Saturday 24th April 2010 - Seaside sufferfest

The met office had promised a day of Sun, so we headed off to the Welsh coast for some sea and suffering. After a chilly start, arm-warmers were dispensed with en route from Dolgellau to Tywyn and we were well and truly warmed up after overtaking a slightly bemused driver doing 35+ mph on the flat. The cafe stop at Aberdyfi came all too soon, where tans and bellies were topped up during a pleasant half hour of gentle piss-taking. After the cafe, the pace was sensibly steady into a moderate headwind, with everyone pitching in on the front. At Corris, the road kicked up, as did the pace, and it wasn't long before le patron uttered the inevitable words 'I'll drag the lad up the climb, you lot can go and play'. This was Chris' cue to turn the screw and eventually Craig succumbed to the pressure. After a brief but fast descent to Tan Y Llyn, Chris, Ron, Robbo and Craig were all back together at the foot of the final long climb past Cadair Idris. Bottom gear was selected all round, as Ronnie took us up the first steep section. Chris then breezed through and casually knocked it down a couple of cogs and up a couple of mph. Ronnie and Robbo followed as Craig eventually dropped back. Chris upped the pace further whilst Robbo kept him pegged at a steady distance, before gradually joining him to reach the summit of the climb together. The fast and furious descent back into Dolgellau was a fantastic reward for all the climbing that we'd done since leaving the coast. A classic short(ish) route and one of our favourites. 50 miles, ave 17.6 mph.