Lon Las Cymru Ride

[Richard]

Hi,
Just after a little bit of help and guidance really, myself and a friend are going to do the Lon Las Cymru holyhead to cardiff ride in Aug this year to raise money for charity.
Can anyone just give me some guidance on training, places to stay, places to see etc. Also im thinkin of changing my bike i currently have a basic mountain bike and wanted to know what id be best going for a Hybrid or stick to a mountain bike with more slick tyres.
Thanks
Richard.

 

[andym]

I don't think there's any benefit going for a hybrid as opposed to a mountain bike with slicks. (Most hybrids are - more or less - mountain bikes with bigger wheels and higher gearing, but some hybrids are racing bikes with flat bars. I'm assuming that you mean a hardtail MTB rather than one with full suspension.). If you have the money for a new bike then you might want to consider a purpose-built tourer, but an MTB with slicks (eg Conti Sport Contacts) will be the cheapest solution.

 

[vernon]

Your training depends on the pace at which you intend to ride. How many miles per day are you planning? The training is still basically the same - get the miles in on a regular basis.

Bike - ride what you have got but fit slicks to reduce rolling resistance.

Accomodation advice - very few people do the same mileages so recommendations are a bit pointless. When I did the ride I deviated from the official route in several places to visit steam railways. The guidebook available from Sustrans lists accomodation and camp sites.

Places to visit - aforementioned guidebook does the job well.

Be prepared for a long grind between Machynlleth and Llanlidoes. There's a few nasty steep bits on the ascent. Dismounting and pushing was necessary for me and several local riders who warned me of the torture ahead of me as the cyled past. The view from the top is worth it though.

It's not the easiest of the Sustrans routes but the views are stunning. I enjoyed it last year and even managed to dodge the rain in the wet summer that we had.

 

[sadjack]

I did this last year. It was my first ever tour and I camped along the way. Being 49 and overweight it was a struggle but I managed it and the struggle made it oddly enjoyable!

Decide whether your camping or B&B'ing first of all. Whatever you decide DONT CARRY TOO MUCH GEAR. I wish someone had told me that, better still I wish they had gone through my kit and thrown half of it out! How you do it will also have an impact on the bike you use. If your camping you might consider a tourer with panniers etc for your kit. If B&B'ing just about any reliable bike will do as you will be carrying far less.

Some great big hills along the way. The more you carry the more you have to sweat to carry it to the top.

But its a great ride. If camping there is a camp site right in the middle of Cardiff, easy walk to the city centre so you can treat yourself to a nice meal to celebrate the finish and not far from the train station for the trip home. If B&B'ing there's loads along the way. The guide mentioned by Vernon will help.

I did it in 5 days which some will find rather leisurly, but as I said above, I was not very fit!

Do it. You'll enjoy.

 

[paulK]

Haven't done Lon Las yet, Richard, but did my first long-distance ride (C-2-C) last August after half-jokingly suggesting doing it and not having the nerve to back down after my 80-year-old father said he wouldn't mind coming along

Took the knobblies off my ancient MTB and replaced with a set of 26x1.75 Schwalbe hybrids. One month of training was followed by three weeks of not being able to train before we did the ride over 3 days.

The change of tyres helped with the roads, but not so clever on the challenging off-road bits e.g. the Coach Road. Right decision though IMO.

I've been in training for Lon Las over the last two months. Spinning at the local gym over the winter has helped though. What training I have done has included a three-day practice of 150 miles and the good news (for me) is that I feel fitter than last year.

Accommodation-wise I'm using YH's as much as possible, but have had to book B&B in Rhayader. On the negative side the YHA seems to closing its hostels on this route - Bangor will close just after I do my trip.

I suppose a trip report after I do the trip might be more useful. If all goes to plan over Easter.......

 

[summerdays]

I've not done this route but thinking about it so I can't really offer any advice about it.

Last year I did the Devon C2C and I didn't do any specific training for it, other than my normal commuting/riding around. However I did find the hills big in Devon and I was used to the Bristol ones. So depending on where you live and how big the hills are based on the above comments I would definitely think about get some miles in where there are hills.

 

[Richard]

Brilliant thanks for all your comments, think il def get a mountain bike then rather than a hybrid. I live in the valleys in wales with lots of forestry roads behind my house so will keep on riding the to be abit more prepared for the big hills. Im pretty fit and healthy now and in the gym on a regular basis so just have to get out on the roads more now. think we're goin to stick to b&b's on the trip so don't have to carry much weight. Planning to do the trip over 4days. Please do tell how your trip goes and all the best doin it.

 

[palinurus]

Low gears are useful. I didn't do any training except my regular 9 mile commute and found that to be adequate preparation. If you are using the Sustrans map then when it says a track may be rough and muddy when wet or similar then it's best avoided, even if it's dry. Otherwise I found the Sustrans maps useful. It's a great ride.