By Martin Astley
Last weekend was the Great Weekend of Adventure here in Wales and we hear from Martin Astley from BikePark Wales on how he got involved in it all.
“The Welsh weekend of adventure is all about getting out and exploring the natural beauty and exciting activities that Wales has to offer. In my day job as marketing director at BikePark Wales I wanted to design a challenge that felt befitting of the weekend of adventure and one that showcased the great relationships that the various mountain bike centres in Wales enjoy. A quick call to my friend Bud at Antur Stiniog and the challenge was set!
Ride at both Antur Stiniog and BikePark Wales in the same weekend and travel between the two by public transport, or if you have the guts for it ride between the two under your own steam!
Antur Stniog and BikePark Wales are at opposite sides of Wales, with Antur set in the heart of Snowdonia National Park in the north and BikePark Wales just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park in the south. The route between the two journeys right through the heart of Wales and as such takes in much of the amazing beauty that the country has to offer.
Having set down the challenge it would have been rude not to take part myself! So I spoke to a few friends, gathered a crew and we chose a charity to raise some money for along the way. One of my best friends Rob is currently in remission with Chronic Myeloid leukaemia and I sadly lost my cousin Jason to Leukaemia so we chose to donate all funds raised to the Anthony Nolan Trust Our JustGiving page is still open so if you’d like to donate please click here
The Adventure
Friday
Our weekend started with a scenic train ride (with bikes) from Abergavenny where I live to Blaenau Ffestiniog, the home of the great Antur Stniog DH trails and uplift. We caught a quick dinner with Bud and then hit the hay ready for a big day on Saturday.
Saturday
We were up early in time for a hearty Welsh Breakfast at our great B&B in Blaenau before heading to Antur where Bud had arranged two rental DH bikes for us. We quickly kitted up and hit the trails, the aim was to ride every trail at Antur which we quickly did in just an hour and a half! Some snappy uplift meant we squeezed in 6 quick runs. We really enjoyed the riding at Antur, open and rocky best describes it! Very different to what I’m used to at BikePark Wales, I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you are an intermediate or above rider.
At 11am two other riders joined us for the road leg of the journey, Dave and Mostyn had trained down from Llandudno to join us, we also met Barry and Dave, two police officers who had also taken on the ride. They were planning a different route through Wales, choosing to stay Saturday night on the coast at Aberystwyth whilst we would head inland and travel 65 miles to Llanidloes for our nights sleep. I won’t go in to too much detail about Saturdays road leg other than to say it was VERY hilly and took in some truly stunning scenery, Wales really is a beautiful country and I highly recommend road riding or touring around the country.
We arrived very dreary in Llanidloes at around 7pm, checked in to our lovely hotel and quickly hit the town for curry … still wearing our lycra … we were travelling light after all. It’s easy to ignore funny looks when you are hungry.
Sunday
Sunday’s road stretch was a 75 mile 1500 metres of climbing affair that would see us pass through Builth Wells, Brecon, Talybont on Usk, over the Brecon Beacons and finally down into Merthyr Tydfil and Bikepark Wales. We made great progress for the first 30 miles or so before a great feed stop at the Honey Café in Bronllys, highly recommended to hungry riders! We were now on the final stretch but had one more nasty climb ahead, I know this climb well as it’s a regular for me being near my home in Abergavenny. The climb between the Talybont and Pontsticill reservoirs is one of the most consistently steep climbs in the area and knowing this was last on the list was a real mind bender. What I’ve neglected to mention so far is that Rob was riding a Fixie for this ride, no gears and not even a freehub, it was one hell of an effort from him!
We all made it, however inelegantly over that last climb and regrouped for a brief celebration before the final descent to BPW. I had made a slight miscalculation with my calorie intake for the day and just 5 minutes from BikePark Wales I massively bonked. The climb up the entrance road to the visitor centre was the toughest part of the whole ride for me!! On arrival we took in a great feed of cheesy beans on toast, cake and juice before steeling ourselves for one last ride!
The shop at BikePark Wales arranged some brand spanking new Trek Slash rental bikes for the guys and up we headed on the uplift, looking forward to riding Hot Stepper the new red trail. It did not disappoint! The whole team were absolutely buzzing by the bottom, we were exhausted but what a high to end on. We’d ridden at two of the best mountain bike destinations in Wales and ridden across almost the entire country, spent time with great friends, eaten some good food and experienced incredible views.
Chapeau Wales!
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