I was lucky enough to be granted access to artist David Nash's secret Ash Dome yesterday, so wangled the visit into a glorious 100 mile bike ride. I'd arranged to meet David in Blaenau Ffestiniog, so got the train from London with me Brian to my parents in Mid Wales on Tuesday, and set off yesterday morning.
I've driven from Mid Wales to Blaenau a few times but always avoided cycling it. The roads are good quality and the scenery stunning, but they're usually very busy, especially during the summer. With recent weather being rated as scorchio, I was fearful of being repeatedly buzzed by a flood of people heading to the coast along the A458 & A470. Despite this I have always wanted to ride that road, there was an epic hill, a great long descent and views that sell Wales more than any words could. So I committed to the mission.
I got lucky, it was one of my best days in the saddle. I was chased down the road by 2 dogs in the 1st 5 miles, but burned them off, not the nicest start, but all worries quickly evaporated. Heading down the A458 towards Dolgellau.
Bursting with colour, even looks good on a phone camera.
There's a lovely 4-5 mile gradual descent to Mallwyd, then start climbing up past Dinas Mawddwy, with the leg breaking Bwlch y Groes, on the right
….whose 32% gradient I unashamedly dodged having only a 39-25 smallest gear on me Brian. It was then onto the big climb of the day, a 3 mile climb up to 1200ft. When I mapped the route on ridewithgps.com it said the maximum gradient was 12%. LIES. My hear sank as I approached the bottom of the climb and saw a sign saying 20%. ….lets just say a few photo sudden opportunities presented themselves
All altitude chips were cashed back in with the following 5 mile descent, I hit 47mph, and if I did'nt have a ruksak would have cracked 50 I think.
From Dolgellau it was approx 10 miles very sapping gradual uphill through Coed-y-Brenin to the decommissioned nuclear power station Trawfynydd, under suitably moody skies.
It was hot, too hot for the woollen jersey I've selected for the journey, so I take a few stops on this section to soak my hot feet and head into a few cold water mountain streams. I have yet to grow or lose any toes since.
At Blaenau I stop my GPS to keep the location secret, and meet David and he kindly agrees to put my bike in the back of his car and we drive up there. I first saw the ash dome on the BBC4 programme Forest, Field and Sky, art inspired by nature, its on youtube and is well worth a watch. I've been desperate to see it ever since. Its every bit as enchanting and magical as I expected, I could'nt stop smiling. David planted the trees in the late 70's and has repeatedly revisited and used old technicques to cut and coax them into their current shape. I'm going to be writing up a more detailed report with more pics of my visit at a later date, but here's a taster. It has a real wow factor. If only there was a bike in the middle it would look like trees dancing round in honour of the great bicycle, like dancers round a maypole….oh hang on
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The return journey is just as pretty, oh these roads are so choca
I don't fancy the 5 mile climb I descended earlier, so at Dolgellau, decide to go round the coast by Barmouth and Towyn instead. Its getting late and I've got no lumens but there's a few train stations en route if I run out of light, which is looking likely. Its still really warm in the evening sun as I get to the estuary.
From there it was over the charming rickety toll bridge, 25p for bicycles, it was easily worth 50p so they got a tip.
Despite being a coastal road it was still pretty lumpy
. ….photo limit reached I think, to be cont……
on the Shopping Trolley(Aerospace Sport) but not today only small light parts so i went on the Viscount Aerospace Pro
, it has sprint rims and tubular tyres, very comfy ride and quick for me. 25Mile round trip just about all flat.
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- for a full 5 minutes. 5 minutes after that I was bone dry 
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