Update: 22/03/2020 19:11

I was contacted this evening by the Permanents Sectary to be told that, after consideration AUK have decided to validate the 4th 200km ride from the 17th March. The reasoning was based on the fact that AUK Perm events include an option of riding longer events as mutiple 200km consecutive rides. For a DIY multi day event the only option is to submit them as separate rides but due to the specific nature of the ride I submitted they are taking the view that the intention was to do an 800km ride as 4x200km rides. Clearly I feel the outcome is the right one and it’s great to see a common sense decision was allowed to be made. 

I’m writing this post in lieu of the video episode which will be coming in the following weeks. I have loads of footage to get through and as such it might even be two episodes… or maybe 1 episode in 2 parts… you are just going to have to wait and see! I have also shot an unpacking video where I go through how I prepped the bike and the kit I took and how it all performed. I generally only write a report when I didn’t have the GoPro with me but this time around I feel like I want to get something down whilst it was still fresh and work on the video later. Honestly, this post ended up much longer than I had originally had in mind. The nature of the trip generated a few more topics that are outside what I might normally write about I suppose.

The idea for this trip was originally formulated as a response to my girlfriend planning to go to Tokyo for the week with work. I wanted something to do and a bikepacking trip seemed like the obvious answer. I have done a lot of off-road bikepacking, biving and general 2 wheeled trampness in the past, but this time around I just wanted to do something slightly different. Hosteling sounded like a cheap option so I booked into Tycornel and The Bridges YHA. Unfortunately, Kings was fully booked but this meant I ended up at the excellent Ocean Drive in Barmouth and I don’t regret one penny of the extra spent. I also thought it might be nice if this trip could count towards my Audax season but I didn’t really want the time pressure that a single long brevet would bring. Breaking it down into a daily 200 seemed like a good compromise. Yes, I would be somewhat on the clock from whenever I started, but by having an accommodation check-in time I would have to make sure that I got to where I was going by a certain time anyway.

The other thought that I had in mind was around testing myself and getting a bit of a benchmark for my summer challenges. I have the Brain Chapman Memorial (600km), a few 1000km DIYs, and LEJOG1400 (1400km) on the board and I wanted to see where I was at with time-constrained multiday riding. If this was 4 years ago it would not be such an unknown but since returning to long-distance riding I had only done one multiday ride last Novemeber. I really wanted to do something that I could take confidence from over the next few months, leading up to these massive challenges.

Day 1 – Birmingham to Tycornel

Most of the first day rolled by fairly uneventfully in the most part. I popped into Mr Thom’s at Tenbury Wells (63km) to continue my love affair with their sausage rolls, had a quick snack and got on my way. At Presteigne (105km) I stopped for lunch at The Coffee House on the High St which whilst fine, I wouldn’t rush back to again. Its menu felt a bit weird to me, like it wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be. The coffee was good, like a real coffee place but its menu was more like a greasy spoon. I guess no cakes on the counter should have warned me when I walked in. I probably should have waited and popped into the Border Bean in Kington but hey you live and learn. You only find the cafes you want to go back to by trying them in the first place.

The weather had been a bit changeable. The light rain came and went, but fortunately, the strong headwind that we had been predicted hadn’t materialised. The wind had been there of course but it wasn’t really enough to be a burden, and given what I was expecting I was very grateful. That is until I was back on the road after lunch. As I turned due West, heading to Kington and  Builth Wells the wind really started to pick up. Not soul-crushingly so but strong enough to push back and become an annoyance. At Builth (148km), I decided to make an unscheduled coffee and cake stop. Builth was like a ghost town… a sign of things to come honestly and I was lucky to get in somewhere as many places had already closed up for the day. I spotted an interesting looking place Beautifully Bonkers/Georgie Porgies Coffee Stop, which was a cafe, ladies clothes shop and beauty salon all in one! It was genuinely one of the most interesting cafes I have been in for a while. I enjoyed a cappuccino and a slice of Chocolate Biscuit cake… let me say that again. Chocolate. Biscuit. Cake… and enjoyed the vibe for 15minutes chatting with another customer. A loaded bike has always been a conversation starter and this trip was no different.

