Snowdonia, pt. 2

Another day of tough climbs, especially in the first half. It started with the magnificent Cadair Idris pass. I even caught and overtook two roadies near the summit. The descent down the valley is rather appealing too. The next climb starts directly at its bottom and is equally demanding. At around 39 km I reached the highest point of today at 509 m at the pass of the Bryn-y-Fedwen. Around kilometer 40 the Garmin already counted more than 1000 m accumulated elevation gain, not surprising. At the end of the day the total was 2394 m climbed over a distance of 147 km which would make this the second hardest day so far by pure numbers. (In reality, nothing will top that ride from Durness to Ullapool.)

The weather was quite pleasant too. It started sunny which was promising, then got cloudy and a little rainy only to get sunny again in late afternoon. Overall quite nice for riding despite a moderate headwind.

The Wye

The climbing got a bit less extreme after I reached the river Wye around kilometer 70. The cycle route however became a disappointment soon after in that it again turned into a rough gravel path. At tge start of that section there even was a sign suggesting to use the road instead -- I assume they meant it well but I would have aporeciated that warning at the start of that road some five kilometers earlier. Which was the distance I had to backtrack until the last intersection with said road.

Route troubles aside, the Wye section had some lovely corners that I enjoyed a lot. The roads which I was forced to take turned out to be quiet too so they make for an acceptable cycle route replacement.

Hay-on-Wye looks like a neat small town as well. The locals brand it as a "town of books" and indeed the atmosphere is inviting to stay for a day and just read.

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