Snowdonia MTB - Help us make the most of a weekend

[tjdixon911]

Hi, me and a few mates are heading to Wales in a few weeks time, staying at the pin point on the below map;



We will be travelling up on the Friday, maybe ride that afternoon, then return back on the Monday, hopefully after riding on the Monday morning.

Anyone got any good rides we should consider, we want to ride Snowdon one day (probably Saturday) then it looks as though we have Coed-y-Brenin and Betws-y-Coed nearby... Obviously all riding will be subject to our fitness along with our diet

Having not been to the area before, we are looking for some guidance on the best riding etc.

Any decent bike shops worth visiting in the area would also be good, got to get my bike some holiday treats.

[ben_h100]

I'd check the timings for Snowdon - you might have to limit yourselves to the 'quieter hours'. Either way, if the weather is half decent then it is likely to be v. busy with walkers on the Saturday.

For trails you are looking at Coed y Brenin/Marin/Penmachno.

The Marin is definitely worth a shout and there is a relatively new 'modern' section that is great fun. No real facilities here but there are plenty of coffee shops (The Alpine is great) in Betws for some post-ride cake. Plenty of pubs (Royal Oak) for some beer/food as well.

Coed y Brenin is the other way from Blaenau location wise, with various trails depending on skill level/energy. The trail centre facilities are good with a shop and cafe, changing facilities, etc.

Penmachno is relatively remote compared to the previous two and more of an 'old school' trail centre IMO. That said, it's still worth a visit, but if I was limited for time I'd go for the Marin or CyB.

If you are up for travelling a bit further then Llandegla might be worth a visit, but if you are limited for time I would go with the Marin, CyB and Snowdon.

ETA: Llandegla is about an hour away. I would definitely consider going there one of your days; it is worth the drive.

Edited by ben_h100 on Tuesday 25th April 10:20

[Mr Gearchange]

Snowdon is an awesome thing to do - the Llanberris path is the longest continuous descent in the UK.
Just make sure you are starting down no later than 8am - otherwise your ride to the bottom is ruined by the walkers coming up.

As mentioned Cody-y-brenin and Penmachno are close by and good for a XC ride.

You are also very very close to Antur Stiniog, which for my money is the best DH uplift in the UK - great tracks ranging from nice flowing fast trails to very technical double blacks which they run the UK BDS on. Definitely worth a look.

[tjdixon911]

ben_h100 said:

I'd check the timings for Snowdon - you might have to limit yourselves to the 'quieter hours'. Either way, if the weather is half decent then it is likely to be v. busy with walkers on the Saturday.

For trails you are looking at Coed y Brenin/Marin/Penmachno.

The Marin is definitely worth a shout and there is a relatively new 'modern' section that is great fun. No real facilities here but there are plenty of coffee shops (The Alpine is great) in Betws for some post-ride cake. Plenty of pubs (Royal Oak) for some beer/food as well.

Coed y Brenin is the other way from Blaenau location wise, with various trails depending on skill level/energy. The trail centre facilities are good with a shop and cafe, changing facilities, etc.

Penmachno is relatively remote compared to the previous two and more of an 'old school' trail centre IMO. That said, it's still worth a visit, but if I was limited for time I'd go for the Marin or CyB.

If you are up for travelling a bit further then Llandegla might be worth a visit, but if you are limited for time I would go with the Marin, CyB and Snowdon.

ETA: Llandegla is about an hour away. I would definitely consider going there one of your days; it is worth the drive.

Edited by ben_h100 on Tuesday 25th April 10:20

Thanks for the information, will give them a look - I remember visiting a place not far from Betws a few years ago, from memory it was run by the locals, had an honesty box for parking /maintenance - does that sound like one of the above? I didn't ride it in the end as I was with my wife and felt guilty leaving her in the Van for a few hours with no facilities while I went off...

I have put forward Llandegla as a possibility for the Monday, it wouldn't be far off the way home so makes sense to do it then rather than travel out and back, a couple of us have been there in the past and are desperate to go back, did I read they have added some Skills areas etc. recently?

[tjdixon911]

Mr Gearchange said:

Snowdon is an awesome thing to do - the Llanberris path is the longest continuous descent in the UK.
Just make sure you are starting down no later than 8am - otherwise your ride to the bottom is ruined by the walkers coming up.

As mentioned Cody-y-brenin and Penmachno are close by and good for a XC ride.

You are also very very close to Antur Stiniog, which for my money is the best DH uplift in the UK - great tracks ranging from nice flowing fast trails to very technical double blacks which they run the UK BDS on. Definitely worth a look.

Thanks, I had read about the restrictions on the mountain, I understand these are voluntary(?) although I imagine it will get busy so probably not enjoyable if you are having to slow for pedestrians all the time... how long does it take to climb, for an average rider?

