Bicycle Touring Wales North to South || Lôn Las Cymru - Holyhead to Cardiff

In May 2021 I cycled a Welsh 'tip to toe' road route which Komoot suggested, from Holyhead to Cardiff, over 4 days. This was partly in preparation for doing the NC500 later in the year as I needed to try out some new kit and also get some hills in on a fully laden touring setup. I didn't really have much of a theme for what I wanted to record on this trip, or explain what I was doing by way of training/testing gear, so it's mostly just parts of the route interspersed with a bit of idle waffle from me, but if you have any questions about this kind of cycle touring, setup, gear used etc. drop me a comment and I'll do my best to answer.
Happy cycling and stay safe out there!

[@jacquestillie2178]

Merci pour ce partage. Vidéo tres sympa. Nous ferons presque le même parcours, cette vidéo nous donne une bonne idée de ce que l'on verra. merci

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks and enjoy your trip!

[@pootlingalong8928]

Really enjoyed your film - off now to catch your Pennine trail and then your NC500 films as they look better than anything on TV tonight! How about a LeJog next … ? 👍🏻😁

[@Solitarycycling]

that area looks amazing, the wooded areas look like paradise, i do not think i could handle the hills tho, i like the flatness of the lincolnshire fens.

[@onemorecyclist]

Yes, a day cycling in Lincolnshire and one in Wales would probably be world's apart ... both good though. I enjoy hilly routes but have learned (the hard way) I need to adjust expectations in terms of pace and mileage. Happy cycling!

[@johngrattan6343]

Nice tour. I live in Ceredigion and you have to learn to love hills if you're a cyclist in Wales.

[@onemorecyclist]

That's very true. Well worth the effort though and the tour was really good prep for doing the NC500 later in the year. Thanks for the comment and happy cycling!

[@williammills9236]

Thanks for the video and the lovely scenery you showed us . I dont much know about bikes and which would be better for touring and camping. I'm use to long distance back packing but unfortunately age has caught up with me and now im considering bikepacking .Any advice on bikes and you mentioned upgrading your gears for hilly sections . Would appreciate your knowledge on advising me . Many thanks. Billy

[@onemorecyclist]

Hi Billy. Thanks and glad you enjoyed the video. I think this was one of the first times I attempted to film a ride and put it on KZbin - not sure I really knew what I was doing, still don't ;). Aside from the obvious differences I think there's a lot of crossover skills and knowledge between bikepacking and back packing, and it's nice of course to let a bike carry the gear and weight sometimes, and to travel a bit further in a day. The bike I used in this video isn't really a touring bike by design but it does the job pretty well. Off the top of my head I'd say a strong frame, strong wheels, ability to fit pannier racks and some nice spinny gears for hills are the prerequisites for a good touring bike, as well as having a relatively upright and comfortable riding position. There are other features too if you really go down the rabbit hole, like dynamo hubs for lights and charging on the go, sealed drive systems etc. but that's not something I know very much about at this point. A bog standard road bike will likely have a double chainring at the front and a fairly small cassette at the back and this is completely inadequate for hills when you're carrying luggage (at least for me). On my bike I changed to a massive rear cassette - and have since changed the front chainrings too - to make hills easier. I have a couple of other videos on my Triban RC520 talking about this and I've also used my mountain bike for bikepacking, which has a slightly different set up again. A 'proper' touring bike might well have a 'triple chainring' on the front with a very small ring, and this is great for tackling steep hills, or even moderate hills when your legs are shot at the end of the day. Something like the Genesis Tour De Fer would tick many of these boxes for a touring bike - not a bike I've seen in real life, just from looking online, but it's the sort of bike I would like to have at some point for touring. Hope this info helps and if you get into bikepacking let me know how you get on! Happy cycling!

