Sunny Elenydd!

I had trouble getting to hall thanks to railway closures, so no photos from me: the phone battery was used up checking timetables

Rain

We were due good but windy weather for the day by the weather men. So perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to roll off at 6am in moderately heavy rain. After the rain stopped the end of the first easy section was quite relaxing

I got to Shobdon and as usual there was a food queue so I decided not to stop. Filled my bottles, removed a layer or two and continued

Coffee+pie at Builth

By Builth Wells it was coffee time so I stopped at the Drovers tearooms. As I left the tearooms I saw another rider coming up the road. I knew the next bit would be into a headwind so I suggested we team up.

So I rode up the A483 to Beulah with Gordon. It would have been a bit nasty on my own I was glad someone to share a wheel with. The sun came out, it was loverly

Up the staircase

Off the main road and into the lanes. There was a new control at a village hall before the Devil’s Staircase ascent. Which I managed without putting a foot down, always a good sign I feel.
The mountain road was beautiful in the sunshine. Unusually pleasant for this time of year!

After the various climbs of the Tregaron mountain road there is an amazing descent towards Tregaron, then one small climb then it’s Tregaron and my favourite ever control, the bowls club

Loose bolt

After the bowls club the direction of the ride turns around so we were all hopeful to be getting a tail wind down the Elan Valley. But first there were some nasty little ascents to do. On one of them at a snails pace I could hear an odd noise coming out of the bike. Just a metalic “clink” but I couldn’t imagine what it was. I had to stop and have a look. I quickly worked out that the bolt on the Bagman support frame was very loose. Good job I happened to notice, I don’t carry a spare bolt in that size

High speed mountain road

The tailwind was all that could be hoped for. I did the whole mountain road in 90 minutes and arrived in Rhyader feeling a lot fresher than usual at this point.

Night section and finish

More coffee, add some more clothes then off again on the A44 also somewhat tailwind assisted. Gordon came past with a train so I hopped on the back. After turning off the flattish A44 onto the undulating A483 going north my climbing legs seemed to evapourate. I stuck with Gordon and co for a while but in the end they disappeared up a hill and I didn’t see them again until the end. Stuart and his Eliptigo also dropped me on a hill and again I didn’t see him again

Finally there were some horrible urban roundabouts then finished! I had 2 plates of stew, someone gave me a glass of wine and I got to sleep in the hall about midnight

That’s the 300km PBP qualifier done!