I headed off towards Llanwryted Wells (168km), my planned supply point for dinner and the next day’s breakfast. When I arrived I was dismayed to see that not only was the building surrounded by fences and the shop closed but also the only other option in the village, the petrol station, was also closed. I popped into the hotel opposite with the hope they were serving dinner but it was another hour until they started service. I then remembered the Belle Vue which played host to 4 tired, wet bikepackers 5 years earlier on a previous excursion. The thought of the hot fire that we dried and warmed ourselves around then once again seemed very inviting, especially since the drizzle had set in for the last hour or so. I ordered a pizza and a pint of coke and sat down. Now the thing about this place is that it needed a facelift 5 years ago and it hasn’t been touched since then, however, the locals are friendly and the staff to match. I was there on my own and welcomed the friendly drunk chat from the 3 good old boys sat at the bar. The pizza wasn’t gourmet but it was hot, with plenty of toppings and didn’t take long to come.

The climb out of the valley over to Lyn Brianne reservoir was the first off-road of the trip and although it’s a decent pull up through the woods and down the other side the rain hadn’t got any heavier it was a nice enough ride. As I was somewhat behind schedule, it was unfortunately very dark by this point which did somewhat spoil the views over the reservoir that I had hoped to finish the day with. The road around Lyn Brianne had been cut up by logging vehicles and was tougher going than I remember it being previously. I was on 2.2inch tyres then, not the 35mm I was on now so clearly this was to be expected. The other thing I had forgotten was just how many gates there are on this stretch that were all unfortunately chained and padlocked. It became quite tiresome constantly stopping to lift the bike over the gate and having to carefully place it onto the cattle grid on the other side. The wind and rain continued to add to my deep sigh at every enforced pause in forward motion.

Whatever the trials and tribulations were that I had experienced so far, they were nothing in comparison to the last 50 minutes before making it to the hostel. When I planned this route I knew that this section of the trail was going to be hard. Soar-Y-Mynydd that runs from the chappel to Tycornel is a very rough double track, with a lot of loose large rocks, potholes, deep puddles and bedrock that climbs 130m in about 1.2km. It averages just over 10%, with 20% ramps. To say its unrideable is an understatement but honestly, I didn’t remember the ascent being quite this long. The higher I pushed the worse the weather became, the rain was horizontal and every step was a victory. Even once on top, on the 750m of “flat” it was still slow going. The descent on the other side is more of the same, steep rough and although rollable in some parts lets not pretend it was a fun descent in this circumstance. As I reached the bottom the final hurdle awaited. The stream was running fast and a little deep but nothing concerning. I rolled through, only to have my front wheel stop up on a large rock beneath the surface. I held the bars but had to put a foot down into the ankle-deep water. With the cold invading my boot I quickly pushed off again and made it to the other side. I knew I was close now, less than 1km to go but at 4% on a wet double track in the driving rain, it still felt like a world away. Eventually, I saw a light in the dark and then the gate that told me I was there. 50 minutes to do 3.8km is probably the best measure of just how difficult this last section turned out being.

Day 2 – Tycornel to Barmouth

I had a night of broken sleep. It really wasn’t that different to the sleep you get in a bivi bag, more like a series of short sleeps than really getting settled for the night. The warden wasn’t around when I arrived the previous evening but there were a couple of other lads there who let me in and who had got the fire going already. It was warm in the snug but the dorms were bloody freezing when I went to bed and this hadn’t changed overnight. With so few of us there though, I had the second dorm to myself which made getting out in the morning loads easier… no sneaking around the room trying not to wake people. Fortunately, there was some in-date cereal on the spare food shelf so my lack of breakfast wasn’t as dire as I had thought it might be when I saw the shop closed in Llanwrtyd Wells. It was 50km to the nearest place to eat on route, so getting at least something down me was very welcome. A day of torrential rain had been forecast but fortunately this didn’t turn out to be the case. I think Sunday morning’s predicted rain came early and was responsible for the previous evening’s soaking. It’s not to say that I didn’t get wet once… or twice again that day but at least it was intermittent and not a continuous downpour.

