Disclaimer: The photos are from my previous trips in this area. On this occasion I did not take any photos or videos due to the weather and general fatigue. So, the words are true but the pictures are not.
This ride was planned originally for the summer of 2022, however due to unforeseen circumstances it was postponed until 2023. It should have been on mid-summers day but for whatever reason this didn't happen. The plan was to ride 200 miles within 24 hours around North Wales. Starting on the evening to ride through the night so we could enjoy the sunrise as we cycled up Pen Y Pass.
The Planned Route
Starting just outside Nantwich in Cheshire the plan was to ride across to Llangollen and Bala, turning north just before Porthmadog making our way up to Beddgelert and onto Llanberis. This was just over 100 miles and the first leg.
Then after a brief stop, we would ride up Pen Y Pass onto Capel Curig where we would pick up our first gravel track heading down towards Bethesda. Then it would be over to the coast all the way to Prestatyn and back down to Chester before picking up the canal back to Nantwich. This would have been the second leg and a total of 201 miles.
Photo: Planned route
Saturday 23rd August at 18:30
We set off and the weather was about 16 degrees and dry. The weather forecast was for some rain from midnight for a couple of hours and the wind for the first 100 miles was going to be a head wind but was only predicted to be about 10mph.
The goal was to keep a steady pace with an average speed of 10mph stopping every 10 miles or every hour which ever came first for a quick refuel. The route was mostly on back lanes to avoid the traffic. We knew finding places for a hot drink was going to be a challenge so our first and only coffee was 26 miles in at a Shell garage with a Greggs. After our coffee and Steak bakes it was back on the bikes and was now time to put the lights on. It was about 21:00 and the sunrise was at 06:00. So we had 9 hours of riding through the night.
I decided not to take any photos of darkness, a decision I later regretted due to the weather and fatigue. I won't bore you with the details, but we simply plodded along riding across the width of Wales without actually seeing any of Wales apart from the next 50 yards ahead on the road.
Staying on back roads to avoid traffic was a good idea, however if we had used the A5 our progress would have been faster. After all it was the middle of the night, and every sensible person was in bed. If I ever try this again, I would jump on the A5 at Llangollen and....... hold on I will never do this again.
A couple of standout hills on this first section were from Bala to Llyn Celyn and from Beddgelert. Both are not steep, but they seem to go on for ever especially the one from Beddgelert maybe miss them out next time. in fact, next time just use a car.
The predicted rain at midnight started at 04:30 and it absolutely poured and just didn't stop. We rolled into Llanberis cold, very wet and needing a rest.
Sunday at 05:30
Reaching Llanberis it was still dark, but the feeling was awesome. This was our halfway point. 102 miles in the bag and somewhere we could get off the bikes for longer than 10 minutes.
One of our cycling club members had moved to Llanberis late last year and we had kept in touch so when I said we were doing the ride she offered us breakfast and a place to rest. Gerry cooked a lovely bacon and sausage roll with a lovely freshly ground coffee or two. We sat and chatted for a while then at about 07:30 we continued on our way with Gerry joining us.
Photo: Gerry, Gus and Rod on the Trans Cambrian Way 2021
Heading out of Llanberis the three of us headed up Pen Y Pass. The rain had given way to a deep mist and very light rain. So even now in the most beautiful part of Wales (in my opinion) we still couldn't see anything. Heading down towards Capel Curig we dropped out of the mist then picked up the first gravel track of the day. This runs from the car park at Capel Curig alongside the A5 and pops out at the first campsite just before Llyn Ogwen onto the A5. After a little section on the busy A5 we had a coffee at the National Trust - Carneddau and Glyderau Cafe before picking up the lovely back lane that runs out the far side of the car park. This drops down the valley on the other side to the A5 and to a gate where we picked up a solid gravel trail through the old slate quarries.
Photo: Me on a ride from Staffordshire to the top of Snowdon before gravel bikes were a thing
We overshot things a bit following the Lon Las Ogwen cycle route and had to back track before we dropped down the hill to Bangor. We got back on track and called into the services where the A5 meets the A55. This is where Gerry said her farewells before heading back to Llanberis.
Just want to thank Gerry for her hospitality and upon reflection we would have been struggling sooner if it wasn't for the much-needed rest, food and coffee. Thank you for prolonging our agony (lol).
From here the route was fairly flat as it runs along the coast on the cycle way all the way to Prestatyn.
I think both of us were feeling the effects of about 15 hours in the saddle. I don't think cycling padded shorts are made for this length of time. Also taking into account we had been awake since Saturday morning, it was now Sunday morning around 09:30 obviously fatigue was starting to creep up on us.
Sunday at 13:00
Reaching Conwy we stopped for a rest and worked out the maths to see how we were progressing. At this point we had been riding including stops 18 hours and 30 minutes with an average speed of 10 mph. We should have been on track. We did stop in Llanberis longer than planned our stops were becoming more frequent.
Photo: Gus, Rod and me in Conwy (July 2023) at the start of the Sarn Helen
We had about 60 miles left to do which would be 6 hours cycling without stops. That puts us back at the car for 19:00. Adding in the stops we were realistically looking at a finish time of 20:30 and more like 21:30. The question was had we got another 6 hours of cycling in us, and did we want to turn this into a suffer fest and remove all the fun we had had to this point? The answer was no. The whole point of the riding for both me and Gus is to enjoy the route and have some fun in the process. The stats are great but not what it is about.
We jumped on a train at Llandudno Junction and covered the next 40 miles courtesy of Avanti. This rolled into Chester 50 minutes later arriving at about 14:30. For the whole of the train journey we stood up with the bikes. There were plenty of seats available, and it was not discussed about sitting down, but I think we both knew if we did sit down, we would have been asleep instantly and probably ended up in Crewe or somewhere else in the country.
Sunday at 14:30
Leaving Chester train station, we picked up the canal for the final 20 miles of the trip. However, after 3 miles of tarmacked towpath it gave way to the usual mud path which was rutted and very slow going. I could feel every joint and muscle groaning with every bump so I suggested we get onto the road to reduce the agony. This added a couple of miles back to the car but was worth it for the smooth tarmac surface.
16:30
Seeing the car was such a welcome sight. We had failed our total ride by 40 miles, but we had succeeded in having a memorable ride around North Wales. We have no photos or videos to look back on. The only proof is on my Strava profile. But now the dust has settled I am more than happy with this ride.
In Summary
The company was great, thank you Gus & Gerry. The route could be tweaked to speed up the first 100 miles. My bike choice was poor. Riding my gravel bike with 47mm knobbly tyres on was not the best choice. Starting at night to get it out of the way was also a bad idea. But it was what it was, and we got round it mostly on the bikes. It is my longest ride to date on mixed terrain surfaces.
165 miles
9347 feet of climbing
15 hours and 2 minutes riding time
22 hours total time
The decision to end the ride when we did was sensible and the right choice (thank you Gus). Added to the stats above is the fact we had been awake for about 35 hours. All we had suffered was one puncture. Who knows if we had carried on it would have been another 6, but more like 8 hours at best. But with fatigue etc we could have taken the wrong turn, had a major mechanical or more likely have fallen off from falling asleep. A good ride with sensible decision making means we will probably do it again. Watch this space.
