6th June 2024 : Ruthin (Mod+)

An outstanding turnout for our latest special ride; just about filled the library carpark. After much deliberation of how many layers we’d need, most riders opted for the (slightly) less demanding mod ride, with just Clive and myself on the superior ‘plus’ ride. Not sure how my name got to be on the ride planners list though. All I did was ride it with the Hughes’s last year, so a big thanks to them.

After a nice flat wind-assisted run up to St Asaph, we started to climb up to Cefn, past the impressive and isolated St Mary's church, and down to the Elwy valley. Conscious of the fact I was riding with an avid history buff, I just had to point out the Neolithic caves in the cliff face.

Then the lane ramped up sharply, and found that surprisingly Clive didn’t disappear from sight. Luckily for me Clive had not been out riding for several weeks, so, was off ‘brisk’ for the day! The hills just kept coming after Henllan, but was still enjoyable on mostly well-surfaced lanes and stunning Welsh countryside.

Our main objective was to push on and beat the mods to the lunch stop. This we achieved as neither of us wanted to be behind Dave H ordering his 3 course luncheon!(lol). They arrived soon after, and thanks to Megs, shepherding at the rear, no one was missing! 

The return leg along the Clwyd valley was thankfully flatter, albeit into a cool headwind. A few more climbs took us up to Rhuallt and on to Cwm with cracking views to the west. Here we took a diversion and dropped down into the valley. Just had to show Clive the ‘bridge to nowhere ‘. Pont Dafydd is a four hundred year old bridge that is now land-locked due the river being diverted during the construction of the A55.

Sitting on the side of the Pond Dafydd

By Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25541593

A challenging 3900ft of climbing over 43mls, and thanks to Clive for his always interesting and pleasant company.

See route map and/or gpx file download

AO

CA: Many thanks Alan for leading this ride and especially pointing out the churches, cliffs and for the interesting diversion to Pont Dafydd. 

3rd November 2022 : Ruthin (brisk)

Today’s club ride was out on the Wirral, but the brisk riders today decided that due to favourable weather conditions, we would do a hilly 3AAA audax ride used by JohnW. 

Nick, John W, Richard, and I met up at Blacon station on the Greenway, and cycled along the Greenway to Flint where we re-joined the main road taking the turning before Deeside college up to Northop.The sun was beginning to show through the clouds and a prospect of good weather was encouraging. 

Today's ride is achieving over 3000ft within 45 miles and since leaving Northop it is certainly going upwards. The Cilcain Road is a long drag all the way to Loggerheads before joining the Penbarras road up to Moel Famau. During the ascent up to the car park the weather changed and we were in a deluge of water coming down from the sky and also running as a river along the road; so wet feet !!! 

On arriving at the car park the rain ceases and the sun is out again, but the road is too wet to hammer down nevertheless JW leads the descent.  Although the roads were wet, the only poor surface road was not experienced until approaching Ruthin. It was a very poor surface and combined with bright sunshine flashing through the hedgerow made cycling conditions poor. 

However, on arriving at our lunch stop “Chatwins Bakery” all is forgotten as we tuck into hot pie and cream cake. On leaving our stop, we again climb out of the town towards a place called Llanfwrog!! A steep climb but on excellent road surface. Strava calls this area – Mwrog Street Climb and that says it all really. 

We leave the climb NEAR the summit and we’re back on off-road surface plummeting downhill. JW showing his downhill skills of speed succumbs to a puncture giving us time to relax and take a couple of pictures of our location. We are in a valley surrounded by hills and the autumn colours are stunning. However, it doesn’t take long to fix and we are on the move again. 

Quality Welsh Lanes

Quality Riders!

Our next climb is from London Bridge over the top of Coed Llangwylan. Again, we endure an uphill ride in the wet. It's strange how we fell foul of the weather then as soon as we complete a long climb, its blue sky. Thankful for small mercies! 

