Black Mountains Classic loop, Abergavenny

[JhnBssll]

I'm off on a road trip tomorrow afternoon from sunny Suffolk across to Abergavenny where I'll be staying at a friends house overnight before we head out on our bikes to tackle the black mountains classic loop

https://www.mbr.co.uk/routes/big-black-mountains-classic-wales-route-385286

It'll be my first time riding in Wales so why not tackle an epic My friend has ridden it a number of times and knows all the bail out routes but has told me to prepare for all conditions, I'm really looking forward to it

Anyway, bike is all prepped and raring to go and my kit is packed, all being well I'll report back with how I get on when I get home late on saturday. In the meantime I wondered if anyone else had ridden this route or anything nearby and had any stories to tell, epic or otherwise?

 

[raleighnut]

Have fun

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Nice. Is your rucksack an Osprey Raptor 14? What do you think of it? I’m in the market.

I’ve downloaded the GPX file for use sometime soon

 

[JhnBssll]

Nice. Is your rucksack an Osprey Raptor 14? What do you think of it? I’m in the market.

It is indeed, I'll let you know when I've used it as I only bought it on Sunday Initial impressions are good, it's more than big enough for a day out and the bladder seems to work very well when stationary on the sofa

 

[tom73]

I know your bound for Wales but I think the Barbecue maybe a bit much

 

[raleighnut]

I know your bound for Wales but I think the Barbecue maybe a bit much

It was the vice I thought was overkill.

 

[tom73]

It was the vice I thought was overkill.

Not sure about that you can soon get a fire going but having a good vice in your kit is priceless

 

[JhnBssll]

I'm suprised nobody has commented on the turbo trainer or bin I'm taking along too

The car is all loaded up now, I'll be setting off in to the traffic shortly

 

[raleighnut]

I'm suprised nobody has commented on the turbo trainer or bin I'm taking along too

The car is all loaded up now, I'll be setting off in to the traffic shortly

 

[raleighnut]

Not sure about that you can soon get a fire going but having a good vice in your kit is priceless

Maybe he's doing a bit of Smithy-ing in the hills so needs a charcoal burner.

 

[JhnBssll]

Well that was awesome

It was a tough route, with the first hour or more spent climbing on spongy grass - a real slog! The first descent made it entirely worthwhile, and they only got longer and faster from there Of course there were more gnarly climbs in between the downs, each one leading me to question my life choices, but again and again the rolling descents made it all worthwhile There were a couple of climbs where we had no option but to push the bikes up as the gradient was too tough for even the biggest cassette, and I will freely admit there was one descent where I hopped off and walked/slid down a particularly steep section littered with head-sized boulders whilst my friend careered through

Excellent weather but still very fresh on the peaks, we even got above the snow line at a couple of points In total I clocked 23.3 miles and 4083ft of climbing, I think theres a bit missing due to dodgy auto-pause settings but am not entirely sure Anyway, a few pictures from my day:

 

[whippetUP]

Looks great. The Gospel pass (highest road in Wales) is a good way of getting the height to explore the rough stuff afterwards.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Awsome ride.. 4000 ft of climbing !!

Sort the old Fenner out

 

[I like Skol]

Looks like something I should have on my to-do list? Could probably stitch it together with another short ride to make it into a decent day out......

 

[BianchiVirgin]

Looks great. Nice pictures.