Snowdonia in North Wales is a place I often refer to as just Wales. Certainly in my usual context of “I’m off to Wales for a blast on the bike”. Its a place that I often take for granted being my go to place on a motorcycle. This despite also being on the doorstep of the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.
Visitors from the US
Later this year I will be hosting two of my very good friends from the US. They are coming over to fulfil one of their bucket list items in getting over to the TT races.
These are two guys I have ridden the US219 Tail of the Dragon. They have only been able to see the roads I have ridden in the UK and across Europe through photos.
The Dragon is a great road with its 11 miles cramming in 218 curves. Its the focal point of an area in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Nantahala National Forest offering many great routes. However you will often hear visitors talk of travelling many miles to find the twisties. With so many long, straight roads it serves as a reminder that I often take our UK roads for granted.
Showcasing our roads
So there’s the challenge. I will be arranging a couple of rental bikes, and I have one day to show them the best on offer.
I do have many routes available but the challenge has always been stringing the roads together to form a full route. There are valleys a plenty, slow and scenic single tracks and fast roads with some great sweeping sections through forests. There are also some great places to stop such as Bala, Betws y Coed and the Ponderosa to name but a few.
Ride time is always a factor and so I’m going to be digging into my past catalogue of routes. It occurred to me that I’ve written about planning a route in a past post that would be perfect. I also wrote a ride report with the route. It shows that its a good 5 hours 30 mins which is ideal. With a slight adjustment I can also drop in on the Ponderosa.
