A wet weekend in wonderful Wales. Damp, dark, dismal and decidedly drab. Time to think of warmer days and fewer alliterations. Time to discuss one of the 3 major themes of my life (after wife, daughters and family, of course). It is time, the Walrus said, to speak of many things, of soups and cakes, of hills and lakes and noisy oily things. The 3 themes? Food, Wales and motorcycles. It is time to talk bikes. Not pedaly types but ones with engines.
One of the great joys of living in North Wales is that we are surrounded by some of the best roads on earth. Not necessarily the best surfaces but if you know where to look there are some real gems. Take the B5105, for example. I live about a quarter of a mile from it, it’s the road from Ruthin to Cerrigydrudion, is about 15 miles long and has it’s own website, run by the Welsh Space Agency. I kid you not. Go to Youtube and type in B5105 and have a look at some of the videos made to celebrate this road. When I learn how to do it I may post one or two of them on the blog.
A really great trip would be to start from Annie’s coffee shop on Upper Clwyd Street in Ruthin. Annie makes the best cakes in the Vale of Clwyd and the hot chocolate is pretty good, too. From Ruthin travel West on the B5105 through Clocaenog Forest to Cerrigydrudion. Then turn right onto the A5 and take your time. Although this is a fast and open road and sometimes not covered with crawling caravans it is wise to go carefully and watch out for camera vans. The Police are fond of catching speeding bikers here, and to be frank, most of them deserve to be caught if they’re much over the limit.
The issue of speeding and motorcycling in general in North Wales is a hot topic and you may have seen Motorcycle News’ campaign “Reclaim North Wales” in the press and on TV. Thousands of bikers descended on North Wales, gathered at the Horseshoe Pass and a few other biker haunts and ‘showed the Police what we’re made of”. Naturally I went along to have a look and noticed several things. Firstly, Harley riders never travel alone, they are always in groups of 20 to 30 and they ride slowly. Very slowly. Part of the ‘Harley thang’ I’m told. Secondly, most bikers stick to the main roads. Go ‘off piste’ and the roads are empty. Thirdly, the average rider is terrified of sheep. And quite rightly.
Digression over. Travel west along the A5 and soon after Pentrefoelas, turn left onto the B4407 signposted Ysbyty Ifan. The first few miles are nothing special, narrow lanes between hedges with very little traffic but no views to speak of. Then the road opens out onto the moors and becomes a sinuous ribbon of biking heaven. Not fast, definitely not kneedown country but beautifully smooth and with no traffic. The scenery is stunning, the road rolls across the moors for mile after deserted mile and you find yourself riding slowly, taking in the sheer emptiness of the place.
At the end of this road lies Pont yr Afon Gam with another greta place to stop for cakes and coffee. Doesn’t look much from the road but inside is clean and warm and the cakes are to die for. Only open at weekends in the summer., though.
Turn right onto the B4391 and head towards Ffestiniog. Stop at the small car park about half a mile from the cafe and marvel at the views. Or try to shelter from the rain. I did this road earlier this year whilst on the Welsh Rally. I chose this route just so I could ride this road again. It poured down. Not all day but for a goodly part of it. I was riding along the B4407 and feeling a little miserable. I don’t like riding in the rain, it takes away a lot of the pleasure and adds to the danger for no positive reason. You can’t go fast, you can’t really relax and you sure as hell can’t see the views. So there I was thinking “Why am I doing this. I could just turn round and go home and be warm and save some money into the bargain.” Then I overtook a cyclist. Head down into a gale, soaked and straining at the pedals. Suddenly, life seemed so much better.
Back to the route. From Ffestiniog there are so many routes to choose I think I’ll leave it for another day.
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