of Dolgellau, but it was actually OK (easier that Crimea). There is a bit of a steep section at the end, but it does not last long. There is the option to go via Machynlleth, but I think that involves more climbing so sticking to the A470 seems to be the best option.
There was not much to report for a while after Dolgellau. You pass through a very quiet part of Wales - so make sure you have plenty of food and drink. We had a couple of short stops in laybys along this part of the route.
The A470 bypasses Llanidloes, but we went through the town and stopped at the Spar to buy drinks and food. This was about the half-way mark, and would be an option for lunch but we decided to wait until Rhayader, about an hour further down the road.
Rhayader was our second longer stop, where we had a decent lunch at Ty Morgan cafe (burgers, chips etc.) Again, the staff filled our water bottles.
From here our focus was on getting over the Brecon Beacons. A couple of short stops in laybys again. Here we made a mistake and bypassed the town of Brecon. It turned out that this was our last chance to top up with food and drink before the climb over the beacons, as there were no other shops on the road. It would definitely have been a good idea to have gone through the town.
The climb over the Brecon Beacons was a drag, but again not as bad as expected. The good news at this point was that there was relatively little climbing left to do, even though it was still nearly 40 miles to go.
Arguably our biggest mistake was at Merthyr Tydfil. We had identified that the A4054 would give us a way of avoiding the dual carriageway section of the A470. However, we missed the junction (in fact we think it is not sign posted) and ended up staying on the A470. At this point it was like riding on a motorway. There was a hard shoulder, but it was not ideal. I have to say it did not bother me too much but my mates hated it. I can't say for sure that the A4054 is a better option, but it is certainly worth looking into it.
Another problem with the A470 past Merthyr is that there are no shops or petrol stations. This would not have been a problem if we had stocked up in Brecon. In the end we had to come off the main road somewhere (I think it was Pontypridd) where we found a Sainsburys.
From here it was all very straight forward. The road undulated a bit, but nothing we couldn't manage. We stayed at the Premier Inn Cardiff South. This would probably not have been our first choice, but it was graduation day at Cardiff University and everywhere was full. It was actually fine, only about a mile from the city centre. The staff let us put our bikes in the laundry room, which was locked. And there was a Brewers Fayre, where got a meal and a very welcome pint. Also, the hotel was happy to accept a package that we had couriered down containing clean clothes, tooth brushes etc, which meant we had not had to carry anything with us.
The route was about 187 miles and involved approximately 9,500 feet of climbing. It took us about 16.5 hours door-to-door, but nearly 4 hours of that was stopped. We had a fairly brisk headwind nearly all the way, which I would think added about 30 minutes to our time. We could have taken shorter breaks for breakfast and lunch if we wished and stopping at Brecon would have saved us time later.
We caught the train back the next day. Officially, only two bikes are allowed on a train at any time and it is not very easy to book them on. One of my friends knew someone at Arriva who allowed us to book three bikes on to the 09:21. In practice no one took a blind bit of notice, and for a while there were four bikes. If you are worried, and fancy a day in Cardiff, there is a train in the evening that has a lot more space (I think it is the 17:16. It is sponsored by the Welsh Government and does not go via Chester). It is worth booking the train in advance as you can save quite a lot of money, but try to make sure you choose a direct as changing trains with bikes would be a drag.
So if you fancy it, I say go for it. We are three 'normal' men in our mid-forties. Neither of us had done any proper cycling in the past. In fact, before December 2013 the furthest I had ridden had been about 40 miles. And, I had only done two 100 milers before this ride to Cardiff. Also, we only had basic bikes (one was a Carrera). It was tough, and you do want to make sure you are with like-minded and capable people who will work together and look after each other. One of my mates fainted at our last stop (about 15 miles from Cardiff), we think it was just because of the exertion. But he came round and finished. We all felt fine the next day.
I only took a few photos, but here they are:
Why didn't we put the bikes in the van and drive to Cardiff?
Dolweddelan Spar - wasn't opening for another 2.5 hours
Selfie at the top of the Crimea Pass. Lovely day in Llandudno apparently. Not so nice here. I would say the climb was more fun than the downhill - rain in the eyes felt like pin pricks
Very lucky to only have one puncture all day.
Selfie at the top of Brecon Beacons. Yes, it was raining there as well.
I have never been so pleased to see a Premier Inn
We made it. Very pleased to sit down on something that was not a bike saddle.
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