Wales Coast to Coast Mountain Bike Tour

Our Wales Coast to Coast Mountain Bike Tour is an awesome riding and fully-supported journey across Wales. There’s something about a journey. Moving through, rather than around. Going somewhere rather than returning to the start. That journey’s even better when it crosses a whole country from ocean to ocean.

What to Expect

Getting ready for 6 days of mountain biking in fairly full-on, remote locations can be a major task. With 7 riders (plus 2 guides!), all with different levels of fitness and ability, there’s plenty of room for misunderstanding. 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.

Day 1 – Cardiff

We’ll meet at our hotel early afternoon and get bikes etc ready for the start. If time allows, we’ll take a short spin down to the beach to dip our toes, saving us time and energy for Day 2.

Day 2 – Cardiff to Brecon (88km)

After dipping our toes in the waters of Cardiff bay we’ll make a hasty exit from the city and follow theTaff Trail north to the Brecon Beacons, where the real action starts. A big climb takes over the legendary ‘Gap’ and a huge descent drops us into Brecon for the night.

Day 3 – Brecon to Rhayader – (58km)

Today we cross ground that sees few tyre tracks, but the does little to detract from the amazing scenery with views north to the Cambrian Mountains and south, back to the northern slopes of the hills we crossed yesterday. We pass through Builth Wells and then follow the banks of the River Wye north to Rhayader

Day 4 – Rhayader to Machynlleth (60km)

We continue north, leaving Rhayder and the Elan Valley and riding on through Llangurig and into the Hafren Forest, basically following the line of the Trans Cambrian route. Next up is a crossing of the spine of the Cambrian Mountains and a huge descent from Foel Fadian – one of the highest points of the route and an amazing viewpoint – down to Machynlleth.

Day 5 – Machynlleth to Dolgellau (50km)

The route swings west today, entering the Snowdonia National Park and climbing over the shoulder of the remote Mynydd Tarrenau – Snowdonia’s southernmost massif. We then hurdle the western end of Cadair Idris, with amazing views up the coast, before dropping to our beds for the night in Dolgellau.

Day 6 – Dolgellau to Capel Curig (64km)

We spend the whole day in Snowdonia today and we also get a chance to spend some time on Sarn Helen – the remnants of a Roman Road that once crossed Wales. We also get to play in Coed y Brenin, where we can show you a few of our favourite sections of singletrack.

Not too much though, it’s a long way to Capel Curig and there are a few more hills to get over yet. Our final section slips sweetly past the dramatic peak of Moel Siabod before descending via the Capel Chapel descent to the village for the night.

Day 7 – Capel Curig to Conwy (54km)

This is a classic day that starts with some singletrack fun in the Gwydyr Forest (home of the Marin Trail). We then leave the forest behind and work our way north, closely following the Conwy Valley before climbing over the spectacular Conwy Mountain for some amazing sea views.

All that’s left now is to descend sweetly to the coast and dip those toes again before enjoying an ice cream on the seafront.

Day 8 – Conway to Cardiff

A chance to rest those tired legs as we bus you comfortably back to Cardiff

What’s included?

• Accommodation – All accommodation – 7 nights hotel or B&B accommodation
• Meals – Lunches and trail snacks for the duration of the trip
• Travel – Fully supported travel in our own custom 9-seat VW Transporter swamper minibus with driver and bike trailer
• All guiding –  6 Days of guided riding from South to North Wales with 2 qualified guides giving a 4 – 1 client to guide ratio
• Wales C2C mountain bike tour T-Shirt
• 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.

(Everything but evening meals, beer & spares!)

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 7 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 Welsh flavour but still make for an enjoyable holiday. Scenery, riding, culture and the memories are what we provide here!

There will however, be some big ups (including a fair bit of pushing for sure), some long days (possibly 6-8 hours or more) and some technical downs. 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 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 all accommodation, some better than others but we have tried our best to provide everything needed 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 Wales 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 for a vast fee!

There’s no getting around it, 7 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

In Wales we could experience everything from hot sunny days, wet and windy days to full on winter blizzards. We’ve made many trips to Wales at this time of 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 Wales, 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 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, although on very remote days we need to cover all eventualities.

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 6 days of hard riding. Anything that looks slightly suspect will almost certainly break.

There are good bike shops Wales along the route but nothing very convenient