I didn’t rush out of the hostel too quickly. I had been trying to prepare myself for the track that I had pushed over last night. I knew it was going to be difficult again, but at least this time there was daylight and only light spots of water falling from the sky. 40mins later and I was jumping back on the bike at the chapel and heading north, climbing through the Cambrian Mountains towards Strata Florida. I passed that phone box, joined the gravel road climbing out of the valley past the phone tower for the long, fast, meandering swooping descent to Strata Florida Abby. It had been years since I was here. This was always one of my favourite places to ride a bike. Dramatic, desolate, isolated… the grey skies and the way the scrubby vegetation wobbles gently in the wind give this area a certain melancholy that has always spoken to me. It felt really good to be back here once more.

I knew the first 50km today was going to be hard. The lions share of the off-road combined with a chunk of climbing didn’t disappoint in that regard, but where there are hills there are great views and all the climbing was worth it. Long soft-peddles, were followed by fast descents cut into the edges of valleys. Eventually, I got to Devils Bridge and the Two Hoots Cafe for breakfast. Whilst I did stop for a quick bite to eat, my stomach wasn’t playing nice at that point and I really had to force it down. It was the best thing to do though as I simply hadn’t eaten enough that day and it was another 40km or so until my next possible stop, the Shell garage at Ponterwyd. This is another classic bikepacking stop off, being close to Nant-Y-Arin trail centre, and Nant Syddion and Nant Rhys bothies. Heading north from the garage I skirted the edge of Nant-Y-Moch, before the long fast descent to Tal-Y-Bont. Eventually reaching Borth and briefly running along the seafront soaking in some sun and sea air. I had principally only added this section to give me some extra distance but it was actually one of the more memorable sections of the route, moving summit to sea in such a short distance.

After another quick snack stop at the Spar in Machynlleth, I followed the road west along the edge of the River Dovey before leaving the main road and cutting the corner to Tywn. I once again dropped down to the sea, stopping for a moment to drink in the view of the sun slipping away towards the water. This left only one big obstacle between me and a warm bed, the large climb between the peaks of Pen y Gam and Trawsfynydd. This is a climb well known to me and one that I have fond memories of. The last time I was here it was such a clear January night I was able to switch my lights off and ride by moonlight alone. The stars twinkled, the air was still and fresh and it really was just one of those perfect moments. I was with Gabe and Andy then, both Tour Divide vets I might add, in fact Andy has only just finished the Atlas Mountain race. I rode on my own that night too… beating them both to the top. Hahaha 😉

The last descent was somewhat disappointing honestly. The offroad part at the top was just too rough to roll the dice with this bike and the road section although fast and smooth is really characterised by the amazing views of Cadair Idris as it passes on your right and Lyn Gwernan on the left. I wasn’t going to be too cut up about it though as I really only had one goal in mind at that point; getting to the B&B and shoving some dinner in my face hole. The blast down to Barmouth bridge was easy enough, although I couldn’t shake off a sense of dread that the bridge might be closed. Of course it wasn’t and within a few minutes of traversing the estuary, I was knocking on the door of The Ocean Drive bed and breakfast, to an immensely warm welcome from Sarah and Glenn.

Day 3 – Barmouth to Ratlinghope

Waking up the next morning I was able to fully appreciate where I had just stayed. I had been kindly upgraded to a very nice double room with a beautiful view looking out across the coast. The sun was shining, the sky blue, and it looked like a great day for riding. I hadn’t slept well again but the comfortable bed and nice surroundings had left me feeling good about the world. Not only that but my hosts had been kind enough to do some laundry for me overnight, so I even had a choice of fresh, sweet-smelling kit to wear! I had a bowl of cereal, followed by a stack of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup. This was exactly the start to my third day on the road that I needed.

The ride north from Barmouth set the tone for the day. Beautiful views, big vistas and plenty of big hill climbs. Even the main road was surprisingly free of cars and after following Route 8 into the hills I didn’t see a car for quite some time. These roads are clearly seldom used, having a thick centre line of moss and being covered in forest debris. This was back lane riding at its very best. At Porthmadog the route headed east, just below Ffestiniog crossing Snowdonia National Park. The scenery here is stunningly large. Deep valleys, craggy outcrops and all beautifully contrasted against the blue skies beyond. My route continued to Lake Bala. The lap of the lake was surprisingly disappointing and somewhat lacked lustre. Everything on paper says this shouldn’ve been a picturesque cruise but somehow it just wasn’t.

