The Longest Day (The Cambrian 500: Part One)

The Cambrian 500

No matter the circumstances that you may be going through, just push through it.   

    Ray Lewis

There is a long established Welsh coast to coast for mountain bikes but some bright spark felt it missed too many good bits and perhaps didn't offer the same challenge as the Scottish ITT routes ( e.g. Caingorms Loop or Highland Trail). The first attempt at the new WC2C coincided with some awful weather and ended in the group scratching at Llanwrtyd Wells, a solo effort by the now legendary Dave Barter ended a similar way and my own first attempt fizzled out in Machynlleth. Rather than avoid this route like the plague, I bizarrely jumped at an invitation to tackle it again over the Easter hols.

Last time around my fitness (or lack there of), combined with one of those off days was a major contribution to calling it quits in Mach. While I've not been hitting the turbo as I should I have been regularly commuting by bike and getting out for a decent ride at the weekend. I also planned to take far less kit with me, all too easily I can end up with everything AND the kitchen sink.

Kit List (Pared down from my previous attempt)

• On One Lurcher w. XT/SLX 2x10 & Manitou Tower 100mm Forks

• Garmin Dakota w. OS 1:50k maps

• 2x Alpkit Stem Cells (One with Mytimug & Krakau stove, the other containing snacks)

• Ibera small frame bag containing tools and tubes

• Alpkit Kanga w. Airlok Extra 13l drybag (containing all sleep kit)

• Thermarest Haven 20 Sleeping bag

• Thermarest Neoair Xtherm

• Alpkit Hunka XL Bivibag

• Decathlon silk bag liner

• Alpkit Koala Seat pack containing clothing & food

• Leg & Arm warmers

• Musto Gore Tex Jacket

• Altura Waterproof shorts

• Sealskinz socks

• Base layer & long johns

• Uniqlo down gilet

• Adventure freeze dried meals & peanut M&Ms

• 700ml High 5 bottle and Oasis puritabs

Day 0 (Thursday 2nd April 2015) 

 One logistical nightmare for any point-to-point ride is how you get back to where you parked. I wasn't keen on parking in Llandudno/Swansea as if this ride ended like the others then it'd be a long train before a long drive! So train all the way then. This meant a ride along the Cloud trail to Derby station before a few changes and ending up in Prestatyn so I could ride the North Wales Coastal route. 34 miles clocked up getting to the start! The wind was getting up and I was regretting my decision to eat at McDonalds, not because of the food but because I daren't eat inside. A bunch of teenagers forcibly ejected by johnny no-stars was giving the loaded Lurcher worrying amounts of attention.

10 easy miles along the former railway from the Cloud quarry

The Las Vegas of North Wales

We (Myself, Andy & Gabes) were booked into the Llandudno Hostel, it's basic, clean and serves a decent enough breakfast for the £20 or so it cost to stay. The wind had been joined by rain so being able to start the ride dry meant I wasn't too upset to miss out on a bivi up on the Orme. It wasn't too grim however for us to brave the walk to the Queen Vic for a swift pint and chat to the other riders.

Day 1 (Friday 3rd April 2015)

And so D-Day arrived, the weather had decided on mist as our starter for 10 so we spun up the steep and winding Marine Drive trying to find the balance between warming up and blowing up. The Rest and be thankful Cafe wouldn't be opening until after we'd set off so it acted only as handy landmark to start from.

From 10am until about 5pm the conditions got steadily worse. To begin with I was preferring the cooler temps to the sweltering heat of last August and the first proper offroad section after Conwy seemed to pass by far quicker than the last time I rode through, how much was improved fitness versus cooler temps and knowing the route better I don't know. By the time I'd reached Llyn Colwyd the rain was coming in horizontally and I had already had a couple of daft crashes on slippery wet surfaces. In places the very single track could easily put you in the lake so taking it a bit easier was prudent.

Path alongside Llyn Colwyd

Coming out the other side to view the Ogwen Valley, after a spot of hike-a-bike, my spirits were lifted, it was still cold but Capel Curig meant the opportunity to grab a hot drink and a bite to eat without having the faff of unpacking kit in the rain. It was at Capel that I caught up with Gabes and Andy, and having warmed up with a Coffee we resumed riding leaving behind puddles of rainwater. 

The next stage of the ride would take us past Ty Mawr Wybrnant and then through Penmachno trail centre with the potential for a hot meal at the nearby village pub. It wasn't to be as there was a private party being catered for so we pushed on, taking on the impossibly steep climb over towards Ffestininog and Trawsfynydd. The rain had stopped but it was still bitterly cold, the fast tarmac descent into Trawsfynydd required extra layers or there was a serious danger of Hypothermia. 

We hadn't been told that there was no hot food at this point

At around midnight, 15 or so miles later, and having lapped the lake surrounding the nuclear power station, we decided to set up camp in the next wooded area we came across. As I crawled into my bivi bag (having wrung the water out of my socks)  I reflected that the 70 mile total for the day would have to be upped considerably if a Monday finish at the Gower was going to happen.