Trans-Cambrian Way

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AndyTheBikeGuy
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Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by AndyTheBikeGuy »

After an aborted attempt at the TCW last year with two friends I decided to have another crack at the TCW. (Last year we took over geared gravel bikes and a surprise storm made it unpleasant so we ditched the route after the first night and took the road back to Aberystwyth). Having flexibility meant I could work around the weather, I'd originally planned to start at the weekend but with the rain I thought I'd give it a couple of days to dry out.

After some faffing about and life admin, I left home in the lakes mid afternoon on Monday and aimed for Clun (my thinking was there was ample parking and it wasn't too far from Craven Arms so I could easily ride back to the van should I finish after the trains to provincial station Knighton stopped for the day). Arrived at Clun after an easy run down, I set the bike up, finished my Subway and I was away at 18:00. Having done the Knighton to Rhayader section last year and camping in some woods shortly before Rhayader I thought I'd aim for the same spot. Hoping my easier gearing and wider tyres would mean I was a bit quicker. I'd plotted a quick road section from Clun to Lloyney and then I joined the route proper. Max effort to make it over a little rock step and I was spinning up the rocky track and finally offroad.

A quick flicker of recognition and I remembered there was a lovely big grassy hill to negotiate, feeling fresh I thought I'd try to ride it all, getting about 3/4 way up before realising I wasn't going to make it so cut my losses and jumped off, had a drink and plodded my way up.

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As I crested the top, my thoughts of a fast paced blast to my bivvy spot was ruined by a delightful couple who were on a dog walk and chatted to me about their various bike touring trips over the years. After our saying our farewells and the wishing me luck, I span along the wide grassy plateau, onto heathery hardpack, wary of stealth sheep doing their usual ‘I’m not in your way, but I might decide to be when you startle me’.

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Descent to the river crossing, filled bottles and back up and onto the farmland. Darkness fell and other than a few bugs trying their best to up my protein intake for the day, all was easy until I reached a field with a few eyes looking at me. Winching myself up through a field and I realised I wasn’t alone… cows everywhere! I picked my way between them and then realised half the herd were crowded around the gate. They were a bit twitchy, but I used my strongest learnt Cumbrian farmer voice, they parted wandered off. As I stopped for some water and a few M&Ms I completely forgot they were there, turned around and scared myself silly when I saw them so close.

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A few more miles and I got the bivvy spot, set up, had some sausage rolls and then into the tent. A fitful sleep to start with but eventually I was off and only awoken by a very loud owl seemingly looking for a mate.

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The next morning I broke camp and rode down to Rhayader. Coffee and bacon butties from the Coop in a bustop really was a perfect breakfast. After reading a few comments on here, I decided to skip the broken road from the Elan visitor centre so I took the road over the reservoir and then to the north of the river. I did have a mild dream of getting to Mach for the last train of the day (approx. 20:00) so thought if I could up my speed here, it might pay back later on.

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As I hit the Claerwen Reservoir the sun came out and the breeze started blowing. Felt oddly slow and realised my body was still trying to protest a very salty breakfast. I downed some water and felt much better.

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At the end of the reservoir I met a couple of riders who were staying in B&Bs, we chatted for a while, exchanged stories, complained about gates and then I rode off, feeling I had to ride faster than them as they’d commented I looked like I was travelling light. 2 minutes later, I rode through the water splash and then stopped to filter some water. As I was finishing they came up, looked at the splash, stopped, egged each other on. The more cautious of them rode through tentatively and made it pretty much to the other side, revealing she’d only bought her first mountain bike a couple of weeks before and was a roadie by nature. The other, more confident had pushed back up the hill to get a run up. She hammered down in a big gear, immediately lost all her speed and then couldn’t keep on top of the gear, put her foot down, missed a rock and then comically fell into the water. Laughter ensued, no harm done and I bid them adieu.

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Realising I wasn’t going to make the train today I chilled out and detoured to a café at Pontrhydygroes for some lunch and a refreshing zesty drink. 15m from rejoining the route, I saw the riders from earlier, caught up with them and we chatted and rode for a bit before I shot off on the rocky descent down towards Llangurig. Feeling good, I knew I’d make it past Hafren and soon found myself on tracks familiar from the 2019 WRT. Stopped for a break at the toilet block and then got the map out to look for a suitable bivvy spot. I thought I’d try to get to the highest point remaining so it would be a nice descent down to the train in the morning.

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Climbing up from Staylittle, as I went though the farmyard before reaching the bridleways at the top three very aggressive collies started barking but I tested out some advice a dog trainer friend had given me, held my ground, talked authoritatively and they kept their distance, stopped barking and eventually slinked off.

