Snowdonia weekend

We spent last weekend in Snowdonia with six women from Team Glow doing a 52-mile circular ride Nantlle - Llanberis pass - Prenteg - Nantlle, taking in

3784 feet of climbing

 

Drizzling when we woke up after a wild night. By good fortune, and the fact that everyone was up late last night, we didn't get off till 10.15 and the rain had stopped.  But the wind was still severe, blowing and gusting.

It meant a tailwind up Llanberis pass, easy to negotiate. Snowdon and Crib Goch were in cloud as we descended the other side.  It was hard to keep steady against the cross-wind, we couldn't get up any speed, pushing against the force of it.  Pedalling downhill is a strange feeling.  We sheltered from the Welsh summer at our favourite cafe in Nant Gwynant (butternut squash soup, venison burger, chocolate chip cookie) then pedalled alongside a blowy lake, waves flowing, remembering my New Zealand trip in 2008,  nine miles along a lake with black swans against a head wind thinking  "I can't do this", but I could and did.

We decided to head for Prenteg and up one of Simon Warren's  "Another greatest cycling climbs" graded 8 out of 10 (Llanberis was 6 out of 10). Shocked by the steep 1 in 6 at the beginning.  The whippet-thin Simon claimed to have done the 2-mile climb in 9 minutes. Heather had done it last week on the Etape de something with other Glowies, and her and Nadia chased his example, whooping at the top.  I got off 4 times, worried that I'd topple off  in my clipped in feet, so then tried one free foot unclipped, but had to stop again when my front wheel left the ground, it's dangerous when there's air between the wheel and the road.  To my credit I got back on each time and faced the twists and turns in the road, charging into the headwind. I was so far gone that I just thought it was refreshing to my over-heated head rather than a barrier to progress.

At the top we were triumphant - who cares whether we walked some of it - Team Glow rules for bagging the 100 climbs state that we can claim the peak regardless of how we got there.

From there we pedalled along the top, emerging from the hills onto a plateau populated by sheep with fleeces hanging half off them - where are the shearers? - looking quizzically at red- , and yellow-clad speedsters silently sprinting across the landscape past a tempting dew-lake (not tempting at all in this weather).

Descending back to roads with traffic (well, one yellow mini) we decided, bearing in mind the strength of the wind which was still a real challenge, to take the fast way back to Nadia's: main road then Lon Eifion cycle route then back through Penygroes where people socialise on the corner by the Co-op and down past the vineyard and the piles of slate back to Nantlle.                 

 

What a Bike Week it was!

It's been a fantastically busy Bike Week  - overall we ran 71 events and 69 Bikeability courses in Manchester, Newcastle, Warrington, Merseyside, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country.

Chris Boardman joined Liverpool city councillors for a cycling tour of highway facilities and plans for regeneration in North Liverpool, and how this will affect cyclists and transport in general.

Our mission of creating new cyclists continues, with around 800 'conversions' this week amongst all the children we've trained and a number of adults, including:

- Councillor Claire Glare, Liverpool

 "a big thank you to you and your team for Tuesday and Saturday. I really enjoyed the training and the bike ride and learnt loads!"

- Colin - our star pupil at level 1 session at BikeRight! Birmingham


and John - Learnt to ride last week and now taking part in level 1 training.

 

 

AND BIG CONGRATULATIONS  to seasoned cyclist 10-year old Ed Diamond who completed his football-themed 100-mile Anfield to Albion charity ride, supported by his Mum Annie, and                BikeRight! on Saturday.  Starting out from Anfield Football Club (Ed’s Team) to West Bromwich Albion (Annie’s Team) they raised funds for Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice in Liverpool and Walsall HeartCare                                                                                                                                                   

Wet but finished - Ed and Mum after 100 miles

 Of course, Bike Week wouldn't be Bike Week without some traditional rides. Canals were popular this year in the West Midlands; and Liverpool's canal ride ended up at Crosby Marina. Well done to all the cyclists.

When can children ride independently?

As Bike Week rounds the corner of its second weekend and enters the home straight towards long-term pedalling not just a one-week wonder, here's the latest from totalwomenscycling on moving children towards sustainable cycling.

Can you remember the freedom and joy from riding a bike when you were young? The wind in your hair, the miles zipping by, downhill excitement, bursts of pride at cresting a hill. But when, as a parent, do you take the plunge and let your child and their bike out on their own? READ MORE at totalwomenscycling Mums Corner

Lon Las trail

 

Quick write-up of our 170-mile ride in Wales from Builth Wells to Conway a few weekends ago, completing a section of the Sustrans Lon Las route.  We're still reeling from the beautiful weather in Snowdonia, and the shock of being able to see the tops of Snowdon and Cader Idris - usually wreathed in atmospheric (chilly) cloud.

The trip was a Team Glow outing, characterised by 6 women's camaraderie and incomprehensible jokes - I found a kindred spirit who also HATES binoculars.  Ok, that's apropos of nothing, so back to the cycling.

The reason I've avoided cycling in Wales is the relentless ups and downs. The first day's upping-and-downing approached the ridiculous - in 57 miles we climbed 6,100 feet, included one 20% pull which I'm proud to say I crested still in my saddle. The culmination of that day was the most fantastic 8-mile run downhill from Llanidloes to Machynlleth where Liz achieved a fantastic 45mph. We strongly recommend doing the Lon Las 'backwards' (according to the Sustrans map) so you get that descent - we felt so sorry for the poor b***ers toiling their way up as we sped past.

