After last years struggle due to cramp, myself and Tom decided to have another go. Unfortunately this year work had gotten in the way of training and I was even more underprepared than last year.
Myself, Gilly & Poppy travelled down on the Friday and stopped off in Bath as a certain member of our party had to go get a few bits. Once back on the road the traffic was very heavy and we arrived at the Sunnyvale Holiday Park near Saundersfoot around 4pm. The mobile home wasn’t great but it would do. Travelled into Tenby to get a few towels and back around 5:30pm to catch Tom and both of his dogs. Dinner in tonight.
Saturday morning we set off for the tour of Pem, the country was gripped in a heatwave, except Pembrokeshire which was shrouded in cloud, we were bit behind on timings and were one of the last to leave.
Pacing was discussed and it was nice and steady, Tom is a real pleasure to ride with and he understood the brief perfectly. On paper it’s only 60 miles but it is a tough event, with no let up in hills and some of them very steep. Plus the road surface is rough and there were only a few times where the venge could show its strengths. Took more care with feeding and drinking and arrived at the finish in St.Davids in 04:49:26, which was a bit down on last years time of 04:41:03, moving time was 04:34, 4 minutes slower than last year!
But crucially no cramp, but it’s a tough event and better suited in someways to a gravel bike with slick tyres.
Saturday night we had a meal at the Mulberry in Saundersfoot.
Sunday we checked out early, we went into Tenby while Tom went home. We also stopped briefly in Cardiff, walking through the park to the shops and then onto Toms for bbq lunch.
Set off around 3pm and a much better run back in 2 hours, 36 mins.
