Lon Las Cymru

[WelshYiddo]

Firstly hello.

I'm fairly new to cycling having got my bike out of the shed this summer after it had gathered dust for 5 years.
My grand plan is to cycle the Lon Las Cymru route (probably starting in Caernarfon rather than Holyhead) for charidee next Easter with my 16 yr old son.
Now I was doing OKish on my training at the start of the summer - 25-30 miles on a saturday and 15 miles on a tuesday and thursday. Then I (quite embarrasingly) tripped on the framework for some decking I was doing and smashed my leg. Black from top of thigh to bottom of calf and no cycling until last week (also knackered my shoulder in the meantime - I really am a clumsy knob!). So I am now very gradually building things up, doing an hour at a time and really bloody feeling every turn of the wheel!

I'm determined to do the ride though for a number of reasons; spend a bit of quality never to be forgotten time with my boy, the chairty is Asthma UK which is very close to my heart and just cos I really want to while I still can.

I know its not an epic journey but for me and my crap legs/lungs it will be far enough.

So my questions are:
Any training tips?
Anyone else done it and want to share their wisdom/experience?
Is it advisable on my 6 yr old hardtail MTB? Would a hybrid be easier?
What were the names of the two old men in the balcony on The Muppet Show?
Should I give up and settle for a life of Sky Sports & Strongbow?

Sorry this is a bit longwinded for a first post but at least you know a bit about me now!

Ta.

 

[Danny]

Welcome.

Don't know the Lon Las Cymru route, but my experience of cycling in Wales is that it is all hilly!

However you should have no problems if you can get back to cycling 30 miles each weekend. Just build it up slowly - you've got plenty of time before Easter.

I would definitely consider getting a hybrid or touring bike if you are mostly going to be going on roads you find it a lot easier on your legs and lungs. Alternatively you could fit road tyres to your MTB but it will still be heavier to ride than a bike designed for road riding.

When you are planning your ride I would suggest that you aim to cover 40-50 miles a day, particularly if you are carrying your own gear. You can cover that sort of distance at a pretty leisurely pace, and have plenty of stops for refreshments, etc.

 

[Cathryn]

Vernon's done it, I believe, and loved it. If you put lon las cymru in the search engine, you should find it!! It looked fab.

 

[Kirstie]

I've done the bottom half from Cardiff to Machynlleth in a couple of days. Mid wales is extremely hilly, the run in to cardiff is on canal tow path or converted railway and so the gradient is fine. We were doing around 50 miles a day. The way to work out what to do training wise is to think about the number of days you want to ride it in, and then the number of hours riding per day it would take to cover the distance required on a loaded bike (maybe 10mph for 5 hours or something like that?). In your training make sure that you can ride comfortably for that amount of time and feel no ill effects the next day, cos you'll have to get up and do it all over again!

You could do it on an MTB with slicks
One of the muppet balcony guys was called Waldorf.
And there's nothing wrong with Strongbow.

 

[scook94]

[snip]
What were the names of the two old men in the balcony on The Muppet Show?
[snip]

Assuming this isn't a rhetorical question, then the answer is Stadler and Waldorf.

 

[sadjack]

I did it in August camping along the way. Was my first experience and the hardest cycle ride I have ever done! But also the most rewarding, its a challenge, the hills in north and mid Wales are killers, but you'll get a huge sense of achievement when u get to Cardiff.

I have since joined my local CTC (Cycle Touring Club) and ride with them. I would advise you to do the same. They will have great knowledge of your area and cycle touring all over the place, and the miles u put in with them will stand u in good stead for ur plan.

 

[vernon]

I know its not an epic journey but for me and my crap legs/lungs it will be far enough.

So my questions are:
Any training tips?
Anyone else done it and want to share their wisdom/experience?
Is it advisable on my 6 yr old hardtail MTB? Would a hybrid be easier?
What were the names of the two old men in the balcony on The Muppet Show?
Should I give up and settle for a life of Sky Sports & Strongbow?

Sorry this is a bit longwinded for a first post but at least you know a bit about me now!

Ta.

Training Tips:

Keep on getting the miles in. You'll be fit enough on the day with regular outings.

Route:

Decide if you want to camp or B&B then plan the stop over points.

You should do Anglesey too it's a very pleasant bit of the ride and not at all challenging.

Lon Las Cymru is probably the most challenging of the Sustrans mapped routes but is manageable by all of moderate fitness. There's no shame in resorting to 24" gearing (two feet) when a hill gets to be too much and only one climb, see below, beat me at 20+ stone plus camping gear.

