‘I was going to need that extra toast’: Tackling every major pass in the Brecon Beacons

As we scanned the extensive breakfast menu at Abergavenny’s Angel Hotel, the day’s first challenge was deciding how much to eat. A big day demands someone to moan to, so I’d roped in Chris Moores, a long-time ride buddy who, 10 years my junior and 10kg lighter, always keeps me on my toes. It was early June, and he was quick to get his excuses in about being woefully short on miles, but I assured him muscle memory would see him through. We’d hit the Tumble within a couple of kilometres, meaning a full English – or should that be a full Welsh? – would be too much ballast to drag up a 16% slope on cold legs. Instead, I opted for two eggs, a sausage, beans, and toast. Then more toast. Every carb would count over the nine hours of riding ahead.

The Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,347sqkm (520sqmi), and three years ago its Welsh name Bannau Brycheiniog was officially reclaimed – Bannau meaning ‘peaks’, and Brycheiniog referencing the early medieval kingdom that covered the area. I’d ridden here many times, but never attempted a ride like this: covering the entire National Park from east to west and back again, ticking off all seven major passes – my definition of ‘major’ being those that have featured in races for generations. Plotting the route was great fun, right up until I clocked the final stats: 250km with 4,000m of elevation. I was going to need that extra toast.