Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Challenge
A non-competitive cycling challenge over 170km and climbing 3000 metres.
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Report 2009Sunday, 31 May 2009Ninety five riders set off from the Pont Cysyllte under clear blue skies. Ahead of them, 171km (106 miles) and 3000 metres (10,000 feet) of ascent over a figure-8 course that would take them up Methodist Hill onto the Ceiriog ridgeway, then over the Horseshoe Pass to Ruthin and out thru Clocaenog Forest to Brenig Reservoir, dipping down to Pentrefoelas before climbing again up the Conway Valley and on to Bala. Returning via Corwen for the final climb of the day over the Llangollen Panorama. Finish at the Froncysyllte Community Centre for afternoon tea on the terrace. We were blessed with truly glorious weather; bright and sunny all day with a light easterly wind. A high of 24°C was recorded and it was warmer still in direct sunlight.
The fastest time was posted by Gary Jones,
finishing in an impressive 6 hours 45 minutes
(there are a couple of faster times but see note below).
A total of 78 completed the course,
the last taking 9 hours 25 minutes although he was delayed by two punctures.
Comments from riders"Thank you again for an excellent day yesterday and please pass on my thanks to the rest of your team who were very friendly and extremely helpful." "Thanks for a fantastic event - who knew there were that many climbs in Wales ? Lots of little known routes to explore in future and cracking scenery all the way round." "Many thanks for organising a fantastic event yesterday. Everything was top notch, including weather." "Thanks for a suburb route and your excellent management yesterday." "Thank you for a wonderful event, on behalf of VC Melyd, we would applaud the great food and weather. The views from the Panorama were an awesome new sight for us local riders who had not yet discovered its delights." "Big thanks to the team, lovely atmosphere and stunning area of beauty to take us through." Rider Reports 2009And two people have blogged a complete report on their day:
Finally, I'll add my thanks to everyone in Froncysyllte who helped make this event a success. And here's to a bigger and better event in 2010. Stan Thomas Results 2009
Photographs 2009
Photographs taken on the first climb out of Froncysyllte.
Click on thumbnail for larger image.
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