Doethie Valley - 20th June, 2012

The Doethie Valley

The Doethie Valley has been held in high regard by mountain bikers for many years, and for good reason. For those who are not afraid to venture out from the trail centres Wales has become famous for, the route has all the makings of a classic all mountain ride: big hills, a remote setting, stunning scenery, and of course the 5 or so miles of continuous singletrack that carves down through the Doethie Valley itself.

I last rode the Doethie 10 years ago, during a glorious period of sunshine. I have fond memories of that ride, but in recent years I’d heard rumours that the trail had deteriorated due to it’s increasing popularity and overuse. Nearly every forum post I read recommended that it was best to wait for a long dry period before attempting it. Was this friendly advice, I wondered, or simply a way of deterring visitors and keeping secret one of the best trails in the country?

Living in Wales, the chances of a long dry period occurring is zero, so our hand was forced and after one of the wettest Junes on record we picked the driest looking day and decided to go for it.

The ride begins at Llyn Briane Dam near Rhandirmywn. The first several miles is on fireroad as you skirt around the reservoir gaining height. Not overly exciting, but a good warmup and there are some great views to take in.

Sometimes the trail surface was dry...

Eventually you exit the forest and after a brief descent find yourself at Soar-Y-Mynydd Chapel. On your left a rocky bridleway heads straight up and disappears over the horizon. The map said this is the way we were headed, so straight up we went.

We did our best to power up this section without any dabbing, and had a good go, but the traction on our tyres finally gave out due to the steepness and loose rocks. If you can make it to the top without stopping then kudos to you!

After a few lung-bursting false horizons the steep ascent finally levels off, but we were then confronted with our first water of the day…large murky pools of rainwater covered the width of the track, and it was impossible to see just how deep they were.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so straight through we went…and they were deep! At least now with soggy feet we wouldn’t fear getting any wetter as the ride progressed.

A fast, rocky descent then sees you losing the height you’ve just gained, but don’t go too fast or you’ll miss the wooden post on a sharp right-hand bend that signals the left turn onto the Doethie Valley. Now it was time for the legendary singletrack …

There was only one problem…Immediately the singletrack degenerated into a muddy swamp, and there appeared to be a herd of cows camping on the trail. After a mexican standoff and a few bovine taunts, they finally decided to get up and run off…But unfortunately for us, they decided they wanted to take the trail down the valley too. After a few minutes of  comedy cow chasing a gate finally appeared up ahead, and we were finally past them and through to the next section.

Singletrack Bliss

From here the trail consisted of (in no particular order): glorious ribbons of singletrack that weaved through the ferns, hard-packed gravel, stream crossings, hard mud, wet swampy mud, and grass.

It was mostly ridable, but inconsistent. One minute you were flowing along hard gravel, the next the trail dropped you without warning into a a patch of muddy swamp. It was difficult to tell the hard mud from the swampy stuff too, which made for some comical over-the-bars moments as our tyres got sucked into the sludge.

Despite the recent downpours, the trail flowed a lot better than I was expecting it to though. The setting and views also add to the experience and make the trail something special. The track itself is all singletrack, and rises and drops as it follows the river down an impressive steep-sided valley. There are also several sections that test your technical ability as you ride across streams and hop up and over rock slabs.

At one point towards the end a large ravine appears on the right hand side, combined with the off-camber surface of the trail care needs to be taken as a fall that way would need more than a few steri-strips! Thankfully a trip to A&E was not on the cards today.

And sometimes it wasn't!

After several miles of singletrack, you finally begin to pull away from the river, and the singletrack ends at Troed-rhiw-ruddwen farm. Don’t relax yet though as  you still need some gas in the tank for the long slog back up to the reservoir. Despite the whole ride being only 15 or so miles long, my legs were really feeling it at this point, and it took everything to keep my granny cog spinning up the rocky bridleway. After that it’s a fast blast back to the car park after rejoining the fireroad at the beginning.

So does the Doethie Valley live up to expectations? In my opinion, yes. There’s no doubt the constant torrential downpours and erosion haven’t been kind to the trail over the last decade. However, the singletrack is still immensely enjoyable and the feeling of being out in a remote location only adds to the enjoyment. Just remember to leave your CrudCatchers and mud tyres on, even if it’s the middle of summer. This is still Wales, after all.