Hill madness (at least for me)!

Well, as planned I did get out yesterday after a rather prolonged Christmas break which I can only put down to sloth (I make no apology for this as we had a great Christmas and New Year). The weather is unseasonably mild for the time of year - no sign of frost although we have had plenty of gales and rain. This time last year we had had one severe cold spell and were heading for another.

I had spent the morning doing other things and watching the rain come and go 3 or 4 times. By lunchtime I had decided that I would go out and sod the weather. The rain stopped about 1.30pm so I quickly got changed and took off without a real sense of which direction I would go in.

I found myself heading up Vale Street in Denbigh with the thought that I would either go to Nantglyn or tackle my nemesis - Peniel Hill. The first decision point is at just short of 4km and I took the hard road up Peniel Hill. I have posted about this hill before and I still can't get to the top without stopping 3 or 4 times even in the granny gear! The next decision junction was the other side of Peniel Hill at 8km where I could choose to go onwards and upwards or turn right to Nantglyn. The sun was out at this point so not a hard choice really and I crossed the junction to head up to Llyn Brenig (a large reservoir). The climbing becomes easier from that point - steadily upwards but undulating giving some relief and allowing continuous progress.

The next choice came at the top of the hill and now time was a factor. Should I take the road and head home to make sure I was back in time for our daughter getting home from school or did I have time to set off round the lake on the trail. I know the Brenig - not a challenge to ride round other than a bit of mud and plenty of potholes so I unlocked the front forks and took off on the trail. I got to the Visitor Centre café just as it was closing and entered successful pleadings for a take-out cuppa! (I think they took sympathy!)

Shots of the Brenig and the bike

The lake looked very atmospheric at 3pm as the sun was heading towards the horizon. Sadly the phone camera does not do it justice. The bike looks good, all muddy against a slate wall (a personal opinion) and it is turning out to be a pretty good choice for more that just commuting.

I was home just before 4pm after thoroughly enjoying the descent back down to Denbigh (always a blast).




I plan to do a charity ride for Sport Relief and this might just be the start of the training.

JoD