Snowdon and Cadair Idris by foot, bike and bus

Climbing Snowdon and Cadair Idris by foot, bike and bus. An adventure through Snowdonia using sustainable transport to reach Wales's highest peaks.

It was Friday afternoon and it looked like there was another great weekend on the cards. I didn’t have a plan, Nick had said that he would be around during the weekend but in the back of my mind I guess I really wanted to get back into the mountains and do something that at the end of the year I could say. that’s what I did this year.

I dropped Col off at home after work, I still didn’t know what I was doing so I threw some pasta in the pan. When Jim found out that I had attempted the Welsh 3000ers last weekend he had asked why Cadair Idris wasn’t included. Now that I was forced to think about it I couldn’t think of a reason either. I had been up it many times as a lad it was a big mountain. surely it had to be at least 3000ft?

The pasta bubbled away and I popped the lid on the jar of pesto, classic basil. When the weather is hot and sunny I think of the mountains around Lecco, I really miss not being able to just step out of my back door and on to a mountain. I thought about the bike in the back of my car, what was that doing there anyway? Earlier in the week I had extracted a link out of the chain with the help of Pete and although the back wheel fell off and I had ended up face first on the tarmac the chain no longer slipped. It was like a raging bull, but I reckoned I had what it would take to ride it.

Stirring in the pesto an idea started to formulate itself. maybe I could do Snowdon and Cadair Idris in a day by bike, and on my bike at that!

First thing to do was to drive back out past Alpkit HQ to Decathlon and take a look at a map, how far was it from Snowdon to Cadair Idris anyway? They didn’t have the maps I needed but I did manage to pick up a puncture repair kit. Next stop Tesco to pick up some supplies. I was going to need energy, I needed Malt Loaf. Shortly after I was back at Alpkit printing off a Google map. It looked as if it was going to be about 35 miles from Snowdon to Cadair Idris, it sounded like a long way. I had never cycled that distance in my life, but I knew I could walk up Snowdon, and if I could reach Cadair Idris I would be able to walk up that as well. What I didn’t know was if my bike would make it to Cadair Idris without falling apart, whether I could ride that distance, and if I did would I be able to make it back?

These were details I could worry about later. Now I just needed to get back to Decathlon and pick up that bike lock I had forgotten earlier.

I camped out at the foot of Pen-y-Pass and set off at 6.15. I figured that if my bike was going to fail it would be on the climb to the youth hostel and it would only be a short walk back to the car. No such problem and I had despatched Snowdon by 9. The descent to Beddgelert was a joy, if a little chilly, the constant risk of my back wheel falling off kept me alert.

My Google map indicated that I should go through Rhyd, it was the shortest way. It didn’t tell me it was also the steepest way, but what ever goes up must eventually come down and I whizzed pass the Tan-y-Bwlch station on the Ffestiniog Railway. I had been here many times when I was younger, I had had posters on my wall and everything, but before today I honestly could not have told you where it was. From here there was a long climb up to Llyn Trawsfynydd, just manageable on my 32/13 ratio before the long, interminable slog towards Dolgellau.

Head down and peddle. My crank had developed an interesting crunching sound, not really a place I wanted to break down. As each hill appeared out of the haze I wondered if it was Cadair Idris, if not that maybe the next one, or the next, or the next.

Suddenly there were a few more bikes around. I had stumbled upon the Coed y Brenin mtb centre. Today wasn’t the day to check out some of it’s trails but I was glad to have found out where it was, and from here the road started to drop down into Dolgellau. From the town centre it was a steep little climb to the Gwernan Lake Hotel and the start of Foxes path up Cadair Idris, (km 58, 1pm). By now I was quite weary, pushing was easier than riding, I treated myself to a cola in the hotel. I was glad to be out of the saddle and pretty sure that I would be able to recuperate some energy on the walk, and what a great day to be walking. There was nobody on this side of the mountain and I had forgotten how great a mountain Cadair Idris is. The soft and luscious grassy path took me to Llyn y Gadair where it turned all too soon into a steep scree path which led direct to the summit. 2.30pm. I joined many other people enjoying the sun by the summit cairn. While munching on my malt loaf the summit of Snowdon was visible through the haze, I was startled by how far it looked away.

The descent was slow, both of my knees were giving way and I couldn’t see myself riding back. I hadn’t really thought about how I would get back if I couldn’t ride it but now I started going through the options: bus, taxi, hitch, walk. Arriving at the hotel the guys really helped me out by providing some bus information, nothing direct to Pen-y-Pass, it looked as if Caernafon or Bangor would be my best bet. Not wanting to delay I scooted back down into town. Weirdly my knees didn’t feel too bad back on my bike, and I think if I had of had a bike more suitable for the job like a Genesis Vapour I would have been up for it. As it was I was more than happy to hop on the Blaenau bus and cut out the Trawsfyndd section. I was dropped at the Oakeley Arms, half way home.

Even with my renewed energy levels I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the climb back over Rhyd. I was tempted to head the long way down around Penrhyndeudraeth, but the bus driver was watching me so I quickly snapped my wheels back into the frame and rode off around the corner. It wasn’t long before I was pushing but I was out of sight. The climb went quicker than I was expecting and I cruised into Beddgelert. 6.15pm, I took on some food and water, not far now but it was all up hill. By some miracle I managed to ride to the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel without resting, was I pleased? believe it!

And so just 13 hours after setting out I was back at the car, happy with what I had achieved and more than ready for a healthy portion of fish and chips in Betws-y-Coed!

In retrospect I think that this trip would be excellent to do over two days, taking a more interesting off road route with bivvy gear. In my haste I had no bike rack, a bike not suitable for purpose, and I really don’t like riding with a heavy backpack hence my decision to do it in a day.

Equipment:
- Retro Rockhopper singlespeed 32/13
- Gourdon 20
- Google maps
- Malt Loaf
- Water
- Sunglasses
- Bus