Once I reached Bala I made a beeline for R H Roberts bike shop. I was running low on chamois cream and given that my undercarriage was starting to feel the miles, I felt that a restock was a sensible move. Unfortunately, they only had 2 small tubes, one each of mens and womens. I had them both… I’m not fussy. I probably would have started using chain lube if they hadn’t had any at all! Although I needed a break I didn’t really feel like I wanted a cafe stop. I noticed a Subway in the back in the Spar, so I tucked into a Meatball foot long, saving half for later.

As you leave Bala, heading to Lake Vyrnwy, you start the initial ascent to Hirnat Pass. It starts with a lush green valley floor that gently curves upwards to conifer plantations on either side. The river meanders its way down the valley as you meander up, following the contours towards the upper valley floor that truly marks the start of Hirnat Pass. As you ascend, the tall trees thin to short trees before eventually being reduced to the dark browns, oranges and purples of the scrubby heather that grows in more exposed areas. The wind picked up at this stage and typically it was a headwind, adding to the dramatic, romantic mid-19th-century novel atmosphere.

As you look towards the horizon the light grey snake of tarmac crosses the valley and dauntingly weaves it’s way off over the hill and far away. This is a classic climb with scree sloops on one side and a black and white checkered guard rail on the other. It’s the stuff that epic rides are made of. This was the most memorable section of the whole route and a road that will be etched into mind for years to come. The descent was equally as dramatic and beautiful. The road passed through several woods and crisscrossed the river a number times before finally finishing at the north end of Lake Vyrnwy. As I blasted down the south side of the lake, there were glimpses of the water shimmering in the sunlight but it wasn’t for some time until finally, the trees thinned for an uninterrupted view of the straining tower. The lake is far bigger than I had remembered. I had only been here once before and then it was to a cafe at the south end before we rode up the west side of the valley to a deserted farmhouse for a night in the wild.

Continuing south the mood of the ride began to change. I left behind the wilds of deepest Wales heading through Montgomeryshire to the town that gives the area its name; Montgomery. I really felt like I was on the return leg of my trip now. I have ridden to Montgomery and back on local Audaxs and to be there now was a comfort tinged with a sense of sadness that my trip was almost over. I say that… I still had almost 255km to go before I would see my own bed again, but I was certainly back within spitting distance. I had a brief stop at the Dragon Hotel, for a pint of coke, a bag crisps and to get a few layers on as the sun had now set and the temperature was dropping rapidly. I was of a mind to get to the hostel now as I was feeling like I had had enough for today. It had been an incredible day riding and whilst I normally enjoy riding at night, today the dark just felt somehow oppressive and restrictive. I got a wiggle on to Ministerley, before tackling the last climb up the Long Mynd to the Bridges YHA. Thankfully I got there before Angela, the warden, had shut up for the day which made checking in and getting settled all the easier.

Day 4 – Ratlinghope to Birmingham

Once again another terrible nights sleep. My plan to do daily 200s instead of a single 800 to avoid the sleep deprivation only half paid off. At least it meant that I never needed to rush off each day so at least I could take that at a leisurely pace. A full English, supplemented with cereal was on the menu this morning and very welcome it was too. It was certainly breakfast times that I really got the hunger on this trip. My tactic of a little often during the day had worked out well in the main as my stomach had behaved quite well, but one drawback was that it clearly affected my evening appetite. Being the only guest at the hostel, apparently, there had been mass cancellations, was a slightly strange experience. The hostel had a subdued feel, not too dissimilar to the University I work in over the summer months or school after home time, quiet and a little eerie.

I’m going to keep this part of the write up short and to the point as honestly, I was a bit numb to the world at this point. The fatigue had obviously set in by now and although my legs were still turning the peddles well, my mind was doing little else than navigating and concentrating on the road. I feel like I have very little memory of really what happened for much of that day, just fleeting glimpses.

