Bear Bones 200

The weekend of 13-14 October 2012 saw me complete my first bike packing adventure - the Bear Bones 200. Most will probably not be familiar with bike packing, so here is some information that was stolen from the Bear Bones Bike packing site: Call it whatever you like, bikepacking, off road touring or cycle camping. It all really comes down to the same thing, loading up your bike and heading off on a self propelled, 2 wheeled adventure. It could be argued (as I have in the past) that there are subtle differences between the 3 things above but if you're planning to wild camp and ride off road, then what we call it doesn't matter … most aspects will remain the same.

The Bear Bones 200 is a 200km independent time trial in mid Wales. This was the 2nd year running of this event, but a first for me and my 2 friends - Chris and Ron. The route was completed using our mountain bikes and we were required to navigate as there were no way markers. As part of the challenge we had to carry minimum kit that consisted of a sleeping bag, tent, lights and a mobile phone.  Each entrant was awarded a coloured badge on completion of ride (black for under 24 hours, blue for 24 - 28 hours and a green for all other finishers), we had aimed for blue.

Below is a detailed list of my kit:

BIKE:

Ay-up lights and battery on bars

Speedo on bars

1 man tent strapped to bars inside 13 litre dry bag

2 x bottles

20 LITRE DRY BAG:

¾ sleeping mat

Sleeping bag

Silk sleeping bag liner

HELMET:

Ay-Up lights and battery mounted on top

Petzl light mounted on top

CAMELBAK:

2 x tubes

Tools (Alien, 2 x gas, gas tool, patches, levers, lighter)

Tooth brush and paste

Wet wipes

Spare batteries

Bum crème sachet

Meds and first aid kit

Chain lube

Waterproof jacket

Spare socks

Silk shirt

Thermal base layer

Leggings

Waterproof gloves

Buff

Food, bars , gels and water tablets

Plastic bags

WEARING:

Glasses
Full length gloves

Baa baa skull cap

SS Base layer

SS jersey

LS jersey

Gillet

Arm warmers

Baggy ¾ shorts (camera, phone and money in pockets)

Assoss shorts

Shoes and shoe covers

My memories from the event are recounted below:

Chris, Ron and I left Doo Little about 5.40 a.m and started the long drive to the start in Wales. We left so early as we planned to have a Mc Donald's for breakfast - sadly this didn't happen (glad I pinched a slice of toast before Ron rocked up). We were a couple of hours early for the start. The start area itself was naff - there were no toilets, food, drinks or seating area. In fact there was just a field with a wig-wam perched there at a peculiar angle. Inside the wig-wam was the organiser shouting at folk not to stop there cars and just park before they sunk in the mud. Of course, every car stopped to hear what the organiser was shouting about. We parked OK and then set about readying our bikes.

My bike was relatively clean at the start. The yellow straps holding my front bag on the bars were way too long and fiddly. The bungee cords holding the red bag onto the saddle were naff too and the bag swung like a donkeys... This problem was fixed by using the yellow straps to hold the red bag and investing in a Wild Cat harness to fix the bag to the front of the bars. This is what the Wild Cat website says: A universal solution for storing generally cylindrical items such as a sleeping bag, tent or other such items under the handlebars, as an alternative to a front rack and panniers. It features a padded panel with a unique and secure strap assembly that provides maximum stability and resists working loose over rough terrain, with minimal interference to the frame to maintain predictable handling.

• Unique strap system that does not interfere with the headtube, to ensure predictable handling and reduced wear to the frame
• High quality 19mm polypropylene webbing in a single length to maximise strength under tension
• Webbing double bar-tacked for strength and durability
• VX21 upper face for abrasion resistance against handlebar and controls
• Extra ballistic nylon reinforcement against stem
• Padded panel wraps securely around your gear providing additional protection against handlebar controls
• Intended for use with your own dry-bag or equivalent, and suitable for capacities up to approximately 10-12 litres. 

There were more idiots like me. I think 60 plus had registered for the event. 40 plus were to start the event. (Only 20 plus completed the event).

At 10 a.m we were off. I had to stop almost straight away (at the first barn building) to pinch water for my bottles. They said that the first 20 miles were going to be the hardest and they were right. Chris (pictured above) was caught smiling during the first descent but soon we were all gritting teeth as we had to push bikes up a real steep incline.

Bike Packing was synonymous with Bike Pushing!

Ron (pictured above) was caught smiling because he was eating my soggy crisp breads at our first lunch break. I had taken precautions and filled my pockets with lots of food - beef jerky, cheese, crisp breads, Peperami, M&M's, Oreo's and Snickers (plus gels and energy bars). At this stage I was already wet and covered in mud. If one is to invest in waterproof socks, go for the above the knee option - my calf length socks were filled with water.

We were all smiles at our second lunch stop. After cycling in what seemed like a deserted wilderness for hours we spotted a small community that had set up camp for 4x4 racing purposes. We stopped and made friends with the burger bar. Amazing burger and fantastic cup of tea. This is what every adventure needed!

All along the route, windmill blades could be seen. Was only right that I got a photo of one.

River crossings were a regular feature too. I think we must have crossed about 20 during whole event. We even had to cycle about 3k in the river at one point. Waterproof socks (but longer ones required) and chain lube were great ideas.

