The Marin Trail

Today was my first day off since arriving here on Wednesday, and as I walked across the road to get breakfast I was greeted by a fantastically blue and cloudless sky. A double portion of egg and beans later, and I was off to Betws to see a man about a bike.

The walk in was like a sort of realisation that I do really live here - warm air, lambs bleeting in the fields, and through the spurs of the wooded valley ahead of me the looming snowy peak of Moel Siabod.

Unfortunately the bike hire shop where I had planned to buy an ex-hire bike didn't have any, and said they'd next be selling in May, so I had to re-adjust my plans. Back home, I looked in the garage and found a few bikes, and after seeing if it was OK to borrow one, I set off into the hills.

I soon found myself on the Marin Trail trhough the Gwidir Forest, which grows on the long escarpment to the west of the Conwy valley. This trail is 17 miles long, of competition standard and has over 800m of climbing. I've hardly ever mountain biked, had a bike which could for all intent and purpose be made of lead, and a tonne of equipment (ok, mostly food) on my back.

I quickly found that I need practice to get the full benefit of the trail, seeing as the very first rocky uphill I came too not 100m onto the trail forced me to get off and push. This was the only time that I got off, but I can't say I went at any great pace at any point, although I did get some air on the downhill jumps. By the time I was 3/4 of the way round I was ready to quit, and my chain had developed an annoyingly stiff joint which meant that the chain jumped every time this joint went over the cog. Not great when 80% of time I was going uphill.

This view greeted me as I came out of a fast bit of downhill. On the left is the mountain I climbed with Chris on Thursday, Moel Siabod.

Fast downhill back to Betws, and straight into a bath with the radio and a coffee.

Plan to go and see the sunset from the hill above my house above dinner.