This is the story of the Welsh 600 (aka Bryan Chapman Memorial) in 2002.
It's a beautiful ride from Chepstow (Cas-Gwent) (in the bottom south-eastern corner of Wales) up to Menai on the isle of Anglesey (Ynys Mon) on the north-west coast (at the top of Wales). And then back. The ride goes over Snowdonia (a mountainous region of Wales) and then back. Wales is known for having weather that tends to be damp, even by British standards. Snowdonia is wet, even by Welsh standards. And this ride was in April - traditionally a wet month. The 2002 Welsh 600 lived up to all expectation, as you will read.
The following is a purely personal perspective of a tale of attrition.....
Around 39 riders assembled in Chepstow for the 6 am start, much fewer than usual, and there was a distinct sense of apprehension in view of the weather forecast. On the usual brisk run out to Bronllys (first control), amusement was provided by Mel Kirkland sprinting off the front, missing a junction within about a mile of the start...he soon reappeared though (he's well known for doing this and still finishing in no time at all). The weather was OK as far as Bronllys, but the first 2 (half of the Newbury RC 4) packed at that point. Then the drizzle started. It wasn't too bad until the turn onto the A44 to Aberystwyth, when the headwind really started to bite. Slow progress toward the coast, and then up to the second control. The other fixed wheeler, Stewart, lost one of his cranks here - it just fell off. We flagged down a passing camper van with a bike on the back and got him to a bike shop in Aberystwyth. Sadly, he took a wrong turn out of Aber and we didn't see him until next morning.....
At the second control I was around 30 mins slower than usual, and thinking that there seemed to be a few more hills than last year. I was in a nice little group, with Rick Cutler and Adrian Hanson-Abbott, which stayed together 'til the bitter end. After a good feed, we headed up to Machynlleth at a reasonable pace, then tackled the long climb alongside Cader Idris in deteriorating weather. The fast drop in Dolgellau is always tough on fixed but I caught the others up in time for an insane race along the YH drive (I ran up the 1-in-4 at the start of the drive). We met Simon Kolka et al coming out the other way.
More good food at the YH (around 220 k). At this point there is always the choice of NOT going up to Menai and back to Dolgellau again, and it seems that a lot of people didn't fancy a night in Snowdonia this weekend...quite few packed at this point. The weather was absolutlely awful by now and, after we had crossed the estuary at Barmouth and headed up the coast to Harlech, we had back lights on, even though it was not yet 7:00 pm - nerly 2 hours before "official dark".
After the Portmadoc Toll bridge, Pehrhyndeudraeth marks the start of a hard section, with a steep climb past the Ffestiniog railway - we commented that the wet rails were potentially hazardous as we slipped over them and it was here that Bjorn Blasse and Jack Eason had to quit to take Bjorn's friend to hospital. He fell on the rails and broke his collar bone. By this time we knew there were around 7 riders in front of us but we hadn't seen anyone else for a long time........Beautiful scenery through Beddgelert and lots more hills to arrive at Menai just after dark, very tired, absolutely soaked and freezing cold. We saw the leaders coming back out a few km from Menai....funny, they're not supposed to be on this road....but at this point I couldn't really be bothered to worry about it too much.
The big infrared space heaters at Menai were a godsend, but even leaving the main hall to go to the loo brought on mild hypothermia....the idea of leaving this place and climbing up over the Llanberis Pass was not appealing. But by the time we had steeled ourselves to leave (2 hours later) the rain had eased a bit and the temperature risen. We waved at Claire Ashton coming in as we left. The wind wasn't as bad as we expected, and we got back to Pehrhyndeudraeth with only a p*******e and several attacks of doziness to contend with. The long, long climb up to Trawsfynydd was OK, the wind not too bad and the gradient about right for fixed. But at the top of the hill, the headwind really bit, and it was an epic struggle back to Dolgellau at 400k.
We arrived there about 3 hours later than usual (for me), completely knackered (me again). I had thought at one stage about carrying straight on to the next control but I was not capable. No race up the drive this time, more a crawl. Quick debate about how long we could sleep: 3 hours ? great. Adrian acquired a beer from Joe Prosser (the organiser) to help him sleep. No, really.
Up at 7 and out by 8 for the last 220 k. Some poor souls were just arriving. Claire was there, looking composed, enjoying breakfast. A long, long, long climb out of Dolgellau, was followed by an even longer descent. Adrian had another p*******e and while he fixed it I adjusted my brakes: the back brake blocks were substantially thinner than 24 hours previously. A tough, hilly, windy stage to Newtown, a second breakfast then up a HUGE hill. Very fast descent down the Teme valley to Knighton in the sunshine (passing a sleepy Dave Stevens) then on towards Hereford in torrential rain followed by a severe hailstorm. The wind was alternating from tail to head in a seemingly random way.
Getting the cards stamped at the petrol station in Hereford the lady asked
"Are you the last ?"
"Why, how many have been though ?"
"Oh, about 6 or 7.."
The weather improved all the way towards Monmouth, and we realised we were going to finish comfortably in daylight. I had been dreading the nasty climb up to Welsh Newton all day, and it was every bit as bad as I remembered. Passing through Monmouth, we sneaked under the underpass rather than down the dual carriageway, then enjoyed a nice cruise down the Wye valley toward Chepstow and the finish. Just the climb out of Tintern to go. Why is there a damn big mountain in the middle of the Wye Valley ? It is not too steep but it goes on forever. The first time I rode it I tried to sprint up and realised after the first bend that it was about 10 times longer than I expected. No chance of that today. The intrepid 3 (me, Rick, Adrian, still together) split up on the climb: this sort of long climb at the end of a long ride is really where riding fixed pays off. The descent into Chepstow gave the others a chance to catch up, though.
Carpark looks almost empty - are we THAT late ? No, it seems that only 17 in total are expected to finish and only 6 finished before us.... I offered Danny Fisher and David Sachs a lift to Swindon to catch the London train. No more trains from Chepstow that night....... Rick left us enjoying a post-ride meal, then came back about 10 minutes later to report that the Severn Bridge was shut because of adverse weather. OK, quick dash west on the M48, double back and over the new Severn bridge (to England) to get Danny and David to Swindon with enough time for them to make a dent in the station buffet's beer supply.
Joe asked at the end if it had been a good ride. It was. Memorable, but many of those memories are painful. The idea of riding thought the night in that sort of weather, ever again, has no appeal. But the scenery is amazing and the organisation first rate. If it had not been for the support at all the controls and the camaraderie on the road it would have been impossible. It's the third time I have done the BC and it was far, far tougher this time than the previous occasions. Maybe I was less fit because it was earlier than usual, but I think that the weather was the main factor.
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