After hours of off road tracks, fields, marshes and mountains we hit Rhayader and then the beautiful Elan Valley. We had actually gone off route when we hit Rhayader, but this was great news for us 'an answer to prayer'. For the first 50k or so, I had been struggling because my granny chain ring was bust up proper and wouldn't turn the chain (and because of this, my lowest 9 gears were missing). If I tried to use the granny gear I would experience chain suck. (This was particularly annoying because I told my local bike shop about this menace but they didn't diagnose problem). Anyways, we found a bike shop here in Wales and they fitted a new SLX granny ring and fixed the issues! We were able to use a tap here too (I had taken water from a stream but this was my preferred option).

Damn, the Elan Valleys dams were beautiful. Amazing. Glorious.

Water, water everywhere. These damns water Birmingham too. Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham even has a model of the Elan Valley dam network.

 My thoughts went back to family outings in my yester-years as I cycled past these dams.

And now I had cycled here too. In fact I had cycled here in the past also, with Christopher Poole. Old Mr Poole - wonder what he is up to now?!

Doesn't my bike look grand against the back drop of the dam?! My new handlebar harness allowed me to attach my overshoes to the front of the bike in an effort to dry them out.

 I think this Cycling Elan Valley was a first experience for Ron and Chris Hodge.

My mother likes photo's taken from behind, so the photo above is for her. I know that sounds kinda weird and just hope you know what I mean.

We crossed that lovely bridge above.

And if my words weren't proof enough then here's more photographic evidence. I really was camera shooter happy at this point. I wonder if Chris has Go Pro footage?

This was the last picture I took before it got dark. Seriously dark and no moon light! I was pleased I had taken my Ay-Up lights. What followed from here was a lengthy cycle along the dams with a sheer drop to the one side of us and plenty of switch backs and small bridge crossings. The weather turned sour here and started raining (did I mention we experienced hail near the start of the ride too) big time. We were climbing for a time and splashing through puddles just looking for signs of civilisation. And then we saw lights in the distance. And after a few more pedal strokes, we found a pub!

This was what the pub looked liked the following morning once day light had re-appeared. Such a warm welcoming pub. And did I mention the grub?!

Well, let me tell you - not long after entering this pub we were treated with 3 bowls of chips which we ate whilst warming ourselves on a nice fire. Much of our damp kit was drying on radiators around the pub. After our chips, Roger (the landlord) gave us seasoned potato skins. Mmm. It was only right we had some drinks (Guiness for Ron and Chris and a red wine for myself). We were speaking to the locals for a time a certain chap thought we were 'mad' when we told him of our plans. So concerned was this chap about our welfare that he asked the landlord if we could stay in the pub. Roger was more than obliging and sorted us out a room for the night. We drank a little more and then headed for bed.

I guess this was not the picture most folk had in their heads when I said I was going Bike Packing. Certainly not the usual tent or tarp option. At least Ron got to use his new sleeping mattress. 

After a relatively decent nights sleep we started getting up at about 5.30 a.m. All our gear had dried out and we were well rested. No tent to pack away. No cold or wet shoes and clothes to put back on. No scrambling through pockets and bags trying to find food. Roger (bless him) had cooked us all some bacon and egg sandwiches followed by further bacon rolls. Lots of tea washed all this down and we felt set up for the day. We had cycled just short of 100k at this point.

Boy was it cold when we set off. Puddles were frozen over and a mist loomed over the land of Wales. We soon warmed up once the blood started getting pumped around our bodies.

I was expecting a lot more descending today after yesterdays climbs. This didn't work out however. Climb came after climb. As Ron pointed out, the hills only ascended to the summit.

For a minute there, I lost myself and felt I had become Bear Grylls. Then I wondered how even Bear Grylls would survive here, in this apparently sterile environment. We saw little in the way of wildlife, save lots of sheep. (I smacked one said sheep on a hairy descent). At one point I saw a bird of prey and what looked like a dead ferret. All interesting things to think about.

For a while we had good cross country tracks to follow. The weather had improved big time compared to the night before too. Shiny happy people.

The mist still hung about. I can see why folk believed in dragons. We all though we met a dragon at the start too ...

This was one of my favourite parts of the adventure. A nice lengthy descent with stunning views. The long curly road with mountains either side reminded me of the Gospel Pass. 

We followed this road for a while and then hit a rocky descent. (I think the rocky descent was here anyhow). This particular descent was treacherous - jagged rocks sticking out like sharks teeth. As I flew down, pssst, my rear tyre had punctured. I shouted at both Ron and Chris to stop as they flew past me but neither of them did. Fixing the puncture was no major hassle but a menace all the same. All fixed up, I caught up with the others and on we pressed. After a while we found a youth hostel. We hoped to fill our bottles up with water here but we couldn't get in, the door was locked and no folk about.

Had to use the next best option. The water tasted fine. I preferred bottled water though because I didn't have dead sheep floating thoughts in my head.

My head was filled with various thoughts as we cycled along. Thoughts like 'how long till lunch' were amongst the most common. The wonder of God's creation was a recurring theme.

Just when we thought that hills couldn't get hillier they did. We encountered the Devils Staircase. This hill was a beast and reminded me of Bushcombe Lane on the Cotswold Corker. We all climbed this hill successfully (with loaded bikes). One site on the internet reported that Even the Russian Milk Race team had to walk up here. Another site on the internet reported the following: Statistics can be misleading and an average climb of 4.5% seems a doddle. The last km of this climb is no doddle. The steepest section just after the cattle grid goes straight up at something like 25% and then there are two hairpins to the top. When you get to the top you have a bit of a flat section then hold onto your hat as you go downhill over some switchbacks, made a lot easier by some lovely new tarmac. Final descent takes you to the road round the reservoir with some great views and lots of sheep. The Devil's Staircase is situated in Wales . Starting from Abergwesyn, the Devil's Staircase ascent is 5 km long. Over this distance, you climb 227 heightmeters. The average percentage thus is 4.5 %.  

