After weeks of preparation, today finally saw the BikeWales West Silver (52 mile) ride arrive and I’m glad to report that I at least completed the course!
From the hazy memory I have of crossing the finishing line, I came 34th – out of a field of about 60 ‘silver’ riders – in a time of approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes. My time certainly wasn’t fast, but given the heavy rain, hail and strong wind I was more than happy with my efforts, especially as I’d NEVER done more than 35 miles before.
In finishing though, I have to admit that I don’t think I’ve ever endured so much pain – not even playing rugby! The cramp in my left leg during the latter stages was immense and I think if I wasn’t of a stubburn and tenancious nature I would have quite happily chucked the towel in.
I also took a great deal of strength from the fact that I didn’t stop on ANY of the major climbs – Betws moutain, Burry Green, Cefyn Bryn common, Park Mill and Kittle. In fact the only time I stopped were at both refreshment stations in order to fill up my water bottle.
Whilst I was out on the ride, DDWT Junior amused himself with a visit to Funsters in Hendy allong with some of his friends. As a treat for the whole DDWT family we then tucked into a couple of Pizza Hut pizzas for tea. Incidentally we ended up with 4 medium size pizzas as they’d sold out of the large ‘stuffed crust’ ones which we’d ordered when we phoned.
Oh I almost forgot about my weigh-in this morning – 16st 9lbs, which was the perfect pyschological boost prior to the bike ride! So all in all, its been an excellent day.