Hereford to Holyhead
Discussion
Family trip to Ireland so decided to ride to the ferry, great idea a few weeks ago but the reality was a bit daunting the night before. Had a sh*t one, Garmin 800 nowhere to be found, late back from work and bike not cleaned since the Manchester race.
Myself and a.n.other set off from the farm we parked the car at in Hereford in decent weather. Both of us had packs on which would say hello much later in the day. 5 miles in my mates chain snapped. I couldn't believe he already had two split links in there and it had broken the link after..we had a spare so that made three links in a row! About 50 miles in we stopped at a wonderful little cafe, top of big hill. Apparently it was all flat from here on out hmmmm. Then followed 30 miles of steady ascent and then 5 miles of truely nasty stuff. It hurt, my back, legs and mind just wanted to be at the overnight stop in Bala. Worse was to come as about a third of the way another link failed in the chain fixed but no more spares. I was wondering at this point if we would be stuck if it went again. The final 5 miles were rolling and sweet, total for the day 92.5. Weather wise we lucked out, bit of rain and headwind but all taken in good humour, a few beers and some food were most welcome that night.
Following day the plan was to cycle from Bala to Bangor. Mate picked up a train home and I completed the 25 or so by myself to Holyhead then onto the ferry and on through Dublin. Again mapmyride didn't dissapoint with its rank estimation of elevations and we found ourselves on rolling roads through Snowdonia. Amazing ride although in parts quite tough. One dig in particular was 500ft out of nowhere which with 39-25 was bloody hard work. I was praying for his chain to hold which was now mostly made of split links! Gels and Cliff bars soon kicked in and I felt pretty good and started to push only to wait a bit here and there to regroup.
Bangor came fairly quickly and on my own I increased the pace. I found a 10 mile stretch and tried to TT it but was destroyed. I have covered a couple of 100 mile rides before but never back to back and my body was running on empty. The second day was 75 into Holyhead and then 20 or so off the ferry to the inlaws. The bike was filthy, myself probably a sight but I was pretty happy with everything. For an eBay special that was meant for racing with a 'crappy' 9 speed groupset it performed brilliantly. In the slippy conditions the Ultremo DD's only span up once whilst climbing in the pissing rain out the saddle and I have nothing but praise for them.
Day off today but looks like I am out with a local club this week and have found a bonkers hilly route to carry on my self loathing
Ride details
Length - 182.5 miles 92.5/90
Total - ascent 7500 ft
Pace - slower than I wanted
Weight at finish 69kgs
Dont
Undertake a ride with a fooked chain
Ever leave without a spare link/splitter
Scrimp on recovery insurance
Take any notice of mapmyride
Put time constraints on destinations
Underestimate carrying 8kgs on your back
When I get back its time to start training for 3rd cat racing. Was 22nd the other week in a 3/4 and think top ten is possible. Points soon and ultimate aim to upgrade again within 12 months. This ride was great for base miles and I am no longer totally sh*t up hills, probably just 'poor' nowadays
Myself and a.n.other set off from the farm we parked the car at in Hereford in decent weather. Both of us had packs on which would say hello much later in the day. 5 miles in my mates chain snapped. I couldn't believe he already had two split links in there and it had broken the link after..we had a spare so that made three links in a row! About 50 miles in we stopped at a wonderful little cafe, top of big hill. Apparently it was all flat from here on out hmmmm. Then followed 30 miles of steady ascent and then 5 miles of truely nasty stuff. It hurt, my back, legs and mind just wanted to be at the overnight stop in Bala. Worse was to come as about a third of the way another link failed in the chain fixed but no more spares. I was wondering at this point if we would be stuck if it went again. The final 5 miles were rolling and sweet, total for the day 92.5. Weather wise we lucked out, bit of rain and headwind but all taken in good humour, a few beers and some food were most welcome that night.
Following day the plan was to cycle from Bala to Bangor. Mate picked up a train home and I completed the 25 or so by myself to Holyhead then onto the ferry and on through Dublin. Again mapmyride didn't dissapoint with its rank estimation of elevations and we found ourselves on rolling roads through Snowdonia. Amazing ride although in parts quite tough. One dig in particular was 500ft out of nowhere which with 39-25 was bloody hard work. I was praying for his chain to hold which was now mostly made of split links! Gels and Cliff bars soon kicked in and I felt pretty good and started to push only to wait a bit here and there to regroup.
Bangor came fairly quickly and on my own I increased the pace. I found a 10 mile stretch and tried to TT it but was destroyed. I have covered a couple of 100 mile rides before but never back to back and my body was running on empty. The second day was 75 into Holyhead and then 20 or so off the ferry to the inlaws. The bike was filthy, myself probably a sight but I was pretty happy with everything. For an eBay special that was meant for racing with a 'crappy' 9 speed groupset it performed brilliantly. In the slippy conditions the Ultremo DD's only span up once whilst climbing in the pissing rain out the saddle and I have nothing but praise for them.
Day off today but looks like I am out with a local club this week and have found a bonkers hilly route to carry on my self loathing
Ride details
Length - 182.5 miles 92.5/90
Total - ascent 7500 ft
Pace - slower than I wanted
Weight at finish 69kgs
Dont
Undertake a ride with a fooked chain
Ever leave without a spare link/splitter
Scrimp on recovery insurance
Take any notice of mapmyride
Put time constraints on destinations
Underestimate carrying 8kgs on your back
When I get back its time to start training for 3rd cat racing. Was 22nd the other week in a 3/4 and think top ten is possible. Points soon and ultimate aim to upgrade again within 12 months. This ride was great for base miles and I am no longer totally sh*t up hills, probably just 'poor' nowadays
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 22 April 21:47
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