Then things went real pants! Don't get me wrong the views were stunning and the weather was bright. But ...

 ... the ground was deep and marshy. Which meant we were pushing bikes and not cycling them. We pushed for hours.

And hours. And hours.

At least Chris got to be King of the Cairn once he was at the summit. What followed was much menace of marsh land cycling and pushing. I must have fallen off my bike a hundred times and both Ron and Chris had tumbles too.

We were relieved when we had safely navigated back to the Elan Valley and Rhayader. (In fact, it was Chris and Ron who were navigating - they both had fancy GPS units). We stopped in Rhayader and ate chips and kebab (fish for Chris). Whilst tucking into our food, the guy who fixed my bike the day before popped in and said 'hello'.

After our penultimate meal, we set off once more. We followed roads initially and watched the sun set. The guys had minor issues navigating and finding our way became slow after the lengthy speedy descent away from Rhayader. We were back on off road trails and progress was slow. My body was achey and my head space went into stand-by mode. After some time, Chris suggested we stop and eat energy bars. What a great idea this was - I ate my peanut brittle bar and then we had about 3k of descent that led to the finish! Never had an energy bar proved so potent!

At the finish we were awarded with a green Bear Bones 200 badge and a bacon roll. The bacon roll was no where near Rogers standard. The badge was great - but we had to pack and push 218k over 2 days just to get this piece of cloth!

Single Speed (or Sunday Best)

Cycling is a ridiculously expensive hobby. Having had both my road bike and my mountain bike serviced this year has caused financial distress. Please give generously to my bike fund! Ha!

My top bikes (Scotty and Cayo) have lots of parts that require servicing, maintenance, repair or replacement. It's these factors that have caused my financial worries. My relatively simple single speed bike, however, has caused no financial distress this year. Single speed bikes are generally cheaper, lighter and much more mechanically simple. Without a front and rear mech and associated gear levers, the bike requires much less maintenance. Efficiency of a single-speed chain is more efficient than a geared cycle - a straight chain line, lack of chain drag from rear mech jockey pulleys, lack of chain rings, ramps and pins all improve efficiency. So, my theory is that if I cycle more on my single speed this will reduce maintenance costs. My high end bikes will require less maintenance as a direct result of less use. As Chris Hodge puts it 'use higher end bikes for 'Sunday Best' only''. I like that notion. With these ideations in mind, I allowed Chris to convert Queenie into a single speed mountain bike!

So, currently I have a Sunday Best road bike (for audax events) and a Sunday Best mountain bike (for events like the Bear Bones 200). In addition to that, I also have a single speed road bike and a single speed mountain bike too. I will use my single speeds for training, fun and cost effectiveness!

With my newly converted Queenie, I took her for a test spin early this week. Where better to test her - I took her through a usual route of mine, through naughty fields and around the Breadcrumb Trail. Was funny riding this bike with only one gear. The first hill encountered off-road was real menace but completed without putting a foot down. Single speeds require way more effort on the hills but I figured it's a good training tool. No worries encountered passing through naughty fields but faster than usual compared to a higher gear than usual. Following the Breadcrumb Trail was fun as always but took a while getting used to a higher gear - would normally trek along the single track in granny gear. The trails were followed easily enough, so I guess getting used to a higher gear was fine, just required a wee bit more effort. Continued my trek home by following road and off-road routes to Coughton Ford which proved to be fun and OK. Some of the bits I removed from Queenie (rear mech and chain) will be used to fix Rob's bike (read previous blog).

Took Florence out this week too. Completed my usual TTT 20 route. Hadn't cycled on Florence for over a month and it felt great to take her out again. My time was poor but, hey ...

Bring on the single speeds!

Evans Cycles Cannock Ride It!

Saturday saw me complete the 'Evans Cycles Cannock Ride It!' event. This was an off road cycling event and covered a distance of so many miles. Being hardcore, the long route was chosen to be followed.

I travelled up to Cannock with Mr O, where we then met Aid, Robin and Ron. There was originally going to be 6 of us. Aid said that the other 2 folk from Newbury had bailed because one had gone soft and the other was a happy camper. Not sure what happened to the Meekon.

The day was a series of unfortunate events really. Don't get me wrong, we all had a great day. The weather was fine and the company was all good. However, all (with the exception of Aid) experienced one problem or another.

The first victim was Robin. After only a short while his rear mech fell apart. This was temporarily fixed but after a little while caused more mishap. Robin's rear mech came loose and got caught into his wheel. Final result was that Robins rear mech was no more and his wheel suffered damage too - a spoke was broken so much that it pierced through the wheel rim. We (Chris) managed to convert Robin's bike into a single-speed so he could continue the ride. Despite all the extra effort required, Robin was still able to pull a smile.

The next victim was Ron. Ron didn't suffer any mechanical problems. He suffered jibes and taunts from the rest of us for bailing out early and deserting us. Ron wanted to race round in rocket style (he had a certain football match to watch later). The rest of us wanted full value for money.

