Page 115 - 2022-08-01 RiDE

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
‘I’d pay good
money for a
B-road only
map app’
Triumph’s Tiger
900 Rally Pro and
its rider are totally
in their element
Be prepared to
attract the attention
of curious natives
20th century. Then there are more farms and green
fields, then the scenery switches character again,
becoming hilly moorland as the entrance to the Elan
Valley and the tail end of Craig Goch reservoir appears to
the right. It makes for a stunning diversion, but it’s not
on our route today so we plug on over the top of the hills,
dodging sheep, to drop down into Rhayader and lunch at
the café, Ty Morgans, in the town square. There’s lots of
room to park by the monument, and usually a couple of
dirt bikes lowering the tone, the filthy animals.
Sticking with the B-roads, we leave Rhayader on the
B4518, spiralling upcountry towards Llanidloes and over
the river Severn – already fairly wide here, Britain’s
longest river springs in the hills seven miles above the
town, and runs for another 213 miles before it reaches
the Bristol Channel.
We haven’t got quite as far to go – out of the town we
sprint north, the Tiger responding with a surge as we tap
it on into the hills climbing up to the dam at the head of
Clywedog Reservoir, and the viewpoint above it. The
reservoir was formed in the late 1960s to regulate the
‘Dam’, that’s
some great
Victorian
engineering
Severn (a tributary feeds into the Severn in Llanidloes)
and supply drinking water to the Midlands. There was
opposition to the damming of the valley – so much so
the Welsh paramilitary group, MAC (Movement for the
Defence of Wales) set off a bomb to disrupt dam
construction. Standing at the viewpoint surveying the
current magnificent vista, seems hard to imagine getting
that upset about whatever was there before.
Off and away, between yet more high hedgerows,
dodging briefly across the A489 at Talerddig, then
scooting along an unclassified road, complete with
inquisitive cows, to hook up with the A458 – then onto
the B4395 after a coffee stop at the Cwpan Pinc café on
the A458. There are bikers all over, stopping for a chat
and a brew. I idly wonder if anyone makes a mapping
app that only has B-roads on it; I’d pay money to use
that, and stay off the As.
We’re approaching Lake Vyrnwy now – bit of a
diversion to stay on the B-roads (to the village of
Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa, no, seriously), then ride up
the tight path to the dam wall. We’re looping around
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 7