I had porridge for breaky and set of for Chepstow at 6 o'clock for the 8 o'clock start...I had intended to get there for 7 ish, but I had massively overestimated the time it would take to get there.
I arrived at the car park at Chepstow castle at 6:50...It was empty!
Although the Castle did look nice and it was very quiet :-)
I didn't have long to wait before people started turning up, I set about unloading the bike and sorting myself out.
As soon as the event organiser turned up I signed in, and stood back and waited for the 8am start...It was a very well subscribed event.
At 8 am I set off for the first climb of the day...I seemed to overtake everybody and found myself at the front, the climb was a nice warm-up.
The first Information control answer was noted, then it was full steam ahead to the first signed control at the Dog Inn at Ewyas Harold, thankfully I was with a group of other riders as I had mis-plotted the route on the Garmin, saying that my route would probably have been quicker ;-)
The next stop was The Granary cafe in Hay on Wye, nearly everybody else stopped for lunch, it was on 11:30 and the cafe was completely full, I preferred to press on and get the Gospel Pass climb done, so I stopped only to get the card signed and pressed on...
The climb started almost immediately after Hay on Wye, I changed gear (dropping off the big chain ring) and it whipped up and bent the front de-railer :-(
I stopped and made a road side manipulation, but I will need to set it up properly when I clean the bike...It was working but only just!
As the climb kicked up, I almost came off the bike, the back wheel skidded on some gravel :-(
I gathered my composure and got into a good rhythm, before I knew it I was almost at the top
...I had been bigging up the idea of the climb 5 miles and 1800 feet...but it seemed the thought was worse than the event!
The clouds looked awesome as they were being blown up the mountain slopes
I actually cycled into the snow line :-)
Once at the top the descent began, it was a 5 mile climb but a 25 mile descent :-)
Quite near the top of the descent is a cattle grid, I slowed and went over it, then the hill drops rapidly away (Roughly 25%), I suddenly had the bouncing, wobbly flat feeling from the back wheel :-(
I had punctured....
I did the normal, remove tube leaving tyre in place, pump up the tube, find the hole..then find the sharp object or hole left by object in the tyre...
The leak was very small in the tube, when comparing the hole position with the tyre there was nothing...no sign of any hole sharp object or anything????
I replaced the tube pumped it up and set off - I guess the cattle grid had done it??? although it wouldn't be a pinch puncture, the thing was at 110 psi!
I set of - down hill towards Abergavenny and the 3rd control, my intention was to eat something at the control....When we eventually found it, it was packed and the bike was left unsecured on a very busy pedestrian high street - So I opted to get the card signed and head straight on.
The expected climb out of Abergavenny was considerably worse than I had imagined, it was worse than the climb up Gospel Pass, it seemed to go on and on for ever.
By the time I had got to the top I was completely fecked....But at least there was only 7 miles of downhill to go!
I plodded on to the Chepstow Athletic Centre and the official end, stopping to buy a pint of full fat coke and a packet of cheese and onion crisps....The first packet of crisps I have bought in 2 years....and the last.
The Garmin had the ride as 101 miles in 6 hours 48 minutes with an average speed of 14.8 mph and 5,633 ft of climb, route here...
Bike is now completely minging and needs a bit of TLC on the gears...
8 comments:
Very well done, looks a great ride, if not a touch hilly! Great pictures too, a rather moody sky to say the least, annoying puncture and hope the gears get sorted alright :)
Excellent write up. Sounds a great ride too.
You're right, that bike is minging (from the puncture shot).
What sort of event was it? What did you mean by "The first Information control answer was noted"? Do you have to make notes to prove you did the route?
@Matt..Yes a touch on the hilly side :-) The gears were my own fault, changing gear with to much load on the pedals :-( One day I will learn!
@Rafe...Its an Audax...http://www.audax.uk.net/... they are organised events, you have to prove you did the route by answering questions (Info Control) and getting a Brevet card signed (Control)
Typically a sportive costs £25-£30 and is fully supported, an Audax costs £2-£6 and you have to support yourself, most organisers do provide food and drink at the beginning and the end, you tend to get a much better class of person/rider on an Audax compared to a Sportive
Well done for today's ride mate. Looks like a great 100 miler. You should have hopped the cattle grid and avoided the puncture.
Would have loved to do the route with you but I have been struggling with my energy this week, fighting off a cold thing. Missed CG this morning but feel much better for the lazy morning and 12 hour sleep :) Back to the velodrome tomorrow then normal road service to resume.
Catch you soon.
Good write up mate. The puncture thing was weird, my puncture last week was a "mystery". No sign of sharps in the tyre either. And like you I'm always changing gear with the chain under pressure.
@Clive...I have been training myself to be softer on the gear change, I think this was a combination of grime, gunk and a day of steep climbs, I was getting used to the constant pedal load...
I hate having punctures :-( I was well miserable gears were fecked, mystery puncture, I was getting cold...and it started raining....
Strange how I enjoyed the day :-)
A tip re gear mashing learnt from MTB... If you're struggling on a steep climb and need to change gear, try pushing extra hard on the pedals for a few revs just to pinch a bit of extra speed. You can then relax for a few revs whilst you change gear. Net result should be a smooth gear change with no overall drop in momentum.
Like all my pearls of wisdom, it might not help, might not make sense or might even be something you already knew, but it works for me!
Another 100 in the bag.
I still haven't done a 100 this year. I was going to do one Sunday but it was cancelled due to bad weather.
I've been avoiding the hills and the cold weather so far this year too.
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