I suppose that was a reminder that these rides do not always fall neatly to a formula and you cannot take the points for granted.
Mark’s Knights 200 from Tewkesbury was easy last year and I loaded that ride’s gps track into my Garmin as I did not have a Routesheet (late Entry) when I prepared for an early night. I made the early 0730 start, where most had opted for an 0800. Starting on lights would maximise daylight. Roads were damp but just warm enough to stay wet rather than icy. The day was warming and the sun shining and no wind; could not have been much better and the Bromyard Control stop reinforced the pleasure of the ride. The road to Tenbury is one of my favourites, either way, and today did not disappoint. The laney route to Ludlow suggested the lanes were mucky. But the rolling route had interest, so bonus. After soup in Ludlow, the real climbing began with a climb through Mortimer Forest.
And then my world fell apart!! At 90km, on a nice descent, hissing brought on a rear flat. Out with tube and no trace of initiation in the tyre. Uhmm? Off with the tyre and re-check. Tyre OK. Check wheel. Rim tape showing hole into a spoke slot. Initiation confirmed by matching big hole in tube. So, emergency repair with a strip of cardboard and assemble with replacement tube. Shortly into the restart, it is flattening. S**t. Re-pumping discovers valve insert loose; so finger tighten, re-inflate and hope for the best. Minutes later, wobbly rear, so I need to find pliers to tighten valve. Meanwhile, I just re-inflate every 5mins/2km or so. This inconvenience also coincided with the hilliest climbing and mucky lanes, so my morale was going lower as time was lost to pumping. And then, a road closure turned into a Cyclo-Cross as a bridge had been taken out and all had to carry across the river on builders walkway and rough muddy ground. Eventually, 12kms and about 5 pump stops, made Presteigne (Control); seems dead in the afternoon, so no joy. So to Kington 10km and 4 stops. Fellow rider (?) lent me some small snips which seemed to tighten a little. Leaving Kington, a Hardware store had some pliers, which tightened the valve further. Hope??
Result! Tyre staying inflated, so correct decision not to fit (last) spare vindicated. I had been 15mins out of time arriving in Kington and had feared a sad DNF, or at least to fit the last spare in Kington. Now, I was motoring again. After a dusk stop to done warmer night gear and a nibble, as I was leaving Steve Abrahams comes along; what a relief; a fast pace and gps track sees the 20km to the final control within the hour. By now I am on Gospel Pass 200 routing, so feel quite at home. In the Marcle Ridge area I catch up with Mary Doyle, stopped on a hill, having fluffed a gears change. I help a restart and share the road back to Tewkesbury with Mary. This reassures Mary, as she is using the Routesheet, whereas I have local knowledge + gps.
I later reflected on the wheel, a Campag Vento 8s, circa mid-90s. I had ridden this wheel on PBP and this year’s 600, so for the rim tape to fail now made me reflect on what might have been
What a way to round off Year 16 RRTY.
