Sorry that there’s no pictures with this but I only took a couple and then both the weather and my mood changed.
Every October Stuart and Dee Wright organise an event in Mid-Wales. Well “event” doesn’t really describe it, you are sent a GPX file of that year’s route about a week before the event date. 200km might not sound much but while some of it may be rideable there’ll usually be some not insignificant sections where you are pushing or even carrying your bike. There’s mandatory kit (sleeping bag, bivy bag, lights), if anything goes wrong, it’s up to you to fix it. No-one’s there to hold your hand and tell you that you are precious. It’s different.
Originally it was just a 200km route - there’s no “prizes” but get round in under 24hrs and you get a black badge, under 28hrs a blue badge and a green one for finishing in under 36hrs. With more people getting round in quick times, i.e. under 24hrs they added a 300km route but you could only enter that if you had done the 200 in under 24hrs. Entry numbers are limited mainly because of parking at the event centre. This year so many applied that they offered a second running in November when there’s even less daylight.
Having missed the cut for the first running of the BB2/300, I was in the middle of a field at the time, I jumped at the chance when Stu offered the second running. Once entry was confirmed I emailed Stu with “Please put me down for the 300”. In hindsight I could have left off the last three words.
I booked in at a hotel in the village for the night before.
Self made breakfast of couscous (it’s quick) and a drive of, oh, 200 metres gets me to the community centre. Lots of people there and getting ready to go. Best make most use of daylight so I’m ready for the off by 0710. It’s quite warm but pretty windy so I start with a windshirt on. At the top of the first steep climb rain is coming in so I put my waterproof on the top of that. In the event I didn’t take these off for the entire ride. Ian B catches me then there’s a pleasant surprise - the boggy track leading down to the road is no more, the farmer has filled it in with stone so it’s a fast blast.
Into Hafren (forest) and there’s some new sections to me including all the singletrack. Take it easy, don’t want to rip a tyre on the bedrock. Then it’s a blast down into Llanidloes. A curious bit of BW follows then across the main road and on towards Bwlch y Sarnau. Someone had mentioned a steep push around here - they weren’t kidding! 400m of 30% gravel track. It was about this time that I got a curious blood sugar drop, no idea why as I’d been eating and drinking regularly. Things had picked up by the time I reached the next farm and I cracked on to ByS. Five hours to here.
Just a short stop in the café then back into the wind for one of those silly loops that leave the road, do 5km of up and down to end back on the same road 1km from where you started. The climb up through Abbey woods was another push then the cramps started. I couldn’t believe it, so early in the ride. Then again I think I’ve only done one ride of 100km since the BB200 last year. I push on then there’s a ridiculously steep and soft descent out of the woods.
On the next bit of road I’m having to get off and walk to avoid cramping. It continues like this past the diversion and up onto the route of the Trans Cambrian Way. I’ve done this bit in reverse so had a good idea of what it’s like. With the wind on my back I made as good a time as I could but I’d only five minutes or so of pedalling before I’d have to get off, vigorously thump the cramping area, walk a bit and ride again. I dropped off the TCW just as it was going dark. The next section to Bucknell was more of the same, ride a bit, thump legs, walk a bit. The problem was this was on the flat! Two lights appear from behind, slowly catching me up. One Polish and one English. I figured on getting a meal at the pub in Bucknell. First though there was a brilliant little descent down a curious gully through the woods, felt too narrow for an old cart track but whatever, a blast.
The pub in Bucknell looked far too posh to go in caked in sheep and cow poo. Apparently the other pub was about a mile down the road. I considered my options: I wasn’t going to make the Spar in Clun for 8pm when it closed (it was now 6:45). I’d do the 200 instead. So I loaded up the route and pushed up the next hill. At the top of this I got a low battery warning from my GPS, no problem, load the spares and carry on. Except…
The unit wouldn’t start. Big problem. As I was pondering what to do, two riders crossed the track about 100m ahead. I chased after them, it was the two lads from before Bucknell, they’d used a tap outside a house to fill their water bottles. My only plan now was to ride with them so I didn’t get lost. My hope was that they weren’t riding too fast for my cramp ridden legs, but there was no way I could let the elastic snap.
I’m behind the Polish lad when I look up and his lights have disappeared! I’m at a T-junction and I’ve no idea if he’s gone left or right. I try right but the road drops quickly so I don’t want to lose too much height. Crap! Then the English lad appears, so all is well again. There’s then a long, long push up a muddy, rocky, rutted track that seems to take ages. Down the other side and now I lose both their lights. I make a complete guess and head down a lane and find them again. The rain has stopped now and the stars are out. The wind is still strong there.
Then the Polish lad, actually I should call him Piotr since that’s his name, gets a puncture. Unfortunately he’s lost his pump so I lend him mine but he can’t inflate the tube. Turns out the valve has broken. I’ve a spare tube and offer it but he’s on 26" wheels and I’ve a 29er tube. We’re by a barn so he decides to stop there hoping someone will pass with a tube.
We, Alex and I carry on, twisting in and out of lanes. The turnip field was a quagmire - they are stubble turnips for fattening lambs and the field was occupied - the bikes were completely caked in mud after just a couple of metres. More downs and ups (we have an unwritten agreement that we’ll get off and walk when the going gets too steep - this happens a lot) and eventually we pull up onto the Kerry Ridgeway but don’t realise it. I don’t even realise it when I see a sign for “Coed Ceri” and voice “kerry”. We are now riding into the wind and it’s hard going.
Alex is struggling with food, or lack of it. He’s a dehydrated meal but there’s no way to get a stove up and running out here in this wind. As we dropped off the ridgeway I see a barn to the side of the track, it’s a covered sheep handling facility so we get inside out of the wind and get our stoves going. More couscous for me but I’m halfway through it when I feel very ill and have to step outside to throw up. Not sure what time it was, maybe 2am, but I don’t eat from here to the finish.
I’m now on more familiar territory but don’t realise it until a long road descent between Pentre and Mochdre. Then it’s over another big hill to drop down to Llandinam. We use a water hose outside an engineering workshop to fill up. We’ve one big hill, but lots of small ones left. Then Alex’s GPS freezes, fortunately he manages to reboot it. Once at Trefeglwys we are nearly home, just a (big) hill in the way.
I’d resigned myself to finishing in over 24hrs. “How long have we got left?” I ask Alex, “Two hours ten” he replies. Phew, except he started twenty minutes after me. I go into head down TT mode to get some distance done before we will be forced to walk the climb out of Llawr y Glyn. Alex keeps falling behind, he’s struggling to stay awake. We plod up the steep bit and only get on the bikes once we feel we can ride continuously. Alex is ahead and misses the turn into Esgair woods, he’s actually ridden straight into the roadside bank having fallen asleep!
We’ve now 1hr40 to get back (1hr20 for me). We get to Pennant and I’ve forty minutes to do 5km so it’s head down and twenty minutes later we roll into the centre just as Dee and Stu are opening up. Final time of 23:40 for me and 23:20 for Alex.
“Black badge for you” says Stu. “Ah” I explain what’s happened. “Not a problem, you’ve ridden the course”.
After breakfast (it stayed down) and copious amounts of tea I drove home. I needed a couple of stops to let the cramps ease plus a power nap at the motorway service.
Given how close I was to the 24hr time for the 200 there’s no way I’d have been able to do the 300 in the time limit even if my GPS had worked.
No idea on what the TSS for the whole route would be, I’ve not uploaded my partial route yet but it’s likely to be double that.
Well at least it had turned mild.
