tour reports » Wales - North Anglesey

Got a free day last Saturday, decide to take the opportunity to go for one of my ‘long’ day rides. Checking the weather it was obvious I needed to get north of Oxford to stay out of “all day” rain. I decided on another trip to north Wales, this time I’d head for what I figured to be the most northerly point achievable by public tarmac road in Anglesey.

I left around 06:15 from Yateley, it was dark and raining lightly. I stuck at 85 along the M4, there was very little traffic and after Swindon the rain had stopped, but the surface was still wet. By the M48 Severn crossing it was just damp, the air was also chilled and damp, like riding in a cloud, but not actually raining. At Chepstow I took the B4293 to Reglan with some caution, there was a fair amount of surface water and ‘leaf mulch’ on the road, took me a few minutes to get use to the flow of the road and I slow increased my pace as I began to feel the grip – I do like my Michelin PR4 – and there was still no traffic.

Then it was a familiar (for me) ride west on the A40 until I turned onto the A479 through Talgarth and the A470 toward Builth Wells, but the sta-nav took me down the (logically named) B4567 on the other side of the river Wye to the A470, which was again leaf strewn but fun, as there was still no traffic and I had my eye. I then picked up the A483 and head north through Crossgate for Newtown.

Anyone who’s read my ramblings on my riding in Wales will know this is one of my all-time favourite roads and this morning didn’t disappoint at all. A few damp patches under the trees, but mainly dry and very little traffic (I think I over took 2 cars in the 35+ miles), just a great series of fast flowing bends. I really cannot get over how great this road is when there’s no traffic. At Newtown I’d covered 190miles in 3 hours, I fill the bike with petrol, me with water and a muesli bar and clean the grimey mud spec coating from the visor. The bike is already a complete dirty mess in the way the only RS seems capable of.

Leaving Newtown I head west on the A489 / A470, I’m sure I rode this before and disliked it, but on this morning it was good, again the lack of traffic probably had a lot to do with the feel good factor. And the low cloud made the hills more dramatic.

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At Glantwymyn the A470 turns sharp north so I follow it through to just past the fun name “Cross Foxes Inn", I wonder if it's all the traffic keeping them awake during the day that makes them (the Foxes) cross, but not today they'd get a good lay in. Sorry back to the road, one that is great for keeping a rapid pace on, especially when there's no Fox bothering traffic. Just after the “Cross Foxes Inn” are two fast sweeping bends and soon after those sat-nav says turn me right onto the B4416 for a short link to the A494. Which is yet another good road, still not as good as the A483 Newtown. I’m still able to make progress despite, shock horror, a queue of 10 cars dawdling behind a 7.5 ton lorry, itself stuck behind an only just making progress Honda Jazz.

In Bala I cut across to the A5 using the B4501. I’ve always had a hate - hate relationship with the A5, I’ve never enjoyed riding it, usually because it is so stuffed with traffic, as such I’ve subsequently avoided it like the plague and I’ve never ridden the section that goes through the Snowdonia National Park, and I’ll admit now that’s been a monumental mistake. This is one fantastic road, the scenery is stunning, yes the traffic on this day was very light, which no doubt helps the riding pleasure, but the scenery blows me away, helped by the fact the sun is out and the road is dry.

So it is with a feeling of wellbeing that I cross the Menai Strait into Anglesey and even though the A5 as a sting in its tail (or should that be stick) and tries to spoil my mood with road works (major new re-surfacing) and a 50 limits, it doesn’t. Well until the next day that is, when giving the bike a quick wash off, I find hundreds of black tar spots all over the silencer and swing arm which are going to be a bugger to get off (didn’t have time on Sunday). I do still dislike the A5, except for that Snowdonia bit.

Before I reach Holyhead I turn onto the A5025, a road which reminds me hugely of the Devon and Cornish roads I cut my biking teeth on some 30 odd years ago. Fast and open, up and down but not exactly flowing (and a constant side wind), it was a pleasant nostalgia trip, no really it was fun but not as soul satisfying as the A483. Just after passing the village of Cemaes I turn onto the very narrow lane that takes me to my goal, the Llanbadrig Church on a headland looking north to the Irish sea. Bright sunshine a strong breeze, 315 brilliant miles have taken 5hr 37 minutes of enjoyable riding. I take time out to stretch my legs, take some photos, eat some food and drink more water. Clean my visor and the bike’s lights, the bike is even more filthy now (but I love it).

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part two on its way soon

Homeward bound. I re-trace my steps out of Anglesey and fill with fuel in Bangor. I fall foul of missing a turning but sat-nav say we can continmue anyhow and then get hindered by a road closure just outside of Caernarfon but it is one of those times of serendipity. If I hadn’t of missed the turn, and then been delayed telling the sat nav the road was closed, I wouldn’t have arrived on the on the A41085 at Betws Garmon just as the heavens absolutely chuck it down with the sun still shining brightly on my right, the lower arm of the resulting rainbow sat just on the other side of the wall to my left and literally travelled with me as I rode along, despite the rain I stopped for a photo. And I kid you not that rainbow went down behind the wall but in front of the bushes.

