I am going to be in Trevor for a couple of days and have been granted time for maybe one ride! The plan it to take my ‘gravel’ bike because of the lower gearing – as opposed to my road bike which is much higher geared. (There just isn’t going to be time to get a decent mtb ride in.)

I have a climb in mind and want to try and build it in with a reasonable loop. The caveat here, is that while I am quite happy knocking out 70 to 100 mile rides at home…home is Suffolk and there aren’t any climbs to speak of.

This impacts on how far I can practically go in hilly terrain. So…I thought maybe a couple of hours or so but I want to include Tower Hill, and finish up at The Prospect or thereabouts and then loop back to Pen y Gaer Road.

I am not a climber (think Andre Greipel more than Chris Froome!). I have driven the climb many times but have yet to try it on a bike. Is it tough or just a case of spinning away until you eventually top out?

Any recommendations for a loop on quieter roads that won’t kill me? :o)

I tried Garth Road once on a susser many years ago but died by the time I got to the war memorial. (It was after 6 hours riding so in my mind I have an excuse!)

Pen-y-Gaer Road, Panorama, Dinas Bran Castle, Llangollen, Horseshoe Pass, left just past the Ponderosa, left then left again to Bryneglwys, Carrog, Horseshoe Falls, Llangollen, then the canal all the way to where it ends near the Duke of Wellington, then back up via Tower Hill 🙂

3 and a bit – 4 and a bit hours? and not too much climbing (other than Horseshoe Pass and Tower Hill, but TBH you can’t ride much around the area without some climb or another!)

All fairly quiet roads too (except HSP, but you could try the ‘old’ pass for a laugh, Pentredwr to the Ponderosa).

Will try and go a google map thing now.

http://tinyurl.com/h2vvr7x

3 hrs 49 mins / 31.6 miles. This OK?

The routes a bit wrong at the end, instead of going on the A539 keep going along the canal past Jones the Boats and you eventually end up on a small road which then leads up to Tower Hill

[edit] forgot to add the Tea Rooms are now only open Thurs -> Sun (and bank hol mondays)

Cool…thanks for that! :o)

Lucky Trevor! 😯

To schnoor……did the suggested loop. Only went wrong once and ended up at the bridge in Llan as opposed to higher up then road. The descent off the top by Ponderosa was brilliant…..gravel bike heaven! Not sure I liked the climb up Horseshoe Pass though, 30psi isn’t really enough for the road.

Tower Hill wasn’t so bad after all.

Anyway, thanks for your help….that is down in the memory banks as one I’ll ride again.

Brill, glad you liked it 🙂 maybe try next time the old pass (next right past the Britannia, pendredwr, ponderosa), shorter and steeper but a rougher surface.

I also did an out and back up Ruabon/Worlds End and beyond i think, and fell victim to the ford! Properly slippery that one!!

That was a helluva climb for a flat lander. I only turned back as the weather was so foul on the top and I was dressed for Suffolk in the summer i.e. no waterproof and only a windproof gilet for ’emergencies’.

Can I get to Llandegla cafe from there, avoiding busy roads?

Yep, going from the slippery ford, up, along to Offas Dyke Path (2ft high slate waymarker), along the boardwalk / moorland, cross the llandegla MTB main route and down through the forest, then where it meets the black route (just past a double switchback), join it and finish it to the cafe.

Or on roads (well, for what passes for them), don’t join ODP and carry on along the mountain road, down to a junction, sharp left, narrow bridge (if in a car), left, immediately left then keep left at all the main junctions then right at a small council estate, join the A525 (it’s only 5 mins downhill), then left at Dirty Farm TM and along a straight potholed track to the main Llandegla gates. Then cake / nomz 🙂