Gran Fondo Cymru Report

[Alan M]

Gran Fondo Cymru Report

Wow! A real challenge but thankfully no rain.

Before the ride

Phil and I set off at around 11 on Saturday but traffic was heavy and I think that it took about 5.5 hours to Bala pronounced, as Phil says, (he?s a closet Welshman) with short vowel sounds. We stayed at the White Lion Hotel which was nice but a bit expensive. They let us keep out bikes in the room so are probably worth their hoped-for 4 stars. I went out for a light spin for the first 6 miles of the ride and back. This took me up a steady but reasonably steep hill - at the top my average speed was 12 mph but my average for the return was over 22 and I hit 39mph ? all a taste of what was to come. We had a bar meal and chatted with another rider from Telford and Phil restrained my drinking with descriptions of what the alcohol would do to my performance.

On the ride

On the morning of the ride we were set for an early breakfast and I had requested porridge ? (hot slow-release cycling energy on a plate). Unfortunately the Scandinavian cook hadn?t been told of either fact and we waited for her to get organised ? I asked about the porridge but her reply of, ?vot is zis porridge?, made me rush for the muesli ? perhaps only 3 stars.

We had signed on the evening before and received our strap-on the wrist transponders and it was all pretty well organised with groups of 10 starting every minute. We quickly got on the back of some other riders and Phil was clearly on fire imitating Ivan Basso up the first hill ? after a while I lost him off the back but 5 miles further on he caught up and as we came to the descents. His were fearless and the yellow ACC kit zoomed off into the distance. I eventually got back to him but then I got my first puncture and told Phil to ride on for his coveted Silver award. At the same time I found that my pump was useless but I wasn?t sure if it was that or another hole in my spare tube. I stood by the side of the road scratching my head and at this point the ACC rescue team turned up in the person of Aoden, Sylvain and Matt ? Matt let me have a new tube and Aoden helped out with his excellent French pump while Sylvain took photos! We were soon back on the road ? They fired off into the distance and I had my first spell of lone riding. Soon I came upon Matt who also had a puncture but he said he?d be OK and would catch me up. Time to dig in ? I didn?t really think that I could get to Phil as I had lost a lot of time and he was going so well. The ride up Llanberis pass was pretty hard and against a strong head wind, so I spent most of my time trying to get on the back of chains-gangs of other riders and stayed off the front except on some of the flatter sections. The views of the Snowdonia National Park were spectacular and the ride down to Caenarfon was fast and furious.

Eventually we reached Caenarfon Castle, which is more or less the half way mark, and we were time-checked again. The wind was now behind me I started to made better progress Anyway, another 5 miles down the road and I got my second puncture. But hey presto, a couple in a car stopped announcing themselves as ?Neutral Support ? we?ve got a track pump? so I received some more help and was on my way again ? I?d given up catching Phil and settled in for another lone stint. I also gathered that Matt had more problems with his valve and had to stop again so he never caught up to me.

Just before the second feed stop there was a very steep section and a few riders had stopped or were walking it ? pride kicked in and I made it to the top ? just. After the feed stop I saw Maria who was also fighting a lone battle. She seemed happy enough and said she didn?t want to draught ? she felt that the next and last hill would be more manageable than the last because it was more gradual This was true, but for me it was the hardest of all as it went up for ages with lots of false summits. While I was looking for reserves that I didn?t seem to have Kieren went by me and he still looked pretty fresh. Going down the other side was exciting but by this time I was experience some weird bonking sensations and I felt that my concentration was impaired so I took it steadily. Finally I reached the head of Bala lake where some would turn off for a further Super challenge loop of another hour or more! There was no temptation for me and I completed the course in another 4 miles. By this time I was about 7 minutes behind Phil and I did 7:41:39 which is a silver for my age group ? my computer had 7:07 which was lost time for punctures and 2 short feed stops but the gold standard was 6.42 which was never in sight. So, I felt OK with that and pleased for Phil that even though he hadn?t quite hit his silver goal he was very nearly on it and the first half of his ride had been very strong. Some of the others posted some excellent times and did the longer ride.

After the ride

After receiving our times and certificates we had a very convivial recuperation in the community centre café with all those previously mentioned plus Gavin who had set off early ? we heard that Marek had mechanical problems but we didn?t see him. Some of us met up in Bala in the evening for drinks and a Pizza which was nice and the drive home was quick and easy. All in all a pretty good ride but tough and, as they say, ?somewhat character building?. Well done everybody and thanks to I-team for the excellent organisation.

Next weekend the Polkadot Challenge ? Hey Ho!

