A Snowdon Adventure

Ever fancied conquering the highest peak in England and Wales, by bike?

Snowdon Adventure

STOP PRESS Only two places left

Snowdon, as everyone knows, is our highest mountain and a magnet for hill walkers, climbers and mountain bikers.  Sometimes it is smothered in dense cloud or a blanket of deep snow.  At other times it is bathed in glorious sunshine revealing staggering, awe inspiring views across the National Park and North Wales.  A journey to it’s peak is a true adventure unlike anything other and one that a mountain biker will remember for a very long time.  But it is a proper mountain with terrain and weather to match and needs to be treated with respect.

We have teamed up with our friends at Carbon Monkey* to offer a guided ride to the summit and back.  Enjoy an epic adventure in the knowledge that you’ve got the backup and support of a local professional MTB guide to take you down the best lines, help out with any mechanicals, get the best photos and make sure you get to the top and back in one piece.

Here’s a rough edit from Carbon Monkey’s trip last October to give you a taster…

At the end of an epic day return to Ty Beic for a hot shower, enjoy a beer or two on your terrace (while gazing at the Berwyns, good riding there too) and then collapse into “a very large, very comfortable bed” (not our words).  We are giving you a late check out on Sunday – 12noon rather than 10am.  Spend the morning relaxing or squeeze in a cheeky ride, if you’ve still got the energy, before heading home to plan your next adventure.

The Snowdon Adventure takes place on Saturday 23 April.  Two nights accommodation for two at Ty Beic (22 and 23 April) and two places on Carbon Monkey’s ‘the Welsh Classic’ costs £250**.  There are only four places available so get in touch quickly to secure your place by completing the form below.

 

*Carbon-Monkey is a specialist MTB skills course provider running mountain bike courses in North Wales, the Lake District, Peak District, Scotland and on Cannock Chase.
** Please get in contact for longer stays and prices excluding the Snowdon trip for non cycling partners.

Snow Story

Bala LakeNorth Wales SnowWelsh winterMTB North Wales

Three inches of snow on top of a foot of mature welsh bog – think I have found the limits of the Geax Saguaro.

Up on the tops the wind is whipping the snow off the ridge against a bright blue sky.  A frighteningly sketchy descent (the brakes work but nothing’s gripping anything) and ten minutes later it’s like a summer’s day in the valley.

Apart from the half mile stretch of black ice on the road, which I can’t even walk on.

Home for a warm bath. Perfect.

 

Singletrack Epicentre

Jenny, Richard and Oscar the dog stayed with us in December 2015 after winning a weekend’s stay through the very nice people at Singletrack.  Jenny wrote a few words about her stay….

Trail dog

“The last time I won a competition was in 1989 when I won a pair of curtains for my composition entitled “Penguin with a hat on because he is cold” in the medium of Crayola. I was rather more impressed when my husband told me he had won a weekend break at Ty Beic just by virtue of being a Singletrack subscriber. The owners of the converted barns at Ty Beic are riders themselves and have designed the accommodation with riders in mind. There’s a secure bike store, bike wash, drying cupboard, laundry, a great shower, and cosy underfloor heating. Indeed, I had to prise the dog off the floor in the morning and practically drag him outside for his morning constitutional.

We started the weekend at Penmachno having read some great reviews about the trails. We hadn’t factored in Storm Desmond making an appearance which lead to some “challenging” conditions. The water was so deep on the trail that it was hard to tell what was a drop-off and what was just a small puddle until you piled into it (piled in being a common theme of the day). I’m lead to believe the final descent is a really fast, whoopy, chute; however Desmond was blowing a 67mph head wind at us which meant pedalling flat out downhill just to prevent being blown back up the hill. The two 30ft trees that had been blown down on to the track should have been a warning to us but we carried on regardless. Back at the accommodation we settled down with a locally brewed beer from the craft beer shop in Bala, and an enormous steak cooked in the well equipped kitchen in the barn. After dinner (and with another one of those craft beers) we used the handy guide the owners have made to plan our ride for the next day.

Ty Beic is situated in the singletrack epicentre: less than 45mins from Coed Llandegla, Penmachno, Coed y Brenin, The Marin Trail and Antur Stiniog. I am strongly motivated by cake and so Llandegla is one of my favourite trail centres on account of the superior quality – and portion size – of the cake. Luckily my husband knows what’s good for him and agreed to go there (happy wife, happy life). Desmond had moved on to ravage the Highlands of Scotland by this point so we were left with distinctly better conditions. Llandegla never fails to disappoint [sic] and we had an enjoyable blast around the trail before I got to tuck into a large slice of the good stuff.

We will definitely be back, and with friends next time – both converted barns can be rented together for a discount. I’m going to admit defeat and pack away the Crayola and leave my husband to the competition entries from now on.”

mountain biking

shorts were a bad idea

This article originally appeared on singletrackworld. Words and pics courtesy of Jenny.  Craft beers courtesy of Stori.  Mud and gales courtesy of Desmond.