DAY 2

AKA The Day of Reckoning!

A word from my legs to begin with….“thank god today is over!” – this feeling appears to be replicated amongst most of the CLS Cyclists after a gruelling 100 mile day with over 8000 feet of climbing. It’s not all bad though – what goes up must go down and all that.

Given that yesterday was eventful, today ought to be classed as REALLY eventful! With the biggest climb of the day beginning about 15 minutes after breakfast it was enough to make anyone’s ‘Full Welsh’ suddenly seem a bad idea. Although the ascent itself was long but at a manageable gradient and provided breathtaking views and an immense descent (the only reason why some of us ride in the first place).

 

Following this, there were a few wrong turnings, mechanical failures and people dropping off the back which kept everyone on their toes and broke up the group a little. Fortunately at 25 miles in (although it felt much further) the CLS support team were on hand with a selection of energy drinks, food and crucially Tiffin cake and Rocky Road. At this point the use of the minibus for those struggling to keep pace was reiterated as maintaining as near to 15mph average speed over the 100 miles was essential to making lunch on time despite it turning out to be more of an afternoon tea stop once it had passed 3pm.

Before we get to lunch however, there are a few ‘incidents’ that ought to be reported: the man who expects us to follow wherever he goes (excluding Bruce – but we’ll get to that later) Mr Benn Jones didn’t so much as decide but ended up doing a no-handed/one-footed forward somersault before crashing into the tarmac on the wrong side of the road as a result of a re-fuelling and mechanical issue. Kudos to the man for quoting Rule #5 before he was upright again!

The second point of note was the 16% gradient climb not too long after which was a proper lung-buster and one which created a few mixed emotions from those feeling triumphant to those haunched over their bars in an attempt to minimise energy loss whilst maximising their oxygen intake.

Then there was the gravel hill climb – oh how cyclists appreciate Council decisions to lay chippings instead of tarmac when the gradient is steep enough for traction to become an issue for those not sat in the saddle. Unfortunately, the same climb spelled the end of Mark Boulton’s ride due to a ligament injury (I hope I got that right).

A brief rest/cake stop in Newtown followed before the second longest climb of the day to the highest mountain in the locale. Lunch ‘soon’ (an underestimation) followed at Elan Valley Visitor’s Centre 3 miles West of Rhayader. At 70 miles in already – nearly the same distance as the total for day one – it was make or break for a few riders and sensibly they decided to save themselves for day three by getting in the minibus – no easy feat once you’re this committed to a ride!

The final 30 miles was supposed to be easy and incident free, but we all had a Brucey bonus as we turned up the wrong “no through road” and reached a sheep track at the top of the hills/mountains making up part of the Elan Valley. At the end of a long slog uphill and a long enough day already this wasn’t ideal but I think it shocked Bruce just as much as the rest of us and following a brief ¼ mile walk across the moors in cleated shoes and road bikes we decided to turn back and the descent down was pretty exhilarating with some 25% drops.

The Offending Sign - and obvious clue

The Road to Nowhere...

This inevitably put us behind on an already tight schedule and as a result our tired contingent decided to complete the agreed 100 mile distance and then stop wherever that may be to be escorted to Brecon by minibus, van and fleet cars in shuttle runs.

I’m writing this blog at 0100 on Sunday morning which illustrates how late we got in but drinks have been raised and jokes cracked. Today is completed and tomorrow brings a different test – an easier ride, but now with 185 miles already in the legs, one that’s sure to test us all.

Night bloggers!

Follow our Facebook or Twitter page @CLSCyclists

Sponsor us at www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/angeltoaztec