I had driven down on the Friday evening with Rob G from Loughborough and we slept in my big red van in the Bulwark Centre car park. We had plenty of room as Fungus and mds101 were unfortunately injured and unable to ride. GWS guys!
Rob was on a mission with his carbon team road bike and I lost sight of him after the first mile. I felt quite good despite having only done 15 miles since our Easter Arrow and liked the diverted route to Hay.
I had a problem with my front brake bolt about 10 miles into the ride though. The allen key nut came loose, so my dynamo front light was rattling around. I stopped to tighten it up at the top of a particularly steep, narrow, bumpy and twisty descent, but by the bottom it was loose again. I was worried about it coming off altogether which could have resulted in the brake calliper and/or light going into my spokes and me going over the handlebars. I put the allen key in my pocket and tightened the nut up a few times on the way to Llandovery. I hadn't stopped to eat yet and pushed on as I wanted to ride as little in the dark as possible.
On the long climb after Llandovery, I got fed up with tightening that nut and tried removing the light bracket so that more thread went on to the brake bolt. I secured the front light to my brake and gear cables with a cable tie and some insulation tape. I could now enjoy the ride without constant rattling and worry on the descents.
I must have been going well because I caught up with Bikey Mikey and we rode in to Tregaron together. I had a flapjack and a quick chat with Ian H in the pub, before chasing after Bikey Mikey again. I really enjoyed the rollercoaster lanes to New Quay with the company of Mikey and others along the way. I was greeted with a warm welcome at the Mariner's Café and stopped for some beans on toast and a pot of tea. I hadn't planned to stop there because of the climb out, but needed some savoury food. I found the climb much easier this year and after the initial steep part, I was on the big ring. There were a few of us going well on this section and after the last climb Mikey got on his tri-bars and towed us down the hill at a blistering pace to Llandovery.
We all had fruit pie and custard at the West End Café and I popped over to the shop for some more Lucazade. It was going to get dark soon and I needed to align my front light as it was still just taped to my cables. This proved more difficult than I expected and it wouldn't stay where I wanted it, but I set off anyway. As it was the A40 at first, I could manage with my led back up. The dynamo light was brilliantly illuminating a small rectangle immediately in front of my front wheel and dazzled me on the sections where the road was painted. When I turned off onto the lanes, navigation became trickier as the back up light doesn't have a very wide beam. I didn't miss any turns though and was relieved to reach the penultimate control where there was another warm welcome from Ritchie and family. It was great to have some hot vegetable soup and tea as it was getting chilly outside and the rice pudding ensured that I would have enough energy for the last push to the finish. Mark told me that Rob was already asleep in the back of my van, having finished shortly after 2230.
I borrowed some scissors from the kitchen and tried yet again to align my front light. It was a good job I had a new roll of tape with me because I used about half of it. It was ok to start with, but soon started pointing to the left. This was freaking me out when I went past woods as I imagined Blair Witches running along in the shadows trying to ambush me at the next bend. At least my back up light was still pointing straight ahead. The roads became more familiar on the last stretch and I was glad to reach the last big hill and even more glad to reach the finish at about 0200. After a teacake and cup of tea I put my bike in the back of the van, put my onesie on and slipped into my sleeping bag for well earned rest.
After a few hours sleep we headed home where I found my wife had left a large portion of home-made veggie lasagne in the fridge. I just finished scraping the bowl when she arrived with her mum and found that I had eaten their dinner. Oops, luckily my wife is a very forgiving person.
Thanks to Mark for organising a great ride in tricky circumstances with road closures and double bookings to deal with, and thanks to Ritchie and family and the other helpers for looking after us. Also nice to have the fellowship of other riders along the way.
Next up BCM 600.
