Snowdon and Cadair Idris beckon, where foot, bike, and bus lead to adventure.
It was Friday afternoon and it looked like there was another great weekend on the cards. I didn’t have a plan, Nick had said that he would be around during the weekend but in the back of my mind I guess I really wanted to get back into the mountains and do something that at the end of the year I could say. that’s what I did this year.
I dropped Col off at home after work, I still didn’t know what I was doing so I threw some pasta in the pan. When Jim found out that I had attempted the Welsh 3000ers last weekend he had asked why Cadair Idris wasn’t included. Now that I was forced to think about it I couldn’t think of a reason either. I had been up it many times as a lad it was a big mountain. surely it had to be at least 3000ft?
The pasta bubbled away and I popped the lid on the jar of pesto, classic basil. When the weather is hot and sunny I think of the mountains around Lecco, I really miss not being able to just step out of my back door and on to a mountain. I thought about the bike in the back of my car, what was that doing there anyway? Earlier in the week I had extracted a link out of the chain with the help of Pete and although the back wheel fell off and I had ended up face first on the tarmac the chain no longer slipped. It was like a raging bull, but I reckoned I had what it would take to ride it.
Stirring in the pesto an idea started to formulate itself. maybe I could do Snowdon and Cadair Idris in a day by bike, and on my bike at that!
First thing to do was to drive back out past Alpkit HQ to Decathlon and take a look at a map, how far was it from Snowdon to Cadair Idris anyway? They didn’t have the maps I needed but I did manage to pick up a puncture repair kit. Next stop Tesco to pick up some supplies. I was going to need energy, I needed Malt Loaf. Shortly after I was back at Alpkit printing off a Google map. It looked as if it was going to be about 35 miles from Snowdon to Cadair Idris, it sounded like a long way. I had never cycled that distance in my life, but I knew I could walk up Snowdon, and if I could reach Cadair Idris I would be able to walk up that as well. What I didn’t know was if my bike would make it to Cadair Idris without falling apart, whether I could ride that distance, and if I did would I be able to make it back?
These were details I could worry about later. Now I just needed to get back to Decathlon and pick up that bike lock I had forgotten earlier.
My Google map indicated that I should go through Rhyd, it was the shortest way. It didn’t tell me it was also the steepest way, but what ever goes up must eventually come down and I whizzed pass the Tan-y-Bwlch station on the Ffestiniog Railway. I had been here many times when I was younger, I had had posters on my wall and everything, but before today I honestly could not have told you where it was. From here there was a long climb up to Llyn Trawsfynydd, just manageable on my 32/13 ratio before the long, interminable slog towards Dolgellau.
Head down and peddle. My crank had developed an interesting crunching sound, not really a place I wanted to break down. As each hill appeared out of the haze I wondered if it was Cadair Idris, if not that maybe the next one, or the next, or the next.
And so just 13 hours after setting out I was back at the car, happy with what I had achieved and more than ready for a healthy portion of fish and chips in Betws-y-Coed!
In retrospect I think that this trip would be excellent to do over two days, taking a more interesting off road route with bivvy gear. In my haste I had no bike rack, a bike not suitable for purpose, and I really don’t like riding with a heavy backpack hence my decision to do it in a day.
Equipment:
- Retro Rockhopper singlespeed 32/13
- Gourdon 20
- Google maps
- Malt Loaf
- Water
- Sunglasses
- Bus
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