I started feeling pretty wiped out as I rode through the fields at the top of the route, but fueled up on M&Ms and cracked on. Slid my way down the slatey descent, hiked my way up the other side and then searched for a bivvy spot. Pitched up, made dinner and then realised I’d forgotten to pack a spork. A very cautious 5 minutes of scooping pasta into my mouth with my knife later I was fed and crawled into bed for a slightly fitful sleep.

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Next morning I broke camp, knowing it was pretty much all downhill from here. As I wanted breakfast I’d planned a route straight down to Machynlleth, what I hadn’t realised is I’d picked a loose 20% slatey bridleway, some squeaky bum time later, I’d picked/skidded/white knuckled my way down, was on the road and cruising to Mach. When I got there, I grabbed some breakfast and realised there was more than an hour to my train as I’d just missed one, so I decided it wasn’t a bad idea to spin down the road to Dovey Junction to at least say I’d got there. A leg stretching spin down the road felt great and I was only slightly annoyed when I found out all the trains were delayed due to a breakdown further up the line.

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And that’s where the story should end, quick train to Shrewsbury and then on to Craven Arms and then a short road blast to Clun and back to the van. Instead, the train I was on only went as far as Mach, so we all disembarked, rejoined the next one and then made it to Shrewsbury, where after chatting to a chap who had ridden from Cardiff in part of a group up to Rhayader while awaiting our south bound train, we were given some rather annoying news. A guy told us he and his three friends on tourers had been waiting for 3 hours for a train to Cardiff and hadn’t be allowed to get on any of the past ones as they’d been full. They had special permission to get their three bikes on the next one, but he didn’t think we’d be able to get on. My new friend Jackson and I tried to see if we could get on, but weren’t made any promises. They also couldn’t tell us if we’d be able to get on the next one. While Jackson had to make it back to Cardiff I thought I’d may as well ride. I’d done over 170km on tough terrain, surely an extra 40km on road wouldn’t be too hard?! It was… hot steep hills on legs which had resigned to have finished meant I was absolutely crawling. I eventually made it back to the van, stripped the bags off the bike, poured copious bottles of water over myself and then drove home. Stopping to eat and top up the oil on the van as it appears to have gained a new thirst for 5w-40.

A great route, I’d love to have a go even lighter and see if I could do it in a day if the logistics worked, but I’d work on my fitness first.
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I always think the TCW is weird in that it never feels like the same ride twice. A section that can drag one day can be over in the blink of an eye another.
May the bridges you burn light your way
jameso
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by jameso »

Enjoyed that, great pics too. Really should ride this route one day.
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AndyTheBikeGuy
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by AndyTheBikeGuy »

Bearbonesnorm wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 2:15 pm I always think the TCW is weird in that it never feels like the same ride twice. A section that can drag one day can be over in the blink of an eye another.
I can imagine, I'm sure the weather and my sugar levels would have made a big difference to a few sections. Equally if I'd started early and kipped somewhere halfway round I can imagine the second day would have felt very different. I would have taken the Aberystwyth finish you sent me last year, but spongy brakes suggested I should finish as soon as possible on the final morning.
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Verena
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by Verena »

Snap!

I wondered how many people were out doing the TCW this weekend.... the falling into the puddle account sounds vaguely familiar :lol: but not sure if it was us?!?! Timings sound different.... We met two guys from Oxford, and a group of three South Africans from London, several times over the route, that's it. Remarkably few, considering it was bank holiday weekend and amazing weather, and quite a well known route. Hi by the way :cool: if any of you are reading this.

So, my local river swimming buddy, who is a very good roadie and triathlete, wanted to do the TCW and try bikepacking, and had got herself a brand new gravel bike and assorted kit, and off we went.

As I said, weather was just unbelievable for Wales, not a single drop of rain over three days, no wind, sunny most of the time, warm.... keeping it all in the Type 1 fun zone.

There was definitely a bit of a "wildlife" theme for us, seems like we weren't the only ones...

First memorable wildlife moment was riding through a dead sheep - yes, literally through. Not much left of the thing, but the body was one side, then the track, then the head the other. The mind boggles: Sheep sadly passes away. The first rider comes along. What were they thinking? Oh, there's a dead sheep, I know, I'll ride right over it?!?! Then all the rest of us just started following their tracks. No-one thought to move the body? Strange...

The first bit from Knighton over to Llanbadarn Fynydd with the heather in full bloom was one of our favourite sections. At first I thought it was a rather large speck in my camera, but look, what are the chances of this bee getting caught in my photo:
Image2021-08-31_08-59-48 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Met aforementioned groups of 3 then 2 at the ford in Llanbadarn Fynydd, where the shop was shut, and we had a lovely lunch break with a brew in the sun.

