Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas honed his cycling skills on the climbs of the Brecon Beacons National Park and now you can too! This challenging yet achievable road cycling adventure in Wales is perfect for road cyclists looking for a new destination in an impressive and largely unexplored corner of the British Isles.
You'll spend the first three nights of this two-centre-based, road cycling adventure in the picturesque village of Tintern, on the banks of the River Wye. From here you'll spend two days exploring the beautiful countryside of both the Usk and Wye River valleys and the easternmost reaches of the Brecon Beacons.
Some of the excellent highlights include the Wye Valley, an officially designated Area of Natural Beauty, the magnificent ruins of Tintern Abbey and the lush green rolling landscapes and leafy lanes of Monmouthshire and the Usk Valley. Take in the awesome views from Maen Llia after climbing the Devil’s Elbow and soak up the wide-open spaces, big skies, and wild beauty of the Brecon Beacons National Park with some of the best cycling in the British Isles.
This tour explores two rather different regions of Southern Wales, each with its own contrasting terrain characteristics, ranging from short and sometimes steep climbs, to more evenly graded longer mountain ascents and gentler, rolling hills. Road surfaces can vary quite dramatically within just a few miles and whilst many are generally good, as is the case in all rural regions, it is not uncommon to encounter occasional gravelly sections, potholes and some poorer surfaces in some areas. Similarly, cattle grids, wandering sheep and other livestock are frequent features.