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Outside Traveler 2004
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Wales on Wheels

After exploring Snowdonia, I headed about 70 miles southwest to the coast and Aberystwyth, a college town with a funky vibe and proximity to trails at Nant yr Arian and Rhayader. Joe Haywood, owner of Summit Cycles, had my loaner waiting: a brand-spanking-new 2004 Orange Five. It was love at first sight. The Five's got a sinewy, minimalist aesthetic—and I did my best to cover my swoon as Jimmy Haddon, a friendly shop worker, set the sag.

While technical junkies will prefer Coed y Brenin, there's plenty to love at Nant yr Arian. It's another forestry commission site, a scant ten miles inland from Aberystwyth, and its Summit Trail, sponsored by Joe's shop, is a mix of forest road and hairpinned singletrack slicing through woods and across high, sheep-riddled moors. As at my previous stops, the trails were spectacularly well marked (to the point of condescension, in the opinion of some locals, but visitors will appreciate the hand holding).

If you time it right, you can be back at the Summit trailhead, drinking tea and eating scones at the visitor center's café, in time to watch the kite feeding. The Welsh have been cajoling the red kite back from the brink of extinction, and every afternoon at Nant yr Arian, some guy wanders out with a bag of raw meat, sprinkles it around a small lake, and then walks away as one, then two, then ten, then 30 enormous speckled birds wheel out of the trees overhead.

The next day, my last, I drove an hour inland to Rhayader, little more than a crossroads near the Elan Valley. Joe had set me up for a ride with Francine Powell, who runs Elan Cyclery and the Clive Powell Mountain Bike Centre with her husband. We left from the shop—originally a 16th-century pub—taking a paved cycle path. After a few miles, the path turns to gravel, then narrows into dirt, and finally becomes a soft, grassy climb to crest a barren hill. At the top, we rode right into a cloud. Francine, ghostly in the thick mist, stopped me at the edge of a bog—she's seen it swallow front wheels—and we gingerly picked our way across the marsh. Back on the bikes, we slithered past the remnants of a Roman fort. After a bit more scrambling, we reached our reward: a deeply rutted road descending headlong through abandoned golf links. The Five ate it for lunch. It's the kind of surefooted bike that makes you think you could no-hand a descent. I furtively patted it at the end of the road, guiltily repressing the memory of my beloved Stumpjumper, a few thousand miles away in Wyoming.

Back at the shop, I warmed myself by the woodstove while Francine served tea. I replayed the links in my head. Disgyniad da, I thought. Good downhill.

Access and Resources

A two-hour train ride from London gets you to Cardiff, the Welsh capital, where you can pick up a rental car—the most convenient way to get around, especially with bikes. For cozy lodging and great breakfasts in Betwys y Coed, try The Courthouse, also called Henlly's, a converted courthouse on the Conwy River (011-44-1690-710534, www.guesthouse-snowdonia.co.uk); in Aberystwyth, the Richmond Hotel (011-44-1970-612201, www.richmondhotel.uk.com) has sea views. The Welsh tourism center (011-44-8701-211256, www.tourism.wales.gov.uk) provides maps and info; visit its mountain-bike-specific site, www.mbwales.com. For quality rentals in North Wales, go to Beics Betws (011-44-1690-710766, www.bikewales.com/main.htm). For repairs and maps of Nant yr Arian, visit Summit Cycles (011-44-1970-626061, www.summitcycles.co.uk). Clive Powell Mountain Bike Centre (011-44-1597-811343, www.clivepowell-mtb.co.uk) has Elan Valley maps and can provide anything from a bike to a guided weekend.
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