48 mile cycle with big hill - do the hill at the start/end?

sylvestermorgan

Hi all. My first ever post so excuse the naivety. I'm relatively new to cycling but last week did a 45 mile cycle on the flat and before that 35 miles climbing up to 1500 feet from sea level (including the dreaded bonk for the last 8 miles, thankfully mostly down hill).

I'm doing a 48 miler tomorrow in a loop around Dolgellau, Barmouth, Harlech, Maentwrog and Trawsfynydd. If I do it clockwise it is relatively flat for most but leaves a 700 feet climb until the last 10 miles. If I do it anticlockwise I do the climb straightaway but have no notable hills thereafter.. I've packed lots of fluids and food to sustain me through the day but if I tackle the hill straightaway I have to carry all the weight up the hill. The other way, I'll be much lighter but much more tired.

Any thoughts from you road experts on which way I should do it? Many thanks!

redddraggon

Do the hill twice, it'll make you stronger.

Anonymous

Try it one way one day then the other way another!

Is there any way of adding an extra 5 miles or so to the ride so you warm up then do the hill at the beginning?

Anyhoo, having the extra weight on the hill is good training...

sylvestermorgan

NapoleonD wrote:

Try it one way one day then the other way another!

Is there any way of adding an extra 5 miles or so to the ride so you warm up then do the hill at the beginning?

Anyhoo, having the extra weight on the hill is good training...

I suppose I could pootle around Dolgellau before doing the climb. That said, the hill does the first few miles at very gentle gradient before steepening later, so I could ease myself in that way.

Yes, thinking about it, it pays to get the hill out of the way early. I can then enjoy the ride around the coast later knowing that the hard work has been done. Thanks!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I hope for your sake that you are not travelling on the main road between Dolgellau and Barmouth (A496?), or that it is a lot safer for cyclists than 25 years ago! I lived in Dolgellau for three years in the 80s and cars used to be driven like rally training along that windy road.

Nant y Gader, leading out of the town and up near the start of many a Cader Idris mountain ascent, before dropping back down into Fairbourne is a superb cycle ride, albeit it is not anything like 40 miles. The views are superb, not to mention some nice optional stopping points near the lakes, which come in handy after all that hill climbing!

If you want to add a few more miles to that route, you can leave Dolgellau via Fron Serth (by the secondary school, Ysgol yr Gader)... But you may of course already know this if you live there and are not on holiday.

Regardless, have a geat days cycling. Seeing those town names on here has brought back childhood memories and I'm quite envious of you being in a great area for bike riding

Frank the tank

sylvestermorgan wrote:

Hi all. My first ever post so excuse the naivety. I'm relatively new to cycling but last week did a 45 mile cycle on the flat and before that 35 miles climbing up to 1500 feet from sea level (including the dreaded bonk for the last 8 miles, thankfully mostly down hill).

I'm doing a 48 miler tomorrow in a loop around Dolgellau, Barmouth, Harlech, Maentwrog and Trawsfynydd. If I do it clockwise it is relatively flat for most but leaves a 700 feet climb until the last 10 miles. If I do it anticlockwise I do the climb straightaway but have no notable hills thereafter.. I've packed lots of fluids and food to sustain me through the day but if I tackle the hill straightaway I have to carry all the weight up the hill. The other way, I'll be much lighter but much more tired.

Any thoughts from you road experts on which way I should do it? Many thanks!

Which way did you do it, and how did you get on my owd?

sylvestermorgan

Frank the tank wrote:

sylvestermorgan wrote:

Hi all. My first ever post so excuse the naivety. I'm relatively new to cycling but last week did a 45 mile cycle on the flat and before that 35 miles climbing up to 1500 feet from sea level (including the dreaded bonk for the last 8 miles, thankfully mostly down hill).

I'm doing a 48 miler tomorrow in a loop around Dolgellau, Barmouth, Harlech, Maentwrog and Trawsfynydd. If I do it clockwise it is relatively flat for most but leaves a 700 feet climb until the last 10 miles. If I do it anticlockwise I do the climb straightaway but have no notable hills thereafter.. I've packed lots of fluids and food to sustain me through the day but if I tackle the hill straightaway I have to carry all the weight up the hill. The other way, I'll be much lighter but much more tired.

Any thoughts from you road experts on which way I should do it? Many thanks!

Which way did you do it, and how did you get on my owd?

What a glorious sunny Spring day, the sort where you can smell the flowers of the gorse bushes, you can hear the lambs in the fields, and see the mountains of Snowdonia in all their glory.

Went anticlockwise. Took a single track northwards on opposite side of valley to A470 for awhile to bypass the narrow twisty bit, then rejoined the A470 for the big climb to Trawsfynydd (man that was a long climb). This is a fast section of road which cars frequently speed on. They didn't bother me but still made me nervous all the same when the whoosh past (Route 8 runs parallel to this through the woodlands but I opted to avoid it as its offroad, twisty and involves unecessary hills!). Then downhill from Trawsfynydd. Came off the A470 to take a back lane down to Maentwrog power station, so was able to enjoy the views over the Lleyn peninsula without having to think about cars. Picked up the A496 towards Harlech and took the right had road which goes along the flat. Brief stop in Harlech. Harlech Castle was bathed in glorious sunshine but surprisingly few tourists. Then the coast road down to Barmouth, mostly flat but the sea breeze was into my face and legs were tiring so every minor hump started to hurt, so stopped for emergency bananas and energy drink. A guy on a fast road bike coming the other way saw me pulled over and asked if everything was okay (very nice of him). Perked up after sustenance and made it to Barmouth. I knew that I'd basically done it when I dropped into the town as the last 10 miles up the Mawddach estuary are flat as a pancake along the Mawddach trail (a converted disused railway line to Dolgellau) - so managed to avoid the A496 to Dolgellau, I've driven that section and I know what you mean, fast, twisty and many blind bends. Instead, paid my £1 toll for the bridge at Barmouth and crossed the estuary. The trail was very busy with walkers and families on mountain bikes. Despite the tired legs, still overtook everyone! Nonetheless, the trail was fabulous (is there a more beautiful estuary than the Mawddach anywhere?) and had a easy pootle back to the car in Dolgellau.

A truly memorable day in glorious Spring sunshine. How can I top this?

itboffin

NapoleonD wrote:

Try it one way one day then the other way another!

Is there any way of adding an extra 5 miles or so to the ride so you warm up then do the hill at the beginning?

Anyhoo, having the extra weight on the hill is good training...

+1

Spot on, start with the hill first after a short warmup then next time do it the other way around, keep doing that and eventually both ways will become bearable but never easy