ITERA - Presented by Open Adventure
Magic Mountain Biking, Terrific Trekking and a Paddling Paradise – Welcome to Wales
Rob Howard / 09.08.2014
The teams now have their maps and route books for ITERA and although they knew it was over 600km somehow it seems a whole lot further when all those maps are joined up!
So, what is in store for them?
That the start was in Caernarfon was already known and it’s no great surprise that the plan (weather and ex-hurricane Bertha permitting) is to make the classic paddle through the Menai Strait between the mainland Anglesey.
The castle town of Caernarfon lies at one end of the Strait and Bangor Pier marks the other end. In between there are two bridges and a narrow channel with a fierce tidal range and flow – which is good reason to start the race with this stage, so teams can race through with the tide.
(Long, long ago in the early days of UK racing Open Adventure’s James Thurlow was caught in an adverse tide here as his team raced to the end of a British Championship course. He finished in a bit of a state …. and I’m quite sure there is no way he would put racers in his event in the same position by getting his tide timings wrong!)
Once through the Strait the plan is to paddle round to Conwy Castle for an orienteering stage on the ramparts, before taking on Stage two – a ride over the hills to ZipWorld, for the first of the races ‘trouser fillers’. A 100 mph zip line sounds like it will fit the description!
After riding down to Ogwen the first major trek of the race will take teams over the Glyder range and Mount Snowdon, Wales’ highest point. This is classic Welsh mountain country with some classic scrambling routes along the way, Bristly Ridge on Tryfan and Crib Goch on Snowdon, places where a head for heights is required. After Snowdon the route crosses Cnicht, known as the Welsh Matterhorn.
Stage 4 puts teams back in their boats to paddle down the delightful Glaslyn River and out into one of the many estuaries that characterise the mid-Wales coastline. There is detour to Portmerion first though, so teams can stretch their legs for some orienteering in an Italianate village famous as the set of the 1960’s TV show ‘The Prisoner’.
After leaving the estuary teams paddle round the coast to Barmouth at the mouth of the majestic Mawddach Estuary over which looms another iconic Welsh peak, Cader Idris. Guess what the next stage is? That’s right, a run over the peak to the town of Machynlleth where the longest cycle stages of the race begin, taking teams trough the wild and sparsely populated hills of mid-Wales.
The ride is split into three by the inclusion of a couple more special stages. The first stop is Devil’s Bridge, an orienteering section in canyons and waterfalls which has been used on Open Adventure’s Open24 race in the past. The second stop is for more orienteering, this time in the peaceful and beautiful Elan Valley.
The end of the cycle at Glasbury brings teams to the Wye Valley for the final paddling stage. The Wye Valley is renowned for its tranquil and picturesque scenery and gentle river descent will take teams to the town of Hay on Wye for another short O stage to explore the ‘Book Capital of the World’.
The south coast is getting nearer now, but there are still the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons to cross – rugged terrain renowned as the training ground for the S.A.S. The Black Mountains are crossed by bike and the Brecon Beacons high summits on foot, before descending into limestone terrain of caves and waterfalls.
Then it’s the final stage, a ride back to finish in Cardiff, taking in the some of the world’s best mountain bike trails on the way, the Afan Trails.
After that it’s time for a sit down, a pizza, and maybe a beer!
SleepMonsters
