West London to West Wales - A40 option on the SV

Hi All

I'm doing the trip tomorrow from Middlesex to the west coast of Wales as per the thread title.

Debating whether to be boring and take the M4 route due to the weather forecast not being great, or the scenic route, going all the way along the A40.
The A40 route obviously has the added bonus of the Brecon Beacons, but don't know if that would be wise if the weathers not going to get above 6 deg or so.

I'll be wearing waterproof textiles and have heated grips as I'm an all year rider.
I'm assuming someone on here may have done the route.
Thoughts & Advice greatly appreciated.

I realise I've left it a bit late in the day for asking for opinions

Thanks

I'm not a local but Maltese, however I have actually rode this road although W. Wales to W. London instead of vice versa way back in 2005. It was in July so not much help to you I guess but as you yourself said, you're an all weather rider so I don't think it should be any different to you from going anywhere else. Go and enjoy yourself. I think you should be ok!

Depends whats waiting for you in Wales?
If its a decent bit of skirt, hit the Motorway, and get stuck in.
If its work and aggro have some fun and take the back roads. HTH.

[Sir Trev]

I've done the route in that direction on an SV as far as Brecon (then turned north towards Welshpool). MUCH nicer than the motorway but you will get irritated around Cheltenham where the signs are not great. If I'm heading to Father-in-Law's again and have half a day I'd do it again in a shot.

[chris8886]

Originally Posted by The Idle Biker

Depends whats waiting for you in Wales?
If its a decent bit of skirt, hit the Motorway, and get stuck in.
If its work and aggro have some fun and take the back roads. HTH.

this is good advice!

if i were you in this weather, i'd probably take the m4 as far as wales itself and then jump onto the smaller roads from there.

I have done it both ways, Ickenham to Aberaeron to Ickenham, did A40 all the way except around Cheltenham/Gloucester, I cut a bit out by using the A417 and A436 to cut out Cheltenham.

What I would say, considering the way you're going, use the M40 to junction 8 and then use the A40 from there on out. The first part of the A40 nearer London is not much better than a back road, so, save yourself some hassle and time, get to jct 8 and then enjoy the ride.

Not a bad road and has some lovely views of Western England and Wales as you get towards Gloucester and beyond.

Need any more help dude feel free to PM me

Thanks guys for your input.

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, no Internet and very poor 3G at my mums (no skirt waiting !)
I'm afraid I chickened out of the scenic adventure and went the boring M4 route when I saw it was pretty cold first thing on Tuesday.
It was a 242 mile trip across there, so by far my longest run in a day in my 9 months of SV ownership.
On previous runs of decent mileage I did suffer wrist ache and the usual lower back/a**e/leg pain, so I invested in a cramp buster off amazon to see if it helped - it really does work, no wrist ache, best £9.99 I've ever spent
Just remember to rotate it so the tab is at the 6 o'clock position for roundabouts etc !
I wore some padded cycling shorts under the layers so managed a couple of 90 mile runs before I couldn't take the pain any longer, and needed the solace of coffee & sofa !
Returned yesterday in constant rain, cold & strong wind so once again I chickened out and took the M4, the rain stopped once I crossed the bridge, still cold & windy though.

I hope to do the journey again in the near future hopefully in something resembling a summer. I will definitely take the scenic route next time.

Thanks again all.