GB Divide part 6 (north-south)

GB Divide days 13-15 Day 13 The campsite at Coxwood was very pleasant, had a decent nights sleep but didn’t feel 100%, maybe due to the big day yesterday. We set off with Paul and had breakfast at the Rackery farm shop which Paul had been to before. Lovely food!! Unfortunately we had about 5 miles on a busy road and it was all up hill. Not my favourite kind of riding and we got buzzed by a few cars, probably the worst section of road all trip. It had been fun riding with Paul but he now had to leave us and head back to his van. We waved goodbye and continued on the road to Llangollen. Stopped here for some lunch by the canal and another cold drink. I was feeling very warm as it was by now a very hot day. Matt also grabbed a hair cut as we rode through town. We were aiming for some waterfalls we’d seen on the map and just past these we pitched camp by the river. Not far off the track as pitches were limited but didn’t seem like many people come this way. It’d been a weird day, enjoyed riding with Paul but the road in the morning and being so hot later definitely put me out of sorts. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. 🙏 Day 14 It turned out to be a good camp spot. Managed to have a wash in the river and was nice and quiet. I felt much better today and it was also sunny but a lot cooler. Bit more climbing up a very chunky track until the descent started. Fast flowing and chunky trails(and a few gates) delivered us to a village called Llandrillo where we had a selection of food and coffee from a nice little village shop. More country lanes through some spectacular landscapes. So many big old Oak trees in this area. The big climb for the day was coming up, Penllyn Forest. Not super steep as you head through the forest but it went on for a while. Clearing the forest we entered a completely different landscape, moorland with expansive views to the mountains in Snowdonia. Still a lot of climbing to get to the top but the views all around were superb. A long off road descent brought us to the road that would take us down to Lake Vyrnwy. An even faster descent down the road brought us to a sight we didn’t want to see. ROAD CLOSED! It turns out that storm Dara brought down thousands of trees along the lane in December. The road was completely blocked and is still closed. This was bad news for us. The only option was to ride back up the road a couple of miles, climb up through some forest and then descend down to an old abandoned sheep fold. From here we should be able to get up and over he next hill and rejoin our route. Only problem is here are no paths o follow so we have to find a way ourselves. I’m sure it’s doable. We are now camped by the river next to the sheep folds and it’s a nice spot. Don’t get the feeling many people come this way. We shall see tomorrow if we can find a way out of here. 😅 Day 15 Had a pretty good night’s sleep although didn’t get a particularly early night. Always seems to be stuff to do after cooking and eating dinner. Felt ok this morning though. Leaving camp we had to push our bikes up the hill and see what the terrain was like on the other side. It’s always tough pushing a loaded bike up a hill with no track and we warmed up pretty fast. Bit boggy at the top and lots of holes filled with water. However, the descent looked ok and we could ride most of it. No path but reasonably easy to get down. We joined the road and were back on the route. It cost us time but in the end it could have been worse. At the end of the road we met another bikepacker, a girl called Georgie. She was on a 6 night ride doing this part of the GB Divide riding north. Then came the Bwlch Groes road descent. Possibly the steepest, fastest hill I’ve ever ridden. Had to be really careful and be a bit sensible as there are cars coming up and at those speeds it’s hard to stop a heavy bike. Still great fun though and quite exhilarating. Moving on we were aiming for the Dyfi Forest. We noticed yesterday that Matt’s rear tyre was looking a bit weird. Sort of blistering and thought it might be delaminating. We needed to get a new one asap. Most shops in the area were shut but we thought it might be worth trying Dyfi bike park. They were closing for the day and it was a staff riding evening but Tim the mechanic here was a star and asked around for us. Another member of staff called Tom had a tyre but it was a bit wide for Matt’s bike and Tim rang around town and found us a suitable tyre. He even drove and picked it up for us. What a legend. As they all went off riding Matt fitted the tyre and we were on the road again. Thanks guys 😀 Mach was hosting a music festival in town and was very busy, grabbed some supplies at the Spar and ate fish and chips sitting on the pavement. It was getting late so we headed out of town to find a campsite for the night. Found a woods several miles out of town and just about got the tents in a tight space.