Wales – best sites for roadbike tours

Off the top of my head,

Off the top of my head, Plastic Betrand and Mr Saxophone.

And fictional Hercule Poirot.

ConcordeCX wrote:

Welsh boy wrote:

Wales is a big place, …

to be a bit more specific, it’s about four times the size of an iceberg calving off the Antarctic ice-sheet,  the amount of tropical rainforest you can save for $2,000,000, equivalent to 2,000,000 rugby pitches, 3/4s of a Belgium,  one asteroid (or should that be ‘asterlloyd’?) and 1/100,000th of Boris Johnson’s ego.

It is as wet as your iceberg and only slightly warmer but can we define things in terms of sheep and lambs not cows and calves please; At times it feels as wet as a tropical rainforest; What’s a rugby pitch?; It must be way better than Belgium because I can name 2 famous people who have come from Wales (Tom Jones and Shirley somebody), I bet you can only name one famous Belgian (Hercule Poiriot doesn’t count); It needs to be hit by that asteroid which would do £2,000,000 worth of improvements (especially if it hit Merthyr Tydfil or Ebbw Vale); Borris who?

I stand by my original comment, it is a big place, if you ironed it out flat the surface area would be HUGE, it is all wrinkled up to get it in such a small area though.

roadsince2018 wrote:

Hello again,

first I have to say that I’m deeply grateful by so much kind support (thx esp. for your mails with the gpx-files, too).

As mentioned above I’ve got a special kind of pleasant anticipation cause everything for me is pretty new. I came to know Britain only during my two short London stays…

Now, its time to make myself familiar with all these welsh names and so on… Maybe its like Bavaria for Englishmen 😉

For this moment I’ve got the impression that I can go further with my preparations. Hope you would not mind if I ask you for further informations when needed afterwards…

Enjoy the roads, forget trying to pronounce the name of the places you ride through (even most Welsh people have trouble with names like Ynysybwl and Llanwrtyd Wells) and let me know if you want more routes.

Shades wrote:

load up the GPX file into your bike computer and enjoy a great ride.

Buy a road atlas from The Works. Rip out the page(s) required, mark it with highlighter then fold it up in a clear poly sleeve to go in your jersey pocket.

PRSboy wrote:

The coastline from St Davids, through Newport (West Wales) up to New Quay is fantastic.  Some lovely villages on the sea to stop at for a coffee or food.  Quite hilly though!

At Easter a clubmate rode from Shrewsbury to Tywyn (the one near Aberdyfi on the Cardigan Bay coast) via Lake Vyrnwy, Dinas Mawddwy and Bryncrug. Loved it.

Sustrans route 81 (Lôn Las Cambria) is another East-West route, taking a scenic (i.e. hilly) route from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth, mostly on quiet lanes and B-roads.

My LBS has copies of regional Sustrans maps that show these routes. All their maps covering Wales are can be found at https://shop.sustrans.org.uk/maps/region/wales while route descriptions covering Mid-Wales can be found at https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/routes?region=337&type=All (use the pull-down to browse other regions)

Other routes include the Elan Valley reservoirs from Rhayader and then onto the road to Cwmystwyth; from here you could head North to Ponterwyd, around the Nant-y-Moch dam and descend to Borth or West along Route 81 to Aberystwyth or South to Tregaron.

Sustrans Route 8, named Lôn Las Cymru, is a North-South route between Holyhead and the Wye Valley – https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/lon-las-cymru-north

A northward ride could take you via Abbeycwmhir, Pant-y-Dwr, Llanidloes, Dylife – above which you’ll get what some call the finest panorama in the country on a good day – followed by a glorious 6-mile descent to Machynlleth. Then West to Aberdyfi and Tywyn or North to Corris. From here you can either go via Dolgellau and join the disused railway line of the Mawddach trail and see the stunning Mawddach estuary or SW via Bryncrug and Fairbourne. These routes meet at Fairbourne where you can cross the estuary along the famous wooden bridge. Through Barmouth, Dyffryn Ardudwy and Harlech to Porthmadog. From here North East takes you to Beddgelert and through Snowdonia or, if you have time, swing West along the Llŷn peninsula via Llanbedrog and Sarn Mellteyrn to Aberdaron and climb to Uwchmynydd for 360° views before heading along the North coast to Caernarfon and the Menai Straits via Nefyn and Clynnog.

Going roughly East-West again – the Panorama above Llangollen, Horseshoe pass, Ruthin, Denbigh and West to the Conwy valley. From here either South to Betws-y-Coed (on West side of the valley, the A470 is a busy arterial route) and Capel Curig, down Llanberis pass or North to Conwy to see the castle and either nip over Sychnant Pass or get straight onto the mostly traffic-free cycle Route 5 coastal route here to head for Bangor.

South East Wales is the area that I’m least familiar with so I’ll leave that for others to discuss.

Jack Thurston’s “Lost Lanes

Jack Thurston’s “Lost Lanes Wales” book might give you some ideas.
Reviewed here: https://road.cc/content/review/187142-lost-lanes-wales-jack-thurston
Preview of some of the book (including the overall map): https://lostlanes.thebikeshow.net/
Summary of five of the route, with links to GPS files and maps:  https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/sep/22/five-best-scenic-bike-rides-wales-snowdonia-pembrokeshire

Are you basing yourself in

Are you basing yourself in one place, or cyclo-touring?