Rattling downhill to Nannerch, we’ve competed 6 out of 8 Strava climbs but the final two are only rolls in comparison. Rhes-y-cae and Windy Hill are nothing in comparison and stopping at the top we take in the splendour of the Wirral in full sunshine and wonder if we made the right decision. 

We enjoy a down hill flight al the way to Flint where we join the main Chester old road to take us back home. No stopping at Flint for coffee and cake today but straight on to Connah's Quay and re-joining the Greenway back to Chester. 

An excellent day with many challenges but in good company all was enjoyable. A 60+ miles out and back but if anyone is interested in a Flint circular for this ride it is under 40 miles. You will still enjoy 4380ft of ascent and less descent so not a flat ride. 

Thanks to my brave colleagues for today’s ride.  Back home to clean the bike again!!

See route map and/or gpx file download

ID

28th January 2016: Ruthin (brisk)

Riding from home to the Gallery tea shop was all against a strong wind and the weather forecast was not good after 11:30 ish!!

At the Gallery tea café George was locking his bike up as I arrived and we were soon followed by other keen CER riders braving the elements. Jim had a ride and shared with other mods in the café so being one of only two brisks I asked Pink Tom if he would enjoy a 50 mile round trip to Ruthin. Thankfully he agreed so at 10:30 we set off through Hawarden and down Wood Lane to Buckley. Then through dry lanes to Mynyddisa to the cross roads at New Brighton. Over the road to Soughton and through Gwernymynydd (what names!) then started the uphill ride via Maeshafn where we chanced upon a damsel in distress with a flat. Tom immediately offered his services to assist in a repair job of her front tyre but the lady’s husband was en-route to pick her up. So much for green slime in your tyres.

The route between Gwern and Maeshafn found us biking up the only muddy lane (+10%) of the ride, which forced Tom to walk up the hill, not something he has done of late.  A little down hill roll through the village of Llanarmon-byn-Ial (Raven Inn) heading towards Llandegla taking a right turn at a cross lane had us heading towards Ruthin. With the exception of a slight drizzle we arrived at the Castle Hotel (Wetherspoons) for a welcome lunch.

Enjoying the luxury of good company, ale and food we were forced to leave in a down pour. We had covered nearly 30 miles and 2853 feet of ascent to Ruthin so we decided to cut short the ride and join the A494 and head straight home, rather than the intended ride along the Clwydian Range. This was the roll Tom was not looking forward to but the sun came out with a little blue sky that spurred us on towards Ewloe. The road was light in traffic and road surface good so this improved our average speed for today, which wasn’t normal for us.

We went our separate ways at the roundabout at Ewloe to cycle back home. The round trip to the Gallery was 43 miles with over 3921 feet of ascent covered at an average of 14.6mph. The weather again was not as bad as expected – wish they would get better at forecasting!!

ID   

19th April 2012: Llyn Brenig

The car park at Ruthin Craft Centre was a hive of activity as 14 of us met for this year’s first special ride.  The plan was to leave Ruthin heading for Lady Bagot’s Drive and then on to Cyffyffliog and the long climb up to the moors before descending to Llyn Brenig and lunch in the lakeside café.  The route was as spectacular as expected and while the wind was stiff at times we only had a few spots of rain.  The highlights were of course Lady Bagot’s Drive with its garlicky bluebell woods and tumbling peaty river.

Bryan ran out of steam at the top of the long climb out of Cyffyffliog and decided to return to Ruthin and the Craft Centre.  Thanks to Tony for accompanying him safely back down.

The moors above Brenig were still quite wintery and as Dave Heath punctured we cut the corner to avoid the tracks around Llyn Alwen.  The riverside track by Pentrellyncwmr was another beautiful undiscovered spot for all but the leader.  A belter of a climb took us to tracks in Clocaenog: all very rideable and with long views across to the Arenigs.

Photographs by Dave Hill and Alan Jeffs.

