LON TEIFI

Lon Teifi is the second section of Gareth's and my bike ride from Shrewsbury to Fishguard.  Having crossed the Cambrian Mountains, it feels that it should be downhill all the way.  We are now following National Cycle Network Route 82. We had stayed overnight at the Devil's Bridge Hotel and this morning the owner was keen to tell us about all the excellent cycle trails around here.  We needed no convincing and made a mental note to stay here again.  Lon Teifi follows the valley of the River Teifi from its source to the sea.  This is so different from Lon Cambria.  For a start we are held up by ducks, or are they geese?

Somehow there seems to be no need to try the brakes.  We just want to get started!  I recall being held up by several dogs fast asleep on a similar Welsh road only two months ago.  Animals are so laid back here.
We catch up an Australian couple on a tandem with a trailer in tow.  It turns out that they are on a 4 month tour.  "How wise seeking out peace and quiet these Welsh roads" I thought. "It must be quite different from their home state of New South Wales".  We follow an easy trail through a nature reserve.  We see the Cambrian Mountains to our left but this is outstanding scenery of a different type.  It is wildlife friendly with lots of trees and water meadows but, as we go south, we start to see sheep and cattle fields in small hilly paddocks.

I like this ancient bike sign.

I like the river at dusk

I also like the coffee shops as this one in Lampeter

Our route continues through Newcastle Emlyn, Cardigan and into the Preseli Hills before reaching Fishguard.  These are all quiet roads meandering around river valleys and through small towns.  This is a market at St Dogmaels near Cardigan.

Wales' best known ride is Lon Las Cymru but, for me, this is a delightful ride that on the one hand offers lots of challenges with its many climbs and the other the scenery is just simply outstanding.  It is as Gareth says very close to being in the wilderness. 

The total distance is 185 miles and you should follow NCN81 and 82 with these maps.

LON CAMBRIA / LON TEIFI: A BIKE RIDE FROM SHREWSBURY TO FISHGUARD

"This feels to be the nearest it is possible to cycle in a wilderness in the British Isles" commented Gareth as we neared the summit of a pass in the Cambrian Mountains.  Gareth is my nephew and had joined me on a 185 mile ride across Wales.  We were on a mountain road looking down across wide open moors towards an upland stream sometimes meandering and at others gathering pace from its source while picking up tributaries as it went.  The sun was shining and there were very few cars.  It felt glorious to me too.

We were cycling two "Challenge" routes on the National Cycle Network starting at Shrewsbury and finishing at Fishguard.  The NCN as it is known always delights in its choices of routes and keeps cyclists away from busy main roads.  "Challenge" routes take you into the hills.  Possibly the best known is the C2C from Whitehaven to Tynemouth.  Having cycled most of them, Lon Cambria and Lon Teifi are up there with the best and what is more you discover many of Wales unspoilt villages and occasionally a town.

We met at Shrewsbury train station and immediately saw many people on bikes.  We start by following Lon Cambria (NCN81) through delightful Shropshire countryside to the Welsh border where we met the first serious hill.  Our first break was at a pub in Crewgreen and here the Welsh/English border was so wobbly that whoever decided the border must have been drunk.  In fact we entered Wales twice over a space of 5 miles.  NCN81 took us into Welshpool where our map told us to join the Montgomery Greenway, a canal path whereas, confusingly, the signs and on-line mapping said to cycle into the hills.  We joined the Greenway which took us to Newtown.  The Greenway will make an excellent family trail but unfortunately the hedges were seriously overgrown so someone needs to do some work here.  Probably the map will be the correct route after some major hedge cutting.
Lon Cambria next took us across many hills and down to Rhayader with the later stretch being beside the River Wye.

 The road beside the River Wye, stunning views and an ancient landscape

At Rhayader, we discover a bike shop that doubles up as a pub in the evening.

Our ride now takes us off-road along a slightly bumpy but very scenic trail beside three Elan Valley reservoirs to our highest point where we encounter two BMW's chasing one another but few other cars.  They would enjoy the cycle ride better.

The other side of the pass is steeper with a fast flowing river alongside.  We stop to view some ancient lead mines where the quarrymen came from Cornwall.  Shortly after this we briefly leave Lon Cambria for our overnight stop at Devils Bridge

Our next stage is to join Lon Teifi (NCN82) for the second part of our journey to Fishguard.  I hope that this encourages you to visit this route and more will follow shortly

CYCLING THE MAYO COAST OF IRELAND

I have spent a few days cycling around Westport in Co Mayo. To say that the scenery here is spectacular is an understatement.  Dramatic remote hills surround this area that sometimes drop into coastal plains before meeting the sea. In others, the hills just drop into the sea. The coast can be angry with rocky shores but in others there are stunning unspoilt sandy beaches, some with machair grassland growing out of the sand dunes. Along with this are friendly local people who always ask "How are you?" and expect a chat. Here old Ireland meets the new.  The local council are creating some excellent cycle networks.
It does not take much for me to get on my bike to explore areas like this and these are a few images on my daily travels

A sense of old Ireland

A sense of style from a Mayo lady

Westport Town Centre

 

 

A family adventure to Achill Island

 

 

 

The road to the Mweel Rea Mountains and Carrickwee Strand

 

 

 

Arrival at Carrickwee Strand and end of the road. Must cycle back now.

 

 

I found it hard to find much on websites but the local Ordnance Survey maps are excellent.  This is the website for Cycling around Westport.  It will also be on  Eurovelo 1 if you are touring.  I have come across several touring cyclists from Holland, Germany and USA. Most day cyclists seem to be Irish. I even met a guy at the start of a 2 year adventure. He comes from Denver, USA but started his bike ride in Dublin. He plans to cycle to Tokyo.