The final two victims were Chris (Mr O) and myself. We were both having a severe case of chain suck which, well, sucked! In addition to that, my free hub was menace - it kept slipping big time. My free hub problems were supposed to have been addressed a few weeks back but the bicycle shop obviously didn't fix this issue. Chris was also suffering with a bent rear mech.

We continued all the same, until we reached the end. The end wasn't really the end. It was the end for those who were completing a short ride. We had planned to cycle the long ride which would have meant a further 8 miles on lovely single track. However, we all decided to quit here due to the mechanical issues, Rob being seriously whacked and the fact that I wanted to take my bike back to the bike shop same day (had to be fixed before Bear Bones 200). Oh, and we were hungry and the idea of a pub lunch was just such an awesome idea!

Cycled a total of 32k. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Yep, you heard me right. October is the beginning of the cycling season, the start of the new audax cycling year. No resolutions but a good time to reflect on the past year(s).

Well the 2012 season saw me complete 17 audax rides (12 were perms), score 19 AUK points and 16.5 AAA points. I fared better in the 2011 season where I completed 19 audax rides (5 were perms), scored 50 AUK points and 27 AAA points. I cycled more 100k rides during the 2012 season compared to previous years. The 2012 season saw me complete my first DIY audax event too.

In terms of 'to date', I have now completed 45 audax rides (17 were perms), scored 76 AUK points and 46 AAA points. 

In the Brevet series, I have earned the 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 awards. I need to complete just one more 200k audax ride to earn my Brevet 4000 award - something I plan to do this new year!

In the Randonneur series, I have earned the 500, 1000 (this season included), 5000, SR and the RRty awards.

In the AAA series, I have earned 1 x AAA (Audax Altutude Award), AAASR award and bronze, silver and gold grimpeur medals. I plan to earn the AAARTY award this new year (had hoped to gain this award during the 2012 season).

Enough of awards, what about cycling plans for this season? Well, I have cycled 18 miles already! Ron and I completed the infamous Deer Route (road only version) on Tuesday. A slow start to the year, but a start none the less. I have plans to complete more audax events and hope to achieve my Brevet 4000 award, and complete both RRtY (again) and AAARTY awards this season. Also, I plan to cycle my first ever 'Dinner Dart' and complete a 200k off road time trial - the Bear Bones 200!

Watch this space!

Cotswold Corker (Sept 2012)

No blogging the past couple of weeks because my bikes did not see any tarmac or trail. The powers that be made me work compulsory night shifts which resulted in me feeling to rough to cycle and really quite sleep deprived. Have had planned adventures floating around my head though and made some preparations ready for the Bear Bones 200 (an off road 200k time trial) and a From Anywhere Dinner Dart (an unusual 200k audax).

In an attempt to both start moving my legs again and prepare for the Bear Bones 200, decided to complete a Cotswold Corker permanent audax using Scotty, my mountain bike. Scotty had recently been serviced and what better way to test her out. For those that regularly read this blog, they will know that the Cotswold Corker is a very hilly event (scoring 1.75 AAA points), which I have completed several times now. This is probably my favourite 100k (hilly) permanent audax event.

As usual (for me) started the Corker from Winchcombe. It looked like it was going to be a bright day, so I left my waterproof jacket in the car. Cleeve Hill was the first hill encountered and it didn't prove to be any bother. I started the next hill at Bushcombe Lane in a fairly confident mood. This is the biggest hill on the Corker and I beat it the last time I cycled. The only worry I had was whether or not I would lose traction as the roads were slippery and wet. Climbed slowly up the hill in first gear and just as I reached the last turn just yards before the summit - screech - my chain had slipped off the cassette and into the spokes. Grr! I nearly came off too! Disappointed is not the word. Grr! Put my bike back in gear, caught my breath and headed off again. Screech - ugh, the same thing! Walked the few yards to the summit and listened to the voices in my head screaming things they shouldn't. At least I had a nice descent back into Winchcombe!

After Winchcombe came another hill, a long slow hill, that took me to Guiting Power and then on to Northleach. This stretch is always nice to cycle as it is probably the most scenic. Stopped in Northleach (it was a control) and purchased some strawberry flavoured water which was nice.

Nice quiet country roads were followed from Northleach control pretty much all the way to the control in Bisley. Despite the fact that there were a few climbs here (some quite steep) the thought of dinner in Bisley kept me suitably distracted. Another distraction was the beautiful lone deer skipping along in the open fields. Even the pigs on the pig farm made a nice sight too. I always think of the 'Centurion Super Grimpeur' audax when I pass through Daglingworth (an info control on this audax) as said event starts and finishes at the village hall here. On reaching Bisley, I went to the Post Office (as the lady there stamped my brevet card) and then to 'The Bear' pub for lunch. I had beef lasagna, chips and a large coke. My feed was nice but a little over-priced.

On leaving the pub it had started to rain (should have taken my rain jacket) so I took shelter for about 10 minutes until the rain had eased (but not quite stopped). This stage - Bisley to Andoversford is usually quite challenging. It has some really steep descents and a big climb (reaching 288 metres). I said  'usually' because the route sheet had directions for an 'alternative' route and today I followed this alternative route, just for fun. This alternative was definitely easier but took me away from quiet secluded roads onto busier roads. It was nice in that no great care was required on menace steep descents and I was awarded with a lovely view of the Malvern Hills.

This alternate route also passed through Seven Springs which is the source of River Thames spring water. After passing through Seven Springs, an ascent led to where the original route would have taken. Once here (just outside the Kilkenny Inn), a super fast descent took me to Andoversford, the penultimate control.

