So long awaited trip – Trans Euro Trail – Wales – United Kingdom – South to North!

Yeah, this time following the normal TET flow and not like in 2020 that I did with my old trusty Yamaha XT660Z Tenere! You can read about 2020 TET HERE, or about my Bombproof Yamaha HERE, or AJP Pr7 that i used for this trip HERE.

The Gear Test Trip! – Trans Euro Trail – Wales – Pre Trip!

This trip started for us a few weeks before – with a “gear test” trip to North Wales! Camping gear test being the most important part of it and a few green lanes to test the strength of the luggage. We went past Ceiriog trail, a place called White Stones and one forest trail nearby, before going back on the newer version of Trans Euro Trail. Unfortunately those lanes are now excluded from the new TET, but I believe there is a good reason for that..

Anyway, this gear test trip didn’t end very well for us, as on the way Andrew’s Yamaha’s rear wheel bearings collapsed and we had to wait 4 hours on the side of the road for a recovery truck.. And another hour or so for the garage to sort them out before we hit the TET again. 

All in all, it was a great one and a half day ride. We tested our gear as we planned to, Andrew had a chance to test Welsh trials roughness,experiment a bit with navigation apps and put recovery service usefulness to the test!

Just to be clear, the recovery driver’s service was great, no complaints about that, but we learned that reading the small print when signing up for one of those recovery services is a must!  

Here is a video from this part of the trip:

Let’s get to the meeting point! Day 1 – Trans Euro Trail – Wales!

For the first day, the plan was easy,  for me at least – Finish work ASAP, get on my AJP PR7, ride it from Cambridgeshire to South Wales – Blackwood, where I had to meet my mate Andy. While guys were sweating while tackling some really hard trails, I was struggling to get to the meeting point because of AJP’s poor performance. 

Just 10 miles from the meeting point my AJP started sputtering and stalling. Had no wish to run on idle whatsoever. Obviously I wrote it off on dodgy fuel, as the last petrol station didn’t look very posh, so as soon as AJP started I kept revs higher and just about made it to the meeting point.  

There, I found out that Andy had his own little adventure on the way too. Andy’s phone charger stopped charging! After a quick look we figured that one of the wires broke off inside of the charger, so we tried to bodge it up, but there was also something else wrong with it too, so we left it as is as we had to go and meet the rest of the group!

After the refueling I was hoping that the bike would run better, however  while heading towards another meeting spot – one of the farms that Trans Euro Trail goes right thru, i had a really hard time keeping AJP from stalling, and that nearly ended my trip as by the end of the day i truly had enough of it!

Anyway we were very lucky to stay in that farm as the rest of the riders managed to agree with the farmer to let us all spend a night there! They even cut the grass for us to pitch our tents!

Went to sleep early with the same worry -”will it run?”.

Lets Stall One More Time! Day 2 – Trans Euro Trail – Wales!

Just to be clear, on the first day me and Andrew didn’t manage to do any trails, so the second day is the actual first day on the Trans Euro Trail for us!

In the morning we had a fairly late start, only at 9 oclock everyone started to move. Me, not wanting to disturb the peace, didn’t check the bike until the last half an hour.

Started the bike, and still the same problem persisted. Not wanting to run on idle, it would really make my day (if not all trip) miserable! So after checking a few things, and adjusting the idle screw on my AJP PR7 to keep it running at around 3000 RPM I just about managed to get along with it.

While checking bits on the PR7 I didn’t want  to keep everyone waiting for me for obvious reasons, and by the time I was done with AJP, everyone was long gone apart from Andrew. From there it was a bit of a chase trying to catch up with the rest of the group. 

Eventually we gave up trying to catch up, and two of us decided to go ahead and sort problems on our bikes – high idle turned out to be a bad idea on my AJP – running it at 3k rpm was a bit of a nuisance, and phone charger on Andrews Yamaha XT660Z! 

First call for us was the nearest Halfords shop, which was some 11miles away in Aberdare. While sorting out bikes we treated ourselves with nice hot pizza from Dominos that was conveniently located right next to!

Once we were happy with our repairs and full tummies, we rejoined the trails at the nearest spot. Skipping a few short lanes for the sake of time lost on repairs and eventually two of us navigating ment we could make good progress! What we learned later was that things didn’t go very smoothly for the group either – problems of their own, punctures etc…and It didn’t take very long for us to catch up with the rest of the group! 

