May as well add my name to the list of the fallen. Thought I was going well to Bronlys, OK to Llanidloes, then completely busted by the stage to Machynlleth, then limped on to Kings arriving about 7:15. Eat and went to bed till rousted around 1am, then had a couple of spells on the common room floor. Left for chepstow about 5 but still struggling so packed into Mach for a train home to London (Top Tip: buy tickets Mach to Brum, then Brum to London seperately).
Not sure what went wrong. The Llanidloes-Mach was seriously hard I thought and I was on a heavier bike then in previous years, which didn't help. And as Mrs Manotea delights in telling me, I'm five years older than when last I rode. I fear my fixing in Wales is over.
On the plus side, the Welsh countryside was stunning.
A big thank you to all the helpers who did s great job looking after a lot of very tired riders. Big respect to all the riders taking part in this challenging event.