The final stage was only 10k and led back to the start in Winchcombe. This stage was no real bother and it was nice that the rain had stopped and the sun had come back out. I often remember this as a fast stage, but to be fair, it still has a few climbs. The last few k are very zoomy though - once past Belas Knapp, it was downhill all the way to the arrivee! This put a smile on my face!

Cycled 100 kilometres and scored 1.75 AAA points in just under 6 and a half hours.

Mr Pickwick goes to Hay in a day (206k audax, Sept 2012)

Saturday saw me complete the 'Mr Pickwick goes to Hay in a day' audax. This was the 4th year running of this event, but the second time I had entered and completed it. Ron and I completed this event during 2010 in beautiful weather and our faces were printed in Arrivee magazine. This year, I cycled with Ron again and we took Chris Hodge out for the day too.

The route can be seen on the map below. Basically the ride followed two large arcs - the one passing the South of Hereford, the other passing the North. Mostly lanes, minor roads and B roads were followed though there were a few menace A roads here and there.

No hilly (AAA) points were awarded on this ride. That's not to say this adventure wasn't hilly. There was a fair few ascents to battle (climbing nearly a total of 2,000 metres). The picture below shows the general profile.

27 cyclists took part on this epic adventure, the youngest of which being only 13 years old. Every cyclist finished within the time limit too - one rider finishing with just minutes to spare. Another rider, Aid Payne, was unable to start due to work and family commitments plus a major case of man flu. Let's hope this blog entry has made him feel a wee bit better.

Chris, Ron and I readied our cycles at the Council Offices car park. This took a little longer than usual as we had removed all wheels to enable us to fit said bikes in Ron's wagon. Once the bikes were set up we headed to the start, which was the Royal Hop Pole Pub, a few metres away.

The start was unusual in that most Black Sheep events start from the car park where we readied our bikes. Popular demand (apparently) caused the start place to be moved to the pub. Made little odds to me - at 8 a.m as planned, we were off. The start was cold and wet and misty. Visibility was very poor due to this thick layer of mist which stuck around for about 3 hours. I had originally planned to ride sleeveless as Michael Fish's buddy's had promised hot weather in the high 20's. The mist caused my glasses to steam up, my helmet to drip and my shorts to feel soggy. Normal pretty views were blocked from sight. I took a little comfort in watching the line of brightly coloured cycle tops follow one another. This bright line didn't last too long either - we were with Ron and he was eager to be at the front of the line. After cycling about 35 or so K, I was in familiar territory. I had cycled these same roads a few weeks back during other audax events. This was great news as I remembered zooming past a lovely quirky house before entering Hoarwithy - this time I was able to stop and take a photo!

After Hoarwithy came a short sharp ascent followed by a swift descent. The mist was still hanging about but I was able to spot the control at the 50k mark. I had safely navigated to the control! Ron had cycled past it because his GPS did not detail control points. Chris was ambivalent and had a general lack of faith in my navigating. We stopped and ate much carrot cake. Beans on toast was not an option, this was a Londis shop and not a cafe.

Stage 2 was a very easy to navigate stage that led to Hay-on-Wye. Essentially we just cycled straight crossing over one cross roads. I had cycled to Hay a few times recently and could have taken a more rural option. We followed the route sheet and made good time. Ron had made himself a captain and was forcing Chris and I to join with him and take turns to pull and tow. This pull-tow phenomena enabled us to zoom along at a speedy pace and cover much ground. At the last climb into Hay, Chris and I had reverted to chatting nonsense and watched Ron's competitive edge kick in and we saw him race a couple of others to the control point. I think Ron won, but I joked that he was beaten. We reached the control at 11:40 a.m, just 21 minutes after the control had opened. We stopped here, just for a breather really, and decided to carry on and stop for lunch in Bromyard.

Stage 3 was my favourite stage. This was the stage that led to Bromyard. The thick mist had vanished by now and we were cycling nice rural roads which offered great countryside views all around. It wasn't long before we encountered the infamous troll bridge in Whitney-on-Wye.

I have crossed this bridge on a few occasions before and each time have been harassed by a troll to pay the troll fee for continued passage. Contrary to popular belief, bridge trolls work a job share system. I have proof of this, as each time I cross said bridge, I pay the fare and take a sneaky photo of the troll. The troll working this shift was the nicest troll I had encountered to date. After Chris had paid the fare for us all to cross (10p each), the troll smiled for a photo and handed out rocks! How cool was that?! Not sure if we should take candy from a troll, but we did all the same.

After safely crossing the bridge we continued on our journey. We had big smiles on our faces and rock in our mouths. For safety reasons, Chris wanted to stop and inspect the rock we were eating (to ensure no foul play by the troll). The rock was lettered, it read 'Whitney-on-Wye Troll Bridge'. How cool was that?!

This candy provided us with the energy required to go searching for an old oak tree. Not that too much energy was required, mind you, the oak tree was huge. The oak tree was ancient and has been recorded in the Domesday Book. The event organiser (Mark Rigby) informed that 'even 1,000 years ago, the tree was recorded as being of considerable size, and considered an asset of the village'. With a keen eye, we spotted the tree.

We decided to stop here and inspect the tree. Ron had heard rumours about magic trees and pots of gold. There was no gold inside the tree, but there was plenty of room for us 3 cyclists (plus bikes I reckon).

Once inside the tree we kinda underwent some psychedelic type trip. I remember swirling, dancing and bright colours. And then, as if by magic, the tree spat Chris out and tried to swallow Ron and I.

