Skiing and Surfing

After a lively weekend of dancing and socialising, followed by a few Cottage projects, we still managed to go skiing! But if you look closely at the photo, you'll see it's not in my usual habitat! 

We sped away from project DIY on Sunday afternoon and arrived at a Hotel near Warrington in time for dinner...

On Monday, we met for a friends birthday to go on the indoor ski slope near Manchester! 

It was a much shorter run that we're used to, but it was great fun all the same - especially being a team of seven!

John and Ange went indoor skydiving afterwards! We went on expedition to Ikea and sucessfully navigated around the huge store, covering several miles of hiking in the process. We arrived home late and utterly exhausted! 

We woke to find a little fresh snow on the mountains, but opted to check out the surf instead as there was an unusually long wave period (nearly 20 seconds between waves). After a less exciting morning painting the spare room at The Cottage, we loaded the van and set off to the west coast of Anglesey. 

To keep warm, I chose to surf in my kayak. When the waves came, they were big and fast! Exhilarating stuff! And social too, as it was nice and chilled between the waves. Went for a cuppa with friends afterwards to warm up and have a natter. First surf of the year and a corker!

Snow, Sun and Slates

Yesterday was a good day to be off the bikes and safely back at The Cottage as the temperature dropped and the a dusting of snow was put down on the mountain tops! Today though, things cleared up nicely and despite the very low temperatures, out of the wind, we hoped to find some warm sunny slate to climb. 

Our gamble paid off and the sun felt warm and reviving. In the shade it was bitterly cold though!

The view out to Snowdon was superb. 

A bonus day of climbing! Didn't expect to be doing this today...

Finished the day with a late evening climbing wall session with Dave as well - also a last minute call!

Llanberis Slate Climbs:

- Fresh Air, 6a***

- Seamstress, VS (4c)***

To Chester (and back) by Bike

A long and comfy sleep, followed by a delightfully luxurious breakfast, turned out to be a fine way to start a day of cycle touring. Very much un-rushed and recommended!

We checked out at the last possible moment and decided not to get back into the swimming pool, but instead get back on the road...

Northwards, to Chester!

We felt much more rested than when we'd arrived and it took less than an hour to get to the city centre, where we found a café in the sunshine!

We had just enough time to wander through the hussle before getting to the station.

Getting the bikes on the train was always a bit of a gamble as there are only two spaces. Happily, both were free and we were spared the return peddle (into the wind!), back to Wales.

From Bangor station, we were on familiar terrain, back up towards The Cottage.

It's not steep, but it is uphill and we used the last of our food and water to keep us topped up!

With bikes and bags packed away, and after a long hot shower, an impromptu celebration erupted to mark the end of the anniversary tour! Pancakes and champagne?! Why not?!....

Total Day Ride = 25.9km

Total Anniversary Tour Distance = 147.9km

Towyn (Wales) to Pulford (England) by Bike

Our anniversary day! We were sure ready to get into the hotel spa, after a big day on the trail!

All started off flat and easy, past Rhyl, which seemed to have been blasted by sand and weather.

We had a quick race around the deserted concert arena before peddling on!

Getting to Prestatyn was almost problematic as we'd not factored the state of tide into our plans! It was on 'Springs' and getting towards high tide. Soon enough the cycleway would be underwater! We peddled like mad and had to time a few sections to get through between waves!

Little turnstones were huddled along the way, jumping between the incoming waves!

It was as if, as we peddled on, the way behind us was getting cut off!

Thankfully, we made it through and as we moved slightly in land, the sun began to shine through, making it feel a lot more spring like than February should.

Traffic was mostly okay, although we did have a brief wait while cows were herded. We also had an encounter with a red eyed rabbit who ran alongside us for a bit and a weasel to stopped dead in the road ahead of us, unsure which way to run.

Inland from Prestatyn, to head east and avoid the main road, there are some monsterous hills and essentially a massive detour. The climb up to the hills was tough, but the resulting downhill section was very steep and very fast. We managed to meet a tractor on the way down a very narrow track at a convenient spot, but on the final uphill section, we had to stop to let a truck pass, which resulted in a 20m push to get momentum back!

Back down at the coast, the town of Flint failed to provide the promise of a cosy café re-fuelling station. Instead, we had an overpriced and under-nourishing cold pasty on the edge of a shopping centre car park, washed down with an equally unfulfilling milky coffee. Clare's kick stand also broke off when we stopped, which added to the feeling of fatigue. The rest, and the draw of the spa hotel did give us enough renewed energy to press on.

Down by the River Dee, we encountered smooth tarmac and a 5km straight section. The wind was behind us and spirits were lifted!

A final crossing of the Dee meant that England was in sight!

Happily, we recieved a super friendly welcome in the village of Pulford. I had phone ahead to ask about bike storage and had been told we could just lock them at the back of the hotel, but the friendly receptionist suggested bringing them into the beautiful lobby and locking them in a porters cupboard. She didn't think anyone had ever arrived by bike before and we soon became a bit of a novelty. I was almost scuppered by the glass revolving doors and was just wondering what to do, when more staff arrived and split the doors so we could push the bikes though. Thankfully, we left no tyre tracks on the nice carpet and polished floor! All that was left was the final climb of the stairs to our room.

After viewing the ride profile, we felt very pleased with our efforts! A swim, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room all provided a superb end to the days excursions! Freshly scrubbed up and with a new set of clothes, we made it to the bar for pre-dinner drinks and a celebratory glasses of prosecco to mark nineteen years of adventures together. 

Total Ride: 57.6km

Biking travels from The Cottage

It's almost nineteen years since Clare and I got together. We always do something to mark the occasion, but as this one seemed like a really long time, we decided to have a night out in a nice hotel. And rather than just drive there, we thought we'd turn it into an adventure as well and cycle there.

After a bit of calculating, it looked like two or three days ought to get us to the land of luxury. We threw a few clothes into the panniers, made a cheese sandwich, filled the flasks and set off into the day. Strong winds were forecast for the next few weeks, so it was not by chance, that we planned to peddle east, with the winds at our backs, pushing us along.

The first part of the tour is along a splendid cycle way that travels along Wales' north coast. We had a few stops along the way and even bumped into several people we knew.

At Conwy, we parked up and stopped for some late lunch.

Further progress continued past Colwyn Bay. The plans were almost thwarted by the promenard being closed for repairs! We had to take an uphill detour to get around and back to the sand. All rather un-necessary at that time of day!

Finally, away from the busy town, it was a joyous ride away from the sunset, with the wind assisting our tiring legs.

We arrived in Towyn at about 16:30 in glorious late evening sunshine. 

After enjoying the last of the light, we had a slight sting in the tail getting across the railway!

Towyn was completly closed for the winter - almost all the shops, cafes and bars (of which there are a staggering amount), were all boarded up for the season. It was a little spooky. Millions of static caravans surround the tiny town and even the huge race track looked closed down. In summer (and confirmed by looking at google maps), it must be mobbed! We were happy to slide in unnoticed. The garage of someone's house had been converted into overnight accommodation.

We had some cycle touring treats with us, and after a good feed, were soon asleep...

Day 1 - Total Ride 55km