This was another trip where we had no rain and no punctures. Most of the roads were a delight to ride on - big thank you to the Welsh Assembly Government. As well as the inland hills and valleys - including the delightfully-named Happy Valley to Tywyn, we rode by the coast, up the estuary by Maentwrog, past imposing castles at Harlech and Conwy, over a rattling wooden railway/bike bridge at Porthmadog (no cars), and then the whole Snowdonia experience via the Nantlle Valley, the climb up Nant Gwynant and through Capel Curig to the gentle riverside roll along to Conwy.

 

The trip was "bendigedig" said our Welsh speaker - fantastically superb.

Roll on commuters!

I counted 48 cyclists on my way to the station this morning.  That's more than last time I counted - a few weeks ago it was 30.  Roll on commuters!

My latest article on totalwomenscycling is about what 10-year old children learn at their Bikeability course, and how parents can support them to continue cycling so that they become cycling commuters of the future.  


As we're heading for Bike Week next week, we're planning lots of things in Liverpool
- free breakfast voucher for cyclists using the newly-installed bike parking in Kirkdale. 
- a ride along the Liverpool - Leeds canal - all welcome
- a Councillors' bike ride to show some of the highway improvement work for cyclists as well as what is planned for cycle routes in Everton and Kirkdale. 

This is in addition to our weekly women's ride on a Thursday and local ride on a Friday.

 Eventually we'll have crowds of people saying: Get out, get seen, get on a bike!

RIDING FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED

Just in case anyone thinks I'm a brave cyclist, here's what made me divert off the canal path TWO DAYS RUNNING just yards from the BikeRight! office in Liverpool. "Never mess with a mother" was my predominant thought as I was being royally hissed at.  I strongly suspect the united front actually was mother and father.  Double reason to respect their space. 

Chris Boardman comes to BikeRight!

It was a big day for us yesterday, as cycling legend Chris Boardman paid a visit to BikeRight! in Liverpool.

He met trainees on our City and Guilds course who are training to become cycle mechanics delivered by our mechanic, Paul, who has been likened to cycling's version of Professor Brian Cox.  Simon from Rotunda College was nominated to maintain their recently-acquired pool bikes; ditto for George from the YMCA. Both organisations are giving these volunteers the opportunity to practice the skills they are learning, providing valuable work experience.  

 

Then he had a chat with some supported housing residents from Riverside Housing who were on their way back from a bike ride.  Chris confessed his ignorance about the canal route they'd taken, so there was a chance to give the top guy some advice about where to get on and off the towpath.

After that, it was off to a windy afternoon in the streets around Rice Lane Junior School, seeing how Bikeability works in practice.  All 20 children wanted autographs on their bikes, helmets, pieces of paper, and one child produced a Chris Boardman certificate she'd drawn earlier complete with a 'sign here' box.


An interview with Radio Merseyside rounded off the afternoon, as Chris gave a logical argument for including Bikeability on the national curriculum for primary schools so that all children have the opportunity to access this lifetime skill. "We could fill this course several times over," said the Rice Lane head.  Any more proof needed?

Talk, walk and cycle

Oops, no posts from Majorca because I couldn't work out how to post pictures from the iPad. Technology! I struggle with digital, really prefer mechanical.  The long lean guys in the bike shop at Bruce's Pro Cycle Hire in Porto Pollensa enthused about electronic gear shifters.  I'm naturally suspicious - what happens if the button doesn't click?  But I suppose if that attitude had prevailed amongst the general population, we'd still be using typewriters, and I wouldn't be here now.

Anyway, I promise to do a post soon about our Majorca adventures after it stopped raining.

In the meantime, Liz and I have been in the thick of organising conferences.  Tuesday was the first Choose Freedom conference held at the lovely Isla Gladstone conservatory in Stanley Park in Liverpool. As well as presenting our stats and achievements, participants got to experience a walk, bike ride, cycle maintenance advice or a travel surgery. Some took advantage of all three.

As it's walk to work week this week, people who walked or cycled were rewarded with a bacon or egg butty, and we gave out free pedometers and information on how to achieve the 10,000 steps health target in daily life.  There's still time to walk to work this week - Living Streets has more info.

We had a very moving presentation from an army veteran who entered civvy street last August with nowhere to go and no way of making a living.  Through the help of bnenc.org/he made contact with  Choose Freedom and trained as a cycle instructor.   With the support of the Poppy Factory he is now employed as a cycle instructor with BikeRight!

Today Liz is at the annual conference of The Association of Bikeability Schemes in Birmingham, attended by all the local authorities and organisations that deliver child cycle training. As the long-awaited quality assurance scheme for Bikeability is now in operation - a kind of Ofsted for cycle training - there's a strong sense that things are coming together, and that children up and down the country will be receiving the same quality of training.

Also, on Tuesday my latest article on family cycling was published in totalwomenscycling.com  It's well worth regular visits to this website - lots of chatty information.

Lastly, we're off again with a group from Team Glow to tackle part of the Lon Las cycle trail tomorrow for 3 days.  We're not too sure about the prospect of the Welsh hills and climate after Majorcan mountains and sunshine, but I'm sure there will be stories to tell after the event.  Our leader casually let slip that Saturday's ride is 90 miles. Fortunately there's also a railway line as a back-up.  Something tells me that's going to feature in our weekend's itinerary.