A Hilly Windy Ride

I may have put on lots of weight and lost lots of fitness whilst cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End, but I thought it must have improved my long slow endurance riding. I also thought it would probably be a good thing to keep doing the odd long ride every so often just to keep the ‘miles in my legs’. By ‘long’ I mean approaching 100 miles or so, which is exactly what I planned for Saturday.

I had a nice route in mind that took in some of the better and more remote scenery in Mid Wales. I was up early on Saturday morning so after a lazy breakfast and some time finding all of my cycling clothes I set off under grey skies at around 7am. It was a little chilly and the wind was howling but it was dry and there was some blue sky over the sea so it looked as though it might brighten up. The blustery wind had me leaning to the side along the straights through Borth, but at least it was a bit behind me too. I then climbed up over the hill behind Dolybont and on into Talybont. There were no cars on the road and no one around which is one of the best things about early mornings.

Having given my Dymag wheels back after JOGLE, I was on my old wheels and hadn’t changed the cassettes over. I therefore had my 11-25 ‘racing’ cassette on which probably wasn’t ideal for the hilly route I had planned so I was soon out of the saddle as I made my way up over the first mountain road of the day. This was the mountain road from Talybont up to Nant y Moch and over to Ponterwyd. As usual I didn’t see a single person or a single car all along this road, just one or two campers at the side of the road. In fact the first car I saw wasn’t until about 22 miles into the ride when I briefly crossed the A44 at Ponterwyd.

I had however had 20 cattle grids to contend with up until this point, numerous silly sleepy sheep in the road and a huge herd of Highland Cattle, including a massive bull who refused to get out of the road. There were quite a few of the cows with calves as well so I was a little cautious as I passed them, shouting at them as I approached so as not to startle them and then passing them gingerly. That was until there was about 30 of them all in the road crowding my way through. They didn’t seem inclined to move so I had to literally push pass them, squeezing between then and pushing them out of the way whilst scooting along on my bike. They didn’t seem to mind though and I was soon on my way leaving them to their little conference in the road.

From Ponterwyd I headed along desserted roads to Devil’s Bridge and then turned left up towards the Arch at Hafod and on into Cwm Ystwyth. The only car I had seen was still the one on the A44. I did catch up a couple who were also cycling though and overtook them saying hello as I went. I then stopped at the bottom of the next Mountain Road, The Rhayader Mountain Road where there was supposed to be a geocache. I was going to find it and log it but when I realised it wasn’t on the roadside but a hundred metres or so into the field I decided against it. The cyclists I had overtaken went past me here so I let them go on ahead a bit before following them up the hill. I soon passed them again though and exchanged pleasantries as I continued on. There was another geocache or two that I could have stopped at along here but decided not to as I’d look a bit silly overtaking the other cyclists only to stop again a mile up the road.

There were now a few motorcyclists on the road, but only one or two and they were parked at the roadside admiring the views. I did see one car going in the opposite direction to me though. Towards the top of the hill I turned right down the steep descent to the river that feeds the first of the Elan Valley reservoirs and then continued to follow the road around the various Elan Valley Lakes. The road here is lovely for cycling, not too hilly but with just a few undulations as it follows the edges of the lakes down through the valley. As with Nat y Moch, the reservoir I had passed earlier, these all had fairly low water levels after the hot summer we’ve had. There were still no cars around and I felt as though I was the only person in Wales. I had planned to stop at the visitor centre for a coffee and a cake, and maybe a bacon sandwich as I was now feeling quite hungry after close to 3 hours and 50 miles on the bike.

I turned off the road and rolled into the Visitor Centre at 10am, just as the doors were opening. I got off my bike and was just about to go in when I realised that because I had mounted my phone in the holder on my handlebars I didn’t have my little phone sock with me. The money I was expecting to use pay for said sustenance was in the pouch, so I had no means to pay for anything. I couldn’t magic up any cash so instead I made do with a tiny bag of haribo that I had in my pocket and sat on the bench outside feeling sorry for myself. I sent Anna a text to tell her I was stupid and then continued on my way into Rhayader where yet more coffee shops, cake shops and bakeries teased me as I passed.