[Marek]

Well done Alan, that is a really good time with those problems you were encountering.

Unfortunately my problem was a bit too serious for me to carry on for the whole ride. One of my spokes on my back wheel Ksyrium pinged on the really fast descent at about 30km into the ride. Thought I was going to die.

I managed to pull off the remnants of my spoke but the freewheel was stuck due to the lower part of the spoke caught between the cassette and the other spokes. I managed to get going and then took the sporting ride which was the 55km route. Half way up one of the climbs due to my wheel being so bent it had somehow managed to pull out the cable holder which meant I had to stop and re screw that back in. As this was on a climb trying to get back on the bike was almost impossible as the free wheel was not working. I nearly caused myself serious damage (the not having children type damage). All this jumping about on the bike freed up the spoke at the back so then I managed to bend the left over spoke back and out of the way of the freewheel. I then managed to get going again.

I did the rest of the sporting ride and then the misses picked me up and we went sightseeing.

Such a shame as I was really feeling great, had prepared really well the day before with lots of pasta and everything was going well on the ride. Was in with a really good group of riders with people sharing the work around was fantastic. The scenary was amazing and the weather could not have been much better for Wales.

Really upset as I bet it was a fantastic day. I will do that one next year though as even though I only did the first half it looked like it was going to be a brilliant ride.

See you out and about.

Cheers

Marek...

[Dr Frigo]

Good report Alan! We too had a trouble-less journey back today.
Even though I had the course profile taped to my toptube I'm rubbish at remembering course details, but I'll have a go.

After Aodan Matt and I left Alan when his puncture was mended, we hopped on a 10-15 riders group up the hill. It was tough to get going at their speed after a 10-minute break, but we held on and started taking our turns at the front. Aodan was already thinking of leaving them behind, so after one of our turns we did that, and a few followed. Then there was a fantastic section of downhill and flat, with the strong wind now in our backs we we hitting 30mph on the flat effortlessly. I'd gone ahead of Aodan and Matt, but soon Aodan was back which I was thankful for, but not Matt - we hadn't realised he'd punctured.

We joined another group for a bit, then were overtaken by another group of 5-6 really fast riders. Aodan thought they were part of our group and started tailing them. We plunged into a downhill at breakneck speed, then passed the first food stop before we'd realised it. We quickly decided not to turn back and stop, and to draft the fast guys for as long as we could. I wasn't so keen on doing so, so I started falling back into my own rhythm. We passed into a town with traffic jams and junctions, and somehow I got back onto Aodan. We then decided to let the fast guys go, and instead joined with two riders from Didcot Phoenix.

Onto the next big climb, I think that's where we passed Phil. We joined another peloton which dragged us up the climb for a bit, then just before the crest we went ahead to be alone for the next downhill. There we had to overtake a bus on the twisty road, and started doing through and off with the Didcot guys, all working well, we kept this going for the next 25km or so.

Then we got to the town with the castle, to get our timing chips scanned for split-time. Out of the town started an uphill, it was my turn at the front and I didn't realise after a while that I was alone. Aodan told me later that the two Didcot guys had actually stopped, and that he was having a bad spot and didn't feel like following at that speed. I caught up with two riders on a climb, and we started doing through and off again. One guy falled behind, so it was now just me and a guy on a Litespeed, we worked really well for at least 25 more km. On a downhill I saw Maria but I just had the time to say hi as I was enjoying our team work. Then I saw Gavin, again just a quick word.

There was then a big climb before the second food stop. I'd ran out of my two bottles of water and was getting really thirsty. I got ahead of Litespeed-man, and finally the food stop was there. Water refill, a big chunk of cake, a banana in my jersey and a few bites of an apple, and time to get back on the saddle. I was again with Litespeed-man, but as I knew the next section would be long climbs I decided to go at my own pace ahead of him.

I was still feeling fresh and passed lots of riders. It?s a bit of a blur what happened after that, but I was mostly on my own for the rest of the ride - there were cattle gates to close and cattle grids which shaked your every bone, climbs on barren land where some riders had stopped to push, more blistering downhills on roads just wide enough for a car and a bike, one on which a car had simply stopped in the middle and someone opened the door just as I was going to overtake, thankfully I had the time to swerve into the grass and shout my lungs off, a half-second earlier I?d probably slammed into the door at 30kmh.

