“Some people think I’m crazy…” went the refrain, as I got up at 5:15am on Sunday morning.  Getting up that early to catch a lift to Bridgend, to cycle all day and then come home again.  They may have a point…

Nonetheless, I was up bright and early, all packed up, bottles in bags, and my check list ticked off.  R collected me a bit after 6am and we headed off to Wales in the sunshine.  Over the bridge and along the M4 where, the nearer we got, the clearer it became that the majority of the traffic was going the same place we were, as bikes adorned roof racks, wheels were seen lurking in boots.  It became clearer still when we got to jct 35 where there was an almighty queue to get off the motorway.  We tried to cheat and nip up to the next jct and then back through town, but…no joy…we still had to queue for ages to get in.  When you’re getting 3000 riders into one location, I guess there’s no getting around a degree of chaos.

After all that, finding a car parking space was bizarrely easy.  We got sorted, in the already warm sunshine, and cycled down to the start line, via the facilities.  Not much there really, but that wasn’t important.  So, nerves bubbling (mine not R’s!) we joined the feeder pen…and around 8:45ish we were off.  R headed for the hills almost instantly, as expected, leaving me in my usual element – me, the mp3, and the road.

The first part is relatively flat – they’ve added this section with a few little hills to get you going, but I didn’t really notice them, but I did like the Llantrisant forest section.  All the big hills were marked with a yellow poster telling you which hill, how long, gradient etc. which was very handy.  About 20 miles in is the Bwlch – for the 1st time.  I really didn’t know what to expect from the hills and actually – they’re ok, mostly.  Really really really long though…  An average gradient of 6% might not sound like much…but over 3.1 miles…it adds up!  I plodded my way up, pleased to find myself actually overtaking people as I got into my rythm.   And at the top, my goodness, the views…  I mean, just stunning.  Bit like the descent! *grin*

And that was very much the way the day went.  Up very long hills, down very long descents – the sort where you’re still going down after 10 minutes.  Which, to be fair, you’ve earnt!   They use some of these hills in the Tour of Britain and the Milk Race dontcha know 😉  The morning was warm sunny intervals, with only one chilly patch as I headed into the Brecon Beacons in the early afternoon – perfect cycling weather.  Then it just kept brightening up.  Blue skies and blazing sun may make the scenery pretty, but it ain’t so good for the riding…

I don’t think I’ll ever forget getting to Bwlch for the second time, being at the bottom somewhere, and looking up.  There in the distance, winding along the side of the mountain, was a long colourful ribbon of slow moving cyclists.  And that’s were I was headed.  Gulp!  Blimey that was hard.   4.3miles of 5% in unrelenting sunshine, with no breeze to relieve the heat, cyclists wiping out all over the place…  Every time you went around a bend you discovered more to come, and it wasn’t until near the top that you were far enough out of the shelter of the valley to catch the breeze which, though lovely, was on the too little too late side!  I was due to eat/drink at my 7 hour mark so made the sensible decision to stop, take my helmet off, have a drink and brief cool down before tackling the rest of the hill.   I can’t tell you how nice the down on the other side was 🙂

I do wish I’d remembered that that wasn’t the last hill…as coming across Llangenor was definitely a mental low point…by that time all I wanted to do was get done, not go up again!  Anyway, that done, the last 10k or so were flat enough to get me back, and I even did them at some speed, as my legs sensed the end.

I crossed the line at around 8:08 by my reckoning – not including stops – which about what I’d reckoned on doing.  My average speed was 14.5mph which, if you consider how long and slow the ups were, tells you how great the downs must have been to balance it out! *grin*.  It’s also a pretty good avs I reckon – I’m pleased with that.  R was waiting at the line (I dread to think how long he’d been there), and it was nice to see a friendly face.  I checked my chip in, and that was it, off home again.  The goody bag at the end was unexpected, but the free chilled recovery drink was manna from heaven 🙂

The route is stunning.  Just awesome scenery.  So many cyclists that you never feel like you’re lost.  There was a good atmosphere too – a few folk chatted to me, there was banter in passing, concern if anyone was stopped.  The Welsh folk were very friendly, quite a few clapping spectators, which is motivational.  The motorcycle outriders were lovely, as were the ambulance guys who I had to trouble for some Anthisan when, as I stopped to change the battery on the mp3, I got bitten by a horse fly!  It would definitely have been better/easier if the sun had stayed that bit further away in the afternoon, as various bits of me are now pinkly demonstrating.  It was just TOO hot on that darned hill…  Does the Dragon deserve its fearsome reputation?  Well kinda.  Certainly for length, and slogging…but (thank goodness) the hills weren’t as bad as some other events I’ve done.  Just sit, plod, and you get there.

On the organisation front, the food stops didn’t work for me – as usual – but they did have the water, and portable loos, that I needed.   The ability to go to the loo properly and not have to find some private corner somewhere is surprisingly important!  I ate and drank every 20 minutes as per – with extra drinking as required – which seemed to do the trick on the fueling front.  I also made a point of having my lunch – my (by then) well travelled and squished ham roll – at the half way mark.  It’s all part of breaking the ride up into manageable chunks.  See – cycling really is mental 😉

One Dragon – slain.  Which, according to S, would make me St. Jennifer.  *grin*  I wonder if St. George was so achey the next day? 😀

UPDATE : Official time: 8:29:48, which means poor R (7:10, 447th) had been waiting around quite some time before I got in!  Fastest was 5:47 (by Dan Lloyd), Slowest was 10:36.  Quite a few DNF, or DQs, even though they made the split.  I was 1301/1546 at the split 2:41:59 in, and 1224/1546 at the end, which is a bit depressing but about where I expected to be.  I’m just not a speed machine 🙁

I was going to comment on where the other 1500 had gone…but the timings are provisional at the mo so I’ll reserve judgement in case they suddenly appear.  Weird though…