The
first foray into Wales proved successful. Lots of double LL place names and
narrow country roads. All didn’t go according to the schedule, as a long first
hill and difficult navigation between the hills proved time-consuming.
After
dropping Elaine off at her Dad’s I set off for the first hill. (The Road to
Hell)
As
usual I followed the plan of driving the hill and parking at the top. It was a
good move as the hill was of the longest I’ve done and it wasn’t a
straightforward route. In fact, I wonder how it was graded by Mr Warren, as
there were at least two substantial downhill stretches between Denbigh
and Llyn Brenig. The parking at the top was
quite exposed, but I set off down and within seconds was doing over 45 mph!
A
windy descent put me at the foot of Love Lane
and the start of an hour trip
back up the eight mile climb, past some unusual wildlife!
A
short but navigationally challenging drive soon found me at the top of Moel
Arthur. I had to negotiate a narrow road and lots of cyclists to reach the top,
only to be welcoming by cow bells, clapping people and waving flags.... the
Eureka Sportive was passing this way.
A quick dive down the hill, followed by a
long pull back chasing another group of cyclists and I was done and heading for
the last climb of the day.
Penbarra
had a great viewpoint at the top, plus an ice-cream van selling whippy 99s with
red sauce. A perfect end to a short, sharp climb from the main road.
22
miles 1141 m of climbing
