Riding across Wales upwards of 400 miles over two days should have been hard but not as hard as it was. The weather in the lead up to the weekend was beautiful and so to after. Over the weekend though it slowly deteriorated then pretty much imploded turning it into a beast of a weekend! Performance in long distance cycling by its very nature is uncertain. Physically I was feeling in pretty good shape to take this on, but I hadn’t prepared some of the other aspects as well as I could have, I hadn’t spent any time looking at the route, I wasn’t 100% sure on the weather and as a result I didn’t really take the right kit. That simply boils down to other things in life taking priority and being up against time. But you know what they say…failing to plan is planning to fail! Nonetheless I felt I was prepared to do the distance although I was anxious and carrying some degree of anxiety. When the weather took a turn for the worst on the second day, 50mph gale force winds, driving rain, I knew the day was going to be a slog and brutal in places. This turned into an exercise in psychological toughness, at one stage I was almost at the point of meltdown. There were eight riders that started, two were only riding half of the first day, another the whole of the the first day. One pulled up with an injury which left five to finish the first day and four for the return journey. I’m sure the others went through their own highs and lows and would paint a different picture. This is mine, it was a hard demanding ride, I’m sure I won’t experience anything worse than this in the Transcontinental Race so some valid lessons learned.
Day 1 – Cardiff to Holyhead
I had considered driving down the day before, staying in a local B&B and reaching the start fresh after a good nights sleep. That was the obvious thing to do. Unfortunately other things took over, I was found packing my bag and preparing my bike and other bits as you do late into Friday evening. I managed to get to bed a little before 11.00pm. At 2,00am the alarm went off, I ate as big a breakfast as I could at that time, loaded the car up and drove to Cardiff leaving around 3.00am. I arrived just after 5.00am, found some weekend parking just across from the Millennium Centre which was where we were starting from, changed, threw my bag on my back and rode across the road to meet everyone. There were eight starters five of which were starters in July’s Transcontinental Race. While we were waiting for everybody to turn up it started raining, not a little bit but quite hard, enough for me to seek shelter. The ride was supported by a van and a couple of people who admirably looked after us throughout the weekend. The idea was that the van would support us by carry our baggage and provide hot food and drink, mainly noodles and coffee, along with a feast of sandwiches, biscuits and flapjacks etc. Every 50 miles or so we’d meet up for a load up. Our destination was Holyhead just shy of 210 miles due north. The main features between Cardiff and Holyhead was the Brecon Beacons and all the other lumps and bumps leading to the Snowdonia National Park and our destination beyond.
Day 1 – Cardiff to Holyhead
So we left Cardiff a little after 6.00am in the dark and in the rain. We’d arranged to meet the van some 40 miles or so up the road at Storeys Arms, on top of the Brecon Beacons. The route initially was fairly benign, not half as hilly as I was expecting. After about an hour I submitted to putting my wind proof on. The wind was cold and biting, with the initial rain it quickly brought about a chill. I sat at the back of the group for a while struggling to get going, on long rides it generally takes me 30 miles or so to get into my riding rhythm. By the time we’d arrived at the van my feet were soaked and freezing so decided to drag my bag out, change my socks and put on my overshoes. Because of this I only had time for a quick hot drink, I was the last to leave and had a bit of a chase to catch the group up. In fact I didn’t catch them until the bottom of the descent and had to put in a bit of a hard and sustained effort to do it. I wanted to be back with them before any turns as I’d decided I wouldn’t follow the route on my Garmin but just record it.
After a couple of hours the rain eased then finally stopped, followed were patches of sunshine peering between the clouds, wind proofs came off (which was when I broke the zip on mine), we dried out some what and the ride turned into a bit of a jolly affair, although we were pushing on at a fair lick so we could to try and make up for lost time. However the wind still remained cold and a little biting and pretty much plaughed us all the way north. Around 100 miles I went through a bit of a bad patch probably through not eating and drinking enough. At one stop I decided to have sandwiches which really didn’t get into the system quickly enough and for a period the ride felt harder than it should have done. Going through the Snowdonia National Park we hit our only real ramp, a mile and a half climb which in places was pretty steep at 20%. I found this a bit of a struggle due to energy levels being a little to low. Just over the top we met the van where I was able to take on some food which I could get into the system much quicker than sandwiches. The last third of the ride I’d recovered, I was back on it and eager to see the northern coastline ahead of us and was confidently powering up all the rollers as we closed in on Holyhead.
Noodles coffee and a bit of sunshine…lovely!!
By the time we rolled into the Hostel near Holyhead it was dark and we had a bit of a search for the right place. We finally reached our destination around 9.00pm. The last couple of hours I was feeling ravenous and it was good news that although the evening meal there had finished they were prepared to rustle something up for us and the beer touched the spot too. It was sometime between 11.00pm and midnight when I finally got into my sleeping bag. The alarm was set for 5.00am for the ride back. We all drifted into sleep wondering what the morning would bring. The wind was howling like crazy and rain was forecast for the following day. There was certainly a bit of apprehension in the camp.
My ride stats for the first day can be found here.