The weather while I have been here has been 20 degrees C and mostly sun. However there is often rain but you can see it coming so it is not a surprise. The wind can whip up into a frenzy, then disappear.  If it is behind you, peddling is a dream.  I cycled approx 200 miles locally.





NOEL'S BIKE

This is Noel and his passion for cycling is infectious.

Noel has built this bike himself.  It has two drives, one being for a normal cycle and the other is a 10cc two stroke engine.  This looked like the engine on my chain saw and runs on 2 stroke. He gave me a demo and kept up with the cars.  To start, he set off in normal bike mode, then once moving, the engine fired and he disappeared into the distance.  Can you see two chains from the image below?

I asked Noel how much it cost. "Well" he replied, "I got most of the parts from scrap but I had to buy the engine.  It cost me 248 euros"  Noel's mate said he cycles everywhere and does not have a car. I loved it.

THE BEARA WAY CYCLE ROUTE

Imagine you are cycling on little lanes almost devoid of cars.  Down below, the sea sweeps into rocky inlets while, up above, a line of mountain peaks are jagged against the skyline.  Tiny rivers rush down the hillsides and spill out through a landscape that’s so unspoilt it is hard to believe this is the 21^st century.  Sometimes the sun shines but this quickly changes to showers while, if you are up high, clouds surround you.  Then a watery sun reappears. 

Imagine your heart as it raises a beat while you tackle a short steep climb that then turns into an adrenalin rush as you drop downhill again.  During this time, all you can hear are the sounds of your tyres, the air around you, birds singing and the frequent rush of water. 

This is the Beara Cycle Way in a little known corner of south west Ireland.  I tackled 80 miles of this lovely route in the last few days.  Castletownbere is an excellent centre to base yourself and it is best to allow lots of time to go exploring with your bike.  These are a few images:

 

Start and Finish: MacCarthy's Bar, Castletownbere

 

Castletownbere is a fishing port

 

Cycling the coastline

 

Discovering links with Cornwall, a 19th century copper mine engine house

 

Healy Pass, a 300m climb into cloud.  It disappeared on the other side

 

 

Typical coastal view

 

 

 

These are a couple of local scenes beside the cycle route that I liked

 

 

 

The link to find out more of this route is here.  I purchased locally the Ordnance Survey map that shows all the lanes.  One of the many things I especially liked was to drop down to small quays, still home to fishermen but now those using rods instead of boats.

AND FINALLY

This was our journey plan, thanks to Dagmar's excellent device

These are some vital statistics:

> We succeeded in visiting every country in the British Isles
> Distance: 788 miles
> Punctures: None
> Repairs: None
> Best scenic day: Sligo - Donegal (The North West Trail)
> Most memorable stop: Horseleap with 1916 tandem bicycle
> Best day viewing wildlife: Isle of Arran
> Best town/city: Londonderry
> Any bad moments? Arrival in Ballemena with heavy traffic, heavy rain and no cycle routes
> Favourite overnight stop: The Whitehall Inn, Llandovery
> Route planning in England, Scotland and Wales? We used the National Cycle network mostly
> Route planning in Ireland? We used Dagmar's excellent cycle route app with Ireland map
> Quality of cycle routes? These were definately very good but occasionally had to use main road

JOURNEY'S END: WELL ALMOST

To the couple from New Zealand who I met on the train home and about to embark on a 6 week cycle tour from Lands End to John O' Groats, I wish you welcome to the Great British Isles and have an amazing journey. You must make your ride slow and include plenty of time for cream teas. To Dagmar, who is great cycling companion, I hope you arrive home ok. Did you say you went to the wrong airport in London?

To Glasgow on our final day in Scotland, what a welcome you gave us! You really are the Friendly City. If you say people make Glasgow, I completely agree

We arrived at Central Station at 1pm and we were told the best place to leave our bikes and panniers would be Queen Street Station, just 5 minutes away. We must have looked lost as we set off because, not one, but four people, came up to us to give directions with one saying "Follow me, I am going there but you must be quick as I have a train to catch". Another said that we should cycle, not walk, in the pedestrian area.
What a friendly welcome, especially from this girl who allowed us to take her photograph. We had half a day to walk around before we caught the Caledonian sleeper train to London.
Glasgow was life itself. I was ever so amazed. The pedestrianised city centre was full of people and we could hear bagpipes playing. The shops were a mixture of the old and new but never have I seen a city looking so vibrant. All the big chains were there but it was not hard to find proper Scottish shops. Dagmar had haggis, neaps and tatties for lunch while I had fish chowder. We both had steaks in the evening washed down by Caledonian ales.
Three ladies, obviously having a great night out, involved us in their happiness. We asked about our Scottish food and, so long as our steaks were Aberdeen Angus, they said we had done well. They then took some selfies of the five of us.
Earlier we had walked through the city centre and alongside the River Clyde. The sun was warm on our backs and we find lots of cyclists. This city is also cycle friendly. Our walk took us to the People's Palace. This museum told us briefly of Glasgow's history including its ever so recent tough times. It also had a splendid display of tropical plants and excellent coffee shop. There was simply not enough time to see other than a small sample of the city. These are a few images that I enjoyed:

I have now seen a second city on this journey that I knew nothing about, the first being Derry, and I have been ever so amazed. If this is what slow bike rides do, this will be the first of many more. Dagmar is now home in southern Germany and, maybe, we will do another slow bike ride together.
All the time "Badger" has been with us and never complained. "Badger" is Devon Wildlife Trust mascot who has been with us since our first journey in 2010 around the coastline of the North Sea. "Badger" seems most fitting this year as it is 30 Days Wild here in the UK. Dagmar's story is on her blog (don't forget to press your T key unless you speak German)