I'll have a look at Antur Stiniog, do we have to pre-book for uplifts there, may be nice to have a day of rest from pedaling so much.

[Mr Gearchange]

tjdixon911 said:

Mr Gearchange said:

Snowdon is an awesome thing to do - the Llanberris path is the longest continuous descent in the UK.
Just make sure you are starting down no later than 8am - otherwise your ride to the bottom is ruined by the walkers coming up.

As mentioned Cody-y-brenin and Penmachno are close by and good for a XC ride.

You are also very very close to Antur Stiniog, which for my money is the best DH uplift in the UK - great tracks ranging from nice flowing fast trails to very technical double blacks which they run the UK BDS on. Definitely worth a look.

Thanks, I had read about the restrictions on the mountain, I understand these are voluntary(?) although I imagine it will get busy so probably not enjoyable if you are having to slow for pedestrians all the time... how long does it take to climb, for an average rider?

I'll have a look at Antur Stiniog, do we have to pre-book for uplifts there, may be nice to have a day of rest from pedaling so much.

If you are going up the Llannberris path it's probably about 2.5 hours. Much of it you can ride - but you will have to push up for a good portion of it once you get above half way.
My tip would be to have a spare pair of gloves in your pack to put on for the descent as your other pair could well be soaked - and a statement of the bleeding obvious - it will be far far colder at the top than on the way up so dress appropriately.
My suggestion would be to leave the car-park no later than 05:30 - and you will be back at the car by 08:30 if you don't hang about at the top, then you have the whole day to do/ride other stuff.
The earlier you can come down the better - it's a fast a pretty wild descent but it's utterly ruined if you keep having to stop and slow down for the hill walkers, many of them climb whilst looking at their feet so don't spot you to get out of the way.

Antur I would book to make sure you get on as it can get busy. The uplift is the best in the UK, its quick and comfortable as there is a paved road all the way to the summit. You can get loads of descents in a day. A DH makes for faster and more comfortable riding but I've ridden everything there in in the past including the double-black on a 160m travel AM bike.

Have fun!

[ben_h100]

http://www.cyclingnorthwales.co.uk/pages/snowdn_vo...

Info about Snowdon agreement above. I would advise that you abide by it purely for the sake of everyone else. As above, it will probably be difficult to have a smooth rise down anyway during 'peak' hours.

Antur is excellent and they have some decent bikes for hire - nukeproof pulse if I remember correctly. You will need a full face though.

Wherever you go you will have a blast. I've just moved away from that beck of the woods and am struggling to find decent trails down here as close to home as we had it up there.

[tjdixon911]

Thanks again for the advice, I'll suggest a 05:30 start to the others, not sure it will go down well but it sounds like it needs to be done! Is the morning a better option than the evening?

Antur Stiniog looks to be unavailable for the weekend we are there, I take it there must be an event on over the 20/21 May? I think other days said full rather than unavailable.

[WestyCarl]

Did it a couple of years ago, as said by others, worth doing once;

https://www.strava.com/activities/353765869

[tjdixon911]

WestyCarl said:

Did it a couple of years ago, as said by others, worth doing once;

https://www.strava.com/activities/353765869

Thanks for sharing that, gives me an idea of the starting point etc.

Can you remember the elapsed time on that ride v the moving time shown?

[phil-sti]

You can't ride the tourist path or rangers after 10am and 5pm after May 1st but you can go up and down and as long as you are in telegraph valley by 10am your laughing.

Great ride in north wales is from ponderosa cafe on the horse shoe pass, up to the TV masts down to worlds end gorge and then the Offas Dyke path to LLangolen for a lovely lunch and watch the steam railway then back up to the LlAndrillos mountains back to the Ponderosa.

Route.



Brutal climbs with quality descents.



Views like this though

[tjdixon911]

phil-sti said:

You can't ride the tourist path or rangers after 10am and 5pm after May 1st but you can go up and down and as long as you are in telegraph valley by 10am your laughing.

Great ride in north wales is from ponderosa cafe on the horse shoe pass, up to the TV masts down to worlds end gorge and then the Offas Dyke path to LLangolen for a lovely lunch and watch the steam railway then back up to the LlAndrillos mountains back to the Ponderosa.

Route.



Brutal climbs with quality descents.



Views like this though

Looks great, is it an easy to follow route or do you know where I can get a file to load onto my Garmin?

[WestyCarl]

tjdixon911 said:

Thanks for sharing that, gives me an idea of the starting point etc.

Can you remember the elapsed time on that ride v the moving time shown?

2:18.51 (approx 1:30 to the top and 25 mins down, the rest was)

I parked slightly out of Llanberis to give me a 10min ride warm up. I went up and down the Llanberis pass as despite being July the weather was crap. It was mostly ride-able except the climb onto the ridge near the top.