One day in July, in the land of Valleys & Dragons
Just over a year or so ago upon completing a very pleasurable ride from Seascale to Whitby on a sunny day in June with Open Cycling who organised the “Coast to Coast in Day”, there on my screen was a promotion for 2017 “Wales in a Day” to which the words “not a chance” were heard to leave my lips.
Each time I opened my computer the promotional adverts seemed to follow me, enticing my interest and “could I do it” thoughts started to creep in, 185miles + start and finish mileage and between 4500 & 5000m of ascent all in one day.
In a mad rush of blood to the head, I pressed the keys and I was entered for the 2017 “wales in a day” ride.
So as not to suffer the day on my own I passed on all the plus points of a day’s riding the lush Welsh Valleys to my mate Andy who was taken in hook line and sinker, so had someone to complain to on the way about the climbing and distance left to the finish.
On the morning of 21st of July this year we were up bright and early to drive to Chepstow, drop the car off and get on the train back up to Caernarfon, it only goes to Bangor as they must have ran out of line or interest when it was built, and so a bus was enlisted to get to the start.
After smoothly registering at the rugby club and watching those who chose to use the coach transfer taking their bikes out of bike boxes and assemble then in a field I was glad I chose the train and not the coach.
So there we were on the 22nd at 3am in the morning waking to the buzz of the alarm and a cup of coffee, getting quickly dressed and tip toeing down the stairs, which seemed a bit academic as most of the hotels other occupants were doing the same.
The day started inside the formidable Caernarfon castle, how forward thinking of King Edward I in 1283 to have the forethought to build such an impressive place for the start of our ride.
Off we went from the start at 4.15 on a bright moon lit night, off uphill as with most rides that start from the coast seem inevitable to do, up to Llanberis and the Pen-y-pass, over the top past the youth hostel and off down to Capel Curig before cycling through a normally traffic choked Betws-y-coed and on to our first stop of the day at Conwy Falls Café, entering to the unmistakable smell of bacon butties and porridge.
After eating it was off onto the B4406 towards Penmachno the second big climb of the day, up through the forest and onto the climb, a pretty easy one as it was early in the day with no real steep parts just a long (7.7km 4.8mile) climb, rising up from the trees and vegetation to become moorland at the very top.
Sat near the top was one of the Open cycling photographers so it was breath in and smile time.
Over the moors on narrow roads bereft of cars the sun was now out and the day warming up, on we went following the signs for Bala.
On the drop down to the lake I was looking forward to the second stop and some more food and coffee, we were not disappointed with the selection and quantity.
As with the last stop they had a big monitor up showing the position on the road of all the other riders, it was good to see where we were in relation to all the other riders.
The pattern of “After a feed station comes a big climb” seemed to be emerging, and we were not to be disappointed as the road pitched up and off we went on to through Rhos –y-Gwaliau and as we rounded the corner got our first glimpse of the top of the Hirnant, a long straight climb showing your way all the way to its top before you have even started the climb.
After 8.7km / 5.4mile climbing again we were given great views from the top, to be followed by a fast descent down to and along the banks of Lake Vyrnwy which is spectacular.
Upon reaching 100 Houses and the next food stop the time and distance was starting to tell, with cyclists walking about with a lot less sparkle than at previous feed stations, but again great food and lots of coffee or Tea.
The Garmin was on its last legs so I took this opportunity to plug into the power pack I had carried all day and was pretty much back to full charge before we set off on the next leg, I am not sure if this was down to a fast charging power pack or a slow willingness to get back on the bike.
Next up was Gospel pass and as Thomas Gray wrote “ignorance is bliss” and not being familiar with the climb this proved a meaningful quote, but before we got to the pass there was a hill that must be up there with the steepest and baddest in the land, not many got up this beast of a hill , being not only steep but soooo long.
This was just a taste of the pass we were heading towards and as we got on to the bottom section and it ramped up and up it was time for a walk, and to be honest walking up through the trees on a very pleasant evening with not a breath of wind listening to the brook babble and birds twitter it was quite enjoyable.
As the ascent eased off I was back on the bike and set off up to the top.
Gospel pass is a legendry cat 2 climb and rises to 458m over 8.8km /5.5mile and has more than its fair share of sheep.
If the ascent was enjoyable it did not carry on as the descent was a series of twists and bends leading into a tiny track under the trees with mud and gravel covering most of the road, this seemed to go on for ever as the road twisted its way down towards Abergavenny in which I thought I would find the last food stop (it turned out to be another twenty minutes past the centre) and the previously advertised pizza as the special of the night.
It was on this slow descent I started to work out the time and distance to the hotel which had a time of 11pm for last check-ins, as I tried to make my cotton wool fuzzy brain work it out and it became clear there was more distance than time available between us.
So as I sat eating Pizza in the last food stop thinking about which park bench I might be sleeping on that night, we decided it was just going to be a dash for the cash, or in this case a bed.
The last 26miles from the stop to the finish are probably the hardest and fastest I have ever done, after spinning up a long hill from the last food stop it was head down and hitting 30mph all the way along the tops and then flat out down towards the coast at Chepstow, and just to be sure I went straight to the hotel and checked in before going back to the route and to the finish.
As a cruel last twist the finish had been moved from the castle which is situated at the
bottom of the hill in Chepstow to St Johns on the hill which was at the
top of the next hill, so even though it was no mountain, after 185 miles it was down into the granny gear and a slow crawl up to the entrance, to be replaced by an instant return of energy when the finish line came into view.
Looking back on the day it was an epic of a journey, a whole country in one day and seeing it in detail on a bike using small lanes is the best way to see the countryside and (hardly any cars all day) it will stay in the memory for a long long time.
This was my longest day in the saddle, as I’m sure it was for the majority of riders on the event, but the sense of achievement and reward it has given is immense.
If you were to ask should I do this ride, I would not be so keen to say YES as much as I would to the “Coast to Coast in a Day” (again by Open Cycling) but if you want to do something that will put a smile on your face for a very long time then go for it .
Figures by Garmin
Distance 186.3 (including my excursion to the hotel on the way to the finish)
Time 18hrs .33mm , moving time 13hrs 55min @ 12.1mph av
Started @ 4.15am , finished at 10.45pm
So to Wales a big fat “Diolch”, I would love to do it all again but not all in the same day next time
Some photos of the day from the Open Cycling website
