The new 225km (140 mile) Traws Eyri (Trans Snowdonia) route is shorter than previous Cycling UK gravel adventures like The Great North Trail, King Alfred’s Way, West Kernow Way, Cantii Way and Rebellion Way at 373km (232 miles). With over 4,500m of climbing across rugged mountain landscapes from Machynlleth to Conwy, it’s a properly tough challenge. That means while Cycling UK say it can be done on adventurous riders on gravel bikes, that’s going to involve some pushing and panicky descents for all but the superhuman and super skilled. Put it this way, I was already in bottom gear on my hardtail, less than 10km from the start as I winched up into the forests above Corris and the route has several steep, slippery or rocky descents I was glad of decent sized tires and suspension on. It also passes the MTB centers of Dyfi Forest, Coed-y-Brenin, Penmachno and Gwydyr so there’s plenty of potential to add some excellent extra trails to the route if you’re feeling frisky.