I also finally saw some cars whilst in Rhayader and the whole place seemed alive with people compared to the roads I’d been on until now. It didn’t last long though as I turned off the main road and headed once more into the hills. The road here was a little more challenging with some steep climbs and descents as I made my way towards Llanidloes via St Harmon and Pant y Dwr. There was quite a bit of life in the latter as there was a horse jumping competition and country show on, but people were all friendly as I rode past and ever onwards.

There were yet more inviting looking coffee shops in Llandiloes, but still no way of paying for them. I ran out of water in my first water bottle here though so stopped to swap them over as I had a spare that I had been carrying in my back pocket. With two mountain roads and two sets of reservoirs behind me, I had one more of each on the agenda. The tough ride along the B4518 past Llyn Clewydog and the Machynlleth Mountain Road. The road past Llyn Clewydog is a lovely, scenic road, but it is all either steep descents or steep climbs which with a strong blustery head to side wind were difficult whichever way the gradient was. I was beginning to get a bit tired now as well and could have done with some food, especially with the  Machynlleth Mountain Road looming.

The wind was still howling as I passed Llyn Clywedog and there were sailing boats zipping about all over the rough waters. I was struggling to stay upright on my bike at some points as the side-winds caught my wheels and sent me into speed wobbles on the steep descents. The climbs weren’t much easier either, but I did pass a few other cyclists on them who were either stood at the roadside recovering or struggling more than I was up the hills.

Once in Staylittle I turned off and hit a brick wall as the wind was directly in my face making going tough. I plodded ever onwards though towards the high point of the ride and a wild windy ascent of the Machynlleth Mountain Road. The steep bits towards the top were particularly difficult without enough gears and with a raging headwind, progress was slow and uncomfortable. The descent back down to Machynlleth wasn’t a lot easier either thanks to the blustery winds so I took it easy as I rolled back down towards sea level.

The sun had never come out and I was getting a little chilly by now. My water bottle had run dry and I was running out of energy reserves having not really eaten since breakfast which was now over 7 hours ago. I’d been on the bike for 6 hours and had covered 80 miles by the time I rolled in Machynlleth so I stopped at the leisure centre and filled up a bottle with water. I didn’t stay long though as the cakes on the counter were too much to bear! I did put another jacket on though as I was shivering, but with only 12 miles to go I should soon be home. I headed off into yet more headwind but before long started to really suffer.

I was cold (despite having two jersey and two jackets on), tired and hungry and was beginning to ‘bonk’ big time. I made it as far as Derwenlas and stopped for a while sitting on a bench for a rest. I thought about phoning Anna to come and get me, but with only about 10 miles to go decided to be stubborn. It would seem silly to phone her now. I also found three mint polos in my pocket so ate those, had another quick power-nap on the bench and then reluctantly mounted my bike again and pressed on. The rest and polos seemed as though they had done the trick and I felt a little better as I rode through Derwenlas and on towards home. They didn’t last long though and by the time I was at Glandyfi I was struggling again. It wasn’t far now though and stopping here would be crazy.

The final few miles along the Ynyslas Straights into a raging headwind – the sort of headwinds you only get at the coast – were a nightmare, but I finally made it home after covering 95 miles and climbing close to 10,000 feet. If it hadn’t been for the ‘bonk’ towards the end (which could easily have been prevented) it would have been the end of an epic ride. As it was, I was shaking, shivering and in desperate need of food. I polished off a couple of bowls of granola with yoghurt, a flapjack, an apple and then some tea cake before beginning to feel human again. A bath and some fresh clothes improved matters further and within a couple of hours I was encouraging Morgan to come out geocaching with me.

It may have been a struggle but I survived and the route is definitely a keeper – I’ll be keen to take some other people out on it soon, but I’ll make sure I take some cake money and more food with me next time!

4 Responses

  1. Avatar forComment Author mum says:

    Think perhaps the bonking was a good idea!!!!

  2. Avatar forComment Author mum says:

    Oopps should have read WASN’T a good idea

  3. Avatar forComment Author Emily says:

    I can feel your pain at passing all those cake shops with a hungry belly. That granola must have tasted great when you eventually reached home.

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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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