I arrived at the junction for the ?super? long route still feeling good, so it was an easy decision to make. But as the climb began my legs started feeling a bit heavy, and I wondered whether I might be starting to bonk. Kept going a bit slower and decided to take it dead easy on the rest of the climbs, thankfully it was ok and after the first summit where the last food stop / split timing was, tried to catch up with a couple guys on yet another of those 65kmh downhills. One guy had the scare of his life after almost veering off the road on a wet spot, I was in his wheel and wasn?t that far off a fall too.

There was then one more succession of climbs, and most of the last 7km were on rolling flat/down roads, back into Bala in exactly 200.00km. I was trying to get under 7h30 at that point but the town was gridlocked with traffic so I had to use some commuting skills to get there on time, just under 7h29 eventually, with 7h14 riding time. Aodan did 8h05 I think, just missing out by a few minutes on the silver.

It was tough alright, but we thought the difficulty of the climbs had been a bit over-hyped on this forum. I don?t think there was anything as steep at the nasty bits of the Weds ride, and neither that there were any 25 or 30% sections. Then again maybe it was just that we were going at a slower pace on such a long ride. But it was a great ride altogether, the roads were of fine quality, the scenery was amazing (wish I'd had more time to enjoy it, I never spent so much time on the drops!) and like the organizer said, the climbs made you want to attack them. Now I wonder if anyone broke the 6h30 mark!

[Phil L]

I arrived with Alan at our hotel on Saturday afternoon to be greeted by another fellow cyclist unloading his bike from his car in the car park. "Oh what a horrendous route", or words to that effect. "I have just driven around the route and it has taken me five and half hours. The first 40 miles is constant up hill, blah, blah, the mid 40 miles fairly level and not too bad, and the last 40 miles is really bad with a very steep this that and the other". It was almost a plea from him to not bother. Not an opinion I really wanted to hear and dismissed him as a light weight (he couldn't even add up - the course was 109 miles!!!).

I was nudged into the hotel bar that night by Alan and desperately tried to avoid having more than a "couple of pints" as I don't really have a concept of drinking anything between two pints and getting completely legless (a bit like the Bala locals really). We came across another fellow cyclist from Telford who has been riding the roads on the route for years. In complete contrast to our first report of the course, he assured us that there were no real frightening parts to the ride and the last leg was a steady climb (all be it a 500m ascent!!), which wouldn't hurt too much. Phew!! That made me feel better, though I wasn't too sure about him - bit of bragger I thought. There was only one way to find out...

Alan and I started the ride at 8:09am. I felt very strong right up to the first feed station at Llanrwst after 33miles - lots of undulations and long steady drags, a strong cool head wind, but no steep climbs. Nothing was going to stop me at this stage, as I was determined to get a Silver timing. I even left Alan on his own to tend to his puncture convinced that he would catch me up by the time we got to the feed station. How guilty I felt when I heard that he had problems with his pump and then endured another puncture. At the feed station there was a sight that would have made the phantom pee-er of Addiscombe CC feel at home ? a long line of cyclist peeing against a line of trees. The wind was still blowing too cold for me to expose myself and attempt anything with my fairly comfortable bladder. With no sign of Alan I decided to head off.

The second leg to Caernarfon was a bit different. We headed straight into the Snowdonia mountains starting with a 15 mile 360m gradually ascent to the foot of the Llanberis Pass, rewarded with a wonderful mountain side view of the valleys below. The strong headwind made it more than just a drag, where conserving energy and maintaining a good pace depended on snuggling in amongst a group. I was passed by Sylvain and Aedon as was slogged the final but fairly steep part of the ascent, the only other agreeables I spotted on the ride. The descent down to Llanberis along the pass gave an eastern view of Snowdon which had its summit partially obscured by whisks of cloud. It was now a very quick pace down a winding road towards Caernarfon. As we got closer to Caernarfon, confirmed by the occasional glimpse of the Menia Straight, the gradient decreased, and the pace lessened to something that made me realise that I was now starting to feel tired and depleted of energy. The castle was a time check point (now 3 hours 51 mins for me) at the slightly over half way mark of 60 miles. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't another feed station here, but I was okay for fluids, chomped one of my bananas, and cracked on with the good feeling that we would have the winds behind us from now on.

The third leg started with another drag up from sea level, an 11 mile 190m ascent up to Rhyd Ddu at the foot of Snowdon now on the west side. Disappointingly, there still seemed to be a headwind until we got further inland where the wind seem to die out - what happened to the wind that should have been pushing us along? We were now heading through great walking country; with a quick descent into Beddgelert and now back at almost sea level; and following the fairly level pass of the Aberglaslyn and its magnificent white water torrents. This was a sweetener for the start of the worst. Over the bridge and onto the level plane taking us to Garreg at the 80 mile mark, where it all started to get horrible. First a 150m ascent on a 15% gradient ? a mere mini-hill by comparison for what was coming next. At least we were rewarded with another quick descent passing Tan-y-Bwlch station on the Ffestiniog Railway and back down onto the planes at sea level. Maentwrog was the start of the worst hill of the ride. This was a 185m ascent, on a 20% gradient, which was a little bit worse than Chalkpit Lane, but now using legs that had covered 85 tiring miles. The reward for this was the second feed station.

