UK motorcycle routes: Chepstow to Usk, Wales
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- Great Western Roads: 1. B4235 - The Road to Usk.
First of a planned series, reviewing some of my personal favourite motorcycling roads and routes in South Wales and south-west England.
Just across the original Severn bridge, this corner of Wales offers some outstanding biking routes. First up we follow the B4235, which is a great ride and a very popular road with bikers. Running for approximately 12 miles between Chepstow and Usk in Monmouthshire it combines fantastic scenery with many challenging bends.
Shot with a GoPro Hero 5 Session (quality has been mangled by UA-cam compression - actual video quality is way better than what you see here). If you're curious, my bike is a Honda CBR600F.
[Addendum 2020: Crossing either of the Severn Bridges is now toll-free.] Music:
Adventures by A Himitsu / a-himitsu
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
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Music released by Argofox • A Himitsu - Adventures...
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Before anybody else complains about the music please consider these things:
1. I shot these using a single GoPro mounted on my helmet. All this records is wind noise, which is very unpleasant to listen to. To record engine and other ambient sounds would require multiple microphones which I don't have. The voiceover was added later. Without the music to hold it together there'd just be dead silence - or shrieking wind blast - which would be quite odd.
2. I know the music isn't great, but cheesy library music is all it seems you can get away with. If I used better music I'd just get a copyright strike against the video and the audio would be muted anyway (I've tried).
So, sorry if it offends you, but please don't feel that I need to be told (again) how much the music annoys you.
I used to live in Bristol and the old Usk Road was the route we always took when going to Wales. It's a real learning curve, but we did it so often that we knew every bend blindfold. There is another route from Usk up to Abergavenny that we always rode. From there the Brecons and Llandovery await. I live just south of the Brecons now, and just hop on the bike and explore all of those roads that never get a mention.
I ride this route quite often, it's a nice road. Those couple of hairpins you spoke about are not my favourites, though, but the rest of the road is ok, bar for some surface imperfections in places.
This and the next left after Budgeons are both excellent roads. The former being my commute to work, the latter creating a great circuit if followed from Chepstow to Monmouth and back around to Usk via Raglan. Stunning scenery surrounds both the Wye and Usk Valleys and the outlying areas.
Chepstow is my home town and I take this ride on a regular basis. Not only is God a motorcyclist, but he's Welsh too. Budgens is now a Spar for those needing to know.
Look out for the road sign posted for Tintern along this road. This is even better.
Done this road many times om my super Tenere, amazing twisty road to ride, just subscibed
Another road you’ll want to try, if you haven’t already is close to this Usk road. Instead of turning left where you did for the Usk road,carry on 150yds or so to the small roundabout. Take the first left and this will put you on what we used to call the “top road” to Monmouth. B4293. This is a fantastic road too.
One of my favourite roads, well worth going through Usk and on towards Abergavenny but stop at the Steel Horse cafe.. nicest bike cafe I’ve ever been too..
Good loop from Monmouth A466 back to Chepstow
I've walked that road at least once in the early hours of the morning ;)
Done most roads round there but not that one. Thanks for pointing it out.
Great vid, fantastic road.
Thanks. Fond memories.
Agreed, there are some cracking roads in Wales, hopefully the lockdown will be lifted soon so we can enjoy this part of the world
Nice video even your ramblings, great road, music not so good. Would much prefer the sound of your bike. But I guess this will never happen as you haven't posted a video in 2 years now. Hope you are still with us.
I’ve just responded to another comment complaining about the music. I know it’s crappy library music but use anything else better and video gets copyright strikes. It’s on there mostly because my GoPro just records wind noise, not the sound of the engine. Trust me, wind noise isn’t pleasant to listen either. I’ve had so much sh*t from people about it. One of the reasons I haven’t bothered making any more.
Am definitely doing this route,as it is on more doorstep. Have you anymore round here? (Bristol)
Whilst there are nice roads in the Bristol locality, there's often far too much traffic to really enjoy them. Cross the bridge into south Wales and it's so much quieter. And there are so many good roads to discover in Wales. Check out the Wye valley route in my second video, esp the last section beyond Monmouth. Eventually I might get around to doing some more vids in this series. Thanks for the feedback. Ride safe.
Just a few hundred yards further past the turn by the coop is a roundabout with B4293 which is nice with great views into Monmouth.
hi, great vid.where is you cam mounted cheers
Chin mount. I'm using the Proshot mounting system. Doesn't really work on a regular helmet as the chin section is too flat, but I happened to have a MX-style helmet that adapts for street use. Proshot system is really designed for the more acutely angled chin section of MX helmets. More info about Proshot here ua-cam.com/video/7ww0i6GAFrE/v-deo.html
The only problem with riding in Wales is this: imagine a line running from Bristol to Hull. West of this line the weather is much, much wetter and windier. Cool vid without the bloody rock concert soundtrack thank ** **
Not sure about the arbitrary line. Inclement, unpredictable weather is just a feature of Britain's geography and position in North Atlantic surely. Which is to say it can be reliably crap almost everywhere on our island.
@@Titaniumparts you google avg rainfall in Wales then East Anglia. It's a big difference. An extra 50%. Same in
Scotland, Aberdeen only gets 2/3 as much rain as Stornoway. London is in fact drier than Rome.
Just avoid Wales from now on!