However, since they were having their lunch when we met them again, we decided to keep going on our own-  nothing personal, simply the group was too big for our liking!

At some point we stopped to do some trail side repairs as Andrew clipped the rock with his brake pedal, and the aluminium tip of it snapped off. Luckily he had some bolts packed, so we simply replaced the tip of the pedal with a bolt, and as soon as we finished, the rest of the group managed to catch up with us too! 

Few green lanes later, the group started looking for the campsite already. Me and Andrew thought it was a bit too early for that, so once again we went our separate ways!

We made good progress in the next few hours and only next morning (because of no reception) we figured that the rest of the group bumped into a few more problems – snapped clutch cable on one of the bikes. In either case we had nothing to help the rider with that problem, but in the future i think i should include a cable repair kit for problems like that!

We set up our camp very late in the evening – 2 trail riding hours ahead of the rest of the group, with the idea to strip my bike again to make some changes before the rest of the group will catch up with us!

Here is a video from this day:

Tricky Trails and Burned Clutches! Day3 – Trans Euro Trail –  Wales!

    Started our day fairly early, and before leaving I managed to get my bike completely sorted like we planned too.

    Left the camping spot early with the idea to get to the nearest town on the Trans Euro Trail to get some good hot breakfast. However a few lanes later, and one particularly big bike unfriendly lane – part muddy and part slippery big rocks on the fairly steep incline – Andrew’s clutch started slipping.

After a quick look and some adjustments, we decided that Andrew would limp to the nearest workshop – Overland Motorcycle Preparation Workshop in Brecon that was just 4 miles away, and me to the nearest motorcycle parts shop in Swansea – M&P Parts shop, that was some 33 miles away as well as Euro Carparts Shop for some silicone sealant!.

After a couple of hours and a few stunning miles to and back to get some spares, I found Andrew sitting with Gary from Overland Motorcycle Preparation Workshop (Visit tyclyd.com to read some interesting travel stories!) , but no Andrews XT! Andrew burned out his clutch completely trying to get to the workshop, and had to abandon it on the side of the road. 

One rider on the way stopped to give Andrew a hand towing it, but that didn’t end very well either so after a few miles of pushing the bike, he ditched the idea as it was way way too hot for that and got in contact with Gary, who went out of his way to pick up Andrew and take him to his workshop where we agreed to meet.

Back to the abandoned XT where it took us a good few hours of cleaning Yamaha’s internals and swapping clutch friction plates! While Andrew gave his XT a good clean with cotton buds I tried to oil the clutch plates with the oil from XT oil dipstick – slow process that was. 

When we finally managed to get back on the road, obviously Andrew’s mood was way down by that time, and he was ready to quit as there was no trust in his old trusty XT660Z Tenere. But after a good chat we agreed that we will give it a go, and see how he feels before ending the trip.

First trail we bumped into was fairly easy, but a second one just next to Trecastle seemed a bit steep, so not to put the strain on Andrew and his new clutch plates, we agreed that we will skip it. And that was a good thing, as the next few lanes were fairly easy and they definitely lifted the mood up for both of us, and we felt like we could keep going instead of turning back!

The rest of the day was very easy flowing, with some really stunning views on the way but mostly tarmac… Managed to get to Strata Florida and by the end of the day to finish it too, however I didn’t get any videos of us there as right after the gate camera overheated and stopped filming – no footage just sound!

Camped again, not too far from the trail, setting up tents late and out of sight, leaving nothing behind, bothering no one!

Here is a video from this day:

Adventure Bike Riders Paradise! Day 4 – Trans Euro Trail –  Wales!

Fourth day was a bit of a race again! We were not sure if the rest of the group was ahead of us, or behind us and because of the lack of the phone reception there was very difficult to contact them too – it’s either us out of range or them. 

We kept pushing forward, taking a short detour for fuel that was provided on the Trans Euro Trail route and a stop at the local shop for supplies and full English breakfast at a local restaurant in town called Llanidloes. 

All the trails around the Nant-y-Moch Reservoir (52°27’52.2″N 3°50’10.3″W) were just stunning. After 2020 TET I started calling that area “Adventure Riders Paradise” as trails were super nice around the area. Super remote with stunning views and only a few bits that were a bit more difficult – but not too much to turn around the average Adventure Bike Rider.