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The road is now sodden and it is still heaving it down but there is so little traffic I can keep a reasonable pace by choosing the best line through the puddles and my speed is high enough that the wind come off the screen keep my visor clear. This strategy changes slightly after the Village of Beddgelert on the A498, whilst it has stopped raining the road has streams of water flowing along and across it, with associated gravel and there’s a lot of tree cover that’s produced leaf mulch pretending to be sheet ice and doing a good job of it.

It requires considerable care but this is good practice for the B4410 section towards Maentwrog which will always require your full attention to ride swiftly, regardless of the weather or road conditions, a section of road that provides me a huge level of satisfaction for such a tiny stretch of narrow tarmac (and leaves, and gravel, and water, and sheep and you get the idea). All second and maybe third gear kinda fiddley.

And it’s with a sort of ecstatic explosion that I erupt back on to the dry A487/A470 and get into top gear and relax. I’m heading back to ‘Cross Foxes Inn’ and taking the A487, another superb riding road with great scenery. The section alongside the Afon Dlas river is another favourite riding section of mine, there’s a bus and a couple of cars to be negotiated along the way but otherwise I’m powering out of one corner, breaking tipping it in and powering out of the next, these are big corners with a lot of grip.

All too soon this flow gets strangled by the narrow section that is the bridge over the river into Machynileth. Every previous time I’ve come this way I’ve continued south on the A487 to Aberystwyth, but today, for the first time, I’m heading back to Newtown on the A489 and A470 which isn’t half as good as the Afon Dlas riverside road, but is still dam good. At Newtown I continue the “I’ve not ridden this road” theme by heading for Clun on the B4368, then the A49/A44 to Worcester, where the bike needs yet more fuel, as do I.

My plan is to get home using as little of the M4 as possible not only to avoid the tedium but to try to avoid as much of the rain that’s been falling all day further south. I know Wessie gave me some guidance for road in this area, I have no idea if I used those suggested but the ones I did were very engaging and still allowed for rapid progress. Wessie again thank you for the inspiration to try something else :-)

So that’s the A44 south west (which yet again has next to no traffic) and just after Broadway this makes it a thing of beauty as is twists through a series of 4 sweeping more than 90 degree left and rights whilst climbing up a steep hill side and there are two lanes to use, there’s a third for the traffic coming down the hill but going up I have two to myself, and I have the RS on its ear in each of the bends, ha, ha M4 eat your heart out. I consider turning around and doing the bends again, but it’s getting late and I’m really not in need of anymore overloads to my pleasure circuits, this day has been wonderful enough.

The rest of the trip involves Stow-on-theWold, Burford, Kinston Bagpuize and Gozzard’s Ford before joining the mundane A34 at Abingdon where it starts to drizzle and the darkness falls, this section of A34 has the effect. By the time I take the M4 for Reading the rain is proper hard and I keep myself safe and comfy in lane one at a sedate 65~70 and let the maniacs play 80mph hide and seek with each other’s spray in lane 3.

And home, 621miles, 12 hours, resulting in a mucky, dirty bike that’s given me so, so much pleasure. I actually give it a pat on the tank, proper chuffed. The lack of traffic made the day, if Wales where that empty every time I rode I’d never need to go anywhere else.

I stayed dry and warm all day, my Stadler 4 All Pro suit proving yet again that the (large) sum of money I spent on it last year was worth it, and my (comparatively cheap) Richa Cold Protect gloves did just as good job keeping hands dry and warm. As for the Shoei Neotec 2 – hmmm, I had a few dribbles of water running down the inside of the visor in very heavy rain at speed, not a lot and only in certain conditions, I’m going to speak to the shop I bought it from later this week, and will report back - I have a feeling this has more to do with the RS’s nemesis, the standard screen, than a faulty helmet, visor or seal. Will post more when I tried a few things.

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But even the few drop running down the visor couldn’t spoil a day of near perfection, I lucked into a day I will remember for a very long time, like Elbow sang “one day like this a year would see me right”

Keep em coming Jason - great write up!

Zitat von JasonQ im Beitrag #2

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Homeward bound.

(1) Then it was a familiar (for me) ride west on the A40 until I turned onto the A479 through Talgarth and the A470 toward Builth Wells, but the sta-nav took me down the (logically named) B4567 on the other side of the river Wye to the A470, which was again leaf strewn but fun, as there was still no traffic and I had my eye. I then picked up the A483 and head north through Crossgate for Newtow

(2) So that’s the A44 south west (which yet again has next to no traffic) and just after Broadway this makes it a thing of beauty as is twists through a series of 4 sweeping more than 90 degree left and rights whilst climbing up a steep hill side and there are two lanes to use, there’s a third for the traffic coming down the hill but going up I have two to myself, and I have the RS on its ear in each of the bends, ha, ha M4 eat your heart out. I consider turning around and doing the bends again, but it’s getting late and I’m really not in need of anymore overloads to my pleasure circuits, this day has been wonderful enough.

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Very good reading Jason, I ride to Anglesey and around Snowdonia from Staffordshire, for sure Wales is a gem of a country for bikes, fabulous roads and scenery with little traffic. I’d suggest methylated spirit as a quick and easy fix for those tar spots.