Snowdon Ranger

'Big' Edge Cycleworks Shop Ride

Sun 24th Oct '10

We were blessed with fantastic weather for our ride up Snowdon, a light breeze, broken cloud and golden autumn sunlight. The cool, clear air also gave us some wonderfully clear views.

The Llanberis Trail is a great climb if you like it technical, and we did. Most of it was just on the right side of ridable but punished any drop in concentration. Whenever we got it wrong it wasn't too bad.  Pausing to catch our breath gave us time to take in the stunning scenery. And the views only got better as we gained height. Thankfully we found that every time we checked our altitude had increased significantly, which made the burning in our lungs and legs worthwhile.

After braving the hoards at the top of the mountain we downed hot cups of tea and coffee before pointing our bikes back down the mountain for a well earned descent. While weaving our way through the walkers I ended up on a less than ideal line. My front wheel hit a rock. My gentleman sausage then hit then back of my saddle, harder than it had ever done before. The pinch flat I got after that didn't really register. I stopped to check things out and was happy to find it was only my inner tube that had punctured.

That was only the first of a number of incidents on our way down the Snowdon Ranger. A fast start warmed us up for the main event.  The track then dropped from view down a steep, loose and technical boulder-fest, littered with switchbacks. Everyone did their best, pushing the limit of their skills while coping with the pain of arm pump. There were a lot of dabs, a few over the bar moments and a bit of walking but everyone reached the bottom in one piece, buzzing with what they had managed to ride.

Not long after that we reached the climb that would take us back over the ridge towards Llanberis. It started with a calf burning carry but the evilness didn’t last long.  At the top we were rewarded with the sight of singletrack descending into Telegraph valley.  The singletrack was fast, flowing and great fun, even if it was scattered with waterbars. They caught me out near the end.  Tiredness from riding with a chest infection meant I eventually missed timed a hop and pinch flatted. Thankfully Ritchie took pity on me and helped with the repair.

All that was left after that was a fast tarmac descent into Llanberis. Back at the car park we finally had time to take stock. There were quite a few bumps, bruises and tired limbs but there were lots of big smiles. The feeling of satisfaction of having successfully ridden the mountain on such a wonderful day was huge.