And that was the same spot where we bumped into the rest of the group once again!  Somewhere halfway through the trails (N52° 25.364′ W3° 54.675′), we had to turn right. I stopped 30 or so meters away from the gate just before the next turn to make sure Andrew was still behind me, when I saw one rider next to the gate, to open it to let us in! I thought “that’s not where we are going!” and waved to the direction we were planning to go, and just a moment later realised that it’s the same bunch! Silly me.. 

Rolled towards them to say “hello’s” and after quick chat, i misunderstood them thinking that they just arrived to the area and had to complete the first loop before they will be in the same position like me and Andrew. We agreed with Andrew that we will keep going steady to let the group catch up with us so we could rejoin them once again. But it wasn’t long when the rest were right next to us, and because the group was a bit smaller than when we started, we were more than OK to tag along. That made us 7 in total – still big, but acceptable…

The rest of the trails that day were ok, some with nice views again, nothing too difficult i would say. As a group, with few of us leading and sharing “the gates duty”, we made good progress too! Stopped for the night in one of the campsites near Machynlleth, with the idea to start the next day with the same very famous Horse shoe lane – A.K.A  Bastard Lane.

Unfortunately at the end of the day, Andrew felt like a complete broken man, and didnt feel like pushing himself any further. Andrew mentioned a bunch of very good reasons why I don’t blame him for making this decision, we all have limits so we said our Goodbyes, and we went separate ways!

    Here is a video from this day:

The Most Challenging Day Of Them All – Day 5 – Trans Euro Trail –  Wales!

This day was truly magical and hard as hell. And we were lucky to have 5 most famous trails / spots in the same day too: Bastard lane, Happy Valley, Bomber Lane, Barmouth railway Bridge and one with no name but on TrailWise2 forum lads call it “Heart Attack Hill” – trail that goes around Barmouth (52°44’30.3″N 4°03’34.8″W). 

The Bastard Lane

First trail of the day: Bastard lane, formally known as Horseshoe lane. To my surprise on the way to the first famous spot one of the riders hit the side of the rut and sent his bike flying in the field! For a moment I thought that it would not end very well, however Bart managed to stay upright only laying his bike down at the end, just a few inches from the sunken stream! Luckily the bike didn’t fall in and we managed to turn the bike around and leave the field with no signs of the incident!

Most famous spot of the bastard lane was probably the easiest bit of it too. Most of us managed to clear it with no troubles. Few riders started doubting the line they picked and as usual that led to mistakes and a second try! 

Second bit that I mistakenly thought was the “two steps” looked a bit smaller than i remember, and after clearing that bit i said to everyone “that’s about the end of it, and no more hard bits”, and oh boy i was wrong!

The “two steps” part of the Bastard lane was one of those parts that took the most energy out of all of us. Rider Arkaduisz (aka Azi) went up first, slipped on slippery rocks and managed to twist his ankle. The rest of us followed with no luck – everyone struggled. I was so determined to make it to the top that I forgot to fold my side stand and fell off midway – not like it made a difference, but…!

Bastard lane did not end there! For some reason I can’t remember any of that from the 2020 Trans Euro Trail trip, but there were a few more tricky bits that caused us problems. Steep rocky climb, boulders, deep ruts! Lack of energy did not help either. Husqvarna 701 rider named Wes, managed to tip his bike almost upside down into one of the ruts. 

Parked my bike so I could help him – just to tip my AJP PR7 right in front of him! Came up with a silly excuse for that too – ” wanted to see how it feels to fall into one of those ruts”! we had a laugh but it really sucked.. It looked bad too, but luckily we didn’t break anything!

After reaching the end of the lane we all stopped to recoup and lick our battle wounds, as we all had them! And unfortunately for Azi, pain didn’t go away, but only increased despite a few painkillers. 

Here is a full video of the Bastard lane!

Once again –  (not so) Happy Valley!

Second trail was the famous Happy Valley! Nothing like bastard lane but still difficult in some places! Few falls here and there. The one that everyone will remember (hopefully with a laugh) will be when Lukas, on a blue Yamaha XT660Z, went down in one of those bomb holes, just to tip his bike on the side, sending him sideways right into the mud! Poor lad was covered from neck to toes in mud, lucky just one side! 