Wow, what an experience that was. Chris was spat out. Ron was far out. Someone commented 'Tim, you're out of your tree', I replied 'that's not my tree man'. With us all together once more, we continued on our adventure. We were getting hungry now, no lunch inside yet and it was way past lunch time. Once we had seen signs for Bromyard we were real happy and knew a lunch was waiting for us there.

Bromyard was reached at about 2:50 p.m and as can be imagined we were all 'Hank Marvin'. Ron and I had stopped at the Flowerdew's cafe in 2010 and ate the World's Hottest Curry. We wanted to do the same today and coaxed Chris to try the same. A delicious curry was served and soon devoured but it lacked the hotness from previous servings. A look out of the window informed us it was time to go. Bromyard had been taken over by lots of weird, wonderful, strange and peculiar peoples. This included a bunch of Black Orcs, which everyone knows means trouble.

The final stage was the longest and stretched for 66k. Am pleased to inform that we cycled this stage without any mishap or menace, save Chris and Ron having to keep re-lubing their chains (we do not rate muc-off dry lube, however, muc-off wet lube has worked fine). We reached the arrivee in good time and before it had started to get real dark. We clocked into the arrivee, the Royal Hop Pole pub at 6:44 p.m, woo hoo, job done! We completed these epic 206 kilometres in 10 hours and 44 minutes. We then ate and drank to excess and recounted our experiences...

Weekly totals: Cycled 263 miles.

Severn & Estuary 200 (Cheltenham)

Tuesday saw me complete the Severn & Estuary 200 audax with my cousin Aid. This was a great event that started and finished in Cheltenham. The official route spread over 202k, but with the variations I added, we covered 135 miles. The suggested route is shown in the map below. We roughly followed the map in a clockwise direction.

We took the organisers (Steve P)  advice and started the event from Moorend Park Road. Steve said we could start 'Chez Moi', which I think meant from 'his house'. My French ain't that great, so we started near his house and parked on the road. In fact, we were directly opposite the surgery which doubled as emergency services! I took a photo of our bikes against the surgery sign believing Steve would accept this as a suitable start proof and then we headed off (at about 7:40 a.m.)

We started out on a bright sunny day (although there was a nip in the air) following a relatively busy A46. This road was quite amazing though as it kept getting higher and higher and offered fantastic views to both the left and right. This event scored no hilly (AAA) points but climbs were aplenty and the first climb was here, right near the start. The climbs were soon rewarded with butt clenching descents. A particularly fast butt clenching descent took us through the very pretty place of Painswick. The voices in my head remarked that this indeed would be painful if we were cycling in the opposing direction. After such a lovely descent, I had problems with the route sheet destructions and had gotten us momentarily lost. A local provided directions (we had missed a turn and were about 6 miles from our first control). We were faced with a choice - onwards with technical directions or turn around and climb a big hill. We climbed the hill. And boy, what a big hill this was. A beastly 14% hill that switched here and there. We gritted our teeth and made the climb (a car hadn't and was precariously perched upright amongst some trees). Once at the top we had reason to smile again - we had just conquered a big hill and were now rewarded with a super zoomy descent right into Wotton-Under-Edge, our first stop control.

The fantastic views had disappeared some-what during the second stage and it had become quite overcast. After an initial downhill, the roller coaster style roads had become less common place too. This was a mostly flat (though undulating all the same) section. We hit a cycle path after passing through Wickwar and Chipping Sodbury but we were only on this path for about 200 metres. We passed through several strangely named places including Pucklechurch which made me chuckle. Just before we reached the control in Keynsham we were awarded with a nice descent and the sun had come back out. Awesome!

Stage 3 was a real short section. We only had to cycle some 12 k's to get from Keynsham to Chew Magna. I remember cycling through here on previous audax events. This control was like the others in that a nice descent took us there. Chew Magna itself was a strange place, it was very rural and had standing stones to mark entry and exit into the place. Once in the centre of Chew Magna a few shops appeared but it soon became quite rural once again. A random chap from the previous control had said 'Oooh Chew Magna, terrible for traffic there'. This random chap was clearly a loon!

Somewhere near to or from Chew Magna was these rather weird reservoir pools. That's what Aid said they were anyway. Well, he actually said they were rice paddy's before changing to his final decided answer.

I think all this recent long distance cycling had messed with Aid's head. We continued on our way and passed through Winsford before following directions to Hobbs Lane. We had a battle in this lane with several million triffids!

We won the battle and continued to Wraxhall ready for our next battle. This next battle was in the form of Wraxall Hill. This was a big nasty hill that essentially went up! We climbed to the top and then not long after had a super fast descent (notice the patten forming here) down Naish Hill. This hill led to a place called Clapton in Gordano. Am sure if we cycled this anti-clockwise, we'd be clapped out in Gordano. A swift right turn took us into Portishead, our next control.

We didn't even scan the High Street in Portishead. The first cafe we saw was where we stopped and ate. Hunger pangs had gotten hold of both of us. As is our style, we had a bumper English breakfast, at a very reasonable price of £4. Delicious! We had hot drinks too before pressing on.

