The Brecon Beacons Gap Road

One to tick off the list for me. I did this ride some 16 years ago with my brother. Revisiting it means that I have completed all but one of my most significant rides I did in the early days and I can carry on where I left off mountain biking as a kid!

The Gap is an old Roman mountain road through the Beacons. We started from Pontsticill Reservoir and climbed up to the mountain pass, past dozens of squadies on exercise! Through the pass is an awesome rocky descent down natural rock steps then onward on a long gradual bone shaking clatter down to the farmland below. We took in a couple of bridleways and a canal towpath on the way round the roads to Talybont-on-Usk, where we had a cracking pub lunch in the Star Inn.

The final leg was a never ending climb from 125m up the old Brinmore Tramway and onto the hilltops, eventually topping off at about 520m. Down off the top was another rocky descent to the Reservoir and the car park where the midges there truely insane!! Grinning was the order of the day!! :-)

It's an interesting track for me from another point of view as I last came here in my Suzuki Samurai. I find it sad to see lanes like this so heavily restricted to vehicles. This particular road can easily sustain vehicular traffic and now all it's usage is compressed into about 10 weeks of the year. I loathe this outlawing of the 4x4 as it just punishes those who were law abiding. You won't stop the renegade element especially on dirt bikes.