The "I can't believe it's not a Byway" tour Sat 30 Mar

Dee Dub

Active Member
[EDIT]
Date: Saturday 30 March 2019

Time: 10:00 for a 10:30 start. Please have enough fuel for a few hours of 1st/2nd gear riding.

Start point: Three Blackbirds Inn, Pentre Lane, Cwmbran, NP44 3AY
Google Maps

End point: Thunderroad, Tremains Road, Bridgend CF31 1UA

The ride will take a few hours, and be quite challenging in places. The whole route is along public roads, but frankly ideal only for adventure bikes and supermotos. Some roads are very narrow, rough, pot-holed, dirty and tricky. Actually ‘pot-holed’ doesn’t begin to describe…!

MuddyRoadsMap.jpg

[/EDIT]

I've been toying with arranging a ride out around some VERY rough, narrow, dirty lanes in South Wales. In places they can be more challenging to ride than some green lanes. Photographs don't always do them justice since you don't get a feel for the gradient etc, but places like here:

Google Maps

and here:

Google Maps

and here:

Google Maps

and here:

Google Maps

and here:

Google Maps

and here:

Google Maps

I'm thinking of a Saturday, perhaps 30 March. I could daisy-chain lanes together starting near Caerleon and ending up at Thunderroad, Bridgend. The route will take a good few hours!

Thoughts?
 
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Mikey

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Looks good, although I have to say I wouldn't fancy taking my tank up the first one.

Be good on an RT :)
 

Dee Dub

Active Member
No, I confess I might by-pass that one myself! I really struggle to conceive that it's a public road... not all that far from your place!

All the other lanes should be manageable on adventure bikes with road-oriented tyres. No RTs though!
 

boboneleg

Well-Known Member
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Looks great to me, got to love a road with grass in the middle :D

If I'm free I'd love to have a go :ride:
 

hotbulb

Active Member
I discovered that first one by accident ... it was where I found out that Battlax A41's don't work in mud! In theory, it's a tarmacced road :( At least I stayed upright, more or less.
 

Dee Dub

Active Member
We'll done, Hotbulb!

Actually, the route starts gently and becomes more challenging as we progress. The first image I showed (above) will actually be the 'Grand Finale'... and entirely optional!
 

Mikey

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Never mind, I know know. It's a lot more overgrown than the last time I wen along it. It's actually where I first dropped my 1150GS :cool:
 

Dee Dub

Active Member
Your Nemesis!

The sixth one above is my Nemesis. It is incredibly steep, almost vertical on the inside of the (hairpin) bend. I went up on the RT Death Star and, even staying as wide as I could, the engine revs dropped so the engine stalled. Down I went. It took ages to manoeuvre the bike, to line her up and get going again.

Hopefully it will be more manageable on the X-wing.
 

DaveS

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Bummer... I’m away that weekend and the next one. Have a great time.
 

Dee Dub

Active Member
That's a pity, Dave. There may be a couple joining us from a local club, so changing the date may be difficult. Not sure whether you'd want to take your brand new shiny GS along some of these tracks anyway, unless you want to add 'patina'! Seriously though, I would happily re-run this in April for you.

Anyhow, if Sat 30 March is okay for the rest, what would be a good time? Perhaps meet at 10:00 ready to leave at 10:30, or is that too early? Location:
Hanbury Arms,
Caerleon,
NP18 1AA.

Fueled sufficiently for a few hours of 1st/2nd gear riding please!

My mob O7969 ll6359
 

DaveS

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That's a pity, Dave. There may be a couple joining us from a local club, so changing the date may be difficult. Not sure whether you'd want to take your brand new shiny GS along some of these tracks anyway, unless you want to add 'patina'! Seriously though, I would happily re-run this in April for you.
You’re probably right!
I could with some sort of road ride, it’s been ages since I had a leisure ride, stuck in the commuting to work thing day in day out.... ground hog day!
 

cabbage

Active Member
Forum Supporter
That's a pity, Dave. There may be a couple joining us from a local club, so changing the date may be difficult. Not sure whether you'd want to take your brand new shiny GS along some of these tracks anyway, unless you want to add 'patina'! Seriously though, I would happily re-run this in April for you.

Anyhow, if Sat 30 March is okay for the rest, what would be a good time? Perhaps meet at 10:00 ready to leave at 10:30, or is that too early? Location:
Hanbury Arms,
Caerleon,
NP18 1AA.

Fueled sufficiently for a few hours of 1st/2nd gear riding please!

My mob O7969 ll6359
As long as it's not pissing it down Dave, i'll be there.
 

dodursley

Active Member
Came across a' failed road' today still an unclassified road and Google street have been along it
www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7678616,-1.6937025,3a,75y,72.35h,78.99t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3rfcTaxnGNcnaRegQNgjqg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D3rfcTaxnGNcnaRegQNgjqg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D318.6454%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
just some deep potholes and grass/mud in the middle but it is part of the Roman road (Akeman Street) from Cirencester to Bicester so it has not failed the test of time (1800-1900 years). Included as part of our section challenge for 2019 'Roman(ing) around Gloucestershire' , even though it is just in Oxfordshire.
failedroad.jpg

Not challenging and better than some of the 'good' roads I had been over in Glos.
 

Dee Dub

Active Member
I've never heard of a "Failed Road" before. Rather grassy and rough in places, but some stretches of city roads are rougher! Even so, it would be nice to string together roads like this to make an interesting ride.

I'll post the "I can't believe..." route here in a while.
 
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