I rode an old favourite route today around the Elan Valley Trail near Rhayader, Wales.
Not a fast route but the views are awesome, although the dams are looking worryingly low! 
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That looks lovely @geoffb, I have heard itās well worth it; will give it a go this summer hopefully!!
ETA just looked at a map; less than 80 miles for me door - to - door. Very nice!
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I think I may still have to add a yellow Daytona to my garage. Every time I see one Iām reminded of how lovely they look.
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I always think that theyāre lovely looking bikes when I see one too. In fact lots of bikes look brilliant in yellow, whereas it takes a special car to carry the colour off!!
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@geoffb in fact can I ask a silly question? I am assuming that this is OK for my novice skill level? Nothing horribly technical? I would say I am a competent novice and am fine up around Crossgates etc and used to twisty rural roads but still only have a few thousand miles on a ābig bikeā.
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Beautiful looking bike and that ride is stunning. 
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@MrsVisor I think you would be fine because the pace is slow and visibility is good (on a nice day). I suppose the considerations for a novice rider would be the narrow road when passing and lots of cyclists. You might want to avoid this downhill hair pin bend though! 
Thank you, donāt want to write cheques that my skill level canāt cash!!!
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Get up the top of the valley and the roads are pretty narrow and surfaces arenāt the best but donāt let that put you off, its a great day out.
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I stayed in that valley a couple of months ago. I didnāt notice it being especially tricky because the road is quite wide and you can clearly see the road is clear before you start. Also, on the hairpin itself you can stop, park-up and have a sit on the bench.
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Thanks @BrownMouse for the photos; that looks like something Iād be comfortable doing 
. @HelmutVisor says I always make myself sound far less competent than I actually am, but obviously donāt want to get myself into a world of hurt being too cocky either 
.
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You didnāt go right through and out the western side then, beyond the lakes the road is single track, uneven and loose surface.
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Iāll give that a try next time but perhaps on a lighter bike
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I didnāt notice that road being especially bad when I was there a couple of months ago, perhaps Iām just used to those sort of roads. Or it could be that Iām happy to to pootle along at at 30mph and enjoy the moment.
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We went though in march and then from the teifi pools direction two weeks ago and it was just the same.
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I go in thevweek when itās quiet. Itās a bit narrow and lumpy in places but take your time and youāll be fine. As @geoffb says the trickiest bit is that hairpin and T junction after it if you go via the dams first. If youād rather go downhill than up turn right before the dams not long out of Rhyader where the sign says mountain road which will bring you out at the T juction where yiu then turn left and ride down that hairpin then down stream to the dams from there. A ride across the top of Craig gough dam to the other side is worth a photo
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Re yellow bikes, Iām a big fan of yellow bikes myself and my drool over bike would be a bright yellow VTR Firestorm. If only I had the room.
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