[@YachtEventHorizon]

I intend to ride from Swansea to Holyhead and back to my home town of Swansea in 2024, but after seeing your ride I’m wondering if I should ride the train for the Swansea to Holyhead section and just use my bike for my homeward trip. I’m also thinking of taking a more scenic coastal route, taking in Pembrokeshire on my return. Do you have an opinion on this and is there any reason you didn’t choose the scenic route.

[@mattdeery918]

Hi, thanks for the video. I am planning a solo trip Lon Las Cymru north to south this July. I am going to book airbnb/ B&B’s so will be carrying less gear. First time I have done anything like this hence not camping yet. Any tips greatly appreciated

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks for the comment. I think you'll have a fantasic trip with some amazing roads and scenery. No real tips other than ride lots of hills in preparation if you can and try and 'go easy on yourself' in terms of daily mileage - bearing in mind the accumulative fatigue of multi day riding and the fact that you want to enjoy the trip etc. Booking places in advance means you have to reach them and stay on schedule throughout the trip, so careful not to overly focus on just getting to the destination each day (which I'm guilty of at times!). It's a great cycling tour, enjoy!

[@peterlynch2285]

Going to do this in August south to north age 63 any tips

[@onemorecyclist]

Hope you have a great trip, Peter! I did a video a while back about '5 things to prepare for your next bicycle tour' which may be of some interest (shameless plug there, sorry!) but what also springs to mind on this one is the saying 'not all miles are created equally'. Depending on your exact route it can be a pretty hilly ride so definitely factor that in to your daily mileage targets or expectations. I made a bit of an incorrect assumption that there would be lots of wild camp opportunities along the route I took and so found that quite challenging. Otherwise enjoy the planning/prep/training and have fun (always the main thing!). Happy cycling!

[@kirstenholmes119]

Did you wild camp for most of your trip except the pub night? Can you find places to camp? I have a tiny tent and plan to do this trip alone.

[@onemorecyclist]

If I remember right it was a campsite in Holyhead the night before starting, then 2 wild camps and the pub room before the final day into Cardiff. Honestly I found it quite difficult to find suitable wild camp spots. On the route I took, the land was almost always 'fenced off' and difficult to get away far enough from the road and out of sight. That being said it might just have been me being overly picky about spots and I didn't give route any thought in terms of suitability for stealth camping (you live and learn). It's possible though and lots do it I believe. Have a great trip and thanks for the comment!

[@YachtEventHorizon]

I intend to ride from Swansea to Holyhead and back to my home town of Swansea in 2024, but after seeing your ride I’m wondering if I should ride the train for the Swansea to Holyhead section and just use my bike for my homeward trip. I’m also thinking of taking a more scenic coastal route, taking in Pembrokeshire on my return. Do you have an opinion on this and is there any reason you didn’t choose the scenic route.

[@onemorecyclist]

Hi Philip. Thanks for the comment. You don't mention your level of bike (touring) fitness or how much time you might have available, so do take my comments with the required pinch of salt. I like your idea of the train up to Holyhead and cycling home. I've done this (train to start) a few times for day rides when I want to push the distance, have the psychological boost in late stages of arriving back home etc., and don't want to do a loop. I know Pembrokeshire is spectacular from friends who climb there but I don't know about the costal cycling options or the quality of the roads out there. If you can link up quiet roads and take in the coast that could be a great ride. Definitely worth looking into if you have the time. The route I took was just the one that Komoot threw out and it ticked most of my objectives, right start and end points for a 'tip to toe', about the right number of days for the time I had available and a decent shake out ride for the NC500 hills (which it certainly delivered). Planning can be a fun part of bike touring. Enjoy sorting out your route and hope you have a great trip! Happy cycling.

[@99NESTA]

How long were you taking on average to cover the 50miles daily?

[@onemorecyclist]

I can't recall exactly as it was a while back now. 4-5 hours I think of peddling each day. With stops, lunch, chatting to random people you bump into I was on the go probably mid-morning to early evening. Definitely slower going fully loaded but I quite like the 'touring pace' these days. Happy cycling!