And later again at the Elan Hotel in Rhayader where we had a great bit of dinner, stocked up at the Spar for the next day, then headed on up into the hills beyond the visitor centre, to get up and above the cold mist that was descending, and to save our legs a bit of early morning climbing. We found an empty (looking!) flat field where we set up for the night. There were bats, loads of owls and loads of other wildlife noises about. Around midnight, I woke up to the sound of some heavy breathing, and munching sounds. At first I thought it was just my mate enjoying a late night snack :lol: , but then opened my eyes and found her already awake sitting bolt upright and looking at this
ImageIMG-20210830-WA0025 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
We debated our options a bit, alternating between fear and laziness, and in the end she used her brain and went and shut the gate to the neighbouring field, where they had wandered back to - clever (and yes we opened it again in the morning).

Day two to Llangurig was just stunning, long, and by the time I got there I was quite knackered. Most memorable moments early on include my mate, wanting to avoid a large puddle on the broken road towards Claerwen, insisting on attempting to ride through the smaller one next to it, only to find herself catapulted headlong into the big one anyway - we are talking full body submersion, head under, the works :lol:. No photo I'm afraid, I was too busy laughing...errr, helping of course :oops: :lol: .

Definitely my favourite photo of the trip, and in itself a good reason to go with someone else who can take pictures... Anyone who's ever been there knows that it is a lot less impressive than it looks, but it does look good though doesn't it? - one to show the grandchildren one day :grin:

ImageIMG-20210830-WA0028 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Nice stop along Claerwen to dry out our gear from the overnight dew and the recent dunk, whilst enjoying a brew and some of Mrs Crimble's finest coconut macaroons (the chocolate ones).
ImageIMG_20210829_104649 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

It was such a lovely warm afternoon (25 degrees!), we stopped for a swim in Teifi pools - gorgeous!
ImageIMG_20210829_133641 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

We had good meal and a very nice evening at the Bluebell in Llangurig with our new friends from Oxford, and persuaded the pub to sell us some packed lunches for the Monday, before heading off into the darkness to find somewhere to sleep. We had well and truly learned our lesson from the night before, so we found an empty (looking) field :roll: :lol: ...

By the time I had returned from scouting the periphery of the field, where I found the flock of sheep and the horse, my mate had already partially unpacked. A few amusing and slightly tense moments followed, when the very lovely but somewhat excited horse came over to investigate, and started playfully pawing at our things :grin:

We moved on to just a little further down the track, to a spot more pragmatic than scenic, but which turned out to be really quite cosy. Even remembered to hang up our food in the tree in case of foxes :lol:
ImageIMG_20210830_061242 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

The last day started overcast and quite cold, but it soon brightened up. After the lovely Hafren forest, we stopped (of course) at the Staylittle shop for not one but two coffees and some supplementary snacks, before enjoying the final leg of our trip.

The final wildlife moment was turning a corner on a downhill, to find ourselves face on with a BIG Welsh Black bull, complete with ring in nose, with his herd of ladies and youngsters, right on the path :???: We just talked nicely to him and kept moving and it was fine, but I was glad I wasn't on my own...

And almost before we knew it we were at Dyfi Junction - what a funny little place!

What a great route :-bd
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RIP
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by RIP »

Top work from both parties :-bd . Even for a route-o-phobe like Reg, the TCW is right up there.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....

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redefined_cycles
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by redefined_cycles »

RIP wrote: Wed Sep 01, 2021 7:26 pm Top work from both parties :-bd . Even for a route-o-phobe like Reg, the TCW is right up there.
What Reg said... Thanks for sharing Andy and Verena. It's on my todo (or to-do) list. Yes, pictures never do the scenery justice but the fact that all yours look mighty impressive, says it all.

Wales :X

Pity there were no named storms about as that always makes everything look even more 'x-directory'... For the young uns, no it's not a dirty word :smile:
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fatbikephil
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by fatbikephil »

Great stuff. That bee photo is fab Verena!
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RIP
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by RIP »

She just dangled a dead one on a bit of thread :wink:
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....

"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
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Verena
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by Verena »

RIP wrote: Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:16 pm She just dangled a dead one on a bit of thread :wink:
:lol:
Teaman
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by Teaman »

Great photos and interesting read 👍
directdrive
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by directdrive »

excellent reads both of them. I need to tick the full TCW off my list before I move away from Aberystwyth.
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Hummerlicious
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Re: Trans-Cambrian Way

Post by Hummerlicious »

I had a go in August too, really enjoyed the route, had rubbish weather on the last day though!

We had a decent amount of time for it, so took our time and enjoyed the experience. I'd quite like to go back and have a go a bit quicker sometime though.

https://bikepackinguk.com/2021/09/17/tr ... brian-way/
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