training Rides around South east wales

toffee27
toffee27 Posts: 10
Hi all,
Does anybody out there have some good training rides for the Chepstow and Caldicot areas. I'm doing the Dragon ride this year and in need of some good routes, Can anyone help! :lol:

Comments

  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    Well it's my neck of the woods too; what sort of mileage are you planning? The longest rides I've done (from Shirenewton) are 50 miles or so which takes in Usk, Monmouth, Forest of Dean. It's a bugger to cross the Wye valley when you're legs are tired! One problem with living higher up is that the end of my ride always involves a big climb, so it might be as well for you to plan to ride down the vale of Usk and along the A48 on the return.
  • narbs
    narbs Posts: 593
    Head through Caerwent and up over Wentwood, go through Usk and Llansoy (up Star Hill) and follow the road to Monmouth. There's a turning on the right which leads to Tintern and you can cross the river to Brockweir and head back through Shirenewton.

    It's about 60 miles I think.
  • toffee27
    toffee27 Posts: 10
    Thanks for the routes. My usual rides are about 20-30 miles, so these should help to spice things up a bit. Doing the Dragon ride this year so i need to up the milage considerably. If anyone out there wants to get together to organise a ride out, get in touch.
    Any more routes are always appreciated. :D
  • If you are feeling strong enough, you cold join the Cardiff sunday ride - about 30 -40 start off, and quite often they will head east and take in part of that route including shirenewton. If you want to check, then ring Cyclopaedia in Cryws Road in cardiff, the JIF club organise it so they should know where the route is for a given day, though it does have a tendency to become a bit ad hoc. It's usually a pretty hot pace, as a good number of the riders are clubless, and are training to train and dont race so haven't grasped the idea of a social moderately paced long ride.
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    I might pop down this week and do some dragon route or clubrun if I can't find a race to enter.
  • dombo6
    dombo6 Posts: 582
    The Sunday rides are great. I turned up for one a couple of months ago, started at Maindy Stadium, and there are always people riding at your pace. Very friendly bunch and scenic routes.

    Take food though as there are no cafe stops. I did 75 miles at 18mph on a Mars bar and a bottle of GO!
  • toffee27
    toffee27 Posts: 10
    Sonds like a god ride out of Cardiff. For that kind of distance with no cafe stop, my pockets would be stuffed full of all sorts of treats. I find my riding is much better if I eat every half hour or so! :shock:
    Come on people, there must be more of you that ride around this area?
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    Toffee, there are, but most of us seem to ride further west. The beacons are not so far away, which the dragon ride takes in so a lot of us ride around the Gwent / Rhymney/Rhondda valleys, which is where a lot of the SW clubs are based. To the East there is really only Newport and Ross-on-Wye, who tend to ride further North in any case.
  • dombo6
    dombo6 Posts: 582
    toffee27 wrote:
    For that kind of distance with no cafe stop, my pockets would be stuffed full of all sorts of treats.

    So would mine! the distance was a surprise, and 20 miles in I was lost so kept going with the pack.
  • chrisw12
    chrisw12 Posts: 1,246
    toffee27 wrote:
    Sonds like a god ride out of Cardiff. For that kind of distance with no cafe stop, my pockets would be stuffed full of all sorts of treats. I find my riding is much better if I eat every half hour or so! :shock:
    Come on people, there must be more of you that ride around this area?

    as Steve said, all the better riders (and rides) are based further west. :wink:

    Most people prefer the hills, it's better training but you've goto be careful you don't get blown off :lol:

    It can be windy up there.
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    I can vouch for that, once going toward beacons from Hirwaun (dragon route direction) and once down the Bwlch. Lucky me getting blown off twice in Wales :P Pity it was only off the bike !!
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    Being blown on the bike would be an interesting experience... :wink:
  • guv001
    guv001 Posts: 688
    Toffee - There are loads of places throughout the Forest Of Dean if you look at the route from the FoD classic you can make up loads of rides.
  • wheelermuk
    wheelermuk Posts: 15
    Hi,
    I'm on my way to Cardiff in Sep to start uni and was looking to get some rides in on sundays.
    Steve, does the sunday ride you were referring to start at Maindy? I'm staying in the Talybont halls so I believe I'm pretty close to the track from there. Which cycling club is this ride with?
    Thanks, Matthew
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    Matthew,

    The sunday rides start from Maindy lesiure centre at 09:30
    There is also a Saturday morning ride that also attracts a lot fo riders, it leaves from Cyclopaedia in Crwys Road at the same time of 09:30.

    Boith rides are joined by most if not all of the Cardiff clubs, but the JIF primarily organise them (through the shop).