Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains Classic MTB Weekend

Our Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains Classic MTB Weekend is an awesome riding experience through one of the UK’s finest National Parks in South Wales

What to expect?

The Brecon Beacons are the highest mountains in Southern Britain and in easy reach of the M4 motorway, making them incredibly accessible for mountain bikers based in the south. Accessible, yes; but definitely not to be underestimated – these are real mountains and the riding in the area is pretty full-on, with big climbs, awesome views and amazing descents. This trip is based in a luxury hostel in the Usk Valley, giving us a chance to enjoy the area’s 2 big mountain classics.

Saturday

Weather permitting, we’ll ride a variation of the classic big Black Mountains beast tour. This is definitely one of the best mtb rides anywhere in the UK, and one should be on every mountain bikers bucket list. We’ll finish in the small town of Crickhowell, where if time allows, we can grab a quick beer.

Sunday

we will hopefully roll straight out of the lodge and down to the tiny village of Talybont-on-Usk, where we’ll start a variation of the famous Brecon Beacons Gap Ride. The exact route will depend on weather and the group, but whatever we decide to do, we’ll eventually climb to a 600m col in the highest mountains in the national park, and then enjoy and almost endless descent to finish. Back at Talybont, we’ll use the village bike wash and showers and then start the journey home!

Getting ready for 2 days of mountain biking in fairly full-on, remote locations can be a major task. With 7 riders (plus 2 guides!). These notes will help everybody know what to expect from the trip and what to bring. If there’s anything else you need to know, or want to check, please don’t hesitate to ask.

This is only a sample itinerary and can change at any given date, we are always working to improve the trips and alterations are common to improve and adapt.

Friday night, arrive at the lodge in your own time and grab a beer and a few minutes to wind down and meet your fellow riders in the lounge before heading over the road (10 metres in fact)  to the New Inn, an award winning pub for dinner, table booked for 8pm to allow folk plenty of time to arrive. Their menu is seasonal and will be sent out to you the week before to make your choices! It is superb!

Day 1 – The Black Mountains Beast loop (or similar)

Approximate distance: 35km

Approximate ascent: 1000m

Enjoy a cooked breakfast as well as a few coffees, and we’ll then have a bit of time before loading bikes onto the trailer and hoping into the minibus for the short ride to the trailhead. Weather permitting, we’ll ride a variation of the classic Big Black Mountains tour.

This is definitely one of the best mtb rides anywhere in the UK, and one should be on every mountain bikers bucket list. We’ll finish in the small town of Crickhowell, where if time allows, we can grab a quick beer before being driven back to the hostel. Back at the lodge, there will be coffee and cake as well as a hot shower awaiting us. Saturday night will be more socialising, and more award winning food – plenty of opportunity to put back the calories you burned during the day.

Day 2 – Brecon Beacons Gap Ride

Approximate distance: 35km

Approximate ascent: 900m

After another cooked breakfast, more calories and more coffee, we’ll roll straight out of the lodge and down to the tiny village of Talybont-on-Usk, where we’ll start a variation of the famous Brecon Beacons Gap Ride. The exact route will depend on weather and the group, but whatever we decide to do, we’ll eventually climb to a 600m col in the highest mountains in the national park, and then enjoy and almost endless descent to finish. Back at Talybont, we’ll use the village bike wash – yes, the village really does have dedicated bike wash facilities and showers before we start our journey home!

What’s included?

• Accommodation – 2 nights accommodation in a Traditional Welsh lodge
• Meals – Home-cooked breakfasts, packed lunches and post-ride cake and coffee, beer, wine and soft drinks
• All guiding – 2 full day’s guided riding with 2 BC Level 3 Guides – maximum client to guide ratio 8-1
• Transport – Travel to and from the trails on day 1 with a dedicated professional driver
• Safety Equipment – First aid kits and emergency shelters carried by our guides alongside your personal equipment packs
• Financial failure insurance – Ensuring your money is 100% protected from the second we receive it until we have delivered your trip of a lifetime.

(Evening meals not included, eaten at award winning pub across the road, the New Inn Bwlch)

It’s quite likely that no 2 days on this trip will be the same. But we can try…

We’ll have breakfast together at a time agreed the previous evening – usually quite early. Sorry, I know it’s a holiday but we have a lot to cram in. This usually includes a short final briefing and a check on how everybody’s feeling. After breakfast please be pretty much ready to ride at this stage so there’s no major faffing and we are off.

In the evenings, it will be ideal if we can meet for a pre-dinner drink and have a chat about
the plans for the next day.

Riding skills and fitness

Many people ask us about the riding and their skills and fitness. It’s a hard one to answer as difficulty is so subjective and we can have up to 10 different riders, all with different fitness levels and technical abilities.

Riding skills

Firstly, the riding isn’t as tough as it sounds. We’ve chosen routes that give a real Snowdonia flavour but still make for an enjoyable weekend without killing you.

