The Weak Fall by the Wayside

I attempted the The Racing Collective’s TransWales on the weekend.

A 370km self supported challenge of riding from Bangor to Cardiff.

I wanted to document my experience of riding that distance non stop, riding through the night and pushing my body and mind to their limits.

But it wasn't to be

I managed 80km

😪

My knees blew up shortly after the first checkpoint and forced me to stop. I would have expected them to be painful anyway but the fact they went so early on made me concerned so I decided to stop and bivvy where I was. It was a good location with easy access back to the A470 which meant I could ride the 40KM to Machynlleth train station in the morning.

My sleep in the bivvy was fucking horrible and definitely the coldest night I’ve experienced. I lay on the wet grass in the foetal position with all my layers on shivering until 5AM.

I couldn’t hack laying there much more so got back on the bike with the aim of warming up and headed for Mach.
The ride back was very beautiful. Cloud lay low in the valleys around me as the Sun started to rise and the steep climbs of Route 8 quickly warmed me up but I cursed them as they killed my knees.

It was quite a relief descending in the town.

After getting my ticket (WHICH WAS 60 QUID!) I was told it was a 2hr wait for the train. I grabbed a pasty and coffee from the garage and waited. My friends were so sympathetic and abused me for not completing the route which made me laugh.

”The weak fall by the wayside” Tudor mocked while calling from checkpoint 3.

You could say thats the beauty of an adventure, you cannot predict whats going to happen and how things will play out and I guess I still had an experience of putting my body and mind through their paces. Just not in the way I had imagined.

Anyway there is still WalesGuro in July which gives me an opportunity to redeem myself. Hopefully I will make it to the finish this time.

Chris