Betws-y-Coed Rides

The unavailability of others meant that Hedd (fueled by new bike fever!) headed to Betws-y-Coed for a solo mission on Sunday 24 May.

I left Warwick at 6:30am and after a toll road diversion to avoid the M6 closure I arrived at Penmachno and was riding by 9am. The weather was absolutely fantastic and I decided to do loops 1 & 2 (we'd only ever done loop 1 before). Loop 2 was a bit of a disappointment - it included fantastic views of Moel Siobod, Snowdon, Tryfan and Bristly Ridge but the riding was a bit too cross-country for my taste with no real downhill sections of note. Loop 1 delivered as always though, especially the last few sections.

I headed to a very busy Betws-y-Coed for lunch (sausage, chips and curry sauce!) and then headed to the Marin trailhead. It was really busy and I was lucky to get a parking spot as someone was just leaving. The Marin trail seems to attract lots of beginners (at least it did today) and my confidence was given a boost as I passed many of them on the first climb!

The last downhill was once again the highlight and I felt I was really starting to get the hang of the new bike by the end.

I left for home asap and, despite some heavy traffic on the A5, made it back by my 5:30pm deadline.

All in all, a good day!

A photo to prove I didn't spend the day in the pub! A lake on the Marin trail where I stopped for some well deserved jelly babies!

Here are my riding stats for the day....

Penmachno loops 1 & 2; Distance: 18 miles (29km); Total ascent: 2186 feet (666m)

Marin; Distance 15 miles (24km); Total ascent: 2173 feet (662m)