The one where Piglet meets the Peloton

I've been distracted by sewing and gardening and have got a bit behind with the blogging.  Last week was the Tour of Britain and as a stage was going through North Wales it seemed rude not to go and watch.  I was even organised enough to book the day off work.

I had a number of conversations with work colleagues (who were involved with the planning) about the best places to watch. I could have walked into the village to watch them whizz past but that didn't seem very exciting, and I couldn't really be bothered to drive over to Llanberis to watch the last climb or the finish.  

So I decided to go and watch the climb over the Clwyd Gate - the pass over the Clwyds that descends into Ruthin. Even though it wasn't a 'King of the Mountain' section I thought there would be a better view than on the flat.  And as I had the day off work it seemed rude not to go out on my bike, so Piglet and I cycled cross -country from Cilcain - on the easy trails, I have no fitness at the moment....

Piglet bike admires the view

We even managed to find some singletrack (it was a very short section though)

So I rocked up just below the Pass about 45mins before they were due, and there were a few people hanging around (and a Wiggo banner!).  Then we spent the next 40 minutes cheering and waving at every race vehicle that went past - official cars, all the police motorbikes, police cars, press cars.... Most gave a wave back, and loads of the motorbikes gave us a flash of blues and twos!

Eventually the official Race car went through and they slowed down to announce more details about the lead group, peloton and the distance between them, and more importantly - where Bradley was... The number/frequency of police vehicles increased until it was clear that the road was closed, then we saw a group of cyclists in the distance....

The Leaders approach

Lead group

Lead group heads up the hill

A few minutes after the lead group went through, we saw the peloton approaching with Team Sky leading the pack in their distinctive black and blue.

Cue lots of frantic waving and shouting from the crowd, and we even got our glimpse of Sir Wiggo (third rider in the photo with gold jersey under his black Sky gillet).

After the riders had all whizzed past, everyone packed up and went home (or to the pub).  It was amazing how everyone disappeared so quickly - it was like it never happened!

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Well we were lucky yesterday.  I'd committed to going riding with some of the MBNW lot around Llyn Brenig and Alwen as a way to ease ourselves back into the mountain biking.  Given the weather forecast for the day I'd expected us to get soaked so was fully prepared with waterproofs, mudguards and a complete change of clothes for the finish.  However the weather God shined on us - literally! I think we must have been in the only bit of North Wales that didn't rain.  Didn't stop the trail being muddy though - the link section to the north between the two lakes, doesn't ever dry out.

Sunday was a different story - I was hoping we'd get something done in the garden, but the rain started again.  I didn't let that get me down though - off to the polytunnel to get wet by washing down the inside of the plastic, getting rid of the dead bugs and as much greenery (mold) as possible.  We did quite a good job, but it was difficult to get to the bits where the sides roll up so I think we'll have to try that again from the outside.

This was a beginners ride, honest!

OK, so I'd taken it upon myself to organise some beginners rides for MBNW with the aim of getting newbies out and meeting other bikers, and on to more challenging terrain (well at least away from the trail centres!).  The first one only had a few takers and we went on the Veranda route around Penyclodiau in the Clwyds.

For this one I'd sorted out a route using the Blue trails around the Alwen and Brenig reservoirs, and surprisingly had a lot of takers. On the day there were about 15 of us!

The route started at the Alwen Dam, and went up the east side of the reservoir on a blue grade track through the trees. Then when we got to the top we turned right out of the trees and along the farm track that joins the two reservoirs. Not a bad track - a bit muddy in places, and the section just before you get to the main road crossing has some nice wheel swallowing bomb holes! Once on the Brenig track we went left (clockwise - which is apparently the wrong way round!).  Starts of on a big wide track and then goes into a narrower track.  What I didn't realise is that we shouldn't have gone down the narrow track (footpath!) but should have gone onto the road - I knew we needed to do it, I just missed the turning....

So we ended up on the footpath going round the north end of Llyn Brenig. It was a bit muddy but had obviously seen a fair amount of bike traffic, and there wasn't anyone there apart from us so I wasn't too bothered. Everyone was slipping and sliding around on the muddy sections, but I think they were all enjoying themselves....

Off of the footpath we were back onto the big track going all the way round the reservoir - over the dam and to the Visitor's Centre. By the time we got there, the weather was a bit pants - very windy, getting colder, and damp. So given the variety of speeds of bikers, and not wanting people to be waiting around in the cold, I decided we'd head back to the cars.

Prize for the top accessory for the ride goes to Phil with his handlebar hound aka Skye.  She was great - spent the whole ride running backwards and forwards between us all, and only got a carry when we were near the road!