αdαmsκι's SR: The Bryan Chapman Memorial 600
The Bryan Chapman MemorialFor those who don’t already know, the Bryan Chapman Memorial ride starts in
Chepstow, goes up to
Menai on Anglesey via Rhayader, Barmouth and Pen-y-Pass and then back to Chepstow via Dolgellau and Newtown. It’s just over 600 km and goes across some of Wales’ finest hills and through some stunning scenery. I was really looking forward to this ride.
PrologueTurning up at the campsite the night before attempting you first 600 km ride with a bike that doesn’t have a chain or cassette fitted probably isn’t too sensible. My excuse was I’d removed the parts on Thursday to clean them, but felt lazy and instead took them into work on Friday to “borrow” the ultra-sonic cleaner. That didn’t actually happen and on Friday evening I was sat at the campsite refitting my dirty chain and cassette. I was still checking I had the right things in my saddlebag at gone 9 pm until ChrisN shouted at me to stop faffing, advice that was very much needed. I went to bed.
SaturdayAs ChrisN and I rode the few kilometres from the campsite to the start of the ride it was clear it was going to be a lovely day. At 6am Mark gave us a safety talk and then we were off to Anglesey. The initially section I had done two weeks previous in the rain and dark on the final leg of the Brevet Cymru and therefore I knew I had a climb to do right from the off up to
Shirenewton but this would just be a warm up for later in the day. The first section to
Bronllys was quick and ridden mainly in large group and the climb along the A479 past Cwmdu was lovely.
Flatus and I left Bronllys together and formed a partnership that would remain solid until we got back to Chepstow; which is more than can be said about Flatus’ knee…. This is also where we were joined by Mr. Sucky. Between Bronllys and Builth Wells the route follows the A470, but to avoid the main road we took the scenic option on the eastern side of the Wye River, much to the confusion of Mr. Sucky; nor did he appreciate the jokes Flatus and I were making about their only being a couple of 20% hills on the scenic option…. Following the Wye was beautiful and I really like cycling this particular road. Once past Builth Wells we were on the main road and into a headwind all the way to
Llangurig. Having people to share the work on this section is very useful
if people are prepared to do the work. Mr. Sucky was quiet happy to do nothing to help and when we did force him onto the front he stayed there for about half the time Flatus or I were on the front, and also slowed down. Although to be fair to Mr. Sucky, he did take the front a lot more frequently around
Ponterwyd, although that didn’t help too much because the road was now pointing downwards! In Bow Street Mr. Sucky darted through the traffic while Flatus and I were happy to wait for the cars to clear. After 100 km we were freed from Mr. Sucky, but a few kilometres later we were at the control in
Tre'r Ddol.
I hadn’t enjoyed the section from Builth because of the main road drag (clearly the better option is across the Elan Valley) and I wasn’t enjoying myself very much. The next section would proved to be a lot more enjoyed, helped no doubt by the tactical departure from Tre’r Ddol without Mr. Sucky. ChrisN has told me the climb past the Centre for Alternative Technology was fun and so it proved to be; a lovely gradient and after that the scenery properly began as Cadar Idris rose up in front of us. With the blue skies and the sun, this was stunning. By 3pm we were at the Kings Youth Hostel just outside
Dolgellau and picking up extra clothes because we knew it would be night time by the time we’d cycled up to Menai and back to the hostel.
Flatus lead the way across to the Barmouth toll bridge, via a gravel path, a crossing and recrossing of the railway line and a return to the nice tarmac road I pointed out two minutes ago. Good work mate! I’ve never been across the bridge before and I was amazed at the views one gets looking up the estuary to the mountains. Everyone should walk or cycle across the bridge at some point in their life. Between Barmouth and
Harlech I was at the front and enjoying the magnificent views of the blue sky and sea and the Lleyn peninsula. Flatus’ couldn’t enjoy the views because he was too busy sucking my wheel and trying to ignore the pain in his knee that would continue for the rest of the ride. Harlech castle is impressive as ever, although it could do with someone singing
Men of Harlech at that point. As we approached Beddgelert I taught Flatus’ the tale of
the hound Gelert.