Day 2 – Holyhead back to Cardiff
The alarm went off at 5.00am, it wasn’t long before everybody was up and about. The idea that everybody would be keen on slipping into the back of the van preferring a drive was short lived. By 6.30am we were outside ready to go. I was the last out after a bit of faffing with my windproof, the zip was bust and I spent some time trying to do something about it to no avail, a huge blow to tell you the truth! I hadn’t had any breakfast, just a recovery drink and managed to squeeze down a mug of coffee, so not ideal in any way. It was windy but dry when we finally departed, off down the dark but sheltered country lanes heading towards the main roads that would take us south. Once we hit the first road we then encountered the winds full ferocity, it was straight into the granny ring and the best we could muster was about 12mph. The next 150 miles or so would be a bit of a grovel. Not long after the rain started, unsurprisingly in a horizontal direction. The gusts were the strongest I’ve ever experienced on a bike, it was frightening at times. There were some occasions, in particular crossing bridges where it felt I could quit literally have been blown off the road. I was gripping the handle bars for dear life!
Day 2 – Holyhead back to Cardiff
So 210 miles at an average speed of 12mph meant were in for a good 18 hour ride, not something anybody would relish in these conditions.
We decided the best course of action would be to reduce the distance between meeting the van. Every 20 miles or so was about right under the conditions but still a good two hours riding. After a two or three stops, one of which I changed my base layer, I was again soaked through to the skin and the wind was starting to take its toll, not helped by the fact that my windproof was knackered. As we hit Snowdonia the wind and rain became incessant. The only time when the wind was favourable was when it pretty much blew us up and over the steepest of the climbs. The van was waiting on the summit but it was to bleak and simply to cold to even contemplate stopping, so soldiered on over the crest, dropped into the valley below and just hammered it until I had some semblance of warmth, which actually wasn’t that much. By the time I next met up with the van I was a dithering and shivering wreck feeling like I was on the verge of hyperthermia. I climbed into the front of the van thinking it was just about game over. A hot drink and something to eat went some way but I still couldn’t stop shivering. The last throw of the dice was to strip to the waist, put back on my wet arm warmers, put on my final dry long sleeved winter jacket as my under layer with my wet gabba over the top. Once these were wet that would just about be the end of the road for me. One of the support team then threw me a waterproof jacket, not a cycling one, but when I got going it did the job of keeping the wind off. I had a long chase down the road to catch Simon who had set off earlier which really warmed me up and suddenly another 6 hours of riding felt achievable.
50 mph gusts and horizontal rain…BRUTAL!
As darkness approached the rain eased then stopped again allowing me to drop off the waterproof in the van. Things suddenly seemed so much better although energy levels were getting low and I was almost out of drink. As the van was perched on top of the beacons I really needed a top up before starting the climb. So we detoured through Brecon and sought out a petrol station. As we stood under the forecourt eating and drinking it started to rain again, reminding me of my past experiences in Brecon during my army days…wet and miserable! As we started climbing out of Brecon fortunately the rain stopped yet again and it turned into a pleasant ascent up to the van. Its quite a long climb but at an reasonably easy gradient on a really nice surface, the wind had stopped and had a little bit of a chat on the way up. Noodles and coffee did the job as we all regrouped ready for the finial push down into Cardiff. At that point I put the waterproof back on, it was dark, cold, I wasn’t really that dry, lights were on and it looked like we’d be going full on as the remainder of the route was a little easier. An 11.00pm finish rather than midnight was now on the cards. At this point Jon Shergold, who had to pull on the first day due to a knee injury joined us, he was going to pull us all the way into Cardiff, as he’s local, taking the most direct route. So under the power of our own lights the four of us motored into Cardiff on the tail of Jon’s wheel making up for lost time. Jon is a strong rider and we certainly could have done with him on both days. A couple of hours later we were into the outskirts of Cardiff with the speed picking up all the time. By the time weariness started to show its hand the finish was in site which was a bit of a relief to tell you the truth.
A little before 11.00pm we reached where we had started, a full 17 hours of riding in what were horrendous riding conditions. A pat on the back and shake of hands and that was it. Job done.
A week on and I’ve just about got over it. A couple of days later I had four or five cold sores on my lips, the inside of my nose was very sore, clogging up and bleeding, a slight knee niggle which has gone now…I guess a result of teetering on the edge of your limit.
When I think about it the weekend was one of those situations where its…pay me now or pay me later. You can train in your confort zone and suffer during the Transcontinental, or, you can suffer during training and actually enjoy the Transcontinental, you have the mental edge of knowing you’ve paid your dues! As the mental aspect is so important when riding such long distances, I can only assume your much likely to get through tough periods like these thereby avoiding what is likely to be an early trip home?
Fingers crossed that’s the case!
Chapeau to the support team and Jon, (and all the riders) I don’t think it would have been possible without their support and can do attitude. Top people…but I’m not sure about next year, don’t call me, I’ll call you!!
My second days riding stats are here.
Ride easy chaps, it can be hard out there.
Paul
Paulbuckleyfollowingthelongroad 