Yr Eleyndd - Part 1
In short Yr Elenydd @ 30 was fantastic. It's the first 300km audax I've ridden and I don't think I could have picked a better organised or more interesting route, I can see why it's run for 30 years! Incredible and varied scenery throughout, really helped keep the kms ticking away all day.
Arrived about 10pm on Friday, chatted with a few people in the village hall, seemed like most people were down the pub. Opted to get the tent pitched as it had started to drizzle and crawled into my sleeping bag as the rain came in. About half 3 when the sky cleared and the temp dropped rapidly below freezing, woke up shivering about 4:45, pulled some extra layers on and thought about trying to squeeze 15 minutes of sleep in before the alarm went off but quickly sat that off and set about getting some food and packing things up for the day.
Must have been close to 100 riders at the start. Plenty of chat from those who'd seen the most recent weather forecasts mixed in with talk of great climbs, winding descents and magical tailwinds in previous years, a few people even discussing strategies for the Tregaron mountain road (bringing mtb shoes to walk the first set of switchbacks!). We were set off in waves, I was faffing a bit and I missed these completely, but wasn't quite the last person to leave.
The controls are well spaced on this ride, dividing it up into 6 fairly even chunks. The first section to Shobden airfield was easy going, relatively flat and the sun was shining. Chatted with several riders including Paul from Audax Club Hackney. The airfield was pretty cool and was well timed for a second breakfast. Paul and others set off while I made use of the facilities and had a quick look at some of the planes...
The weather began to turn on the next section, drizzle at first, some heavy showers and a few glimmers of sunshine. Passed a few riders and eventually ended up in Bulith Wells for the free control. Pleased with my pace at this point, 5 1/2 hours in, 100km down and 1/4 of the climbing done, keeping things nice and steady before the mountain roads...
Somewhere along the A483 Paul caught up (having stopped for more coffee) and just as we turned off the main road, I met a couple of riders I recognised from the Radway 150 earlier in the year. The climbing started through the woods and along the edge of the valley towards the control in Abergwesyn was where I'd say the ride really gets going, unfortunately it was also when the weather started to come in and we descended to the control in a hailstorm. As we waited for brews to cool and one slightly underdressed rider lined their helmet with a spare brevet card bag the hail thankfully turned to snow.
The mountain road to Tregaron was breathtaking (literally from the effort taken to get up it and figuratively from the views and quality of riding!). Reduced visibility from the snow hid the Devil's Staircase and it's 25% switchbacks until I crossed the Irfon. Glad to have my 30x28 gear I managed to grind my way up and was greeted by clear skies at the first summit. There were several fire roads leading off either side and it was tempting to deviate from the route, maybe on a drier day... Descending into the next valley required concentration, 25% gradients on a damp and shaded road, the new Compass tyres gripped well, their price almost justified on that stretch of road alone.
The next two climbs were equally steep but with the sun ahead and the roads drying fast, felt a little easier. Stopped part way up to take jacket off and took a couple of photos (and an accidental selfie as my phone objected to being used with soggy gloves)
Desolate is probably the only way to describe the surroundings at Nantymaen and token photo of Wales most remote public telephone
The final climb of this section was a freshly surfaced strip of tarmac followed by a 13km descent into Tregaron, arriving at the control just as a huge hailstorm pulled in.
Staff at the bowling club were incredibly friendly and in great spirits, with food being forced on me before I even made it to the hatch to order! I took my time to eat as gloves dried on the radiator and everyone was peering out the windows hoping for a glimpse of blue sky on the horizon. The hail eventually died off, but not before a dozen riders dragged themselves in looking thoroughly beat up.
Set off from Tregaron still in good spirits, 9 hours in, 150km and the steepest climbs out of the way, mostly dried out, a gentle tailwind and one hilly section to go...
Part 2 tomorrow!
