WALES

Let’s get straight to the point: there are too many hills in Wales. Yes, you read that right – TOO MANY. ‘Impossible!’ you cry. Well, not when you have to narrow them down to just 75... Continually having to choose between climb A or climb B because there’s only room for a finite number is like being asked to choose between chocolate and crisps. Everywhere I went, whether on a tip off from a local or on the hunt for a legend, I found at least five more killers along the way almost equal in stature. Some even tougher or more beautiful than the original climbs I’d been seeking out, and some hitting me like a bolt from the blue. Worse still, those I had initially missed as they were so well concealed had me re-tracing my steps time and time again to bag them. I also realise that there will be gems out there that I never found, because even those I’ve included were very difficult to find. Climbs like The Rhyswg Road or Nant Gwrtheyrn are, to say the least, off the beaten track – hidden treasures begging to be found and conquered.

Having visited Wales in the past to research the climbs for the original 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs and its sequel, Another 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy the best weather on this next round of hill hunting, so I made sure to pack almost my entire cycling wardrobe just in case – I advise you do the same!

I began this particular research trip with a day based around Llangollen followed by three days out west in Snowdonia. On the first day I met up with two of my riding buddies, Nick and Owen, for one of our annual get togethers. We could not have picked a worse day for riding – the weather was apocalyptic. A loop that started up the Old Shoe soon became a farce as we fought driving rain and gale-force wind, as well as challenging road surfaces that resulted in a flurry of punctures. At the base of the final climb, up and over Llantysilio Mountain, my companions said they’d had enough and returned to the car, leaving me to tackle the climb solo. Fittingly, it has been named ‘The Grim’ on Strava, and boy did it live up to the name – it was simply horrendous.

Back in Llangollen, sodden and miserable, I was close to calling the rest of the trip off. Was this what I was going to have to deal with on the mountains of Snowdonia? Mercifully, no. Over the coming days, I hardly saw a cloud – it was a miracle! Basking under a clear blue sky, Snowdonia had never looked more magnificent. I was in cycling paradise.

Over three days I rode some amazing routes; they all but broke my legs, but I didn’t care. The triptych of The Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen, The Eigiau and The Colwyld, which I rode one after the other, will live long in my memory, and even longer in my legs. The Colwyld was particularly brutal; the ludicrously steep slope goes on and on until you get to a stage where if you don’t laugh, you’ll just break down and cry. But it still wasn’t the highlight of this trip. That was the one and only climb up to the Stwlan Dam. Oh what a road – those bends, those glorious bends! I’d seen photos of them in a magazine some time before and couldn’t quite believe they were to be found on the British Isles, but there they were. And it’s not just the fact that there are eight tightly packed hairpins – the scenery that they’re set in is also incredible, and all of it laid out under the gaze of the towering dam. I knew as soon as I’d ridden this climb that it was very special, and one that you all MUST ride.

A month later, back on the road, I spent a glorious weekend around the Brecon Beacons, again under clear blue skies – how did I get lucky twice? Perhaps all the rumours of dire Welsh weather have been fabricated to scare away tourists, ensuring the locals get to keep their quiet roads to themselves. But of course they haven’t, and on my final day of research along the bottom of the country I was, fittingly, absolutely soaked; it didn’t stop raining for a second. I went through every piece of clothing I had packed at least once if not twice, frantically drying stuff in the car between climbs. It was miserable, as you will see from the pictures in the last chapter. Nevertheless, nothing could, or will ever, dampen my affection for the climbs in this great country, and the continuous surprises they deliver. It was simply a joy to research, and I hope you’ll find the same pleasure riding all these spectacular roads yourselves.