• There was a big stinker of a climb to get up onto the main part of the Long Mynd above Church Stretton. When I got to the top I passed 2 club riders waiting for their mate who was climbing from the other direction. We said hello, and I remember finding their perturbed expressions that I had just come up the steep way on a loaded bike, to be quite amusing.
• First stop was in Church Stretton. It was a ghost town. I dropped into the bakery and gorged myself on some baked products. The conversation in bakery between the staff and the odd local that popped in always centred around how quiet the village was.
• It didn’t seem to matter if I was on back lanes, B-roads or A-roads there was no one around. The odd car or lorry would pass here and there but that was about it.
• I had a really low moment at one point and took an uncharacteristic stop at a small chapel. I got off my bike and stood in the doorway looking out across a hillside for 4 or 5 minutes. I may have had a snack and a drink I can’t quite remember but when I threw my leg back over the bike and got peddling everything seemed right again with the world.
• Just before Upper Arley, I stopped at a pub for a quick drink and some stealth snacks that I had saved from the bakery. It was almost empty apart from what appeared to be a few die-hard locals. The owner of the bike shop in Wyre Forest was one of them and we chatted a little about my trip.
• When I got to Kinver I felt like I was really on home turf again. In my experience, this normally goes one of two ways at the end of a long ride. Either you are pleased to be back on familiar ground, you know exactly how long it takes and you autopilot home quickly or you are back on familiar ground, you know exactly how long it takes and that becomes a greater burden to you mentally. This time around it was actually neither, as although I know all these roads very well, I remembered that in order to get in a bit more climbing I took an unusual, for me, route home. This meant I had to concentrate on navigation like the rest of the ride, although I can’t deny that it was a nice little mental boost when I was in Clent/Lickys area.

I described the hostel as eerie quiet but that really went for the whole day. It was certainly one of the oddest endings to a trip that I can remember. My normal memory of ending 3 or 4 days bikepacking would be the immense culture shock of getting off a train at New Street station after days of solitude. There was none of that this time though, as the streets in the city were very quiet and the world seemed oddly subdued. It wasn’t until I got home that the news really filtered to me that the Covid-19 response had gone up another notch that day and things starting making a bit more sense.

Grit, Mac and Cheese 4

The Stats:

• 806km ridden
• 14 018m ascent
• 1 day 17 hours 58 minutes moving time
• 3 days, 13 hours, 38 minutes elapsed time

How my body held up

Day 1

Had a slight sore spot starting to appear on my right heel that I solved by wearing my overshoes with the zip undone. It was only 200km which I do so regularly that I really didn’t expect any issues at this point.

Day 2

Legs were a little sore by the end of the day and my little fingers were not quite working properly, saddle sores started but felt more like pressure sores than skin abrasion which are far easier to deal with.

Day 3

First day starting with sore legs that loosened up over the day. My right Achilles also started to feel a little sore no doubt from over use. Saddle sores gradually got worse but still totally manageable. The worst deterioration was in my hands, with all the fleshy parts being quite tender and “bruised” with skin callous forming. Triceps were starting to feel tired, I assume this was from riding in the drops more than I’m used to give myself more hand and saddle positions. Fingers got worse, it was hard to write anything when I checked in at the hostel.

Day 4

My hands were significantly better than I expected, felt like I went through the worst of it the day before. Saddle sores felt marginally worse than the previous day but still manageable. By the end of the day, both Achilles were sore and uncomfortable. It was definitely the tendon and not just skin abrasion. This was one of the more concerning things going forwards as this is a new one for me and I wondered just how bad they might have got if I had had to ride a 5th day.

Overall I was most surprised about my neck and shoulders. I think my very deliberate riding position management; tops for climbing, hooks for descending, end of drops and hoods for cruising on the flat, meant that I was never overusing one position. I didn’t have any neck or shoulder stiffness which surprised me as at the 250km point of the 300 I did 2 weeks ago my neck was really stiff and uncomfortable. I also had no knee problems at all. I wasn’t expecting any, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had had some knee pain. When I started big rides again I was having some issues but they cleared up fairly quickly so I think that was maybe just being undertrained initially.

Recovery

This was better than I expected. The next day was the only real bad day for my legs. It was a real struggle to walk downstairs and walking anywhere was a very deliberate act. My girlfriend spent the day giggling at me every time I walked into a room. I did try to keep moving though and had a stroll around the block which really helped. My hands were still stiff and it was uncomfortable to open things like jars.

By the next day, my legs had significantly improved. I was walking sensibly again but they were somewhat stiff still. Once again going for a walk really helped.

