stories

'Snowdon before breakfast? '

When Jim got home on Friday evening, I could see there was a little twinkle in his eye.

Uh oh, I though, what kind of manic adventure does this spell. Hmm, weather looks good for tomorrow, he said. It sure did. An all too brief patch of fine clear weather had settled over North Wales and finally in late May, summer looked like it was arriving.
Ok Jim hit me with your plan. I though Snowdon looked good, he said. And it sure did, looking over that way, as I cycled home from work, every ridge, rock and boulder was lit up sharply by the evening sun. Small problem though, since the beginning of May the voluntary cycling restrictions had been in place on Snowdon, restricting riding to before 10am and after 5pm. Thats Ok well get an early start. Mmm working backwards, with 2 3 hours for the ascent and 20 to 40 minutes for the descent, and that meant setting off around 6.30am to be on the safe side and so as not to mow down any innocent ramblers on the descent.

Saturday morning, 5.30am when half our friends have only just got home from the night before, were in a carpark in the middle of Llanberis. Its Baltic and with a sharp wind howling more like the middle of winter than the herald of summer.  Theres no warm up on the ascent of Snowdon. The minute you leave the village its uphill and it doesnt stop being uphill for at least another 2 hours. With tarmac briefly to start and then rough and stony and just gently uphill, its mostly a matter of thigh size that determines whether you walk or ride. Occasionally small steps and drainage ditches come along to catch you out and test your riding skills.

At 6am lifting the front wheel and hopping up steps doesnt seem to come so naturally. Still, it doesnt seem very long before we reach the halfway café and a short breather. Deserted and shuttered up, we werent going to get a cup of tea at this time of day, so we press on. The next easy bit of track passes quickly and weirdly we even pass a few walkers on their way down (perhaps there are voluntary predawn restrictions for walkers too).

Then we come to the horrible bit. I knew it was coming, but in a strong headwind it seems worse than ever. With a fierce wind now blowing our way, a ten minute carry was the only way forward. At times it was hard to make any headway at all with the wind gusting over the ridge.Just before the summit, the wind weirdly dropped and on the final smooth path along side the railway line, the riding started to become almost enjoyable.

That brief moment over all too soon, I was suddenly hit by a gust of wind and nearly knocked sideways off my bike. I got off the bike and started pushing. Another gust came along and this time the back wheel left the ground and the bike started flying like a kite. At the top, we flopped down in the shelter of the railway station. Pleased with our time of just two hours to the summit, and beating our previous time, even with flying bikes to contend with..

Setting off down the Rhyd Ddu Path meant first going along the narrow and exposed trail down the South West Ridge. Once off the initial ridge the trail widened out and we started to enjoy the rocky stone strewn riding. The descent was some of the most amazing technical riding going. Varying from hard and rocky to fast rough cobbled steps and at other times gentle enough to actually be able to look up and enjoy Snowdon itself. By now more walkers were starting to be out and about and more than one stopped to stare at our rather unorthodox antics on the descent. With five minutes to spare on the Snowdon deadline, we were down in Rhyd Ddu and heading for congratulatory big breakfasts in the Café.

A big breakfast later, and we were heading back up the hill towards Telegraph Valley. The top of the Pass at Maesgwm finally arrives and from here on its downhill all the way back to the village. Without a pause for breath at the top, the though of more tea and buns spurring us on, we head straight off down Telegraph. With 400 metres of very fine fast descent ahead, we were caning it.

Twelve o clock midday in the café in Llanberis: and the windy summit of Snowdon seemed like a long way away. Nursing a very civilizing cup of coffee in Petes Eats and Im already forgetting the pain and only remembering the glory of the ride. Funny, Im even starting to wonder what it would be like to go up one evening after work.

Words and photos: Sue Savege