“SEND IT!” someone shouted from below, meaning the coast was clear for me to bomb down on the side of the hill, which ended in a massive puddle you could splash through. I let go of the brakes and started rolling down faster and faster until I hit the water, creating enormous waves on both sides of my third bike of the day. Who would’ve thought bikepacking in Wales was so much fun?
Clearly, a lot of people. Bikepacking, an activity that involves you travelling around on a gravel bike, exploring the Great Outdoors, has gradually risen in popularity in recent years. I’m not an experienced bikepacker, so when I was invited to Wales to celebrate the launch of the new Fjallraven/ Specialized SS23 bikepacking collection, I jumped at the opportunity. Organised by Fjallraven and the wonderful folks over at Pannier.cc, the two-day adventure involved a trip around the magical Cambrian Mountains on two wheels, sleeping in tents halfway through.
I was part of a 10-people strong crew, which, needless to say, included people more experienced in bikepacking. We were lucky enough to cycle there in 25+ degree warmth and with the sun shining all the way through, which made it feel like we were in Italy, not in rainy Wales.
After a lovely evening drinking Aperol Spritz out of enamel mugs and picking out gear from the new Fjallraven/Specialized collection, we had a sleep in our sweltering Dolgoch Hostel rooms.
This story is from the August 2023 edition of T3 UK.
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This story is from the August 2023 edition of T3 UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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