Rare bit of Wales with Nick Sanders

Wales offers some fantastic riding even if you just turn up and tell the sat-nav to show you the way, but for a properly unforgettable experience local knowledge is key. We sampled the hidden backroads with the record-breaking round the-world rider and a local expert Nick Sanders

-  Mikko Nieminen

Wales doesn't always get the credit it deserves as a biking destination. Many of us bikers regularly head up to the Lakes or Scotland in search of biking Nirvana, but there are plenty of good roads and natural beauty to be found in Wales. The National Parks of Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons are the best-known areas to visit, but scratch a bit deeper beneath the surface and you'll find miles of roads and tracks just waiting to be discovered.

The best way to get to know the ideal places to ride is to follow someone who knows their way around the area. This time it just so happened that this person was the record-smashing round-the-world rider Nick Sanders, who runs his Expedition Centre on the outskirts of Snowdonia National Park. The centre is a place for bikers to meet fellow adventurers and plan their next trip. Nick offers food and accommodation, and as you might expect from a man who has ridden around the world seven times and up and down the Americas eight times, it's not your average Premier Inn that you find nestled in the hillside.

Nick has had his hand in organising motorcycle tours for years, and in addition to travelling around the world, he knows the Welsh countryside like the back of his hand. Who better to follow on the roads then?

Riding with Nick