Red Kites soared silently high above our bask of Bromptons, and Route 81 – one of those picture-perfect grass-up-the-middle touring roads that tracked the gently meandering infant River Wye. A pause and a peek through Ben’s binoculars and the birds of prey were seeking and collecting material for nest building; minding their own business. The five of us probably should too, so onwards we rode on the last of our first day’s kilometres, south, to our overnight spot on the outskirts of Rhayader in glorious Mid-Wales…
>> Watch the film here <<
(Re-)Connection has never felt more prevalent than in the second year of pandemic lockdowns. This short trip was about connecting people and places with an accessible adventure. Riding between two cities and picking out the most alluring route between them makes a great template for bikepacking as a group, especially if everyone is convening from different places – logistics are made easy, given public transport links to/from start and end points. For the five of us, picking-up and dropping-off folded bikes at each end, made it even easier; just the bikepacking bag and kit options to think about, really.
On this E̶l̶a̶n̶ ̶E̶s̶c̶a̶p̶e̶ Rarebit Ramble, as well as riding over 150 kilometres, we’d use trains and quad-bike trailer lifts to help cover the ground between Birmingham and Carmarthen over three days – the middle day being a ‘tourist’ day of riding in and around the Elan Valley. And, whilst possible on standard bikes, the flexibility that a group (bask is the term for a group of crocodiles, btw) of folding bikes offer is ace for this type of social bike tour.
BOTHY [n.]
a small hut or cottage, especially one for housing farm labourers or for use as a mountain refuge
Bothies are still shut. So, bear this in mind if planning a bikepacking trip early this Summer (2021)! Whilst their doors are known for always being open – offering shelter in the UK’s wild places – the Mountain Bothy Association has taken the stance of keeping them out-of-bounds during the pandemic; namely for discouraging travel in the first place it seems.
On our bluebird day, we didn’t need shelter. This was rare weather for Mid-Wales and the Elan Valley especially; the very lands where a network of reservoirs were built to collect the regular rainwater, to supply Birmingham and its suburbs. We weren’t complaining. A short bog-trot along established sheep trails leads you to this special spot overlooking Craig Gogh reservoir, and the vast rolling ‘Desert of Wales’ moorland which lie golden at this late-Spring time of year. Amongst the stillness and quiet, crying curlews and roaring gas stoves provided the soundtrack to our sketch session and rarebit cookout.
RAREBIT [n.]
“Toasted Cheese”. Called ‘caws pobi’ since the 16th Century, before moving on to ‘Rabbit’, seemingly as a joke about people not being able to afford actual rabbit (/meat in general). Since the 19th Century, this typically Welsh toasted cheese delicacy has established as ‘Rarebit’ to avoid such a patronising tone, apparently…
Whilst traditional recipes use butter, egg(s) and flour, you can easily strip it back to make things more bikepacker friendly. We had a skillet-esque little plate, which we were able to toast the crumpets on – this improves things no end, but you could always lightly toast bread over a flame. Safely, of course:
– Olive Oil
– Finely-Chopped Onion
– Cheddar/Caerphilly Cheese
– Splash of Ale; drink the rest
– Worcestershire Sauce
– Pepper
– Mustard
– Bread/Crumpets
One word to sum up a Brompton for bikepacking? Util. Not only do they fold up and fit under train seats, or mean you can fit 5 bikes, and 5 people in the back of a quad-bike trailer, but: they’ll carry a vast 25L waterproof front bag (we used four of their waterproof ‘Borough’ bags), or a basic set of bikepacking bags (Stef took a set of Brooks x Scape bags); they have mudguards and dynamo front/rear lights ready to go, and even folding pedals for those moorland hike-a-bikes. Whilst not so capable off-road, up the real steep stuff, or for efficiency on the flat, they are fun to ride and were more than capable for our three-day escape.
…as well as your normal toolkit, just make sure you bring a thin, adjustable spanner to fix things on them – removing wheels etc. requires one 🙂
Which two cities could you connect, by bike?
Like the look of this area? Check out our signature Desert of Wales bikepacking tour.
Like the idea of hiring a Brompton for a city-to-city cycling adventure? Check out Brompton Bike Hire for super flexible, affordable hire and their network of Hire Docks…
Partner
Brompton Bike Hire
Bikes & Bags
Brompton Bikes / Brooks England
Photography
David Sear
Film
Sam White
Words & Illustrations
Stef Amato
Bikepackers
Emily Scott
Ben Davies
Stef Amato
David Sear
Sam White
RAINSPOTTING
Six of us alight the sleeper train at Corrour - the highest, remotest station on the West Highland Line - and 'go for a w̶a̶l̶k̶ ride' through the wintry, gloomy Grampian Mountains of Scotland. We track the old-established north-south drove roads and, in true drover style, explore the alluring moorland voids in between...
by STEFAN AMATO & DAVID SEAR
BIKEFISHING THE SECRET DALE
Bikefishing? Oh yes. We strap fishing rods, flies, and overnight kit to our gravel bikes for a bike-fishing journey along the River Nidd. Along the way, we meet up with Nidderdale AONB fly fisherman, Oscar, who takes us upstream fishing in the river and stillwater fishing at the local upland reservoir. Time to see what the bike fishing hype is all about...
by STEF AMATO & DUNCAN PHILPOTT
FURTHLINES
In the wake of Storm Dennis, we explore the roads, gravel tracks and infrastructure lines of Snowdonia National Park's Carneddau Mountains. As we ride up, into the snow-sprinkled shadows of two Furth peaks, we slowly unearth a very humbling story of human influence in the mountains...
by STEFAN AMATO & DUNCAN PHILPOTT
RAINSPOTTING
Six of us alight the sleeper train at Corrour - the highest, remotest station on the West Highland Line - and 'go for a w̶a̶l̶k̶ ride' through the wintry, gloomy Grampian Mountains of Scotland. We track the old-established north-south drove roads and, in true drover style, explore the alluring moorland voids in between...
by STEFAN AMATO & DAVID SEAR
BIKEFISHING THE SECRET DALE
Bikefishing? Oh yes. We strap fishing rods, flies, and overnight kit to our gravel bikes for a bike-fishing journey along the River Nidd. Along the way, we meet up with Nidderdale AONB fly fisherman, Oscar, who takes us upstream fishing in the river and stillwater fishing at the local upland reservoir. Time to see what the bike fishing hype is all about...
by STEF AMATO & DUNCAN PHILPOTT
FURTHLINES
In the wake of Storm Dennis, we explore the roads, gravel tracks and infrastructure lines of Snowdonia National Park's Carneddau Mountains. As we ride up, into the snow-sprinkled shadows of two Furth peaks, we slowly unearth a very humbling story of human influence in the mountains...