Saturday 5th June was a glorious day for me – The weather was lovely and warm and there was not a hint of a cloud in the sky and there was nothing major planned for the day so we had a day for a ride if we wanted to.
We should have been riding to Germany on this day for our Mosel Trip, but due to a family bereavement, it was cancelled as we had to attend a funeral halfway through the week we were due to be away, and despite Nigel’s well intentioned comments, it was not feasible to ‘pop back for the day’.
Having done some household work during the morning we had an early lunch which left a long afternoon to use the Wing.
We decided to go for a ride to Dolgellau to see John and in particular Marilyn as it was her birthday. Jan had made a birthday card for her and I have forgotten to post it in time, so I thought ‘why not use it as an excuse to go for a ride’. Marilyn had invited any Wingers who felt like making the trip, to call on her during the course of the day as she was having an open house to friends and relatives.
Jan and I then set off on the Wing through to Ruthin, where for a change we rode straight through the town centre and on towards Corwen. I did not have any other bikes to follow or to lead so I set a pace I was comfortable with and which was safe for the traffic conditions. Luckily, traffic was reasonably light on this route and I was able to overtake quite freely when and where I needed to, yet stay comfortably within the speed limit.
The reason for staying within the limit and not straying over were obvious as the fine weather and weekend would undoubtedly bring out the Police speed cameras into places where they could catch the maximum number of riders. I do not want points on my licence and I thought it safer to stick to the limits accordingly.
On reaching the outskirts of Corwen, we came up behind a brand new Wing, identical colour to ours, which I followed for a mile or so, before the rider pulled off into a cafe at Rhug.
We continue on towards Bala and again the road was just right for making safe progress without exceeding the speed limit. Overtakes were dispatched with ease and without any drama or worries about other wingers keeping up with us, or conversely, being slowed down by us.
We arrived at Bala and pulled in at the lakeside parking area, for a quick break and drink. I was going to get an ice-cream but at £2.00 for a small cone I decided that I would rather be mugged by a highwayman instead. As we stood by the Wing we started a conversation with some other bikers close by, who were able to regale us with their tales from a very recent Scottish trip they had just completed. It was the same areas that I wanted to visit so out with the mobile phone to note down all the recommended pubs and hotels they stayed at. A very informative chat it turned out to be for us.
Soon we were back on the road to Dolgellau. Again the traffic speed was quite slow but the overtakes appeared regularly and without any drama.
I then had my close encounter with an idiot rider, who was approaching from the opposite direction at Warp factor 8, on a twisty and not very well surfaced section of road. He was having some difficulty keeping to his side of the road on the apex of a bend, but luckily for him and me, my speed was low enough for me to modify my line around the bend without drama, to give him the extra space he needed on my side of the centre white line. Seconds later, a car approached around a bend followed closely with what appeared to be another rider on a similar sports machine, trying to line up for an overtake to catch up to the first rider. I cannot say for certain they were racing but that was the impression that Jan and I both had.
The rest of that leg of the journey went smoothly giving Jan and I had ample time to take in the scenery and the warmth of the day.
On arrival at John and Marilyn’s house we were greeted warmly and were able to hand the card over to Marilyn. She had gone to great lengths to provide good home cooking for the numerous friends and family who were present. I congratulated her on being able to feed them all, but it turned out she was quite concerned as a lot more relatives were due to arrive. Several of guests were quite impressed with the Wing and I think we may have one or two converts there.
After a quick drink, Jan and I excused ourselves and left Dolgellau towards Dinas Mawddwy, with the intention of taking the A470 road to Mallwyd and then the A458 Road to Welshpool; a route I have not previously followed for its whole length.
What a wise decision this turned out to be. The A458 road was a biker’s dream road. I was able to make progress along this road, with the exception of the very numerous 40 mph sections. Again, the overtakes seemed to flow just nicely without having to exceed the speed limit.
The A458 road was the second point where we saw some idiotic riding by a sports bike rider, who took the greatest of pleasure in carving up a line of cars doing 40 mph in a 40 limit, forcing them to brake to avoid hitting him. He was moving at a speed which, while in my view, was close to 80 mph at times.
It is no wonder that Police speed cameras have become a nuisance in this area when totally unreasonable rider behaviour in encountered like that.
On arriving at Welshpool we joined the A483 and A5 Roads which we followed back to Wrexham then back to Buckley, arriving home just after 6 pm.
135 Miles of scenic North and Mid Wales on a lovely warm and sunny day.
One of those lovely rides that that you remember for all the right reasons.
Here is the link to Google map of the route
Dave T