Gore Bike Wear TransWales
Day Six: ‘The Night Train’
21.08.2011
Cwmystwyth to Cilycwm
Total distance: 74km
Climbing: 2000m</b>
The penultimate day of the Gore Bike Wear TransWales, powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport began under dry skies and continued to enjoy good weather for its entire duration. Although the day’s linking stage was an undeniably good day in the saddle, it couldn’t hold a candle to the elbows out, singletrack rocket thrills and spills that the fifth special stage – the Exposure Lights night time special stage – had in store.
Riders left the picturesque campsite at Blaenycwm at the foot of yesterday’s final descent near Cwmystwyth at 9am and, after a brief spin down the valley, struck across the river and onto rocky double track that hitched up into woodland and eventually climbed up towards the remotely picturesque Teifi Lakes. For some, feeling a little worse for wear due to a late night of reveling thanks to cheap beer and a cracking three piece band, the start was a little slower than normal.
However it wasn’t long before their minds moved from focusing on their hangovers to the rugged descent that unfurled before them from the top of the Bryn Llyn Egnant at 480m; with its snaking single and double track that continuously dropped away across river crossings and carving singletrack, it was a good way to shake out the dregs of excess.
After losing altitude, the riders were then swept along and into the Tywi Forest’s stupidly fun water crossings. The riders careered down a rocky jeep track that melded seamlessly from jeep track into river bed, through fords, standing puddles, and back once again to rocky jeep track as the trail criss-crossed the river, shadowing the water’s descent further towards the Llyn Brianne Reservoir.
After climbing up and out of the forest, the trail headed west until it hit the river Doethie. It then turned and headed south flanking this picturesque watercourse along a ribbon of singletrack for some 5km. Both remote and enthralling, this trail is a gem that rounded out the day’s linking stage in fine style. Then the rider hit the black top for a few miles down towards the stage end at Cilycwm. For those still with plenty of watts left in their legs – and the fore-knoweldge that the final leg of the linking stage passes the venue for the Exposure Lights night time special stage – an impromptu singletrack diversion allowed them to pre-ride the great Cwm-y-Rhaiadr trail.
SleepMonsters