The lane descent down to Bontuchel was in a sorry state but wide tyres and good skills saw everyone reach the bottom without incident.  Some took a coffee at the Ruthin Craft Centre before heading for home.

We all made it round successfully.  I enjoyed the lead, loved to show everyone some of my favourite tracks, lanes and countryside.  Thanks for the opportunity to do so.

DHill

29th September 2011: Ruthin

Caergwrle rides mean hills and this week’s ride featured a lot, 3000ft of ascent according to Bike Route Toaster.  The weather was mid 20’s and rising and the sun shone all day with hardly a cloud in the sky.  An extraordinary summer’s day – but in autumn.  The lunch stop was the Anchor in Ruthin, and rather than going up the Minera Steps, I thought a meander up Summerhill and Brymbo to get to Bwlchgwyn would make a nice change.  OS maps don’t seem to indicate chevroned roads here and there were a lot of them as there were also curiously, a lot of pubs.  Up, around, along, down then repeat the sequence until finally we passed the old ironworks that Brymbo is known for.  Here Norman was struggling with the heat and wisely decided to call it a day.  We also seemed to have lost Dave Hill, who was out for the café breakfast, and Liz and Martin who also disappeared.

Bwlchgwyn

Photographs by Alan Jeffs

So we six (Alan, Dave B, Dave P, Ray, Janet and myself) continued up again to meet the Minera Steps road.  Heading through the Llandegla Mountain bike centre, we made it out to the A5104 bound for the roundabout just before the Horseshoe Pass Road.  Taking the quiet lane on the right, and at 1200 ft, we now enjoyed nearly 5 miles of ridge riding with magnificent views of the Clwydian range to the right and the Berwyns to the left.  Taking a right at the T, we accelerated off the hills and down via wooded valleys towards Llanfair Dyffryn. The hedge cutters had been out, so caution was needed along some of these lanes.

Llandegla Forest

The Anchor was quiet and the £5.95 menu fair was served up promptly.  A few lime and sodas were also downed to reset the fluid balance.  We discussed the return route, which originally included the steep ascent to Moel Fammau.  With the temperature rising, we acknowledged that we would re-route by going toward Nant-y-Garth.  A loop out of the town to warm up the legs found us out of Llanbedr and then the B road to Graigfechan.  Rather than take the main pass road, we took the 3 mile long ascent out of Pentrecelyn to the top of the pass.

Top of the old Nant Garth road

Decision point: which way home?  Loggerheads for tea was agreed upon, and we sped down to Llanarmon and onto Caffi Florence, just getting our order in before closing time.  Leaving for home, Dave B split off to get back to Connah’s Quay as the rest of us cut across country via Swan Lane back to Caergwrle.  The lanes at “going home” time are a particular hazard as a few scraps with vans and cars evidenced.  Ray and I split off to go back to Chester via Kinnerton as Janet took the train at Penyffordd; Dave P went back to Chester another way and Alan picked his car up in Caergwrle.  The out journey to Ruthin was 25 miles but the return was 29 miles making a 54 miles extremely enjoyable, if hot and thirsty ride. Thanks go to Dave P for being the back marker for most of the day and well done to Dave B for not giving up on the hills.  For me, it was just short of 80 miles as I reached home with the sun low in the sky.

Addendum: Three times during the day my Motorola Defy satnav and phone was shaken loose from its bike holder by the potholes and bounced down the road.  Not a scratch on it, and still working.  Ray had a front wheel puncture in Kinnerton and changed it in record time.

