Back in the summer I had a very quick go on my mate Simon’s Salsa Muluk and was instantly hooked on the idea. Sadly I had to put the trip before my wants and decided to save money and do without. One evening I got a message from one of the mechanics from work with a link to a great offer and with saving going better than expected I took the plunge and ordered one of my very own.
I had a great couple of weeks doing short local rides, Wednesday evening night rides at Llandegla and just getting out on it whenever I could. What I really wanted more than anything was a huge day out on the bike. And that’s just what I got!
Simon also wanted a big trip out to test his fitness, bike set up and his luggage, so we organised a couple of days off together and came up with a rough plan to catch a train to Bangor and ride South aiming for a bothy at the southern tip of Coed Y Brenin. Simon devised a route with some help from a colleague which would take us, via the best cafe in North Wales down to the forest on a mixture of fire roads, main roads and roman roads. Before the sun rose on day 1 I was rolling the couple of miles down hill to the railway station to meet Simon arriving just in time! Once settled on the train we discussed the route and made a checklist to make sure we had everything we needed every now and then politely interrupted by someone wondering what on earth our 4 inch tyres were all about.
As the day dawned we unloaded our bikes and found our way out of the station and to our first climb, we were heading to Capel Curig via the old road up to Ogwen, enjoying the feeling of being out so early and riding our loaded bikes. All too soon the gremlins started to appear, when in the small chain ring my chain wouldn't shift up and down the cassette meaning I didn't have the critical granny gear available. There was no way I would be able to complete our route without my lower gears but would have to wait to try and fix the issue at our first planned stop at the aforementioned Moel Siabod cafe for breakfast number two. We coasted down the main road as we wanted to get there as quick as possible and so skipped the track that leads you down under the steep walls of Tryfan (my favourite of all the Snowdonian peaks). With breakfast and coffee ordered I ventured back outside to use my vast amount of small mechanical knowledge to try and get my gears shifting. After some adjustments I managed to get them shifting smoothly again, happy that I'd managed to get the issue sorted I went back into the cafe with a smile just as the coffee arrived.
The breakfast didn't last long and soon we set off for the climb up and over to Dolwyddelan, we had ridden the trail before as a descent and so knew there would be a push involved, it was a relatively short one though and soon we were rolling down the other side into the village. Although we were in the early stages of the trip we were already thinking that getting back to Bangor maybe a long shot so we took the opportunity to check and make a mental note of the train times displayed conveniently in the village centre.
The next section would be a big test, it started with a big climb on quarry trails to the back of Cwm Penmachno. I’ve always enjoyed climbing on a bike so the 45 minute climb up gravel tracks felt good. As the tracks fizzled out and turned to broken boggy grassy paths we had the feeling we had missed the turning off up to the top of the Cwm. We checked our map against the GPS Simon was carrying, I’d probably never carry a GPS but at times like these they are handy to have just to get an instant grid reference. We had indeed missed it and so doubled back and kept our eyes peeled for the trail to the very top. Simon spotted the tiny gap in the trees and went up the first section to scope out the terrain, he came back with mixed news. “The good news is it opens out after the first section, the bad news is that it’s gonna be another push!” It would indeed be another push, the step muddy track would have been a pain without a bike. After a few falls and some swearing it seemed to flatten but was still steep enough for Simon to resort to taking his luggage off and taking it and his bike up separately. Certainly good preparation for Simon and his winter race, this was a tough day!
At the top of the climb we burst out onto a boggy hillside and found a dry spot for a quick refuel. It was one of those rare moments with absolutely no wind and absolute silence, so silent you can almost hear it. I love finding spots like that, no traffic noise, no wind, no birds nothing. It's bliss and I could sit there forever! Glad to have a descent to get stuck into we found our fence line to handrail down the hillside to meet a track, we got all of 50 yards before we were off and pushing through the boggy tussocky terrain, feet soaked through. When it gets tough I manage to find a sadistic enjoyment in it all, your feet are soaked, you've just pushed your bike up hill and are now pushing down the other side, your accommodation is still 30 miles or so away and you only have what you can carry on your bike for comfort, I wouldnt change it for the world.
With the food out of the way it was time to tackle our gremlins and attempt to fix Simons brake and plan our route out of the forest and back home. We both agreed that getting back to Bangor would be a step too far and that the most sensible option would be to head north until we could get a train back up to the north coast and then home. After we’d sorted our plan of action and chopped some wood to leave for the next guests we got our heads down and headed to bed. We woke up early the next morning and I felt like I had been awake more than I’d slept, always they way! We re-lit the fire and heated some water for our first breakfast of porridge, I’m not a big fan of porridge but using the pots you just add water too are too easy not to use. We started to follow the Roman Road called Sarn Helen out of the forest which was steep in places but without the pressure of needing to get back to Bangor we had time to take it easy and appreciate the views we were being treated to. After a bit of traversing we got to the road which would take us back down to the valley floor and our 2nd breakfast at the cafe on the shore of Llyn Trawsfynydd. On the quick road descent we caught two or three separate red kites off guard and played the exciting game of trying to watch them as they buzzed over our heads and not loose control of our loaded bikes.
We were soon sitting in the warmth of the cafe waiting for two breakfasts (and some extra chips!) looking across the lake at the hills, they didn’t last long once they did arrive. Soon we were back outside getting geared up again to do our final leg to Blaenau Ffestiniog and the train home, Simon had picked up a slow puncture and so after team effort or get some air back I’m we started rolling. We stuck to the roads and the climbs felt taxing as we worked our way up towards the town, we arrived in plenty of time so decided it was time for coffee and cake while we waited for the train. Reflecting on the trip we had a fantastic two days, some hard bits but when your sat in the warmth of a cafe even they are looked back on fondly.
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