Ā Now my wife will tell you Iām no cyclist, she thinks itās probably because I didnāt learn to ride until I was eight or nine coupled with my inate clumsiness and total lack of balance that makes me less than steady on a bike. But Iām nothing if not stubborn so Iāve decided to ride the Velothon Wales event in July next year and IāmĀ going to try to do it in under five hours. The motivator for me to do this is to raise some money for various charities (seeĀ my just giving pageĀ for details)
Winter is coming and this is going to need some training (que inspirational Rocky music) :
Just to complete the course I will need to ride 140km which is twice as far as Iāve ever ridden. To do it in five hours Iāll need to ride twice as fast as Iāve ever done on my longest ride. And if you throw in a category 2 hill and a category 4 hill ā the cat 2 hill being Breconās infamous Tumble which is 5Km of screaming death (at least that is how it appears in my nightmares) then I think itās a fairly stiiff challenge.
Iāve given myself a fair whack of time to prepare for the ride (itās next July) but the days and the weather are drawing inĀ so I intend to do a combination of indoor and outdoor (or IRL āin real lifeā if youāre down with the kids) riding. The indoor training will be done on a fixed bike using a Wahoo Kickr smart trainer and Zwift indoor cycling software ā more on that for gadget geeks in future posts. The outdoor training will be done on my new Boardman Team Carbon Bike (I had to do something to justify buying it) mainly up and down the nearby Taff Ā Trail.
As the weather this morningĀ was sunny and fine (if bitter cold) I decided that Ā opportunities this good for a long outdoor ride this side of spring wouldĀ be limited so I should make the most of it. With that in mind, fuelled with coffee and Danish pastries (breakfast of champions) I took to the open road. This is me looking rosy cheeked and enthusiastic and if Iām honest, more than a littleĀ demented:
The plan today was to ride from Cardiff to Merthyr via Pontypridd, passing through many of the settings for Alexander Ā Cordellās Mortymer trilogy such as Quakers Yard and The Navigation pub:
These were some of my favourite books growing up so riding past some of these heritage sites of the industrial revolution that he so vividly describes is a huge pleasure.
The ride was stunning today with the path alonside the River Taff in full autumnal regalia:
ButĀ the fallen leaves at some points did makeĀ it difficult to tell where on-road ends and off-road starts ā no fun on my waffer-thin road tyres:
There was plenty of fun to be had en-route including a long stepped assault course section. Thankfully a sign at the top explained to the novice that riding down the steps was not advisable (as if):
The best option seemed to be Ā to pick up the bike and run with it in a style reminiscent of Chris Froome in the Tour de FranceĀ (I wish):
Ā Another bundle of laughs was negotiating cow-catchers (not that there are any cows on the route ā itās just what I have christenedĀ them, goodness knows their actual name). Some of these are such a tight fit that I know now what re-birthing feels like:
Indeed it was a cow catcher that was responsible for my first fall of the day (yes i fell off twice ā did I mention Iām an awful cyclist) when I slowed to a crawl to pass through one but couldnāt get my foot out of the pedal clips ā cue slow motion sideways collapse into mud. The second fall of the day was in trying to mount a curb ā again foot stuck in pedal ā cue slow swan-dive over handlebars in front of a crowded row of shops. Ā This cycling lark is hilarious and Iām sure Iāll get the hang of it given a few more decades.
I got to the halfway point of the Merthyr Travelodge in two and a half hours. Itās the least photogenic spot on the route and hereās a photo to prove it:
Then it was downhill all the way home passing kayakers, bonfire builders and all manner of industrial and agricultural delights:
Four hours there and back and homeĀ in time for the rugby (worse luck given thhe result) with only my pride dented. Thereāll be more exciting tales of dangerous cycle rides to come ā in the meantime if youāve enjoyed this (or even if you havenāt) please visitĀ my just giving pageĀ and donate whatever you can afford Ā ā every little bit will help.
Riding a bike is like falling off aĀ ā¦.bike Now my wife will tell you I'm no cyclist, she thinks it's probably because I didn't learn to ride until I was eight or nine coupled with my inate clumsiness and total lack of balance that makes me less than steady on a bike.