We completed “weather bingo” today: after the wet one, the windy one and the dull one, we had the sunny one.

Snowdonia was crisp, sharp edged and in perfect focus as we left the wooded valleys of Betws-y-Coed behind. The day began on tarmac but off road sections lay ahead.

Capel Curig, oft quoted as one of the wettest places in the UK, was breezy, sun-bathed and surrounded by peaks, cliffs and ridges as we picked up the slate trail northwards.

Highlights of this section included crystal clear views of Tryfan followed by Llyn Ogwen, choppy but very blue.

A plunge down the valley towards Bethesda was on a tiny tarmac road that ran parallel to the busy A5, but on the other side of the valley.

A quick lunch at Zipworld broke the day nicely and was actually our first proper lunch break of the four days: weather and lack of opportunities in empty landscapes blocking previous intent.

From Zipworld we headed down to the coast before turning inland once again for the final climb of the Traws Eryri. It was a monster of some 1300 feet, initially on small roads inland of the village of Llanfairfechan.

It then became a long, grassy slog up onto a hill called Moelfre. We posed for shots at the top before a varied descent into Conway: taking in more grassy tracks, earthy and rocky singletrack and finally minor roads which led up to the official finish close to Conway castle.

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.

Storm Amy battered Dolgellau overnight and redoubled its efforts through the morning, with arguably higher wind speeds and greater volume of rain than the day before. Plus the temperature dropped markedly.

Our B and B politely but firmly ushered us off the premises at 10am. We had discussed our options the night before and we soon decided that the only sane choice was to stay put in the town and await the forecast improvement in conditions early in the afternoon.

We hung around cafes and a small craft fair for three hours before, jittery with caffeine overdosing, finally setting off just after one, with the rain, at least, having eased up.

We opted for a slight adjustment to our route, riding straight up the valley to Coed-y-Brenin mountain bike centre, rather than a higher approach over the hills.

From there we climbed up the old Sarn Helen Roman road. This was awash, but also steep, rocky and distinctly technical in places. It also opened up amazing views on all sides, including the jagged Rhinog mountains to the West, and the high peaks of Snowdonia to the North.

As the non-e-bike representatives, John and I performed a valuable duty, checking the depth of “puddles” (never has a word seemed so inadequate) we encountered with some frequency, on behalf of our electrically assisted companions. Apparently water and electricity don’t mix. John and I were happier to be referred to as “puddle gineau pigs” than “dipsticks”, the alternative that was also doing the rounds. Wet feet have been a feature of the ride to date.

In return, Dave, Liz and Richard covered most of the gate opening duties. As with day 1, this was a ride of many gates, mostly modern and easy to open, but with occasional antique exceptions which gave way to cyclists with varying degrees of reluctance.

Liz also shouldered the burdens of chief photographer and dispenser of fig rolls and apples, our emergency rations.

The route took us on a memorable lap of Trawsfynydd reservoir. This wildly varied section included a couple of violent and wetting squalls; a delightful herd of upland horses; some unexpectedly fun slate singletrack; a massive hydroelectric dam and the two enormous concrete buildings which housed the nuclear power station (now being decommissioned) for which the area is well known.

The closing few miles were back on the Sarn Helen “road” through muddy fields, past the remains of a Roman fort, before a tarmac diversion to our overnight hotel in Llan Festiniog. We finished the day in sunlight, tired but happy that we’d avoided the stormy conditions of the morning and survived a surprising tough day of riding.

On paper, this, our first day of four in Snowdonia (Eryri), was a relatively straightforward mountain bike ride. Over fifty percent on small roads and with only one long climb, it should have been a routine, but very scenic day on the bike.

But Storm Amy intervened and it turned into one of the wettest days on a bike I have ever experienced. Views were fleeting and often scanned through eyes screwed up against the elements. Roads were carpeted in wind-blown acorns (like ball bearings), conkers (shiny pebbles) and fruit like apples and crabapples.

The mountain bridleways were running like rivers, frequently hub deep, whilst a whipping gale blew in random gusts and pushed and pulled us from all angles.

The drive down to the start at Machynlleth in central Wales was dry until the last half hour through the hills. From then onwards it rained almost incessantly and at times torrentially for the rest of the day.

We met John, Liz, Dave and Richard at the railway station in Machynlleth and, after re-assembling our bikes (all ferried down in our van), we headed out into the rain.

Minor roads took us some 15 miles to Abergynolwyn, where we met Julie (who is our support van driver) for coffee and cake at the village hall cafe. The owner mopped around us as we dripped steadily as we ate.

A few more miles (passing the famous Bird Rock on the way) saw us at the foot of the day’s main climb, up over the shoulder of Cadair Idris. Tarmac surfaces and a stiff tailwind hastened us up the 400 metre hill.

At the top the road became a cart track and after a weather beaten run over the top, we descended on a shattered wreck of a road, running like a river in places and rocky, rutted and rough throughout.

A precipitous tarmac road then fed us the final couple of miles to the valley floor and a five mile (tailwind blown) ride up the Mawddach estuary on a gravel former railway line.

35 miles took us to the door of our overnight stop, a B and B in Dolgellau.

The day was saved by the benign temperatures, which meant that, although soaked, we never got too cold. The gale was also more often than not behind us. And we were not delayed by punctures or mechanicals.

In fact, we all enjoyed most of it: the scenery was still stunning; the water and cloud made for some great light effects; and we navigated effectively by using whichever device was currently not struggling with a wet screen, lack of a signal or rapidly discharging battery.

The e-bikers kindly opened and closed most of the gates and held back on the climbs. The human-powered riders probably kept a little warmer.

Julie did a great job of supporting us, whilst slipping in a couple of bonus cafe stops and a fish finger sandwich lunch that clearly hit the spot!

Tomorrow…. let’s hope the rain, at least, abates !

The plan is fairly simple. Two weeks cycling in France, staying overnight in Airbnb or hotels.

Departure – Thursday 11 September – drive down to Portsmouth. Park up (in a Your-Parking-Space hotel car park). Cycle across the city to the Ferry terminal and catch the 3pm Brittany Ferries sailing to Caen. First night in and Airbnb in Ouistreham, near Caen.

Day 1 – cycle into Caen then catch the train to Angers. Another Airbnb in Angers.

Day 2 – cycle from Angers to Saumur where we’ll meet up with Olivia.

Day 3 onwards – spend several days cycling La Velo Francette route south to La Rochelle, from where Olivia will return home. Then return north up La Velodyssee route along the Atlantic coast to the Loire and then reverse the train journey to Caen and ferry back to Portsmouth on 26 September.

Basic Rules

• No more than 45 miles per day
• No cycling on wet days
• Eat lots
• Stop frequently
• Prompt starts, early finishes
• Rest days are part of the plan
• No cycling if we’re not in the mood
• We’ll get as far as the above rules allow and use trains to fill the gaps

Navigation

We’ll be using the app Komoot to navigate – mainly using GPX files from the francevelotourisme.com website, which is incredibly detailed, but slightly tricky to use. We will also be relying heavily on route markings – almost all the routes we will be using are mainstream cycle routes which should be very well signposted.

Bikes

Phil: Kinesis G2 Gravel bike with panniers
Julie: Planet X CX bike with various bags
Olivia: TBC – hire bike

Accommodation

Apart from the first three nights, where locations are pretty much fixed, we will book our accommodation on the hoof. Allowing us to move on in good weather and stay put in bad weather, or where we want to stop and rest or simply explore.