By the third day I was able to go for a short ride and not feel any sort of stiffness at all in my legs.

I’m on day 5 now and my hands are still a little problematic, my little fingers aren’t at their best. I just went out for a 50km ride which I cut short because my quad stiffened up quite badly after 12km. I limped home and it’s still quite painful. This was very surprising as I was taking it very easy. I guess I’ll just see how it goes.

Epilogue

One last thing I wanted to address at this point relates to AudaxUKs response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Very late in the day on the 16th March 2020 AudaxUK made the decision to not only suspend all Audax calendar events but to also stop validating any DIY and Permanent rides from midnight on the 16th. As far as I’m aware this was announced by a forum post reply to their previous statement about the situation. It was not until the evening of the 17th that an email was sent to all members. I think its fair to say that, as the post was made at about 11:20pm on the 16th, that it was very unlikely that anyone who had been planning to ride on the 17th would have seen this information in time.

The likely upshot is that only three of my four 200km rides are going to be validated. Indeed at the time of writing this is exactly the situation, the rides for the 14th, 15th, 16th of March have been validated with the ride on the 17th currently in limbo. This is a very frustrating situation for a number of reasons. Firstly if this had been one long brevet the date the ride started would be the important one, not the date it finished, so in that situation, the distance ridden would have been counted in its entirety. Secondly, when planning I had had it in my mind that the 4th day could be a short last day to get home. I was only on the Long Mynd and could have been home in as quickly as 80km but I planned a winding route that not only got me to 200km for the day but also took me over 3000m of climbing to qualify for some decent AAA points. Just in case my legs weren’t up to it, I had even planned a 100km, 1500m ascent route that I had with me.

Whether or not you agree with their response is down to you. Personally I can understand why they decided to take this route and that is fine. Organisations need to be seen to not be adding to the problems we find ourselves in and still validating DIYS and Perms, whilst suspending calendar events, would almost certainly have encouraged people to be out on the road doing big rides, stopping in shops and spreading their germs. Many riders will tell you that they can take everything they need with them and that they won’t have to pop in anywhere but not everyone will actually do that in reality. The fact that we are still seeing group rides going out should be enough to tell you that people can’t be trusted. You know it, I know it, we all know it. Get over it. While it’s easy enough to carry enough food for 200km, water is a different matter. Sure some of us will know about that tap and of course you can carry filtration equipment. As an experienced bikepacker I have small, lightweight, easily packable gear to do this but I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the average Audaxer does not have this type of equipment to hand. Additionally, in light of the recent ending of the DIY/Permanent schemes in America due to lack of insurance, I don’t think it’s a huge leap to think that insurance companies would potentially think twice about being involved with a cycling association that previously didn’t make the most responsible decisions it could have, during a time of crisis.

What my slight gripe is that I really don’t feel that a forum post reply to a previous statement is a suitable way to make such a big announcement. This was then compounded by leaving it another 24 hours, until after the cut off time had already passed, before actively pushing out the information to members in the form of an email. My suggestion would have been to make the announcement and send the email on the 16th March for a midnight 17th March cutoff. 24 hours warning should have been enough and indeed it seems that by the evening of the 17th the word had spread. Whilst this may have left open the chance of a rush to get a “last ride” done on the 17th they could have potentially switched off the application tool to stop people submitting new routes. Additionally, as it was a Tuesday I would have thought that most members would not have been in a position to do this at the last minute anyway.

I understand however that this is my narrow view of the situation. It’s probably not unreasonable to think that my situation could have been an almost a unique occurrence. I fully acknowledge that this is 20/20 vision in hindsight and it’s very easy for me to sit here now and type this. There is no pressure on me to make a decision and I didn’t have the weight of responsibility for deciding how to move forwards. It’s also likely that I’m not in possession of many of the facts and nor will I ever be. I myself have said during our own contingency planning at my place of work that “we don’t need a perfect plan, but we do need some quick decision making”. I have the utmost respect for all the hard work that goes on at AudaxUK by volunteers who give their time up simply for the love of long-distance cycling. Whilst they will always have the riders best interests at the centre of what they do, they can’t always please all the people all the time and you know what… that’s OK.