Black Mountain Bike Packing Trip
A last minute two day bike packing trip into the heart of The Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons.
(Remember to always pack your waterproofs, especially when you are riding in Wales)
Tudor had asked me if I wanted to join him, Katherine and Callum on a 2 day bike packing trip following the Bikepacking.com Black Mountain Crossing route. I had been eying up the route previously so didn’t hesitate to get involved.
Day (1) - Boneshaker Roads, River Crossings and a 3hr Hike A Bike
It’s always exciting to mix up who you ride with, especially when they are mad stoked for a mini adventure.
Meeting in Aberdare we briskly headed for Sarn Helen and the rough stuff, the Sun was shining and everyone was in good spirits. What could possibly go wrong?
I’ve heard stories about Sarn Helen and how it’s almost impossible to ride even with a MTB. None of us had any form of suspension and our bikes were fully packed, this was gonna be a real test.
Sarn Helen was a mix of short gravel climbs with rocky bone shaker descents and stagnant puddled paths laden with slippery wet slabs, it was pretty tekkers riding if you ask me.
A couple of hours later with only a few offs we finally reached the single track back to the road, where we detoured to Henrhyd Falls for a selfie, then searched to find some food.
During our pint, sarnie and crisp medley in the pub, the weather started to change and began to spit. It was at this moment I told everyone that I hadn’t packed a waterproof coat. Much abuse was thrown my way.
Undeterred by the prospecting storm we began to climb from Dan Yr Ogof caves, which started with a river crossing, and led to a steep incline, little did we know this was the start of a 3hr marsh land hike-a-bike.
Boggy ground with hidden razor sharp rocks we slowly pushed on, riding when we could and only stopping to make sure we were still on route. We had planned on staying at the Llyn Y Fan Fach bothy, but as the weather was drastically changing we hoped we could find somewhere more comfortable. The hike seemed to go on for ever and the weather had really come in. ‘Should’ve packed my waterproof’ I kept telling myself.
Anyway, we eventually got to the end of the hike and with a fast hill bomb off the mountain we arrived at the YHA in Llanddeusant, where we managed to buy some tasty beers and were told about a campsite down the road that had space, bangin’.
The Wildman Woods camping was THE perfect set up, nice and sheltered, able to have fires and it even had nice toilets. We set up camp, made a fire to warm us up and cooked our feasts.
Sat cozy by the fire with our tasty beers, we reflected on how it was the perfect end to what could have been a drastically different story.
Day (2) - If You Ain’t Laughing, You’re Crying
Storm Ellen came in during the early hours of the morning, the Tarp/ Bivvy Combo worked a treat and kept the weather out.
Windy, wet and bleak. ‘Should’ve packed the waterproof’ I thought while chowing down on my porridge.
There was a sense of urgency to pack up and get on the road to try and avoid the worse part of the storm, everyone was busy dismantling the camp and trying to remember how they’d fit everything into their bikepacking bags.
The climb from the Wildman Woods campsite gave us a good indication to how the day was going to pan out; headwinds, rain and tired legs. It was at this point we decided it was best to avoid the planned mountain pass and stick to the roads. Very wise choice indeed!
The roads were quiet and with a huge tailwind we were pacing along and flew up to the Usk Reservoir mountain road, however, this was short lived.
As we tried ascending the Bwlch Cerrig Duon pass, gale force winds blasted us head on and tried to push us off our bikes. We slowly slogged up the climb until we regrouped at the top. There were no other souls about and it was pretty exciting to be at the mercy of the storm, it really put you in your place.
The descent was probably my favorite part of the day. As we descended hail blasted into our faces and made it impossible to open our eyes, it was so unexpected, Tudor and myself just burst out laughing as we struggled to pedal down the pass.
I am pretty glad we decided to stick to the roads as the weather was horrendous and the experience on the mountain pass made it all worth while.
Looking back the trip was pretty god damn good and was a proper adventure, filled with amazing riding in the beautiful Black Mountains with a group that all had similar mindsets who laughed in the face of uncertainty.