The fourth and final stage of the ride was a continuation of the 185m we had just endured. It started with a further 5 mile drag taking us up a further 50m along a nice straight wide main road until we reached Bronaber. A sharp left turn took us onto a winding narrow lane ? the start of the never ending peaks, brow after brow after never ending bl**dy brow in a desolate, isolated windswept heath land, with cattle grid after cattle grid, and even some gates to open (and shut!!). This was a gruelling further 300m ascent, taking us to the highest point of the ride at 535m ? half the height of Snowdon covered in just 13 miles. Some of the short sharp undulations reached a 20% gradient - too much for some riders who had to walk them. I managed to stay on my bike, but I was completely drained of energy and my pace had dropped well below the average for the field. Surprisingly, there were cars on this remote road, but they struggled to pass the continous stream of cyclists. A quick stop for a gel at the peak gave me a boost for the very quick final descent down towards Bala with a hope of getting a silver timing for my age group now quickly diminishing after my very poor performance on this hill. The worst moment of the descent was when I had to slam my brakes on whilst a camper van stopped to allow a car to squeaze past on the narrow lane. I watched in fustration as this less than competent driver who was holding me up tried to edge his "bus" past the camper. Once passed, a quick plea to the camper van to let me overtake and then hit over 40mph on the descent. At last Bala Lake now in sight and the good feeling that we only had to do the length of the lake to get home. But hang on! Instead of the more direct main road route home, we were directed around to the far side of the lake to take the less level but more scenic route back into to Bala. This was not a nice thing for sore tired legs particularly as the lake turned out to be 4 miles long.

After 109 miles and taking 7 hours 34 mins of almost continuous cycling I made it back, but missing the silver by 10 minutes. Alan rode in 7 minutes after me and even with his puncture dramas and still achieved the silver for his age group. Sylvain then turned up which confused me for a moment because he had passed me 60 miles back, then I realised he had done the Super Challenge, an extra 14 miles with two 250m ascents ? which he finished in less time than I did the 109 mile Gran Fondo. Aedon was not too far behind. By the time we had left the leisure centre café we had also seen Matt, Kieran, Maria, and Gareth. Well done to everyone. Sorry to hear about Marek?s escapade with his spoke.

[Dr Frigo]

They did break 6h30! Interesting split times for the first one though ...

http://www.cyberrider.net/i-team/public ... tailed.htm

[Alan M]

I think that the time is almost certainly a mistake Sylvain which puts you high among the super challenge group - I can't seem to find the address for the best of the rest - where did you find the link?

[Dr Frigo]

Sorry the links are on the http://www.i-team.co.uk/ page.

The Fondo results are here:

http://www.cyberrider.net/i-team/public ... tailed.htm

[Maria David]

I set off to do the event, with the aim of getting around comfortably and enjoying the day. (Fine weather had been forecast.)
I had recc'd most of the course, so I knew that the difficulties would come in the last 40 miles of the Fondo ride.

Given that I'd be travelling with Gavin back to London straight after the event, I was keen to get away with the earliest wave possible - at 7.30am.

As the ride got underway, it was interesting to see the variety of riders and how they approached it.
Some lean folks on their even leaner and mean machines
immediately attacked on the first hill, and were over the hills and far away within no time, while others took their time and were just happy to complete the event by the 6pm cut off. Alot of people were in agreement that the standards for gold and silver etc were pretty steep, so for most, was not a realistic aim - just to finish comfortably and beat certain club mates was probably good enough !

I was keen to ride my own event, and not get too caught up in races or spa-ing matches. I basically stuck with various groups for about 2 thirds of the time, and chatted to people from different parts of the country.
Often the same story - people training for one big event or other - the Etape, La Marmotte, Quebrantahuesos, Campagnolo, an Ironman etc.

It was definitely a race of three halfs.
The first 35mile section contained gradual climbs with a few long sweeping descents.
The second 50mile section contained some windy sections up towards Capel Curig, Pen y Gwyrd Hotel, a lovely descent down the Llanberis pass, and past Llyn Padarn, with Snowdon bearing down over you.
I got in a good group up to Caernarfon Castle, and then another one towards Beddgelert. Gavin and I had been going at a similar pace so found ourselves in the same groups. It was good to have a club mate nearby.

