Love the north coast of Wales, but I'll have to pass on this one, as I'm doing Brevet Cymru...
Why a 9 AM start if there are no overnight sleeping facilities?
It's a fair question. I more logical start would have been midday but that doesn't work for this ride. Riders will need to reach the café control on Anglesey before it closes, even though they are staying open late for us. The return from Holyhead along the North Wales coast cries out to be an overnight section as the navigation is easy, the roads quiet, and with street lights for some of it. Riders need to be through Queensferry before traffic becomes too busy.
Actually, there are sleep facilities for this ride, but they are at the finish. I have a church hall booked from midnight for early finishers and I dare say there will be some air beds available. We have to be out by 9am - it's a church hall after all and it's Sunday.
For anyone planning on riding PBP, where riding through the first night without sleep could be a useful tactic, a 400 without sleep could be good experience.
But that's how I've set the ride up, and for those that it doesn't suit, other 400s are available.