Yesterday's ride:
With some lovely weather in the forecast it looked good for getting in the challenge ride for June. My usual early alarm was set and I got out on the road just after seven using the Galaxy.
I'd enjoyed my ride up to Lake Vyrnwy so much last time that I decided to do it again using mostly the same route but with a few minor variations thrown in just to make a change. The roads were quiet but I stuck to the cyclepaths along the old bypass as far as Shelton then took the road to Bicton and Montford Bridge before turning off for Little Ness, Great Ness then Pentre.
Last time I came this way I needed to take a diversion past The Royal Hill due to a road closure - this time I chose to go the same way as it would allow me to stay on quiet roads for longer. I made for Crosslanes then turned before reaching Maesbrook along the lanes past Llwyntidmon Hall and Waen Wen to get to Llynclys where I paused for my first snack stop.
The day was warming up nicely so I took off the fleece I'd started in before carrying on up the Tanat Valley. The first couple of miles of this road was fairly busy this time then quietened down a bit as the bulk of the traffic takes the Llansantffraid turning.
I seemed to be getting along unusually well as I headed along the valley - partly due to the better bike and partly due to a gentle tailwind. Cruising speeds were often around the 16/17mph mark whenever the road was flat enough as I passed Llangedwyn and headed for Pedairffordd. The first bit of real climbing starts here, and again seemed easier on this bike. The road into Penybontfawr has been surface dressed since last time, which looks good but now all the surface defects are hidden (lumpy patches mostly) so it's difficult to avoid them.
After a pause for a drink stop in the village it was onwards up the bigger climbs of Cwm Hirnant and down into Llanwddyn, greeting a couple of riders coming up the hill. As I climbed up towards the dam one of those riders caught me up again, overtook and rapidly disappeared into the distance as she headed off to do a lap of the lake.
I had my next snack stop by the dam with the great view down the lake. When I got going again it was great riding along the flat road with hardly any wind about and this was reflected in some decent cruising speeds as I headed round. There were a handful of other riders about including the one who had overtaken earlier coming past in the other direction again.
With that lap done I headed to Artisans for a coffee - they were doing a good trade so that there weren't any spare seats outside. A couple kindly invited me to share their table and we chatted for a while (they were over from Essex on holiday). After they left I noticed another cyclist admiring my bike and ended up chatting wih him too (he was on an ICE trike so I took as much of an interest).
My second lap of the lake was more stop-start than the first as I paused in various places for photos. Initially I was getting along pretty well when cruising but as I got round the lake I found the gentle headwind taking the edge off the speed and by the time I got to the dam again I was feeling really hungry so it was just as well I'd intended to stop here anyway to eat my lunch.
With a metric century already under my belt I generally take the second climb over the hills gently. On the steepest section my legs were warning me that I may have pushed on a bit too hard earlier in the ride (especially as I'd only done a couple of shopping rides since the trip to the coast a week ago). Almost at the top of this climb there was a tractor with a flail cutter coming down the hill doing the grass verges - just as I was passing it there was a loud bang and the cutter stopped abruptly. Looking back I could see the cutter had a cable snagged in it and the way it was stretched taut suggested it was firmly anchored somewhere beneath the undergrowth. The cable looked pretty thick to me - more so than the cables of the lines strung overhead - so my thought was that it may have been an armoured power line.
As has become habit of late, I carried on climbing to take the alternative way back to Penybontfawr via Cwm Fedw. With the legs having given a warning on the earlier climb I knew I needed to take it very easy on the climb over to Pedairffordd - I've cramped up on this climb before and I think it's because it looks gentler than it is, lulling me into trying to ride it a little too fast.
Once past that climb I knew I'd be able to get on fairly well back down the Tanat Valley. I avoided pushing much on the climbs and made the most of the general downhill trend so made fairly good time back to Llynclys. Another snack stop was called for and as well as finishing the flapjack and crisps I opened the bag of sweets I'd brought to be sure of having plenty of energy for the last 20 miles or so (wine gums this time as my local shop had run out of jelly babies).
Heading back past Waen Wen was not only light on traffic but is mostly slightly downhill in this direction so made for nice riding. I did take the B4398 into Maesbrook as it was quiet, then retraced my tyre tracks from the morning on the lanes to Crosslanes, The Royal Hill and Pentre. I hadn't been looking forward to the climb over to Great Ness so took the alternative route through Shrawardine and Montford to Montford Bridge. It's more undulating this way but I found it easier on the legs than 150' of climbing in one go.
Unfortunately I couldn't avoid the climb over to Bicton so had to plod at it - a couple of warning twinges got me dropping into a lower gear but I got up it alright. This road wasn't overly busy but today I didn't feel like mixing it with the traffic any more than I had to so got off it and took the longer but flatter way past Gain's Park, through the new estate at Bowbrook (they've finally got round to fully surfacing the road so it's nice and smooth), and headed through Nobold and Meole Brace with the legs feeling surprisingly fresh all of a sudden.
107.23 miles on the clock at 14.1 mph moving average. Really pleased with that. It was a great ride overall and I was pleased at how friendly everyone on the road was this time - I got waved past by drivers several times and didn't have any overly close passes. If only I hadn't bumped the handlebar and put a tear in the bartape when I got home.
On my way between The Royal Hill and Crosslanes with the Breidden as the backdrop.
A quick drink stop at Pedairffordd.
Heading along Cwm Hirnant.
Looking back down Hirnant Bank. This was the first Queen Of The Mountains climb in last Thursday's Womens' Tour of Britain stage.
The classic first view of the dam......
........ and the view up the lake.
I've done my first lap of the lake and had my coffee. The view of the boating centre as I start the return lap.
There are bluebells still in bloom much later than at home.
At the other end of the lake; the view from Pont Eunant.
Nearly back to the dam again - the view from Pont Cynon.
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