Here's my tale from the BB300
I rolled out of the car park at 7:25 into a stiffer wind than I was hoping for and a persistent drizzle that I was sure wasn’t forecast until at least the afternoon. Starting the BB300 in my waterproofs wasn’t part of my plan as such, but it was the same for everyone, so best not let it bother me and get on with the route. I passed a few riders along the road to Pennant - delighting in how free rolling my WTB Raddlers were on tarmac.
I caught another couple of riders on approach to the first off road bit after Pennant and commenced the push up onto the ridge. Along the double track on the top I caught Bob, held a gate for him and another rider and then minced down the new shaley descent to the road, being careful not to rip a tyre within the first 10 miles.
On the road I re-passed Bob and the other chap and then got my head down into the wind and drizzle and on to Hafren. I’m familiar with these trails already, so navigation through here was easy. I met up with Darren at this point, where my knowledge was clearly worth a few extra minutes over missing a turn and having to backtrack. Darren and I chatted for a bit, and then missed a turn while talking and not paying attention. He was handy on the descents while I took a more damage-limitation approach, though gaining confidence in the tyres all the time.
On the road again and on to Llani, straight through and on the road out. The rain had eased off so I packed my jacket away and took my water proof shorts off. Within minutes it was raining again, but I stuck it out. The wind was strong enough to dry me faster than the rain was wetting me, and the extra air flow was a lot more comfortable.
Beyond Llandinam, I caught and passed another rider with a brief exchange of pleasantries. The track kicked up a fair bit, but I dug in and got out of the saddle, leaned forward and leaned forward some more. The hill got steeper and seemed to keep going and I eventually gave in. Too many km’s to go to be trying to ride everything. Having passed a few people on the way, I was now down to only one set of tyre tracks before me so I kept on the pace try and catch them (you’d think I’d know better by now). The next while was uneventful really. The rain stayed off and the navigation straight forward. As I popped out of the forest below ByS, I saw my quarry ahead, pushing through the field. I stopped by the cafe only to find they hadn’t stopped. I’ll catch them up in a bit, I thought, as I had a piece of cake and a coffee. It had been almost exactly 4 hours to this point, so I was pretty pleased with the pace. In my mind I thought if the route stays like this a sub-24 hour 300 would be do-able. The fact that Steve Large hadn’t gone under 24 hours a few weeks before in better conditions didn’t seem to occur to me.
It took me the best part of 3 hours to make up the 15 mins of so on the rider I’d seen at ByS. That rider was Huw, doing his first BB200 and making a rather decent job of it (he was first back, just after midnight). We rode for a good while over the TransCambrian section between Moelfre and Beacon Hill sharing different tales of past exploits. Huw was pretty handy on the descents and I eventually lost him at Bucknell after the long section of bone-shaking (on 40C tyres) double track through the woods. The intricate gully section was fun though. By the time I reached the ford, Huw had filled his bottles and was off up the hill into the fading light. I sat down for some food, which I’d somewhat neglected since ByS.
The section between Bucknell and Clun was the first real low point for me. Stuff too steep to ride, dark, raining again (waterproofs back on). I was glad to get to Clun. The edges of my sub-24 hour ride were peeling away. Despite a frame bag full of food, I wasn’t finding much of it palatable. Browsing the shelves of the Spar, I came away with a cheese and bacon pastry wrap, crisps, Malteasers, kit cat, a coffee, one of those yoghurt / cereal pots and a bottle of water. I sat in a lit doorway down the road from the pub, out of the wind and rain and recomposed myself. I took a good half hour here (and went back for another coffee), before heading off into Colstey Wood. This next section through to Plowden seemed to take ages. 15km and 90 mins…
At the grid in Plowden where the track over the Long Mynd starts, I sat down for more food. It was 9pm. About half way (155km in 13.5 hours). Sub-24 plans had blown away in the wind by now. Another long push ahead to gain the upper reaches of the Long Mynd lay ahead, but the going underfoot was easy, just too steep for me to ride (38t chainring, 36t sprocket). The rain had passed and it was now a starry night, with Orion rising in the east. Fireworks over Bishops Castle visible in the far distance in the West. Pole Bank summit cleared, I embarked on the long descent north and then what became more of a slog than I was expecting down Portway. Lanes took me straight into the Stiperstones section and anther thankfully shorter push over the top. It was pushing midnight now and the last section had been really exposed and the wind that was both chilling and tiresome to fight against. I came to Shelve and started looking for somewhere to shelter for some food. Options were limited by the time I was at the other end of the village. I almost dismissed the church, but decided to double back and see what the porch was like. Maybe it would be out of the wind. It was, it had a door which was unlocked, and a bench inside. I sat and forced some food down before deciding that the porch was of sufficient proportions to put my mat and bag down for some sleep. It was 12:30am. I set the alarm for 4:30.
It took about 30 mins to haul my backside out of my sleeping bag, eat some food and pack up my gear. Just as I left the church I see a cyclist coming up the road. It was Kenny from Alpkit. We swapped notes on the route, sleep strategies, the weather and gear ratios, before I pulled away on a tarmac section that favoured narrow tyres and gears over larger tyres and a 34/20 ratio. I had originally planned to get to Welshpool in one go, but after getting there at 7am after a mix of enjoyable but still challenging trails, I was glad I didn’t try. Shelve porch was definitely the right decision as I felt much refreshed.
I decided to forego the MacDonalds breakfast at the north end of town and turned south onto the canal. The Kerry Ridgeway beckoned, but the small matter of a massive climb before I had the questionable pleasure of an exposed trail into a headwind. But, on the bright side - literally - the sun was out. I wouldn’t say it was warm though as the wind was still very keen. I hadn’t seen anyone since Kenny, despite being back to following another set of tyres. Maybe Bob had ridden through the night? The prospect of actually catching someone spurred me on a bit, but once on the Ridgeway proper, you could see a long way on both directions and there was not a soul in sight.
Off the Ridgeway, just the wind farm section then it was virtually all road. I saw another rider up ahead, but as I got closer it wasn’t Bob but Andy. He was pushing having snapped the pedal from his crank on the climb up to the ridgeway. We chatted for a few minutes before I pulled away. Feeling that the end was in reach now (50km to go) I rode with more purpose and a bit more of a kick in my pedal stroke. I felt a completely different rider to the one sat in the doorway in Clun, or even the one who had slogged his way along the Ridgeway into the wind. A steep gravelly descent done, one steep climb that was over with faster than I expected and I was descending to Caersws. I stopped at the cafe by the bridge and had a jacket potato and coffee - enough to give me the final kick over the hill out of Llawr-y-glyn.
I rode the bottom part of that climb, but as I rounded the corner passed the barrier, my chimp gave me a dig in the ribs and said that was enough. I pushed a bit until the road opens out again before the tight bend. Above me, I saw another rider - Alan Parkinson - and I picked up my pace once more to catch him. We enjoyed some good chat through the end of the forest section, where Alan stopped to put some air in his tyres. I flew down the final descent and dug deep to empty the tank on the final road section. Arriving at the school in 32 hours 24 mins after setting out. I picked up my orange badge - my first one - to complete the set.