A long day in the saddle. The plus points included some great views, particularly in the first half as we ascended out of Llan Ffestiniog onto the moorland above Penmachno. The weather was also a massive improvement on the first two days with a few spells of misty rain, but otherwise bright, chilly and breezy at worst.

The negatives were centred on some pretty monotonous and gratuitous fire road stretches through Penmachno and in the final approach to Betws-y-Coed. Heavy, soft gravel roads, endless identical conifers and the knowledge that we were making little progress in our intended direction compounded by the awareness that we were also close to some excellent singletrack trails.

You only have to study the map of our route above to appreciate the strangeness of that second half of the day.

Of course it’s actually quite hard to complain about a day of mountain biking in the beautiful part of the world. The autumnal colours were really kicking in with bracken on the higher hillsides and golds and browns in the valley woodlands.

A fair selection of autumn fungi also added colour and the occasional laugh (see photo below).

As with the two previous days, we saw virtually nobody away from the start and finish locations. There’s a size and desolation to some of the landscapes that might deter walkers and even on a bicycle progress can feel slow.

Tomorrow we head to Conway, via some of Snowdonia’s tourist hotspots. We might actually find a cafe for lunch, too. So far we’ve had to be pretty much self sufficient for food and water. A mid-ride stop sounds like paradise, in comparison.