CRC Road Sportive, Crickhowell 2013

Well, that was wet  – VERY WET!

We actually started off in dryish conditions. Jay and I headed out onto the course in about the 4th wave. These events are held on open roads so aren’t mass starts. Instead they let you off in waves of about 12 people separated by a few minutes. As we left the field where we had been camping for the weekend it wasn’t raining, but the roads were wet.

There was a choice of two routes today, a shorter 55 mile route or a longer 85 mile route that took in most of the 55 mile route along with an extra loop up onto the Berwyn Hills. I hadn’t decided which one I was going to do yet, I was hoping to do the longer one, but that would be quite a bit further than I usually cycle and if last years course was anything to go my it would be quite hilly. Jay was doing the shorter one but I would decide at the turn off point. I had however made the mistake of cramming all of my training, including that which I should have been doing over the weekend into the week so as to free up the weekend for the MTB Marathon on Saturday and this Road Sportive on Sunday. That meant I’d done 7 days of training in the previous 5 days, had ridden 50km on my mountain Bike yesterday which had my legs cramping from the different riding position and now had what could be an 85 mile hilly ride ahead of me on tired legs. Would I make it?

I soon left Jay behind and tagged onto a couple of riders as we headed off the main road and onto the little country lanes. I chatted to a GP for a while as we made our way through the countryside, and then got chatting to another guy from Kidderminster as we shared the pace-making at the front. I was expected a big climb in much the same way as we did last year, but it never really came and I soon found myself at the first feed station, almost 25 miles in where we were told it was now downhill all the way to Hay-on-Wye. I hadn’t really noticed that I’d been climbing, but looking at the profile from my GPS track we had been climbing steadily and fairly steeply all the way so far.

I topped up my water bottle, ate a packet of crisps and stuffed a few bourbons in my pocket before heading off downhill towards Hay-on-Wye on what was a nice open descent to start with but soon became a pretty steep, slippery sketchy descent with some tight bends. I took it easy here and got caught by two guys who were local to the area and not really doing the sportive but were riding the course anyway. They left me behind a bit but I caught them at the turn-off point as they headed onto the 85 mile route. It was just beginning to rain now but I chose the longer route as well. The two guys I had caught soon accelerated away from me, but as we hit the big climb up onto the Berwyn Hills I was gradually reeling them in bit by bit and finally caught them just as we crested the top of the hill. I was now pouring with rain and I sat on their wheels for a while recovering from the effort of catching them, but determined to stay with them now for some help around the rest of the course. We’d only done about 30 miles by now though which meant I still had another 55 to go. The 55 miles remaining are longer than most rides I do and would probably take about 3 hours – there was still a long way to go.

The rain became torrential and I just sat on their wheels for a while getting face fulls of spray from their tyres and splashing through puddles and standing water that was coating the roads. The course weaved its way through the hills with a few short little climbs and some tricky, slippery, twisty descents. It was never fast thanks to the road conditions, the weather and the narrow twisty route. There was some scenery to look at and a few nice little villages that we passed through but thanks to the weather it was mainly a case of heads down and plough onwards. I chatted a little to the other two guys and did the odd turn on the front but most of the time sat on their wheels and let them get on with it. It was very wet, but at least it wasn’t windy in these narrow country lanes.

We passed a few other riders on the climbs and took it easy on the descents, but I was getting pretty cold by now and was looking forward to the feed station where I could stop and put on my jacket. Eventually at about the 55 miles point we arrived at the second feed station where I topped up with water, had a few more biscuits and put my jacket on. It’s only very thin and didn’t offer much more protection but it was better than nothing. The two guys I’d been with didn’t stop but they did ease off and I managed to catch them back up a few miles later and once again sat on their wheels. A few other riders tried to tag on with us but we were now beginning to pick up the pace a little so we left them behind.

The rain was still torrential though and it wasn’t pleasant out there but we kept pushing on and once out onto larger roads it was actually a little better as we could pick up the pace and not have to worry quite so much about the bends and potholes. I started to tire at about the 70 mile point though and was dying for a wee so dropped off their wheels and stopped for a ‘nature stop’. Another guy who was just behind us stopped as well so we headed off together for a while. He was a little stronger then me though at this stage so left me behind although I did catch him back up towards the end on the run in to Crickhowell.

Last year we did an extra loop towards Abergavenny before crossing the river and headed back to Crickhowell, but this year we didn’t. I was therefore expecting another 5 miles but the course crossed the river in Crickhowell meaning we were almost home. Not a bad thing at this stage considering the conditions and we were all glad to be done after 80 miles and 5 hours on the bike. The fruit cake and chocolate cake at the finish line were nice (all three pieces), but the hot cup of tea was better!

My official time was 4:59:35, not fast, but not too bad either considering the conditions and the fact that it involved over 7,500ft of climbing.

Jay was already back and had been for a while having done the 50 mile route, so I quickly showered had some food and then we packed up in the pouring rain. This really was picture postcard style camping in Wales by now with the rain lashing down and all of us sloshing around in waterproofs and wellies!

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.

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