Last ride of the week today so I decided to set myself a simple challenge. Ride out to the coast and visit 4 beaches and ride back.
It was overcast and quite breezy when I got up but the heat was set build and the sun was going to be burning the clouds away around lunchtime so I decided to go early despite an actual sprinkling of rain when I left.
The first few miles were quite easy. I dropped down into the local village then rode along the rolling terrain of the Teifi Valley to Newcastle Emlyn. Just outside of the town at about 11km in the first stiff climb of the day woke the legs up. After I’d churned over that one I got a brief bit of downhill and then the next climb dropped before easing into a kind of false flat until I reached the main A487 and navigated around the Airport there before dropping into Aberporth down a pin straight 12% climb to a hairpin bend. I stopped for a quick photo. It’s a nice beach but there isn’t much there to be honest given it’s popular with tourists.
The climb out of town wasn’t too bad either before a left and a false flat before a drop then left down a dead end to Tresaith beach. This had a really nice looking bar right on the beach which I was tempted to stop at but the climb back away from the beach was steep and I had to engage my lowest 32×34 gear to get back up it. The gradient eased slightly so I could push a slightly bigger gear but it did drag on for a while before left again and another steep descent to Penbryn Beach.
This one, the barman at our local pub told us, was the beach the locals go to. It’s not easily accessible with no parking closeby and a steep single track lane down to a simple turning circle at the end. No bars, no shops, nothing, just plain old beach. However as I climbed back out there was a lovely looking coffee shop and free parking further on but it was quite away from the beach. The answer here is take some ebikes on your car, dump the car wherever and ride down to the beach. Park n Ride is the way I’d do it.
The route to Llangrannog beach was a bit more convoluted which featured a long, steep descent through trees to pop out on the headland above the beach right on the apex of a supertight hairpin. I think this was my favourite out of the four and had a small car park right by the beach too. It had a couple of shops, a pub right on the front and the beach itself was nice too. However, the climb out of Llangrannog is fucking brutal. Initially super steep for almost 2km, you ride around a couple hairpins then settle into 3km of about 10% which felt like 10 miles.
When I got back to the A487 I made a mistake and had to turn round to drop down a another crazy steep descent where I think there was more grass in the middle of the lane than tarmac to ride on. At the bottom I knew I’d have to go back up, then left and boom there it was, a nice little short 20%er past a house with an ironic sign saying ‘slow please’. There was no other speed to ride at.
Thankfully this shitty little lane fizzled out quite quickly and I was able to track a pretty, straight and fast lane with a good surface back to the B4571 but not before another steep ascent to rack up some more elevation. Here I got a real lick on downhill but nearly got caught on the next left back into the lanes as I wasn’t concentrating on where my map was taking me.
I crossed the A475 and dropped into Henllan where I picked up signs for the Teifi Valley Railway. I like a vintage railway but this one, as it turned out, was now abandoned and overgrown. What a shame. From there I seemed to track the old track bed for a few km passing under and over it before my penultimate climb of the day back out the valley on a freshly chipped lane.
At Pentrecwrt I took a right for home and the last 10% climb of the day back upto Saron, my nearest village, but I swear it’s steeper.
My early start had paid off. As I turned right for the last km home, the sun was just breaking through the clouds and warming things up quickly.
Another 60km ride in the bag but with that elevation and 3hrs in the saddle, it’s worth 80km at home. Riding around here is hard work with flat bits of road a rare luxury.
Adios
