FMFT in Wales, Afan and Crickhowell rides

Snatching at the end of the summer, a few days off, and the chance of some floor to sleep on, FMFT headed off to Wales last week.

Firstly, Wales is a lot further than you think it is when you’ve grown up just over the Bridge in Bristol, but now live in London. However, we were trekking towards the Valleys at a ridiculously early time, with bikes in tow and a light drizzle threatening to literally dampen the whole experience.

A brisk few hours on the motorway later we rocked up in a carpark in Crickhowell and went through the usual pre-ride traditions of ripping off an inner-tube valve and moaning about the delay. The rain was holding so sun block and glasses were eschewed in favour of windproof tops and waterproofs stuffed into bags, and we rolled out hoping that we wouldn’t face a downpour.

We needn’t have worried. Twenty minutes into the 30-odd KM route the rain was gone and we were starting to feel the heat and the humidity. In the end we’d pay for our weather-pessimism with sunburn. The ride itself was a typically British natural route. For much of it there were moments of fun mixed in with large stretches of un-exciting riding, tempered with great views. A lot of the climbing was on the roads, with one section which we will call as entirely unridable, up at least. If you were coming down, ideally with a big-travel bike, it could be loads of fun. Having dragged ourselves up to the top we did, finally, get the big treat of the ride. This was in the form of seemingly endless flowing singletrack skirting the shoulder of the Black Mountains through heather moorland, and dropping us eventually back to the valley via a dark bit of woodland, where still wearing sunglasses did mean a slight altercation with an unexpected gate. In the end it was worth the ride for those fifteen minutes of ridiculously smiley descending.

To follow up the trip into the Brecons, we hit an old favourite in the morning. Afan has always been a delight to ride, with exactly the right mix of technical and challenging sections and smooth flowing singletrack, to leave you grinning like an idiot and right on the limit of what’s sensible. Our choice was the new(ish) W2 route, which links The Wall and Whites Level, into a 40+ KM challenge. Both sections are, on their own, great fun, and together they made up a truly epic ride, added to by brief torrential rain and mechanicals, as well as one silly, but painful crash as the distance and the physical effort kicked in on the final drop. If you only do one (and know what you’re doing), we’d recommend Whites Level, including the Black-rated section at the top, but if you’re up for it, then the entire loop is simply stunning.

For information on Welsh mountain biking, including trail centres and hubs have a look at www.mbwales.com, or for more specifics on the routes we rode (or have ever mentioned here) drop us an email at fourmilesfightingtraffic@gmail.com.

A