It’s time we went back to the mighty Brecon Gap – one of the club’s firm favourite away rides and a mountain biker’s bucket list route. Graham Burgess will once again be our duty Ride Leader for the day. We have done this ride many times over the years and always a great day out with stunning vistas and awesome riding.
We will start out from Talybont on Usk bike hub/community centre. There are toilets/showers – need coins for these; a bike wash – coins again; ample free parking and a great cafe/village shop couple of minutes walk away if you want to grab a pre-ride breckie, along with a bike shop.
This is a great first ‘big mountain’ ride that will give you a real taste of the amazing riding that Wales has to offer. The total ride is approximately 27 miles with around 2600ft climbing.
We leave Talybont on Usk onto the Tramway which is a long, steady climb up past the Talybont Reservoir and onto high open ground followed by a pretty rocky descent down to Pontsticill Reservoir and a short bit of tarmac to the lovely Old Barn Tearooms where we will stop for coffee/cake or whatever floats your boat. Be warned – there is a bit of a ‘bar steward’ tarmac climb out of there so go easy on the cake!
A short traverse round the hillside then we pick up the path up to the Gap itself – another very long but not overly steep, slightly technical climb which also includes a pretty challenging (but short) gully descent, which can always be walked down if you don’t fancy it. This bit has produced some comedy gold moments over the years.
The Gap climb goes up between Pen Y Fan to the left and Fan y Big to the right which is pretty epic. Once we get to the top of the climb it’s ‘show time’ where it gets a bit ‘exciting…’ The first part of the descent off the top is pretty slabby bedrock with some small drops/steps into a sharp left-hander, then a couple hundred yards of what is best described as a boulder field – loose and pretty steep. This can again be pushed down if it’s not your thing.
Once past this it becomes a bit tamer and drops steadily down. The faster you take it the more challenging it is, but it’s very much ‘your ride, your pace’.There is the ‘Gully of Doom’ towards the bottom, a really fun but challenging storm gulley. At this time of year it is likely to be very overgrown so may need to be bypassed (there will be a few sighs of relief if that is the case as its claimed a few over the years!). Once we get down, a couple miles of tarmac followed by yet another brilliant bridleway descent takes us all the way down into Brecon.
The Llanfaes Dairy in Brecon does the best ice-creams – a prefect reward for conquering the mighty Gap.
From there, it’s along the canal path all the way back to Talybont. If the weather is half descent, there is an opportunity for a swim in the river so bring your swimmies and a towel in your bag. As is now a tradition, we will stop for beer (or 2) in the canal side Royal Oak pub, which has a lovely beer garden, before doing the final few (flat) miles back to the start.
This is a pretty big ride, expect to be out for quite a few hours, it’s remote for most of it and we are going ‘into the mountains’ so you need to be well prepared with clothing for all eventualities, enough food & water (planned cafe stop but there is always a possibility this will be closed), spare tube, pump etc., and ensure your bike is in good serviceable condition – it’s a long walk back if your bike fails midway round!
Due to the nature of the ride, it is not suitable for novice riders, but fully doable for anyone with reasonable experience and fitness levels. As always with club rides, we will go at a pace to suit all with regular re-groups/breathers and an appointed back marker who knows the route. No one will be left behind.
Start 10:00am sharp from Talybont on Usk Bike Hub, Brecon, LD3 7YQ (around 2 hours drive / 95 miles from Swindon). Arrive in plenty of time for pre ride faffing…
Photo credit: https://www.mbwales.com/listings/the-gap/