There will however, be some long days (possibly 6-8 hours or more) and some technical downs (some of which probably everybody will walk a few metres). As long as you can keep smiling when you’re tired and pushing your bike then you’ll be fine.

In terms of riding ability, this trip won’t suit anyone who isn’t happy riding red / black grade trails in typical UK trail centres (please ask us if you would like more detail).

Fitness

It’s much more about stamina than speed or strength. There are some long days and we won’t be racing anywhere. On the bigger days, we’ll ride at a relaxed pace that can be kept up all day. We’ll also take more care than we would at a trail centre as a bad fall in a remote place is not good news.

The best training for this kind of trip is actually just getting out riding – preferably longer distances at a steady pace. 30km at a steady pace will be more useful than 15km at racing speed, so if your local trails are short, slow it down and do 2 laps!  Check out this blog by Matt Mooney of MTB Fitness regarding preparing for this kind of holiday https://mtbguiding.co.uk/uncategorised/guest-blog-6-top-training-tips-get-mtb-holiday/

I’m sure everybody will have their own strengths and weaknesses and everybody will have good days and off days. If we pull together as much as possible, a strong team will achieve way more than a bunch of fit individuals.

There is always the option to sit out a day at any point if your

Bike cleaning and maintenance

We’ll have secure storage for bikes overnight at the accommodation and a hose, brushes and a full cleaning kit, supplied by Fenwick’s Bike Products, so you can clean your bike after riding. We’ll also have a bike stand and some tools for fettling and repairs. Please bring any tools that are specific for your bike.

Maps

Yup, we’re guiding so you don’t need them. But if you like following routes on your own maps, it’s best to discuss that with us in Scotland in case plans change and you bring the wrong ones! If you just want printouts or GPX tracks of where we’ve been when we get home, let us know and we can sort it.

There’s no getting around it, 9 mountain bikers will be pretty conspicuous and we’ll have some impact on the landscape and other trail users. As a company, we’re 100% committed to minimising our impact in every way we can.

We operate a strict ‘pack it out’ policy for all litter (including banana skins and orange peel), and we try to leave as little trace of our passing as possible.While we’ll enjoy some epic descents and trails, please ride in control and at a speed that reflects your line of sight and abilities.

We’ll certainly meet walkers and we want any interactions to be as positive as possible. It’s important to give mountain bikers a good name. For more information check out Do the Ride Thing and also the websites listed at the end of these notes.

Weather

On this Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains mountain bike tour we could experience everything from hot sunny days, wet and windy days to full on blizzards. We’ve made many trips to South Wales throughout the year and had a real mix. When packing, please bring winter and summer clothing so we can make more informed decisions about what to wear and carry on the day or the night before.

Insurance

We don’t need medical insurance in the UK, but I strongly recommend travel insurance just to cover you should you get injured or fall ill before the trip or during it. Try YellowJersey and use the discount code – MTB75

Kit list

The weather can be very varied in the South Wales so we need to be prepared. We’ll have a briefing every evening to give you an up to date weather forecast and plan the next day. We can share some of the kit to keep packs as light as possible.

Riding kit

Please let us know if there’s anything you haven’t got that you may need.

Essential, please make sure you have the following

• Hydration pack big enough to carry everything in the list below – suggested size 15L to 20L
• Mini pump for your valve type
• Inner tube (even if you use tubeless)
• Tubeless repair kit (if you use tubeless)
• Puncture patches (if you don’t use tubeless)
• Tyre levers
• Multi-tool
• 1 set of spare brake pads
• Rear gear hanger for your bike
• Power link for your chain type and speed
• Any medication you need

Recommended

• Dry bag to keep everything dry inside your pack
• Cable ties
• Duct tape (we suggest wrapping 1m around your pump)
• Mobile phone – in a waterproof case or plastic bag
• Small personal first aid kit

You’ll also need the following

• Water and snacks – gels, energy bars, jelly babies etc
• Lunch (this will be provided but you’ll need to carry it)

Recommended clothing

Essential, please make sure you have the following..

• Helmet
• Waterproof jacket (a full-on waterproof is recommended)
• Insulated jacket or very warm emergency layer
• MTB shoes (you must be able to walk in them!)

Recommended

• Knee and elbow pads
• Cycling shorts and/or waterproof shorts (or trousers)
• Wicking base layer or cycling jersey
• Mid layer (fleece or soft shell)
• Woolly hat or buff
• Riding glasses
• Gloves (worth having a spare pair if it’s wet)
• Waterproof socks

Bikes

Your bike needs to be ready for the rigours of the mountains – steep and rocky climbs and very rough descents. A lightweight x-country bike probably won’t be strong enough for the descents and a downhill rig will be too heavy for the climbs. Just about everything in between will do the job.

Tyres are important too. Lightweight racing tyres are easily torn. We recommend good trail or all-mountain tyres such as Maxxis High Rollers/Minion DHR/DHF in a Double Down casing and possibly with inserts.

Please make sure your bike is ready for  several days of hard riding. Anything that looks slightly suspect will almost certainly break.