However, part way to Beddgelert, I felt I had pushed myself too hard to be able to get up Brobaber Moors in any shape. So I then eased out of the groups and did the rest of the ride on my own.
The one mile climb up to Rhyd was tough, but I knew exactly what to expect. However, the one after that at Maentwrog (which was 20%) was the one bit I hadn't recc'd and it was purgatory. Alot of people overtook me here, as I picked my way up on the granniest ring I could find. And it wasn't reassuring to turn the corner, and see more ramps and good riders ahead wobbling their way up to the top.
It was all the more frustrating that the feedstop was meant to be around here, but the brutal climb made it seem so far away.

I was so glad to get to the refreshments and had to wolf down lots of cake.

The final 23 mile section was basically a drag on a main road, and then a 10 mile country road across Bronaber Moor. It twisted and turned all over the place, with a couple of descents, but mainly a grinding climb. It was very scenic with scrubland, sheep, mountains, and lots of despairing riders. As they passed me they were asking, are we there yet ? How much longer is it on this road etc. ? I think by now people wanted it to finish, and the decision to not do the Superchallenge was pretty easy. I enjoyed this road, but I was tired and I was having to dip into my emergecy can of Coke to keep me going. (Cheaper than Redbull and just as effective.)

Finally, the road went downhill, and it was great to be moving fast without putting in too much effort, save for the technical bends.
Bala Lake was a welcoming sight, and at the same time I got my second wind that helped me jump on a guy's wheel and he carried me back to the HQ.

I did just over 8 and a half hours. My bike training had only begun in late March, after a 5 month break, so I'm happy with the time. And I didn't keep Gavin waiting too long for the drive back to London.

Definitely recommend it for the scenery - and also for the unfinished business - the superchallenge !

[kieran]

hi just a quick report, great weather made for a good ride and we were lucky, it rained all Monday morning and afternoon, only clearing up around 3-4pm. The scenery was lovely even if I think there was just a bit too much on main roads but then in this area there didn't seem much choice. I se off late at 9:05 on my own and spent most of the ride that way but spent some company with a guy from the Dales (who luckily knew the way as i didn't and the signage wasn't the best), Matt and then near then end with two guys from some where up north by their accents. Most of the hills were fine and i think going steady made them easier if I had done then at the speed we did the last TOSH they would have killed us I'm sure. The wind was also bad at the start and I was on the drops on the flat in low gear at one stage thanks to the wind. I met Matt, Alan and Maria so it was nice to see some familiar faces. Anyway, I am very happy with my time and very impressed with Sylvain's, but I think everyone had a good ride, as someone else points out there is a big split in the times for the first 3 riders (serious racers?). Well back to training for the dragon ride!

[Brian Nolan]

Well done to all the Gran Fondo Cymru riders !
Very good write ups & descriptions from all of you.. It sounded like a good ride and I'm glad it was in good conditions...

Marek, I wanted to ask about your wheel - that must have been quite a 'moment' you had there.. How many miles have you done on them ? I must have done about 3000 on the ssc sl's I've got. Been up and down the Alps and just recently the Dales and am a bit concerned for the Polka Dot ride etc.. I suppose everything has got to go sometime ?

[Marek]

I have had mine three years but the problem lies with the rim rather than the spokes. The rim has cracked slightly and this has given way to the spoke. You have to remember that I race on my wheels, in most races people don't point out holes so rims do break every now and then.

This is my second rim that I am having to replace on these Ksyriums, I am not sure of other peoples experiences. I would say that if the wheel is true and the general condition of the wheel looks ok it should be alright. My wheel was slightly off before the ride so I should have known better not to ride on that wheel and had it checked out beforehand.

Also, I weight over 83kgs so this may have a bearing on it.

Cheers

Marek...

[Brian Nolan]

thanks for the info Marek,

That has made me feel a bit safer - yes, what with your racing etc you must give them quite a pounding..

cheers,

[Toks]

Hey you lovers of the very long and very hilly rides - A big Well done An Extra smiley for Sylv a fantastic effort for 5th spot in the Super. Also a get well soon to Huw Williams, who hasn't been feeling to clever since the Dales ride. Chin Up mate you'll be back.

[Brian Nolan]

I wondered why we have not heard from Huw - is he ok ? did he do the Cymru ride ?

[Alan M]

No he decided not to and was sadly missed for the hills of wales