Congrats to the rest of "The Faccombe 4" (Chillmoister, UrbanBiker, Keeks and Els) for completing a real tough couple of days and doing what I couldn't.
Congrats to all the other finishers and commiserations to those, like me, that packed.
Special thanks to all the folks providing the support at all the controls.
I packed at around 420km a couple of hours after leaving the YHA and on (what should have been) the nice homeward leg. But things sometimes don't go to plan and Cadair Idris certainly changed my plans.
Someone picked up my waterproof gloves in the YHA by mistake (or I put them down and couldn't remember where. Thought-processes get muddled for sure). They were handed in at some point (because Blacksheep had them in his car back at Chepstow) but the damage was done. By the time I had climbed up past Cadair Idris in heavy sleet (after we'd unsuccessfully sheltered for a while, freezing in a hawthorn bush) and then decended down the other side, under full braking, I'd lost most of the feeling in my hands (apart from the bit that can feel pain of course) and I don't do cold hands or cold feet very well.
That descent also ranks as one of the scariest 5 minutes of my life. My bike decided to go into a 'shimmy' whenever I touched my brakes. Once it started it progressively got worse and worse. Anyway, the combination of my brakes not working very well in the deluge, the shimmy, the gradient etc. left me feeling very scared and relieved once I managed to get the bike to stop on a flat section. I was going much faster than the recommended healthy speed for falling off a bike (anyone else had 'shimmy' problems using a rack and rack pack? I never had it before and I'm usually pretty quick on descents).
For the next few Kms I made sure I kept my speed low going down the hills.
Finally, at the very bottom of the descent, I spied a Hotel with lights on. I asked myself quickly whether I wanted another 200km of over-cautious and slow descending with wet & cold hands. The answer was 'No'.
A day later I'm asking myself whether things were so bad. I'd love to have the "war stories" of completing this BCM, love to have "toughed it out" to the end (ironically I felt strong on the bike all day) rather than quitting but things seemed pretty bad and I remember thinking is was a good decision at the time so no regrets.
Memories?
- Climbing to Pen-Y-Pass Youth Hostel with Keeks & Pompey Phil and looking up the red LEDs climbing into the darkness hundreds of metres above us (thinking "I hope we don't have to go up that road")
- Climbing to Pen-Y-Pass Youth Hostel with Keeks & Pompey Phil and looking back at the white LEDs climbing out of the valley, hundreds of metres below us (Thinking "Menai is all downhill now")
- The controls (AUK and private Cafes) which were all superb, my food arrived consistently quicker than I think I've ever experienced (I'd barely sat down in "The Honey Cafe" before my food and drink arrived). My 3 simultaneous breakfasts in the YHA winning the day though.
- Mordor Snowdon looming in the distance, disappearing into ominous rain clouds that we were shortly going to ride into.
- The 1km ride to the YHA along that beautiful river. I didn't need to get off and walk but the view makes it a perfectly acceptable reason to do so.
- After not using my granny-gears on the long-long climbs, finally using them on the flat (and some downhills) as we headed west towards Aberystwyth into a ferocious, funnelled, wind.
- Waiting for a taxi to collect me from the Hotel and watching a fello Audaxer walking down the driveway and trying to speak to me (unsuccessfully). I still don't know who he, he was shaking so violently that he just couldn't speak. He was soaked thru, freezing cold and in desperate need of not Audaxing any further. Once in the hotel he asked, through his shaking, if he could share the taxi but, after some persuasion, he agreed that it was better if he paid for a room immediately and climbed into a hot bath as soon as possible. I hope he was OK, he was as cold as I've ever seen anyone (and we were only an hour out of the YHA). That's Cadair Idris in Mid-May for you I suppose.
- Too many awesome views to mention (and I'm using the term "awesome" appropriately here).
- Climbing out of Chepstow, up to Bulwark, after sitting on a train for the best part of 4 hours (made Pen-Y-Pass seem easy).
Anyway, I failed. BCM600 beat me.
Much respect to those that stuck with it.