On leaving this cafe in Portishead we felt great. We had eaten! We were about half way through our adventure. The sun was shining bright (we both had burned a little). And we cycled up Harbour Road, woo hoo, we had cycled to the sea! Aid was really chuffed he had cycled past signs for Weston. On we carried, following the route sheet provided by Steve P. The directions took us through an estate and onto what was essentially single track. Pleased I had cyclo-cross wheels. Am not sure what Aid was thinking as he followed this, the National Cycle Network (NCN) route 26. After a short stretch we passed some red cranes and loads and loads of cars all neatly parked in a (where else?!) car park. These were the self same car parks and vehicles that grab my attention whilst driving over the Avonmouth Bridge on trips to Weston and the like. Wow, we were really here! How cool is that?! Continuing on this NCN26 route we joined the old Railway Avon Cycleway. Adrian really felt he was a chuffer!

Once we went through the under-pass we were blessed with great views of the Avonmouth Bridge. It felt kinda funny knowing that we were to cross over this real soon. I momentarily thought back to my LEJOG trips when I crossed this same bridge a few years back.

Before crossing the bridge we had a brief respite. I felt like a spanner, but it's important to get tooled up if you're named 'Tim Taylor'. (Pun)

During our respite I consulted the route sheet. In a unique manner (certainly to me) Steve P had given numerous multi-choice options. It appeared that we could have left Portishead and not touched the NCN26 route at all - however, we would have to had cycled up St Georges Hill. I think I made the best decision. I didn't consult Aid...

After scenting our mark, we set sail for the bridge.This truly was an awesome bridge and a pleasure to cross. Quite exquisite.

Once off the bridge we continued to race towards and through Aust. We really were racing as we had a tail wind that pushed us forward. As we were flying by we caught sight of the Severn Bridge.

In fact, we caught sight of the Severn Bridge and the Severn Bridge. That might sounded confusing, but there were actually 2 Severn Bridges. The one pictured above is the New Severn Bridge and this is the bridge we thought we were going to cross. I have crossed that bridge several times on various audax rides. It soon appeared we were not going to cross this bridge at all as we cycled straight past it. However, we made our way to the Old Severn Bridge and crossed it! This was an awesome bridge too and the first time that I had crossed it. Am sure it wont be the last! 

It was fun crossing the bridge and it seemed to stretch for miles. Miles of smiles! Once off the bridge we passed a big welcome to Wales sign and reached Cheptsow our control point. The High Street was reached by bombing down hill and passing through a pretty arch. There was a pretty funky chip shop here too. We didn't have chips, we had chocolate purchased from a previous stop.

From Chepstow, we had 2 route choices. The first choice involved passing Tintern and the second choice would cross the River Wye. I let Aid choose here, but warned him about the major steep hills by Tintern Abbey. As it turned out, we took neither option because my navigational skills encountered problem. We had agreed to follow the second option but in the end we took a DIY route following through Tutshill and St Briavals. This was a relatively hilly section and made more difficult by the beating sun, but no worries - we were having fun! To reach the control we had to climb. So climb we did and reached Coleford the penultimate control.

I lied and told Aid that the last stage would involve just a little climb and then lots of down hill to the end. I didn't mean to lie, it's just that I had gotten us lost again. Well, I hadn't really gotten us lost as I knew where we were and where we were going, but I had taken us off route. This meant that the little climb I had warned Aid about, turned into a big fat nasty lung busting climb. Worse still, this climb didn't take us to this really fancy garage in Cinderford that sold those delicious nourishment shakes that I so badly wanted. Oh well. Another climb (or possibly two) and we reached Little Dean. This was great because now the route switched to the much awaited down hill stretches. We really did have some fast descents along some quite zoomy roads. We took a few additional stops to eat junk and drink liquids (I was on the look out for nourishment drinks but that didn't materialise). At one stop, I fixed my helmet and rear lights as it was starting to get dark and we continued on our way. Aid was sporting his new Lezyne light which he totally rates. We followed signs for Tewkesbury before following those for Cheltenham to take us off the main roads for a spell. This worked great and after only about 5k we were Cheltenham bound. We reached Cheltenham shortly after but had not yet reached the arrivee. The arrivee was not marked on my route sheet. Luckily my iPhone provided the necessary gps required to take us to the arrivee. Was awesome to finish this great ride and nice to 'come home' to a welcoming party - Aid's ma and Pa and his son Tom were at the arrivee to congratulate him on being such a wonderful audax cyclist! Rightly so, we had cycled 135 miles!

Gospel Pass 200 (Cheltenham)

This week saw me complete the Cheltenham Gospel Pass 200 audax. This was a hilly (2.75 AAA points) audax that started and finished in Cheltenham and reached the Gospel Pass at about the half-way point. I followed the route in an anti-clockwise direction.

Found free parking at a retail park in Cheltenham and chose to start my adventure here. Purchased a Kit-Kat from local Sainsbury’s store to use receipt as first proof of passage and then I was off! Started off with mild weather and nice fast roads. Passed through Coombe Hill without noticing any real ascent at all. So smooth and zoomy were these roads that other cyclists were out and about including a time trialing cyclist who whizzed past me. Before long I had crossed over the River Severn and was then following quiet country lanes that passed through Redmarley. I think Redmarley was so called because the mud was red in colour – there were lots of dirty muddy red coloured puddles that had to be navigated through before reaching Brooms Green. Prior to reaching Much Marcle, the heavens opened. The rain beat hard. No worries, I layered up with waterproof shell and continued on my way. Up until now the route had been speedy but now little ascents were starting to slow me down. Almost as soon as I had crossed the River Wye, I had reached the first control point at Hoarwithy and had cycled the first 50k of this audax. Finding a control proof in Hoarwithy was a difficult task – the pub was closed and the Post Office was only open on a Friday for 2 hours. I took a photo for my control proof. After munching on my Kit-Kat and removing waterproof shell (as the rain had passed and the sun was shining real bright) I set off again.

