Well this has to be one of the undiscovered gems of the audax calender for all sorts of reasons. The Merthr Tydfil start made a change from the usual Cardiff or Chepstow departures and we were soon out of town and onto lovely roads. At this point I teamed up with a charming Welsh rider called Myfanwy. The first stage was probably the hardest, or so it seemed and was a lovely mixture of short climbs, long climbs and a wicked fast burn down the quiet A40 to Llandovery. I descended gingerly down the Devils Elbow, and was a bit disappointed as I prefer going up it. Sorry to see that the Westend cafe has changed hands and put its prices up. Myfanwy was not at all satisfied with £6.50 for a small jacket potato with a tiny slop of baked-beans on it.
Back on the road, we took lanes to Builth wells, through Tirabad, and then the familiar road from Builth to Erwood, stopping at the Erwood Junction for tea and cake. I had a piece of Chocolate cake, and Myfanwy has something welsh.
On we went up the side of the hill to Painscastle, to Hay and then cross country to Talybont where Myfanwy had a couple of cans of warm coke and I had a pint.
Myfanwy
Suitably refreshed Myfanwy and I set off for the final 20k, which includes the only real steepie of the ride, the Torpantau. Once ascended it was a lovely run back to base to be greeted by Daimountaingoat and Adrian, the organiser. There was something really cool about having the finish at a working mens club, and the old boys outside seemed genuinely interested in where we'd been. Beer and crisps, what every finish control should be able to supply.
I shall be doing this ride next year. It was like a combination of loads of other Welsh rides but going in the other direction. there was something a little different about it, and it is one to ride whilst it is still there.
Myfanwy and I were very pleased to meet another forumer.. Jonathan Country-Sickness (his real name). Jonathan Country-Sickness is quite new to audax, and like an eager little puppy wanted to regail us with his knowledge of bicycles and cycling. We learnt that CNC hubs cause more spoke breakage than other hubs (I threw my Hope and Goldtec hubs in the bin as soon as I got home) and that there are no good rides out of Cardiff because you just end up in another town (no more Cardiff audaxes for me and Myfanwy!). Also, that the Campagnolo hubs are shit because they have two bearings on one side (my new wheel with a Record hub is going straight in the bin when it arrives next week, and damn Paul Hewitt for recommending it...what would he know)
Jonathan Country-Sickness seemed a little vexed as he'd left the Erwood control before us, and yet we arrived at the next one before him. He accused us of cheating, but this was all cleared up when he was reminded that there are free routes between controls, and also when the organiser confirmed that Jonathan had gone the wrong way in Bwlch.
Still, at least Jonathan Country-Sickness didn't do something
really knobbish like drive off leaving his shoes in the car park...
