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Lanterne
Rouge Version! by Graham Brodie.
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 Kevin Hickman ( only one leg). Packed at the last control (35 miles from finish!) but he now has the SR in the bag! - Congratulations!! |
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 Hay on Wye control. Tony & Pam Graff checking in Patrick Field and friend. |
 Peterchurch. |
 Recumbents ( Patrick field and mate) setting off from Hay on Wye. |
Always one of my favourite cycling routes, I rode staedily up the valley with other riders, and passed Kevin Hickman who was going well. At Grosmont I stopped off for an unofficial control. This is the location of my first "long distance" ride when I was a teenager. |
I rode the 130 miles from home to stay at Grosmont with a friend, and the family still live there, so an ideal stop for a free breakfast! Leaving Grosmont I soon caught up with Patrick Field on his recumbent. He'd lost his recumbent mate, whose chain tensioner had snapped off, so he was alone on this section. |
Keeping alongside was impossible, with the recumbents downhill speed and
uphil drag. Just before Hay something rocketed past me. It was his mate on recumbent which had been repaired courtesy of the garage at Pontrilas, so the two laid backs were back on the road again. |
 Kevin Hickman on the road to Builth. |
 John Spooner setting off near Cwman |
 Hugh Marshall on the way to Tregaron. |
I set off on my own and soon caught up with Kevin again. I rode along with him for a while somewhat in awe at how his disability seemed to hardly affect his ability to ride smoothly and strongly. I passed the horizontals again in Builth, and they passed me again as I dozed on a bench in lunchtime sunshine. |
 I was feeling very dopey, made worse in the sunshine, and realised I was being a bit too relaxed about this ride, which had some serious climbing to come. I pressed on harder to Llandovery in time to see a few others leaving.. |
After this there was much confusion on the road. I met Ron Carlton (organiser) coming back down the rod from Lampeter. Apparently the road was closed near Cwman due to an RTA and diversions had been set up. Some riders had diverted a considerable distance. I was luckier and managed to get a route nearer to the original with only a minor detour. |
 A few more showers. |
 Tregaron. |
It had rained quite a bit during the climb, but I was as wet with sweat
from the long climb, as with rain. At the info control were several
others including John Spooner and Hugh Marshall, all who had lost time
on the detour.
Hugh was talking of packing, but like a fool I insisted that there was no point and we'd soon be halfway. The lane to Tregaron was easy and very pretty. The pub control at Tregaron very friendly and cheap! The music was a bit loud but it kept you awake! |
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the fun began. A very lumpy section to New Quay. Legs heavy, cramp setting
in, and I always find this section gets harder the closer you get to New
Quay. The cafe is quite busy but we soon head off up the long climb to Synod Inn in evening light. I was running with about 45 mins to spare at each control. A bit tight for a 400, especially with the night section coming up. |
Things were going OK, and the pace not too bad, until just before Lampeter.Hugh and I made a right turn at a staggered cross roads which should have been a straight across, although we couldn't see the other road in the dark despite looking. After about three miles I twigged that the Plough had moved around and we were going South!! Checking the map we decided to cut across to the right road rather than retrace - BAD decision! |
The
route was viscious, plummetting and climbing steeply, very dark, rutted
and gravelly lanes, and to make it worse Highs bike started playing up.
The back wheel kept pulling out of the frame, and no amount of fiddling
and tightening would fix it! Eventually we got back on route, but must have lost an hour. Control at Llandovery closed at 0144, - we arrived at 0140, and I was hoping for a kip! |
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When things go wrong at night it's often hard to pull everything back
together. The next section to Brecon and Bwlch is a doddle in daylight.
It's a fast easy road, but at night it's extremely quiet and seems to
drag. Just bfore Brecon my bike took a fancy to a nice soft verge and decided to hurl me at it. I fought back and brought the thing to a halt, with a dented knee and one lost mirror! Shortly after Bwlch appeared - out of time but a welcome sight anyway! |
 The road from Abergavenny to Usk. |
Luckily rocket fuel was available in the form of Rice Pudding and Peaches.
This has rescued me on more than one occassion. Morale increased as I
calculated that there were 36 miles to go with about 3 1/2 hours to do
it in, most of it downhill and flat. Breakdowns permitting the ride could still be workable! |
| It
was quite cold on the swift descent from Blwch, but the scenery was pretty
as mist was lifting in the valley and early morning sunshine clipped the
hilltops. We sped through Crickhowell, and were soon bumping over the potholes in Abergavenny. Morale was surging, autopilot on, as I knew every inch of this road. The long drag from Usk seemed easy and a glance at the watch meant that the finish would be well in time barring any punctures. On down one of the best finishes of any ride to Chepstow and finally arriving at the HQ with 15 mins. to spare, a bit tight for a 400 but still in time. Hugh was just behind. Kevin Hickman was at the finish and I'd assumed he'd finished. He'd packed at Bwlch which was a shame consideering how close to the finish it was. Since then he's gone on to complete the SR series. |
 Breakfast at the finish. |