This weekend was an extended camping weekend at Glynllyn site, Bala, Wales. It was a camp organised by the Ribble Canoe Club and the site is right on the edge of the lake which has great access to the water. So we had great fun paddling about on the lake and watching some of the club members paddling at the National Whitewater Centre just outside Bala.

Anyway I managed to cram four kayaks and my bike onto the roof of the car so on Friday I thought I'd take the opportunity and explore. I could have gone up and down the valley but I was looking for a circular route with a couple of hills. On the Conningsby ride it will mean traversing the Peak District and the Fylde is rather bereft of suitable hills for training. So Wales seemed like an ideal opportunity to see what my climbing legs were like. A quick check of the map showed an interesting route south towards Lake Vyrnwy so off I set, the route is shown below.  

 It started off quite well down to the end of Lake Bala and the turning off the A494 over to Llanuwchllyn. Just coming out of the village there is a short sharp switchback of a climb before running up the valley. The first couple of miles weren't too bad but as the road moves away from the river it just got steeper and steeper. It got to the point where I ran out of gears and eventually had to stop a couple of times to recover. Once out of the trees it eased a bit and it was just a case of plugging away to the top. At the top there was a car park with a viewing point and as I got closer I could see a car parked up, so that was it I couldn't stop now, as I finally crested the summit the guy in the car gave me a thumbs up which made it worthwhile. On the road someone had painted 545m so that was the first climb of the day, a brief pause was in order to recover and take in the view. It was then a good run down to Lake Vyrnwy before heading round the lake and back to Bala.

The second climb of the day was no better, this time I think it was three stops to recover on the way up however it was all worthwhile on the run down the valley back to Bala. A narrow track (streetview shot) with the occasional barrier and fairly straight saw me clock 39mph at one point, given there were a few sheep wandering down the road I couldn't maintain it for long. After Bala the run down the A road to the campsite seemed quite flat by comparison.

So not a high average speed, 13mph, but it did involve 2,490ft of climbing so I think I acquitted myself fairly well, and just maybe I'll be able to clear the Peak District on the day of the ride.

Also a big thanks to all who have sponsored me so far, they are all deeply appreciated.