I’ve driven up to Pen-y-Pass main times and I knew what was in store for me on that climb and so I could just enjoy the climb and views of Snowdon, Cwm Dyli power station, the James Bond pipeline and Nant Gwyant in the evening light. Flatus and I regrouped at Pen-y-Pass and sorted out clothing for the descent down Llanberis. We did wonder if Mark could arrange for some lovely ladies to stand at the top of the climb with newspapers to stuff down ones jersey in a Tour de France-esque style. The descent down Llanberis was tricky as I tried to keep my eyes on the road, take in the magic of the valley and check out the crags as well (no one seemed to be climbing on The Cromlech). Soon we were in Bangor and crossing Telford’s famous bridge to Menai. The control at Menai was stocked with excellent food and friendly, helpful helpers. I can imagine it’s easy to get trapped here if you arrive late and/or the weather is bad.
We sat off again around 7.30pm and retraced our steps for a bit, giving us the chance to see people heading in the opposite direction. The next section involved stops to put on more clothes at various times as the temperature started to drop. I was hurting on the way to Beddgelert, but quickly perked up as we plummeted into Beddgelert because I realised my pain had been caused by the unrelenting, but gradual, climb we’d just done. The beautiful day was being replaced by a beautiful evening and the only thing left for the day was a climb past
Trawsfynydd; a climb I had done 12 years previous and remember hating. I hated it this time, too. I just find that climb slog and I wanted to be back at the hostel and in bed. It wasn’t helped by either the heart burn I was experiencing or my front derailleur that was not working properly. To move into the small ring I had to stop and manheld the chain, but soon Dolgellau arrived and then onto the hostel. We arrived at 11.45pm and were promptly looked after by the guys ‘n’ gals manning the hostel as they gave us food and sent us off to the shower and the bed. I fall asleep happy. I was woken up in the night by the sound of rain hammering on the roof and at the same time felt happy I was in bed and sorry for the people still out on the road.
SundayWe were woken up as arranged at 5am and as we got up folks who’d just arrived, wet through, took over our bed for a few hours sleep. Poor buggers. The weather was horrible and as we were in no rush Flatus and I decided on a leisurely morning to see what would happen with the weather. By 6am we’d eaten, the rain had stopped and we started making moves for the off. The morning proved beautiful. The rain from the night was hanging on the hills giving beautiful coverings of mist with the sun breaking through here and there. We slogged our way up the climb along the A470 and I then freewheeled my way down the other side. OK, I freewheeled in a tuck position, but still I was amazed to see my computer saying I’d hit 83 km/h. I wasn’t
trying to go fast, although pedaling at those speeds wouldn’t make any difference to the speeds. Flatus and I then regrouped and headed along to Newtown in happy sprits. There was now
only 150 km to go – it’s funny how the idea of scale changes when one is on a long ride! We weren’t in a rush, the weather was fantastic, the scenery stunning and it was a great day to be on the bike.
The climb out of Newtown was lovely. It goes on for a long time, but it’s at a good gradient. At
Dolfor you turn
onto up the B-road. This is step, my front derailleur wouldn’t change down into the small ring and so I took the only choice I had which was to sprint up it at a silly speed. All good fun and I was happily surprised my legs would still perform that task after ~500 km of cycling. At the top of the climb I realised I could change gear by flicking the chain with my foot and this would be the approach for the rest of the ride, much to the amusement of Flatus. This is the highest point above sea level in the whole route, which after passing through Snowdonia is somewhat surprising. The descent off the moor around the hairpins was exhilarating. Soon we were at
Knighton and we then went off-piste from the official route as Flatus had a route in his GPS from here to
Weobley. The surfaces of the lanes were really bad, which made this section mentally tiring as you had to constantly concentrate to avoid potholes, gravel etc. and while the long hills of north Wales are behind you, there are lots of short, step, hills. The ride certainly isn’t over! I was relieved when we reached Weobley - sitting in the village square on the grass covered in blossom, eating ice cream and talking to other riders about their experiences is one of the (many) highlights of the ride.
After Weobley there was another section of lanes passing through fields that were bright yellow with the oil seed rape and everywhere was heavily scented. The lanes were still in an awful state and I was relieved once we got to the main road. The climb up to
Llancloudy was hard work, but then a quick descent into Monmouth, an explosion as my water bottle escaped just as a I caught up with Mal Volio and then along the Wye Valley to Chepstow. We finished just after 5pm and just avoided the rain. Perfect.
EpilogueThat was my first 600 km ride, which completes my first SR series after doing my first audax ride in January. The 600 km ride was fab. There were a couple of parts I didn’t enjoy, but generally it was all great and I ended the ride without feeling too tired. It was excellent to have company for the entire ride and I am very grateful to all the helpers on the ride. The next challenge will be a 1,200 km ride in July.
