Hey guys and girls, here's a cracking route for you as featured in issue 52 of Adventure Bike Rider. Throughout 2019 we've been riding a series of Coast to Coast routes in collaboration with the tyre manufacturer Bridgestone. In issue 50 we crossed the Southern Uplands of Scotland, in issue 51 we headed from Dublin to Westport in Ireland, and for this issue we travelled from Goldcliff, just a few miles south east of Newport, Wales, to Aberystwyth on the west coast.
This ride is doable in one day, and it's an absolute beauty. The start of the ride will take you through the built-up areas of South Wales, but don't worry, it's over soon as you ride along the gravel track of Manmoel Road and into the wonderful Brecon Beacons. We zig-zag up and down the national park, before heading north into the isolated mountains of Mid Wales. From here, the riding is simply superb, and the roads that hug the flooded valleys around here are magnificent. From Rhayader, there's the option to do a few green lanes in the Elan Valley (Claerwen Reservoir, though make sure you seek permission from the farmer if you want to ride this gravel track all the way through). If you're sticking to the tarmac, we take the beautiful mountain road between Llanidloes and Machynlleth. It's not far from here 'till you'll be enjoying fish and chips on the sea front of Aberystwyth.
Honestly, I can't recommend this route enough, during this ride I was beaming from ear to ear, thinking 'this is bloody awesome'!
If you'd like to ride this route, we've plotted it out so that you can download it and stick it in your SatNav. Simply right click on the attachment below called 'ABR-bridgestone-Wales-coast2coast.gpx' and choose 'Save Link As', once you've saved it to your computer load it into your SatNav as per the manufacturers instructions and get riding!
ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Thanks Bryn,
That is a fantastic route!
I wouldn't worry too much about the farmer at Claerwen Farm, he's pretty chilled about people riding the 100 yards of ' questionable' status provided people slow down, shut the gates after them etc.
Six miles of legal lane, a hundred yards of uncertain legality and then another four miles of lovely lane...............only in Britain......
The Elan Valley Trust wardens at the Elan Valley Visitors Centre will of course say you can't go further than the farm , but in years riding it I've never had a problem....unlike up at the Tornado crash site
That is a fantastic route!
I wouldn't worry too much about the farmer at Claerwen Farm, he's pretty chilled about people riding the 100 yards of ' questionable' status provided people slow down, shut the gates after them etc.
Six miles of legal lane, a hundred yards of uncertain legality and then another four miles of lovely lane...............only in Britain......
The Elan Valley Trust wardens at the Elan Valley Visitors Centre will of course say you can't go further than the farm , but in years riding it I've never had a problem....unlike up at the Tornado crash site
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Hi,
I'm going to give this route a try tomorrow (Friday)
After the track around Claerwen Reservoir, what is the offroad section after the farm like?
I'm currently using google maps on my phone as my sat nav, Will the way points given send me on the correct route or is there a better free app to use?
Thanks John
I'm going to give this route a try tomorrow (Friday)
After the track around Claerwen Reservoir, what is the offroad section after the farm like?
I'm currently using google maps on my phone as my sat nav, Will the way points given send me on the correct route or is there a better free app to use?
Thanks John
- Bryn
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Hi John, good stuff! You'll have a blast! The off-road section after the farm is pretty easy going, there's one water crossing, but it shouldn't cause any problems (image below shows the one I'm talking about). If you're inputting the waypoints as you go, you will be taken on the route as intended (it's how I navigated it when I created it). As for where will the SatNav route take you - it will skip out the off-road section, so what you want to do is follow the signs for Elan Valley from Rhayader, then follow the signs for the Claerwen Reservoir. Once you get to the reservoir there's a road that goes to the lower carpark (obvious because it's below the dam) and a fork to the right which takes you to the upper carpark. Once you reach the upper carpark, the gravel track is dead ahead and impossible to miss.Shaggy wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2019 11:26 am Hi,
I'm going to give this route a try tomorrow (Friday)
After the track around Claerwen Reservoir, what is the offroad section after the farm like?
I'm currently using google maps on my phone as my sat nav, Will the way points given send me on the correct route or is there a better free app to use?
Thanks John
Make sure you take some pictures from the ride and send them to me at [email protected] - you'll be in with a chance of winning up to £1,500 worth of kit courtesy of Bridgestone.
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Hi Byn.
Thanks for the reply...
What an amazing route!!!
I used the way points as listed with google maps and figured out the rest before or on-route..
The day started out with a rather damp 130 mile blast down to the start.
Once I got to the start at Goldcliffe my phone decided to do a reboot thing!!!.
Not long after this point I spotted a McDonalds so had a brew while the phone sorted itself out!
The route took me on roads that I would never have discovered in a million years.., by lunchtime the weather dried up and the sun came out.
The brecon mountain road right to the routes end was a joy.
All that was left was the 2.5 hr run back home.
I covered best part of 450 miles on the day!!
I sent over some photos to you sat evening afternoon.
Thanks again for a great route and I'll be on the look out for more!!!
John Adams
Thanks for the reply...
What an amazing route!!!
I used the way points as listed with google maps and figured out the rest before or on-route..
The day started out with a rather damp 130 mile blast down to the start.
Once I got to the start at Goldcliffe my phone decided to do a reboot thing!!!.
Not long after this point I spotted a McDonalds so had a brew while the phone sorted itself out!
The route took me on roads that I would never have discovered in a million years.., by lunchtime the weather dried up and the sun came out.
The brecon mountain road right to the routes end was a joy.
All that was left was the 2.5 hr run back home.
I covered best part of 450 miles on the day!!
I sent over some photos to you sat evening afternoon.
Thanks again for a great route and I'll be on the look out for more!!!
John Adams
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Think I sussed it!!
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- Bryn
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Hi John, glad you enjoyed the ride, great pictures as well!Shaggy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 02, 2019 11:10 pm Hi Byn.
Thanks for the reply...
What an amazing route!!!
I used the way points as listed with google maps and figured out the rest before or on-route..
The day started out with a rather damp 130 mile blast down to the start.
Once I got to the start at Goldcliffe my phone decided to do a reboot thing!!!.
Not long after this point I spotted a McDonalds so had a brew while the phone sorted itself out!
The route took me on roads that I would never have discovered in a million years.., by lunchtime the weather dried up and the sun came out.
The brecon mountain road right to the routes end was a joy.
All that was left was the 2.5 hr run back home.
I covered best part of 450 miles on the day!!
I sent over some photos to you sat evening afternoon.
Thanks again for a great route and I'll be on the look out for more!!!
John Adams
- 990Duck
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Re: ABR and Bridgestone Wales Coast to Coast Route Files
Had a run down to Elan on Saturday, my first visit. Rode a couple of lanes including the one around Claerwen Reservoir. Stopped at the farm to seek permission, talk about a remote setting. The farmer was really friendly and grateful that I'd taken the time to seek permission before crossing his patch. He did say the only people he's not keen on are yobs on enduro bikes and snobs on mountain bikes, who never ask. Think I'll drop him a bottle of something the next time I pass, just to show our appriciation.
It's a fantastic ride, even the river crossing is easy(ish) a must for any one wanting to get their tyres dirty for the first time.
Looking to do the full coast to coast soon. Going to see if I can link it to the easier parts of the TET back up to LLangollen then back through Cheshire and home to Stoke.
It's a fantastic ride, even the river crossing is easy(ish) a must for any one wanting to get their tyres dirty for the first time.
Looking to do the full coast to coast soon. Going to see if I can link it to the easier parts of the TET back up to LLangollen then back through Cheshire and home to Stoke.