CA

27th May 2010: Ruthin & Graham’s bench

This must rate as one of the best CER rides ever, but was enjoyed by just four members: Bryan, Clive, Ray S and Dave P.  Yes, it was one of Bryan’s hilly rides from Caergwrle, but no we didn’t start by going over the summit of Hope Mountain, although it might have been easier if we had done so!  The ride itself was a modest 56 miles at an average speed of just 10 mph but included some 2,000 metres of ascent.  Highlights: a significant section along lanes none of us had done before, hail as we descended down into the Vale of Clwyd (in what was otherwise perfect cycling weather), the lunch stop pub (White Horse at Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd) closed on Thursdays, Clive and Ray’s favourite recipes discussed over lunch at the Anchor Hotel in Ruthin (the nearest open hostelry), the tranquil setting of Graham’s bench where we reminisced about past rides, the climb up Bwlch Penbarras, the view over the Vale of Clwyd from the top and the 40 mph dash down the other side to Loggerheads, bara brith and coffee at Caffi Florence, more hills on the journey back through Cilcain, Soughton before the descent to Broughton.

Photographs by Bryan Wade

The day had started with a look at the map when I noticed a road down to Llanfair Dyffryn in the Vale of Clwyd from Llanarmon-yn-Ial.  “Was it doable?” I asked myself: the middle section was a white road but it was worth a go I thought.  The alternative would be to go up “the steps” across to Llandegla and then down from there.  I’ll put it to the group over elevenses at Caergwrle and see what they say.  At Caergwrle he weather was good but there still only three of us having tea by ten to eleven.  Brian texted to say he had a cold and wouldn’t be joining us and then Dave P arrived.  None of us had done the Llanarmon route but it looked a lot more interesting than the alternative so we all agreed to give it a try.
Bryan led off over the shoulder of Hope Mountain to Pontybodkin crossing the main road and up the climb (two chevrons) to Treuddyn.  By this time we had settle into the pattern for the day: as each hill came I changed down to the lowest cog while the others surged past and we regrouped at the top.  We continued on the narrow lanes down to Cae Gwyyd and up the other side (two chevrons) before emerging at Eryrys for a quick check of the map.  It was southwest from here but with another climb (two chevrons) before dropping down to the River Alyn and into Llanarmon-yn-Ial.  The new lane lay straight ahead and we climbed gradually up to the pass with a photo stop at the top looking over the Vale of Clwyd with dark clouds gathering overhead.  Then within 50 yards we were descending on the white road (a rough track), great for mountain bikers but testing the bike handling skills of us roadies to the limit.  Safely down the steep rough section we were soon back on a surfaced lane for a fast descent through biting hail to the valley bottom – great!  A short ride to lunch at the White Horse in Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd was followed by bitter disappointment when we discovered the pub was closed on Thursday lunchtimes.  No problem; with Ruthin just up the road we set off at top speed and made for the first hostelry we could find.  The Anchor Hotel did us proud with a wide range of meals for £5 a head and Young's ale on tap.

Photographs by Dave Pipe

It was already late when we set off into the town centre so that Clive could refill his wallet while the rest of us admired the townscape.  Then we were back riding northeast on the lanes to reach Llanbedr Hall for another track up to the Woodland Trust site of Graham’s bench, a little quite contemplation and some photos.  Leaving the tranquillity of the woodland behind we were soon struggling uphill on the lower slopes of Bwlch Penbarras where there were too many cars coming down for comfort.  Two of us chose to walk the hairpin (only one chevron) before remounting round the bend to continue on to the summit at a steady pace.  More photos at the top before Caffi Florence at Loggerheads beckoned and we started the fast descent.  After coffee Dave decided to make his own way back “staying in the hills” he called it while we went up the nearest hill (one chevron) towards Cilcain.   I had planned to cross the river at Maes-y-groes but my shouts from the back of “take the track on the right” went unheeded and it was Cilcain before we gained the other side with a climb up from the valley floor (one chevron), and the first sign of complaint from the troops.  In truth it was all over: Gwernaffield-y-Waun, an easy climb up to Soughton, Buckley, Bilberry Wood and a nice descent down the Warren to the Cheshire plain at Broughton.  It was getting on for 18.30pm when we arrived back in Chester after a superb day: it just doesn’t get better than that.
Nine chevrons of ascent (if you’ve been counting) but no doubles today.

BW