Gruffydd ab Owain from Bala to Publish First Book Inspiring Younger Generation

Gruffydd ab Owain, a 21-year-old from Bala, is publishing his first book of cycling travel essays around Wales, aiming to inspire younger generations and encourage breaking out of comfort zones.

Young Author from Bala Set to Publish First Book

Gruffydd ab Owain, a 21-year-old from Bala who has been writing since his early teens, is about to publish his first book and hopes to demonstrate that it is possible to "put faith in a younger generation."

Gruffydd began blogging at the age of 13, and he described publishing the book, Yn Ei Dro, as the "culmination of a fairly long project."

Currently a student at University College London (UCL), he also hopes that people will see it is possible to "break out of your shell."

Book Details and Inspiration

The book contains 14 travel essays around Wales and is scheduled for publication at the end of June.

Background and Early Influences

Speaking to Cymru Fyw, Gruffydd explained that he started cycling at seven years old and was inspired by his aunt and uncle, who used to go on overseas cycling trips.

"They would write a blog every day of the trip, and I would read the blog daily to keep track of where they were and to hear all the stories."

"So I think I got a spark for two things there; I got a spark for cycling as a hobby and travelling, and also a spark for blogging."

In his teenage years, he began writing a blog called Y Ddwy Olwyn (The Two Wheels).

"Very soon it got the name Dwy Olwyn, and then I was writing the blog quite regularly, once a week for long periods, some years, and that is where it all started."

"To some extent, publishing the book feels like the culmination of a fairly long project of writing the Dwy Olwyn for eight years."

During that time, he nurtured his writing skills, developed an audience, created a community of Welsh-speaking cyclists, and also tried to gather recommendations from people about the best places to cycle in Wales.

Support and Development of the Book

Regarding the experience of writing the book, Gruffydd said,

"I was very lucky to get support from Lefi Gruffudd [head of publishing at Y Lolfa] quite early in this journey.

"I think I was 16 when I first contacted him about the possibility of writing some kind of book about cycling because there was a shortage at the time."

The book contains 14 travel essays covering cycling trips from all corners of Wales.

"I hope there is some appeal to people who cycle to enjoy the element of descriptions of the places I have been and the choice of places, and also that there is interest for people who do not cycle but take an interest in Welsh history."

Challenges and Experiences of the Project

Gruffydd described the project as quite different because it involved arranging to visit various places to cycle and doing it all in one day.

"That means there were some days where I had to start from home at 6 in the morning, then drive down for two or three hours, then cycle 100 miles, and then drive back at the end of the day, so they were quite long days."

Despite some long car journeys, he said he greatly enjoyed the experience.

"That invited new opportunities to think about different things because obviously you are on your bike for eight or nine hours and that is a lot of time to think about things and consider things, so I think that has been a nice thing and also something that has led to more creative writing."

Current Studies and Reflections on Publishing

Now studying at UCL in London, Gruffydd said putting the book together has been a pleasant experience.

"It is quite scary to put yourself out there to write from such a young age and expect people to read it, expect people to appreciate it and treat it as writing that anyone would do and not just writing like someone in their teens."

"For whatever reason, the fact that I am young has not really crossed my mind."

"I think I have just gone through a fairly normal process with my writing, started something myself, then people have read it."

"I hope others will be able to see this and see not only that it is possible to put faith in a younger generation but that it is possible to break out of your shell and start something from nothing and then that bears fruit in the end."

"That it is possible to start something from scratch and that can grow to be something bigger and something that will give you lots of valuable opportunities in the future."