Obviously we had no wish to go into that deep mud, so Filip (KTM 950 adventure S rider, who did really well on his bike despite all the heavy luggage!) employed his ropes to pull Lucas out of the bombhole! 

Bomber Lane

Bomber lane was easiest out of them all but still managed to fall on my side with a fashion! Not sure how, I think it has something to do with the difficult part that we had before that (very common for me to relax too much after the hard bit). Part where I came off was not difficult at all but still managed to hit the rock that sent me and bike up, realised that i can’t steer it in the air i  hit the bank on the left side (after this i was no longer in control) bounced back to the right side and me landing in between on my elbow and hip – leaving myself a bruised blue hip, swollen arm and crack rib (last one i didn’t realize till i came back home few days later). After an off it took me a minute or two to get my breath back, before jumping back on the bike! 

What I like the most about the Bomber lane, that it offers a stunning view of the Barmouth Bridge – Probably the best part of it!

Barmouth Bridge

Barmouth Bridge is one of those places that are not very common to see people riding them, according to some sources it counts as a private tall, and if you can fit it, you can ride it. Locals know that, locals ride them too, unfortunately those who don’t know – complain. And it was very clear by the people’s faces on the bridge that they are not happy about us being on the bridge- some even pulled their phones out to film our number plates. But I’m sure they will be surprised once they realise that we were allowed to cross it, and we did it with care too! 

Barmouth stop

Barmouth stop! At this point everyone wanted to stop to get some hot food, as well as get some rest, it also was raining for some time too.. 

After a good load of food we said goodbyes to Arkadiusz as unfortunately he could not keep going with his bad ankle… Someone later told me that on the way home he ran out of fuel and had to limp with his bad ankle to a farmer nearby to ask for fuel! Like he didn’t have enough adventures for one day!

The rest of us went into the unknown – as this trail around the Barmouth was new to all of us, and I had no idea what to expect. 

Heart Attack Hill 

Heart Attack Hill (Not official name, but could be!) All I knew was that last time we tried to get up that hill on the other side, we changed our minds as it was near impossible because of how slippery it was! Conditions were similar to last time – wet, very wet.. 

But boy it was worth it! Even though on the way I managed to fall a good few times and hill claiming both my levers- the view from up top was indescribable! All the coastline was visible from up there! It must be one of the best views I have ever seen in a while (and yes though it was still raining)! 

Tricky trail that was too, not sure because of that or because of views, but on TrailWise2 forum some lads called it “Heart attack hill”. It really gave us a hard time! Even downhill wasn’t easy- single track in the end, with as big as football rocks scattered all over it! And the last bit nicely placed flat slippery rocks to skid on! Like Wes (Husqvarna 701 rider) said: “No matter what you do or what you touch, rear wheel is all over the place!”

This “heart attack hill” truly beat us up, and claimed the last few drops of energy we had, leaving us with only one wish- to find where to spend a night, and get a good night’s rest! 

And that’s what we did!

Because it was raining, and video quality was poor, I simply made a timelapse video of this lane, Enjoy!

Here is a video for a whole day – probably the best video out of them all!

Easy Bimble! Day 6 – Trans Euro Trail –  Wales!

This day was the very last day of our trip, as we knew that it’s just a linking part between Wales and the Peak District. Nothing much on the way, mostly tarmac too. Shame for Gary and Shawn who joined us for the day, as they missed out on most of the fun, joining for the boring stuff!

We bumped into a few trickier lanes on the way, but after Bastard lane and Happy valley i don’t think any of us actually looked at it as a “difficult” lane anymore! We just kept going all day, tacking lane after lane, mile after mile with few occasional stops for snacks and pictures!

 At around 6 in the evening we stopped on one of the last trails some 40 miles short from the end of the Trans Euro Trail Welsh route, and decided to call it the end of the trip. Some were planning to book a campsite for the night, I decided to head home. 

We said our goodbyes and we went separate ways, however I didn’t actually leave the trail till a bit later! I thought since I’m here, I might as well keep riding on the trail for a bit longer! And after a few more trails and one super muddy hill climb – one where I thought I’ll have to stay for the night on – finished right next to the post that marks two borders – right in the middle of the bridge! 

It took me 2 and a half hours to finish off the last 40 miles, and another 4 hours of motorway to get back home before I could lay down in my comfy bed again! 

Video for the last day:

Thank you for reading!