The next stage took me from Hoarwithy to Hay-on-Wye. I have cycled to Hay-on-Wye a few times recently, and as on other occasions, followed a long stretch (easy to navigate) of the B4348. I turned off at Peterchurch and followed very quiet lanes through Dorstone and then reached Hay-on-Wye, the Town of Books. Was very easy to find a book here but proved more difficult to find a shop that sold cold drinks. A regular café that I have used on numerous audax events was closed! I found a fudge shop and purchased a sesame seed bar (delicious) for control proof. After much wandering finally found a shop that sold cold drinks. After guzzling much liquid, I set off once again.

The stage to Llanthony was amazing and by far the best stage. Pretty but hilly. Climbing started almost straight away as I cycled the Forest Road heading for Capel-y-Ffin. This road crossed the Gospel Pass! Before crossing the Pass however, at the foot of the climb, I heard a pssst! Grr, was convinced I had punctured and when I inspected front tyre thought I saw bubbles. I waited a few minutes and tyre had not deflated. I wonder if I’d ran over a snail or something?! With no valid reason to stop, I started to climb. And climb. And climb a little more. Wow, I was crossing the Gospel Pass. This Pass was awesome – very high up with amazing views of green land and hills, valleys, sheep and these very weird miniature horse things! 

For a moment I thought I was hallucinating, but no, these really were miniature horses! With a name like ‘gospel’ and such amazing views it was impossible to not think about God and his awesome creation. And thanks to God for equipping me with the senses I have. Amazing! 

After the slog up the Gospel Pass came the descent to Llanthony. Whoosh! A super-fast and long descent. Not flat out fast, the rain from previous few days was caught in puddles and occasional debris covered the roads. Little effort required to reach Llanthony, but greater effort required to find control. The ½ Moon Pub was closed and the other available control (Abbey bar) was hidden from view. I cycled straight past control and after a few k’s I hailed a cyclist heading towards me and asked if I was near Abbey bar. I wasn’t – I had cycled past it. This cyclist kindly led me back to where the Abbey bar was (opposite ½ Moon Pub) but I struggled to follow as he was cycling so fast (showing off I reckon!). Finally reached control and wow, how pretty it was. It was, as name suggests, an abbey. Well the ruins of an abbey anyway and the bar was in what looked like a cellar, but ‘abbey shaped’ if that makes sense?! (I will re-visit and take photo’s one time – I’d love to take my wife here). I purchased beans and egg on toast here (needed proof of passage) but strangely didn’t feel like eating. Maybe the effort to climb Gospel Pass had messed me up?! I ate the toast and egg and gave the beans a miss. A cold coke and I was off once again.

Am struggling to remember next stage in detail but hilly it was. Like the previous control, I passed through this one (Grosmont) without realising. When I knew I was past control I back tracked and found a little sign ‘Grosmont’ – I took picture of same for control proof. This control was actually an information control, but I couldn’t find the pub to name it! I continued in the beating sun passing through and stopping at the control in Monmouth. Monmouth was real pretty but was nearly missed. The route sheet led across the Monnow Bridge which looked closed (building work taking place) but I fought my way through all the same. Large choice of controls at Monmouth and was initially hard to make a decision. I spotted a Café Nero and made this my choice control. SJ likes the café and at times will buy me a cake from here, so this was the obvious choice. A wise choice indeed – I was able to bring my bike inside and the tea and praline biscuits were delicious!

Left Monmouth and the sun was continuing to shine bright. This stage was only 22k long and was easy to navigate essentially passing the Forest of Dean and signs for Gloucester before finally reaching Cinderford. I stopped at a gas station for control purposes and downed a nourishment drink and 2 small pork pies. I ate very little (for me) on this audax.

The final stage led from Cinderford. This was a lovely stage and reminded me of the start. Fast roads were followed (lovely descent) and the heavens opened again! The rain beat down real hard this time and the skies blackened. I stopped in a bus shelter to layer up and turn lights on. Despite the roads being flooded, I continued to zoom along at quite a pace and reached Cheltenham, the arrivee, about 11.5 hours after first leaving it! What an awesome ride!

Weekly totals: Cycled 126 miles.

Of Florence and Queenie

This was a quiet week on the cycling front. A rest week, yeah that sounds better! Had plans of completing a 200k but tiredness, poor weather and paralysis of will put pay to that.

Three short rides were completed in the week. The first and last ride was with Florence my single speed machine.  I took Queenie, my rather old scrappy mountain bike out for my second ride.

Hooked up with Ron for the first ride of the week. We started by following the Deer Route but didn't turn off at about the half-way point. Instead we cycled back in a zig-zag fashion passing through Alcester, Coughton and Sambourne. Nice.

My second ride was great too. I cycled through 'Naughty Fields' and up to The bread crumb Trail. Had been an age since I took Queenie out. Her performance was poor, the chain kept slipping between sprockets. Was still good to get out and passing through the Bread crumb Trail is always fun. Finished this route by passing through Kinwarton then taking Sambourne lane, turning off-road down to Coughton Ford and reaching home via Sambourne.

My last cycle was a lap of the TTT 20 Route. Felt like an age since I had last completed this route. Whizzed around in an average time.

Weekly totals: Cycled 62 miles.