I deviated from the route in places and visited the steam railways at Porthmadoc, Tallylln and near Brecon. The final stretch from Brecon is on the Taff Trail and is mostly on disused mineral railway track beds.

Bike:

Should be fine if fitted with slicks. You'll need mountain bike gearing for the mountain road between Machynlleth and Llanidloes this is the most gruelling stretch on the route though the view from the summit is very nice from the Wynford Vaughn-Thomas monument. I ahd several lengthy pushing sessions on this stretch of road and a couple of roadies that passed me just as I left Machylleth warned me of the climbs ahead and confessed that they had never conquered the full stetch without stopping for a breather and pushing.

If you are happy with day rides on your current bike then there's no need to for another bike though I've always failed to convince myself with that argument and currently have a stable of four bikes with another in gestation

Strongbow:
I had a can or two each evening after my meal at the camp sites.

You wiill enjoy the ride. It is a good one.

 

[palinurus]

I did it on the back of a 17 mile round trip commute, little in the way of longer rides (I ride a lot more now tho'). I have used an MTB (steel, rigid, slicks on it) for touring in some of the areas the route goes through and it was a fine touring machine (Lon Las Cymru proper was done on an Airnimal Joey).

It's a really nice ride.

 

[WelshYiddo]

Ta very much for your all your replies. What a nice site this is - full of lovely, helpful people

Its nice to hear some positive comments although I keep coming across "hardest ride I've ever done" type stuff on the net which doesn't particulalry fill me or my unfit body with much confidence!

I'd still appreciate any other advice/info......keep it coming ladies and gentlemen.

 

[sadjack]

Dont let my "hardest ride I've ever done" comment put you off!

I'm an unfit 49 year old getting back to cycling and only just starting off touring so to be honest not so long ago a trip down the off licence on the bike was the hardest.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and would recommend it to anyone.

I learnt a lot too.

1. Pack your bags well in advance. Then look again at what you've got. Do you really need all them clothes?

2. Look at all your kit. Where are you staying? Where will you eat? I camped and walked to the nearest pub at night for a meal and a pint. I carried cooking kit and food that only added to the weight and was hardly used. Think hard about what you need and bin the rest.

3. Have a good look at your route. If you follow the signs they take you on little used roads up steep mountains, especially around Harlech, Dolgellau and Mycynlleth. Some cant be avoided though.

4. Ride as much as you can before you go and again I would look to join your local CTC. Since joining mine I have met cyclists with decades of experience of cycle touring all over the world and their advice and encouragement have really got me enthused.

5. Try and have a shorter "shake down" ride. I had planed to ride the Lon Cambria from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury via the Elan Valley but cancelled because of a family funeral, I really feel that this would have saved some "pain" over the things I carried and the weight of the bike!

In all just go for it. You may suffer a bit on the steep UP bits, you'll grin like a kid on the steep DOWN bits and feel really self satisfied with yourself when you finish.

As the guidebook says "Challenge The Dragon"

Have fun

 

[Carwash]

Is this helpful? http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pete/cycle/ridethedragon.html

 

[ruthe]

Did it in 07 after only about 6 months training a coupla times a week. Was amazing experience, some killer hills but well worth the views. I mainly stayed in youth hostels which were comfy and friendly (and sold local beers!).

Biggest mistake was packing too much into my panniers (us ladies never learn) and having to post some home after day 1! I'm planning Ireland next and going lightweight

I used a hybrid for it, 700 wheels give more speed etc on the flatter long bits but some of those hills are mean and MTB gear ratio would have been nice! Go with what your comfy with but I would recommend an adjustable stem on the MTB so if the back gets tired you can adjust the arrangement. I did plenty of long distance rides on my 10 yr old giant ATB!

 

[inaperfectworld]

i did it with my then 16 year old son about 9 years ago, both of us beginners and pretty clueless on bikes. i had done little more than w/e riding about 20 miles, so not much training. we had mountain bikes with knobblies and did builth wells to holyhead. did about 20 miles a day the longest 30; basically managed most of the uphill in bottom gear, but when we couldn't we pushed. thoroughly enjoyed it set me off on touring. by the following year at 17 years my son was doing other things, but tells me now what a great time he had. only bit i didn't like was holyhead, which feels a rather run down port.

 

[vernon]

only bit i didn't like was holyhead, which feels a rather run down port.

Be thankful then that you didn't go through Merthyr Tydfil. Holyhead is luxurious in comparison.

 

[sadjack]

Vernon, for someone who has his location as "Meanwood" thats some statement!!!