Camarthenshire - If Carlsberg did cycle paths….
After the squally weather for the previous ride to wake up to a calm dawn was a bonus, the alarm call being before 6am was not quite so encouraging.
I had decided on an early start mainly to help Troy. The trooper that he is he was dropping me back home in Worcestershire straight after the ride then hot footing it directly back to Wales to meet the family in Betws-y-Coed. He didn’t seem at all phased at the thought of such a schedule, but I was keen to finish the ride as soon as possible to minimise the length of his day.
The night at the rear of the small industrial estate had passed quietly with no unwelcome guests or law enforcers disturbing our sleep. Perfectly placed on the Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire border no sooner had I left the motorhome in Lampeter and crossed the river I was in Camarthenshire. I envisaged splitting the route planned on Komoot into three key sections. Section one was a steady climb away from Lampeter followed by a long gentle descent in rural lanes heading southeast to Llandovery.
Phase two would be the defining element of the route taking in the long climb up The Black Mountain and the final section would be predominantly flat traffic free paved trails down to, then along, the coast from Llanelli.
I took the initial climb out of Lampeter easy gauging the fatigue in my legs after the toils of yesterday’s sawtooth profile. I was pleasantly surprised, maybe having switched back to the road bike for this route the lighter more responsive bike was masking how my legs really felt but the 3km climb was comfortably crested and rewarded with a beautiful dawn vista and a fleeting glimpse of the sun.
I met Troy at the West End Cafe for an excellent bacon buttie and prepared myself for the big climb ahead. The ruins of Llandovery Castle stand on a small Knoll looking out over the river Towy, described by various tourist information sites as “must see” and “impressive” perhaps I didn’t see it’s best side from my perch but other than the noble silver Knight stood alone guarding the ruins it struck me as little more than a busted wall on a hill.
The weather became increasingly dank as I drifted along empty lanes waiting for the Garmin to cheerily inform me in it’s inimitable way that the road was about to head uphill for the best part of 12km.
For the first time in 26 counties, I was treated to a sign at the base of a hill describing exactly what I had to look forward to. A nice touch, and another example of how South Wales appears to have embraced cycling and cycle tourism.
At an average gradient of 5% and a maximum of 8% the Black Mountain, 95 in Simon Warrens book of the 100 best climbs in Britain held no fear for me even with over 350 km in the legs, but his description of a long slog which after a cattle grid becomes rugged, exposed and wild had convinced me to pop a foil blanket in my back pocket at the cafe just in case, with an ominous granite sky above and memories of yesterdays winds still fresh it seemed a wise decision.
Taking the climb steady for fear of destroying my legs for the rest of the day it turned out I could of ridden a whole lot harder and still not burned too many matches. This is a great climb to pace as the gradient rarely shifts so whether you want to race up the Black Mountain or trundle up enjoying the scenery it’s possible to pick a gear and set a good rhythm from base to summit.
The climb opens up after the cattle grid and even on a dull and cloudy day offered great views, on a clear sunny day the outlook would be breathtaking.
After a short stop at the summit the very moment I began the descent the rain started, combined with the swirling wind suddenly what looked on paper to be a free flowing straight forward descent had become a cold, wet, sketchy and cautious affair.
By the time I had completed the descent down to Brynamman the rain had ceased but it was too late to prevent the discomfort from cold hands and feet that hadn’t been clad for such weather.
I picked up the Amman Valley cycleway at Brynamman, the excellent riverside path follows the river Amman from Brynamman to Ammanford. The path is suitable for any type of bike and offers scenic views of the Black and Betws mountains alongside the pools and weirs of the river.
I met up with Troy at the Coaltown Coffee Roasters https://www.coaltowncoffee.co.uk/pages/purpose. Ammanford was a typical Welsh mining town whose colliery had closed in 2003, the coffee is roasted on the premises and the cafe offers a cool view into the mechanics of the roastery whilst enjoying the first-rate coffee. A vibrant and forward-thinking place helping to regenerate a town by bringing a new industrial opportunity for local workers. The carrot cake was pretty special too!
Following quiet roads for just a couple of kilometres I again picked up NCN route 47 at the start of the Swiss Valley trail.
Utilising the former Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Mineral Railway route the superb off-road route would carry me gently downhill from Cross Hands to North Dock at Llanelli.
With three long rides in my legs I couldn’t have asked for an easier, more relaxing and beautiful route. The surface was better than most roads, leisure cycling at it’s finest.
Having been thoroughly spoilt for 22 km along the Swiss Valley route I was expecting to come down to earth with a bump in Llanelli, anticipating busy traffic through urban sprawl, but nothing of the sort. No sooner had I left one excellent cycle path I had joined the Millenium Coastal Path, a 7km long path of almost athletics track quality and width hugging the coastline from Llanelli to Burry Port.
Troy had parked up at Burry Port but, unable to find a cafe open he rustled up a hot mug of tea, malt loaf and biscuits in the motorhome to see me through the last leg of this truly fantastic cycle odyssey around southwest Wales.
Just 40km and a couple of steep climbs stood between me and the completion of this challenge in aid of https://www.justgiving.com/stepway and amazingly my energy levels were still high and my legs virtually pain free.
Slightly disappointed to leave the calmness of the cycle paths behind me I was back on busier roads heading towards Kidwelly and Camarthen but, shortly after leaving Kidwelly the route left the A-roads behind and drifted off along the coast following rural lanes devoid of traffic except for the odd agricultural beast! With a stiff climb overlooking the river Towy crested, any doubts about completing the ride, the first time I had ever ridden three back-to-back centuries, were dispelled and I started to look forward to the finish and a couple of days rest.
As is the way with these things the moment you think something is done and dusted someone or something will kick you where it hurts. In this instance it wasn’t an unexpected killer climb, an atrocious turn of the weather or anything like that it was just a case of me in my tired state being completely unable to follow the route through Camarthen! After about three laps of the town centre, two mistaken crossings of the river and three times up and down a steep narrow set of steps in my cleated shoes I finally discovered the cycle path out to the Welsh National Botanical Gardens and pedalled away furiously, annoyed at myself for my incompetence.
There the story of this ride should finish with how I met up with Troy at the Botanical Gardens and off we toddled home but no, for the second time in less than an hour I completely lost my way, having sailed past the closed gates of the Botanical Gardens twice resulting in two unnecessary ascents of a 15% gradient I finally spotted the sign for the footpath to the overflow car park adjacent to the closed gates. The path seemed to follow the fenced boundary of the gardens for an eternity before I finally spotted Sally and Troy waiting patiently for me on the roadside outside of the now locked car park.
So an absolutely amazing and fantastic three days of cycling were over and memories of stunning coastlines, steep climbs and outstanding cycle routes backed-up by awesome support from Troy will be fondly recalled in years to come.
The ride in numbers
169.18 km Distance
Elevation Gain 1755m
8hrs 24 min moving time (20.1km/h)
4 SIS Tropical Fruit gels
1 Carrot cake
1 Flapjack
3 coffee stops
5 bottles of water
0 Beer – TBC
No punctures
7 categorised climbs
Finally if you’ve got a spare quid in your pocket my justgiving page to raise vital funds for the Midlands Air Ambulance is now live Keith Jones is fundraising for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (justgiving.com)
Comments
Post a Comment